When Solomon died, the united kingdom he inherited from his father, David, was split in two.
In the southern part of the kingdom, Solomon's son, Rehoboam, was recognized as king by the elders of Judah. (1 Kings 12:1.) However, the elders from the northern part of the kingdom refused to accept Rehoboam as king. (1 Kings 12:3-4.) Rehoboam sent his taskmaster to enforce control. The Israelites stoned the taskmaster and forced Rehoboam to fear for his life and flee to Jerusalem. (1 Kings. 12:18.)
The elders of Israel then anointed Jeroboam king, effectively dividing the monarchy into two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. During this divided kingdom period, the greatest apostasy in Israel, or the Northern Kingdom, was Baal worship, which followed King Ahab's marriage to Jezebel.
Throughout this period, God warned His people not to imitate their neighbors, and prophets loudly denounced such practices as the pollution of temple activities with foreign rituals and idols.
In “Isaiah and the Prophets,” Gerald N. Lund wrote: "Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Micah — everywhere we look, the prophets are found reminding Israel of the basic choice: either be faithful and reap blessings or be unfaithful and reap curses and punishments."
Because the Northern Kingdom - the people of whom generally are known as the 10 tribes of Israel - refused to heed the prophets' warnings, Israel was taken captive by Assyria.
"It was destroyed, annihilated - it ceased to exist," wrote Lund. "The people were taken north into Assyria, scattered and assimilated, and lost to history. At the time when the Northern Kingdom fell, the southern border of the kingdom of Assyria was five miles north of Jerusalem. Judah escaped the fate of the Northern Kingdom only by divine intervention because King Hezekiah heeded the counsel of the prophet Isaiah. (See 2 Kings 18-19; Isaiah 36-37.)"
Information compiled by Gerry Avant
Source: “Isaiah and the Prophets,” edited by Monte S. Nyman.
Additional information:
Isaiah: Adviser to Judah’s king
Spiritually deaf do not hear the Lord’s prophets
Israel divided into two kingdoms
Editor’s note: This article was updated in January 2024 to add links to scriptures and other references.
