God s People The decline & fall of the kingdom(s) Forest Hills Bible Chapel March 30, 2014 Growing communities, rooted in God s love and story, reaching out and restoring lives.

The Kingdom of Israel David- conqueror, temple plans, psalms

The Kingdom of Israel David- conqueror, temple plans, psalms Solomon politician, temple built, proverbs Affluent, Influential and Blessed Gift of Wisdom - Curse of Disobedience Do as I say..not as I do.

1 Kings 11:1-13 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods. Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. In Solomon s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done.

chosen city. (NLT) On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord s command. So now the Lord said to him, Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my

The Northern Kingdom (10 tribes / Israel) Jeroboam (servant) / mostly bad kings Capital (Dan / Bethel / Samaria) Immediately Disobedient and Pluralistic Key Prophets: Elijah, Amos, Hosea

The Northern Kingdom (10 tribes / Israel) Jeroboam (servant) / mostly bad kings Capital (Dan / Bethel / Samaria) Immediately Disobedient and Pluralistic Key Prophets: Elijah, Amos, Hosea The Southern Kingdom (2 tribes / Judah) Rehoboam (son) / bad & good kings Capital Jerusalem / Temple King Josiah child king, very good Key Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezk.

2 Kings 17:9 (Israel) Northern Kingdom The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the Lord their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city. (NLT)

1 Kings 18:36-39 (Israel) Northern Kingdom At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself. Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, The Lord he is God! Yes, the Lord is God! (NLT)

Amos 7:7-9 (Israel) Northern Kingdom Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. And the Lord said to me, Amos, what do you see? I answered, A plumb line. And the Lord replied, I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. The pagan shrines of your ancestors will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end. (NLT)

Solomon & Israel s Sin: Secret / Private: daily worship /remembering the word / acting on prophetic accountability Public / Eventful : marrying foreign wives, setting up idols, idol worship

Solomon & Israel s Sin: Secret / Private: daily worship /remembering the word / acting on prophetic accountability Public / Eventful : marrying foreign wives, setting up idols, idol worship Disobedience in private/small things leads to disobedience in public/big things.

Solomon & Israel s Sin: Secret / Private: daily worship /remembering the word / acting on prophetic accountability Public / Eventful : marrying foreign wives, setting up idols, idol worship Disobedience in private/small things leads to disobedience in public/big things. Remove sinful habits - Replace w/godly habits

2 Kings 17:3-6 (Israel) Northern Kingdom King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria. But Hoshea stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt to help him shake free of Assyria s power. When the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized Hoshea and put him in prison. Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria. Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. (NLT)

so Israel s stump will be a holy seed. (NLT) Isaiah 6:8-13 (Judah) Southern Kingdom Then I heard the Lord asking, Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us? I said, Here I am. Send me. And he said, Yes, go, and say to this people, Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing. Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing. Then I said, Lord, how long will this go on? And he replied, Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland; until the Lord has sent everyone away, and the entire land of Israel lies deserted. If even a tenth a remnant survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down,

2 Kings 22:1-2, 11, 13; 23:1-2 (Judah) Southern Kingdom Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years..he did what was pleasing in the Lord s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right. (One of his officials finds the book of the law) When the king (not a teenager) heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. Go to the Temple and speak to the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found. For the Lord s great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do.

And the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord s Temple. (NLT)

Joel 2:12-13 (Judah) Southern Kingdom That is why the Lord says, Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. (NLT)

their sins. (NLT) Jeremiah 31:31-34 (Judah) Southern Kingdom The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, You should know the Lord. For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already, says the Lord. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember

2 Chronicles 36:15-20 (Judah) Southern Kingdom The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done. So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the Lord s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials. Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value. The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. (NLT)

God s Mercy for Judah: God loves Judah: Compassionate, Forgiving, Warns God s covenants: Remnant, Holy seed, New Hearts God judges Judah: Disobedient just like Israel; Exiled

God s Mercy for Judah: God loves Judah: Compassionate, Forgiving, Warns God s covenants: Remnant, Holy seed, New Hearts God judges Judah: Disobedient just like Israel; Exiled God s judgments come with repentive warnings, mercy and hope.

God s Mercy for Judah: God loves Judah: Compassionate, Forgiving, Warns God s covenants: Remnant, Holy seed, New Hearts God judges Judah: Disobedient just like Israel; Exiled God s judgments come with repentive warnings, mercy and hope. Repenting = Tearing your heart in despair Remembering = Training your mind in hope

Psalm 77:11-12 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. (NLT)