Life after Solomon

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Life after Solomon

• Israel divided and conquered

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Life After Solomon

• After the wisest king some not so wise kings
• Israel splits into two parts
• Israel to the north
• Judah to the south
• Both separate kingdoms ruled by a succession of
  kings
• The majority of Israels problems came from
  infighting between the two kingdoms

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Israel and Judah

• The divided kingdom
• From www.bible.ca

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Life in Chaos

• As the infighting increased, the people of Israel
  turned away from God
• Began to disregard the Commandments and Law
• Lived as if there were no reprecussions
• As a result, God began to send a series of
  prophets to reconcile their relationship with God
• Note the difference in relationship

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Prophets v. People

• Pentateuch

• God dealt with the Israelites harshly
• Noahs Ark
• Sodom and Gomorrah
• Moses first fiasco with the Ten Commandments
• The Law and its harsh punishments (Leviticus and
  Deuteronomy)

• The Prophets

• God dealt with the Israelites with Prophets and
  patience
• David and Nathan, loses his son but not his
  kingdom
• Prophets give commentaries and reprimands to the
  kingdoms of Israel and Judah
• God lets the kingdoms of Israel and Judah do
  themselves in, less direct intervention

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The Big Hitters of the Middle East

• Just to note, here are Israels rivals at the
  time of the prophets, 6th Century BC
• Egypt to the East
• Assyria and Babylonia in Mesopotamia
• The Kingdom of Judea was located in the perfect
  location to clash with these groups
• These big hitters would eventually clash, leading
  to the Babylonian captivity

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A note on the Prophets

• Prophets were called by God to foretell things to
  come
• NOT like modern-day fortune tellers
• God based, conscious of Gods authority,
  communicated Gods message to Gods people
• Were thought to be selfless and not prophetic for
  profit
• Prophets used their own individual style to
  convey Gods message, not exactly uniform in
  delivery

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A note on the Prophets

• Prophetic Literature
• Heavy on the anthologies (metaphors), sayings,
  sermons and figures of speech
• Anticipatory
• Books are named after the prophet
• Articulated judgment and tough choices for Israel
• Encouraged them to do the right thing
• They rarely did (at least for long)

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A note on the Prophets

• Constantly tried to reconcile Israel with God
• Israelites would suffer hardship after
  waywardness and prophets would encourage them to
  return to their godly ways
• All the prophets, though said differently, have a
  common theme of unity and accountability with God
• Relied upon a common history, religion and
  customs to send their message to Israel, were
  all brothers

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A Just and Jealous God

• A Common vision and message (pg 123)
• God as the sole authority
• They lived out a single-minded commitment to
  challenge the Israelites to live in right
  relationship with God.
• They served a jealous God who called for justice.
• They sought to guide the Israelites back to God,
  who awaited their return with open arms.
• They modeled and publicly announced Gods call to
  be faithful.
• They sought Gods compassion for themselves and
  for his people.

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Amos, Shepherd called by God

• Not from Northern Israel but used the words you
  and we when speaking to the Israelites
• Spoke in herding-terms, denoting his profession
• Reiterated Gods jealous nature and judgment of
  Israel
• Jealous of their wayward worship of God to other
  idols and money
• Reminded the Israelites of their Covenant with God

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Amos, Shepherd called by God

• Spoke that divine justice and righteousness would
  prevail
• Was trusted by the people, they related to his
  profession and common ways
• Focused on the disparity of wealth in Israel
• Warned how the rich were abusing their power

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Hosea, Wartime Prophet

• 8th Century BC prophet who delivered his message
  to Northern Israel, used the term we often
• At the time, Northern Israel was at war with the
  Assyrians
• Identified with Israel, because he was a member
  of their community

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Hosea, Wartime Prophet

• Accuses both kingdoms of looking toward Assyria
  and Egypt instead of God
• Condemned Israel for worshiping a neighboring
  God, Baal
• I will remove the names of the Baals from her
  mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no
  more (Hosea 217)
• Prophesies that they will lose their land because
  of their infidelity toward God

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A note on Hoseas style

• Most prophets used allegory to explain Gods
  relationship with Israel
• Hosea uses marital allegory
• Gods love and Israels betrayal, unfaithful acts
• Alludes to a divorce procedure
• She is not my wife, nor I her husband (Hosea
  22)
• Hosea uses his unfaithful wife, Gomer as an
  example of Israels idolatry and abuse of the
  poor
• She eventually returns to Hosea after repentance

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Wrapping up Hosea

• Hoseas message was given after the destruction
  of Israel
• Much more consoling than Amos
• Directed to the ordinary and priests alike
• Chastised the priests for taking sinners money
  and profiting
• Talked about Gods love and care
• A kinder, gentler God

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Elijah and Baal, a match made in Hell

• Elijah, a prophet in the Northern Kingdom during
  the reigns of Ahab and Ahaziah
• 869-849 BC
• Ahab was a powerful king who expanded Samaria,
  then Isreals capital
• Also fought Assyria
• Ahab looked to Baal, the ancient Canaanite storm
  god, for rain. Wrong move!
• Elijahs prophecies would deal with Ahab and Baal

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Baal v. God

• The people of Israel were split with half
  worshiping God and the other half worshiping Baal
• Baal had been around
• Permeated ancient life in the Middle and Near
  East for centuries
• The Semetic word Baal, lord, owner, and husband
  were synonomous
• Had several incarnations and idols

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Baal v. God the Showdown

• Elijah orchestrated a publish showdown between
  God and Baal at Gods behest
• 1 Kings 1831-39
• Focused on fire, a supposed strength of Baal
• Elijah had chosen a priest for the
  sacrifice-showdown
• Bulls were used to atone for the sins of priests,
  underlining the fact that what was about to
  happen was the pure power of God, not the
  priest/Elijah
• Elijah also chose 12 stones for the alter for the
  12 tribes

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Baal v. God the Showdown

• Elijah doused the alter with water three times
• Used saltwater, salt was symbolic because it
  preserved food, sustained livestock, was
  medication, and a symbol of fidelity
• Salt represented the priests own self being
  surrendered in the sacrifice
• King Ahab had heard of the showdown, became very
  impressed
• Told his wife, Jezebel, who was not

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Elijah and Jezebel, not so frenemies

• Jezebel became furious when she learned of
  Elijahs actions
• Jezebel was a devout worshiper of Baal
• Threatened Elijahs life
• Elijah, fearing death and not trusting God, ran
• Elijah ran to Mount Sinai
• God began to tend to the needs of Elijah in
  hiding
• First by Angels, then through the word of God,
  Gods self
• Go never condemned Elijah for hiding, speaking to
  him in sheer silence
• Elijah eventually shed his fear and returned to
  prophesying

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Elijah, one of the Greats

• Notable miracles of Elijah (pg. 129)
• Elijah received food from a raven
• Elijah multiplied a poor widows pantry
• Elijah raised a child from the dead
• Elijah caused a kings soldiers to be consumed by
  fire
• Elijah parted the Jordan river
• Elijah rode to heaven in a flaming chariot

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Walking in Elijahs footsteps Elisha

• Elisha
• A youthful prophet who replaced Elijah as
  Israels oracle
• Was the apprentice of Elijah, but had a different
  style
• Elijah fought evil
• Elisha inspired good
• When asked by Elijah what he wanted as Elijah was
  leaving, Elisha replied
• let me inherit a double share of your spirit.
  (2 Kings 29)

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