All rights reserved. Again, this is God speaking through His prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam. This means God has set Jerusalem to always be inhabited by Judah, but not necessarily as ruler over all Israel. After the twelve tribes of Israel sojourned out of Egypt led by God through Moses, they eventually settled in the land of Canaan after doing battle against God’s enemies. Israel divided into two kingdoms. Solomon's son Rehoboam took the throne in Jerusalem.But he lacked the skill to keep Israel … For those who read the Bible, it's important to know about the split in order to have a better understanding of the Scriptures. According to God yes, but according to man no. The promised blessings that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all applied to the 12 tribes of Israel (see, for example, Genesis 49:1-28). After this event of rebellion by the northern tribes against the ‘house of Judah’, these tribes then set Jeroboam up as their king in the north: I King 12:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David My servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”, In these verses of I Kings 11 is given by God the reason for the split of the Nation of Israel into two separate ‘kingdoms’. God was angered at Solomon's disregard of the First Commandments. Saul, from the tribe Benjamin was selected to reign over all Israel, but God eventually chose David, from the tribe of Judah, (unbroken in blood lineage, all the way back to the ‘eth’ Ha adham’), which is in line with His promise that Judah would always keep the ‘Sceptre’ of rulership over Israel (Gen.49:10). Exod.20:5 “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”. Since Levi is not to have any national heritage of land as the other tribes, i.e., their heritage being of God, they are always figured in with the tribe of Judah (Num.3 & 18). Dave Ramey. The punishment for such grievous and public sins was to split the ancient kingdom by tearing ten of Israel's tribes away from Solomon's ruling dynasty (1Kings 11:11, 29 - 32). On the whole, Judah remained more faithful to Jehovah. This phrase ‘build thee a sure house’ means God will give Jeroboam a kingdom of ‘the right hand’, or of justice and moral followers. Because Solomon was given Wisdom by God making him powerful upon the earth, all the other nations feared his Wisdom and strength from God, and thus peace and free trade between the heathen nations ensued. Which tribe would that be? But we can’t forget that God is omniscient and He is always completely just. The spiritual reason why the kingdoms split into was that they would not serve God fully. On great feasts the inhabitants of the Israelite kingdom went to worship God in the Temple in Jerusalem which did not please King Jeroboam. What is truly amazing to me is how Solomon, who had direct experience from our Father’s Holy Presence, and yet, he still refused to turn away from idols. (See chapter 1 of this manual, “Solomon: Man of Wisdom, Man of Foolishness.”) After the death of Solomon, a schism over taxation divided the nation into two kingdoms. He then promoted the lowest of the People to be priests over these idols for the People to serve (I Kings 12:27-31). by admin - January 12, 2014 0. The nation of Israel became two separate kingdoms. Does this mean then that wherever the majority of the ten tribes are located, those are to be known as Israel? If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.””. The first king was this Jeroboam, the king God set over the ten tribes in the north, the ‘house of Israel’. and have not walked in my ways.”. If it hadn’t happened, the western Christian nations would not exist as they do today. In this way the Kingdom of Israel was divided into two: Judah and Israel.