An Historical Perspective for the Book of Mormon ~ Divided Kingdoms Ripen for Destruction



Before I go any further, I want to review what was happening historically amongst the descendants of Jacob/Israel.  Last week, I wrote about the land being divided amongst the twelve tribes, with Levi being scattered as the priests of Israel and Ephraim and Manasseh replacing their father, Joseph.  They remained a loose confederation of tribes governed by judges.

But Israel was different amongst her neighbors.  The other kingdoms of the time has kings, so the Israelites bothered the Lord for a king of their own, forgetting that He was to be their king.  Ultimately, God called a young man named Saul through the Prophet Samuel.  Saul began as a good man, but power corrupts and Saul was corrupted.  He was repeatedly disobedient and ultimately insane.  The kingship was removed from Saul and given to a young Jew named David.

David also began as a great king, but made one huge moral mistake which altered the course of his life.  He was a warrior king who expanded the borders of Israel far beyond their original bounds.  After David's death, his son, Solomon, became king. 

Solomon continued to expand the kingdom to its farthest reaches.  He owned salt mines and gold mines, smelters of both iron and steel, jewels, and great wealth.  It was he who oversaw the building of the great temple in Jerusalem.

In addition to his wealth, Solomon was renowned for his wisdom.  Many of the Proverbs in the Old Testament are attributed to him.  But not all was well in the kingdom.  Like his father and Saul before him, Solomon began his life as a pure and sincere young man, asking God only for an understanding heart.  But as time went on, he took many wives and concubines, many to seal political alliances.  These women from other lands brought their own "gods" with them.  Solomon could fight his enemies, but he had no defence from his wives and Israel fell into apostasy.

 

Political intrigue abounded as well, and at Solomon's death, there was civil dissension that led to war.  It wasn't long before the great kingdom of David and Solomon broke in two, becoming the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim with it's capitol at Samaria and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, headquarters at Jerusalem.  This weakened both kingdoms which ultimately led to the next chapter of this story.

 

Text copyright June 2013 Gebara Education
 

Picture of Saul from www.nachaloomin.wordpress.com

Map of Solomon's kingdom from www.globalsecurity.org

Map of a divided Israel from www.toywonders.com