The Divided Kingdom Judah and Israel
The divided kingdom The story of Solomon and his son Jeroboam Solomon was the king of Israel Under Solomon’s rule the kingdom was united But he used forced labor and high taxes kingdom did not survive after Solomon’s death His son Rehoboam was his successor Had lived a life of luxury Took some bad advice – made things even worse than his father – was even tougher on the people – especially the workers
Rebellion Most went with Jeroboam – one of Solomon’s advisers 10 tribes rebelled and made him their king Only the far southern part of the Kingdom stayed loyal to Rehoboam The kingdom was now divided and would never be united again North Kingdom: Israel Southern kingdom: Judah
Return of the Golden calf Jeroboam did not trust God’s plan Had two golden calves made for the people to worship
Good and bad kings Jeroboam set the pattern For the rest of their history Judah and Israel alternated between good and bad kings But, God provided relief The prophets: means “one who is called” or “one who calls” Called the rulers of the time back to faith in God