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Four Laws of God that pertained to Kings That the King shall not acquire an excessive number of horses (Deut. 17:16)
That the King shall not take an excessive number of wives (Deut. 17:17)
That the King shall not accumulate an excessive quantity of gold and silver (Deut. 17:17)
That the King shall write a scroll of the Torah for himself, in addition to the one that every person should write, so that he writes two scrolls (Deut. 17:18)
Solomon compromises his integrity"But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, You shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart...." For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father". 1 Kings 11:1-4
"For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites... Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods." 1 Kings 1:5,7,8
Ashtoreth (Ishtar - Easter) was the sex Godess and her images displayed the female body in various Hollywood style semi - nude poses.
There were homosexuals, lesbians and many prostitutes involved in the temple worship.
The modern day Ishtar gate (to Babylon) with Saddam Hussein's name inscribed next to Nebuchadnezzar's
Molech, made of hollow brass, was located near the Valley of (the sons of) Hinnom or Gehenna (James3:6) which was the continuously burning garbage dump Southwest of Jerusalem where not only garbage was burned but also the dead bodies of animals and criminals were cremated. unwanted newborn babies were also murdered alive and cremated by letting them roll down the arms of Molech alive after the metal glowed red hot ... 2 Chron 28:3; 33:6 The Topheth or Tophet, a large drum, was beat to drown out the screams of the newborn babies being murdered so as not to disturb the worshippers. ....2 Kings 23:10. The Priests who blew trumpets were men of High rank and privilege. The practice was also known as" passing through the fire"
Some have called this the Planned Parenthood of the Old Testament ..This makes our present day partial birth abortions (where the baby's head is crushed like an egg and the brains sucked out) seem rather mild by comparison
"And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done by you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. : Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son (Rehoboam) ". 1Kings 11:9-12
" And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: : And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: : (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)" 1 Kings 11:29-32 Earlier Jeroboam had been put "...over all the charge of the house of Joseph" by King Solomon (I Kings 11:28).
With the formation of the new Northern kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam there was a separation from the sacred place of worship in Jerusalem. Jeroboam invented his own system of worship and set the places of worship to be Dan and Bethel instead of Jerusalem. He drew the priests from the common people instead of from the tribe of Levi. He changed the month that the feast of Tabernacles was to be celebrated. He set up two golden calves: one in Bethel and the other in Dan.. 1 Kings 12:28
The altar at DanThe Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 of the tribes (excluding Judah and Benjamin). It lasted for about 210 years until it was destroyed by Assyria in 722 B.C. Its capital was Samaria ("Nablus") but he later moved the capital to Tirzah east of the Jordan. He was assassinated and replaced by Baasha, one of his generals. Every king of Israel was evil. In the northern kingdom there were 9 dynasties (family lines of kings) and 19 kings in all. An average of 11 years to a reign. 8 of these kings met death by violence.
King Ahab introduced Baal worship to the Northern Kingdom of Israel I Kings 16:30-33 "Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him."
The last king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel was Hoshea (2 Kings 17 ;6). A world empire being formed by the ruthless and cruel Assyrians (under Sargon II) besieged Samaria for 3 years and finally Assyrians hauled the Northern Kingdom away into captivity (722 BC). The epitaph written over every one of its kings was: I King 15:34 "and he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel to sin."
Judah was left suddenly independent when Rehoboam refused to lighten the heavy load of forced labor and high taxation imposed on the Israelites by his father Solomon (1 Kings. 12:1-24). Upon Rehoboam's rejection, the ten tribes living north of Bethel promptly declared their independence.
The Southern Kingdom of Judah consisted of 2 tribes (Judah and Benjamin). The kingdom extended in the north as far as Bethel, while in the south it ended in the dry area known as the Negev. Its eastern and western boundaries were the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem was its capital and it lasted from about 945-587 B.C.
Then came an entirely unexpected blow that devastated Judah. Shishak, Pharaoh of Egypt, invaded the country, plundered the treasures of the Temple and the royal palace, and destroyed a number of newly built fortresses (2 Chr. 12:1-12). Judah never recovered from the sudden loss of her national wealth. Because her land was not as fertile as that of the northern kingdom of Israel, Judah never again enjoyed the same degree of prosperity. Rehoboam wanted to attack the Kingdom of Israel and reunite the kingdom by force, but a Word from the Lord came to Shemaiah the prophet saying, I Kings 12:24 'Thus says the LORD: "You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel."
In 608 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and ruled over the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem. When the Jews refused to pay tribute, he invaded Jerusalem again in 598 B.C. Finally in 587 B.C. he destroyed the Temple completely.
Judah Carried away into Babylon"Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of The Lord, the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire [see Temple Mount Treasures]. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile." (2 Kings 25:8-11)
The southern kingdom of Judah lasted until 587 BC, before they too had been gradually conquered and taken into captivity. This time it was the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar.
There are some who see unsettling parallels between God's people of ancient times and those of today. The societies of many of the most powerful nations on earth are in many ways identical to ancient Israel and Judah just before their fall. Consider a prophecy from Paul writing to Timothy:
"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:1-7).
Vast wealth and great military power will not protect those who turn from God. Destruction need not always come from foreign invaders - it can just as easily be accomplished by collapse from within. The good news of it all however is that it is never too late to turn to God. He will always forgive and protect those who truly repent.
Year
B.C.Kings of Judah Kings of Israel 945
1 Rehoboam
1 Jeroboam I
928
2 Abijah
926
3 Asa
911
2 Nadab
910
3 Baasha
887
4 Elah (Zimri)
886
5 Omri (Tibni)
875
6 Ahab
886
4 Jehoshaphat
855
7 Ahaziah
854
8 Joram
864
5 Jehoram
812
6 Ahaziah
9 Jehu
843
(7 Queen Athaliah)
852
8 Joash
820
10 Jehoahaz
806
11 Jehoash
812
9 Amaziah
790
12 Jeroboam II
784
10 Uzziah
747
11 Jotham
748
13 Zechariah
748
14 Shallum
748
15 Menahem
732
12 Ahaz
738
16 Pekahiah
738
17 Pekah
730
18 Hoshea
725
13 Hezekiah
722
End of the northern kingdom.
697
14 Manasseh
641
15 Amon
640
16 Josiah
623
17 Jehoahaz
608
18 Jehoiakim (Eliakim)
598
19 Jehoiachin
597
20 Zedekiah
587
End of the southern kingdom.
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