Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 1 Corinthians 10:6
And now for a little political history: The United Kingdom of Israel (under Saul, David, and Solomon) ended in 931 BC when the kingdom split into the two separate kingdoms of Israel (in the north) and Judah (in the south).
Israel (in the north) was ruled by 19 kings over a period of 210 years. (We’ll discuss Judah in a future post.) The kings of Israel were all bad. Their greatest evil was spiritual idolatry. In addition, whenever they were in trouble, they looked to the pagan nations around them for help, instead of crying out to God. No big surprise, they no longer worshiped God. The two worst were Jeroboam and Ahab.
Jeroboam I (who ruled for 22 years) was the king who led the revolt and split the United Kingdom of Israel in two, taking 10 of the 12 tribes to form Israel in the north (leaving 2 tribes in the south to form the nation of Judah). Jeroboam was concerned that since the place of worship—the temple— was in the south in Judah, his people would want to go there to worship. He was fearful that he would not be able to control the people if he could not control their religion. (Does that sound like a misunderstanding of true worship?) Jeroboam established a whole new religion for his nation. Of course, it was a false religion since there is only one true religion. Jeroboam’s sin was so great that throughout the 209 year history of Israel, the Bible repeatedly refers to “the sins of Jeroboam.”
Ahab was the 7th king of Israel. He was arguably the most wicked of all. He married a pagan woman named Jezebel. Together they openly defied God and His prophets. And together they led the nation in worshiping Baal (yet a different false religion from the one Jeroboam established 55 years earlier). The worship of Baal included human sacrifices—of one’s own children, no less! Ahab and Jezebel both died in disgrace.
In addition to these two “over the top” evil kings, there were 17 others monarchs over the 210 years of Israel’s existence who were not much better. The evil kings in Israel (north) are a graphic picture of what happens to a people who reject God. LET AMERICA BEWARE!
Though the nation of Israel rejected God (vacillating between the false religions of Jeroboam and the worship of Baal), He faithfully sent prophets to Israel warning them of impending judgment, calling them to repentance, and prophesying about the coming Deliverer. Praise God, there are many faithful pulpits across America that are doing the same—may Christ’s Church wake up, listen, and abandon our worldliness!
Two important prophets in Israel (north) were Elijah and Elisha—both of whom were types of Christ. More on these two prophets next time.