The Beginning Of The Divided Monarchy Series

Recently, our news feeds were filled with talk of the United Methodist Church and its potential divide. They are currently the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States and they recently announced a plan to split the church. The split comes because of what they called “fundamental differences” over homosexuality. The whole thing is really sad because of what they used to stand for. All the years have gone by and there is little substantive Christianity that John Wesley would recognize if he were alive today.

By the way, one of the reasons you are not seeing this split in the SBC churches is because we have settled the authority issue. Yes, we have our issues too but we know our source of authority. Our true authority is not what Hollywood says or psychologists say but what does the Word of God says. Splits and divorces are common these days but they should bring a sense of sadness to our spirits. Whenever there is a split, sin is so abundant that there are few other options left.

Tonight, we begin a study of when the nation Israel divides into two nations. It’s the beginning of a sad time in the nation and in our Bibles. King Solomon has died and things were not good during his watch. He allowed a lot of evil stuff to happen in his later days. The “nose of the camel gets in the tent” and it will be impossible for the nation to turn itself around. Yet, Solomon’s reign represents the golden age of Israel in terms of economy and foreign influence. Solomon’s reign represented “the good ole days” for years to come.

If you are following along in your Bibles, you’ll want to find 1 Kings 12 with me.

Quick Overview

Let me offer you a summary of what we’ll see over the next three studies. The Southern Kingdom has 20 kings over its history. These 20 kings will reign from around 930 BC to 587 BC, or The Northern Kingdom will have 19 kings (with a caveat) from around 930 BC to 722 BC. The Southern Kingdom is known a Judah and will last for around 345 years. The Northern Kingdom is known as Israel which is confusing.

This would be similar to our Civil War and had the confederate states won, the northern states may have very well called themselves the United States. So Israel is the name of the nation when it is united and it’s the name of the northern kingdom when the nations are divided. The Northern Kingdom will last for around 210 years (less than the length of the US). Now, Judah’s kings are all sons of King David were in Israel (Northern Kingdom), none of the kings are the sons of David. Judah is the unbroken succession Davidic dynasty were in Israel (Northern Kingdom), you have a series of mini-dynasties.

Only four kings in Judah’s history are godly men (Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah) while none of the kings in Israel (Northern Kingdom) are godly men. Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah are all men you want to take home to meet your parents.

Chronology

Old Testament chronology has puzzled people for centuries. This is especially true when it comes to correlating the reigns of the kings of the Divided Kingdoms. The biblical record gives us a vast amount of information, but here the question: how does it all relate? When you are starting reading at 1 Kings 12 through the end of 2 Kings 25, you will find the Bible cites the year in a strange way for modern people. Here’s how it will read “In the X year of the reign of So-and-So of Israel, So-and-So became king of Judah and he reigned Y years.” Instead of giving us a year (such as 2020), we get the beginning year of Judah’s king is correlated to a certain year in Israel’s king. It’s a chicken and the egg kind of thing because you are left with tracing which came first.

1. Rehoboam and Jeroboam

They sound like twins don’t they?

Rehoboam is the Southern Kingdom of Judah and he reigns from around 931-913 Jeroboam is the Northern Kingdom of Israel’s first king from around 931-910. Now, remember this: pig-headedness splits the kingdom.

1.1 Jeroboam

Jeroboam is a widow’s son and was a highly gifted young man who rose up the ranks during Solomon’s reign. Solomon made Jeroboam the overseer of his public works in the northern tribes when there was a united kingdom. The king’s oppressive practices led Jeroboam to revolt, and he finds himself an exile in Egypt until Solomon’s death.

1.2 Rehoboam

It’s here that we should pick up reading from 1 Kings 12: “Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt” (1 Kings 12:1-2).