We have seen God’s eternal plan and how God fulfilled many of His promises to Abraham through the people of Israel. Let us see how God’s plan continues in Israel’s history!

The United Monarchy

While the Israelites were in the land of Israel, things were not going well. The people were suffering at the hands of the Philistines, a foreign people in the land, and while judges like Eli and Samuel were faithful, Eli’s and Samuel’s sons were not. The people wanted a king like other nations had.

The first king of Israel was a man named Saul. Saul looked the part but was not faithful to God.

God then chose David, the youngest son of Jesse, a man of Judah. David is the one who killed Goliath, the Philistine giant. David was a man after God’s own heart. God made a covenant with David, that the throne of his kingdom would remain forever (2 Samuel 7:1-29). Jesus Christ would be a descendant of David. David is also responsible for many of the psalms.

David’s son Solomon came after him. Solomon was very wise and built the (first) Temple of God in Jerusalem. It is believed that Solomon wrote many of proverbs, the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, and is responsible for the Song of Solomon. Unfortunately, Solomon was not as faithful to God as his father was, and in the days of his son Rehoboam, the kingdom was divided.

Bible passages: 1 Samuel 1:1-2 Samuel 24:25, 1 Kings 1:1-11:43, 1 Chronicles 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles 1:1-9:31; Psalms 1:1-150:6, Proverbs 1:1-31:31, Ecclesiastes 1:1-12:8, Song of Solomon 1:1-8:14.

The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

When the kingdoms divided in the days of Rehoboam, the ten northern tribes became the Kingdom of Israel, with Jeroboam as their king, while Rehoboam remained king of Judah and parts of Benjamin.

Jeroboam built two temples with golden calves in them in Israel. God considered that sinful, and the kingdom was taken from Jeroboam’s son and given to another. Future kings of Israel, like Ahab, would be even more sinful. The northern kingdom always maintained those temples and statues, and because of their sins, God cast the northern kingdom into exile in Assyria around 722 BCE.

Some kings of Judah remained faithful to God, while other kings followed after Israel and served idols. Unfortunately, the sins of Judah multiplied, and God had Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed by the hands of the Babylonians and cast the kingdom of Judah into exile in Babylon around 586 BCE.

Throughout this time, God sent messages to the people of Israel and Judah through prophets like Elijah, Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. These prophets warned the people of Israel and Judah that if they did not change their ways and serve God, God would bring destruction and ruin upon them. The people did not listen, and thus destruction came upon the people. Thankfully, the prophets’ messages were not all doom and gloom: God also gave through them the promise that one day a king in the line of David would rule over God’s people in peace and prosperity forever. These promises all pointed to Jesus and His Kingdom.

Bible passages: 1 Kings 12:1-22:53, 2 Kings 1:1-25:30, 2 Chronicles 10:1-36:23; Isaiah 1:1-39:8, Jeremiah 1:1-52:34, Lamentations 1:1-5:22, Hosea 1:1-14:9, Amos 1:1-9:15, Micah 1:1-7:20, Habakkuk 1:1-3:19, Zephaniah 1:1-3:20.

The Exile and Return

The exiles of God’s people were very traumatic events. Most of the Israelites of the northern ten tribes remained in exile and just became like the rest of the people in the lands in which they lived. Many of the Israelites of Judah (called Jews from now on), however, repented after they were exiled, and tried to remain faithful to God. Some of the exiles, like Daniel, Esther, and Nehemiah, became part of the governments of Babylon and Persia, and helped their people through their positions.

Around 539 BCE, Cyrus the Persian overthrew the Babylonian Empire, and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland in Judah. Many did and began the work of rebuilding the city. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them to rebuild the Temple, and around 515 BCE, the (second) Temple was finished.

The Jews who returned had learned their lesson and no longer served other gods. Nevertheless, they remained under the authority of large empires: the Babylonian empire, the Persian empire, and then the empires of the Greeks and later the Romans. The Jews eagerly looked forward to the fulfillment of the promises of the prophets regarding the future king, the Messiah, who would restore the fortunes of Israel.

Bible passages: Ezra 1:1-10:44, Nehemiah 1:1-13:31, Esther 1:1-10:3; Ezekiel 1:1-48:35, Daniel 1:1-12:13, Joel 1:1-3:21, Haggai 1:1-2:23, Zechariah 1:1-14:21, Malachi 1:1-4:6.