An Historical Perspective for the Book of Mormon ~ David, Solomon, & Civil War

David and Solomon

 

Eventually, the people weren’t satisfied with judges.  They wanted to have a king like all of their neighbors and so God reluctantly gave them a king.  King Saul began as a good man, but power can corrupt and it corrupted Saul.  The throne was taken from him and given to a young man named David.

It was under King David that the nation of Israel became a force to be reckoned with in the area.  David increased the territory held by Israel and kept her borders safe.  Even today, Jews look back on the reign of David as the golden age for the Children of Israel.

David’s son, Solomon, continued to expand the nation’s borders.  He built a temple in Jerusalem and was known throughout the world for his riches and his wisdom.

Civil War/Two Kingdoms

But after Solomon’s death in about 950 B.C. Israel experienced civil war.  The  ten northern tribes broke away and became the Kingdom of Israel, headquartered in Samaria.  The southern land become known as the Kingdom of Judah, headquartered in Jerusalem.  It was home to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, along with Levites living in the area.

The Kingdom of Judah had only 3 righteous kings in its 350 year history.  The Kingdom of Israel had none.  However, the Lord continued to reach out to His people.  He sent prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, and Jonah to the Northern Kingdom of Israel and other prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Micah, Lehi, and Nahum to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Those in the Kingdom of Israel didn’t listen and in about 720 B.C., the Assyrians conquered Samaria and deported the Israelites who survived the war.  So profound was the disruption that the ten northern tribes  disappeared as a cultural group and to this day, no one knows for sure where they are.  They are often called The Lost Ten Tribes.

At the time of the Assyrian onslaught, Judah had a righteous king, Hezekiah.  King Hezekiah listened to the prophet Isaiah and, as a result, the Kingdom of Judah was saved. Hezekiah was followed to the throne by his wicked son, Manasseh, and the people again fell into wickedness.  There was a brief respite with the reign of the righteous King Josiah, but after his death, the Kingdom of Judah was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, in about 600 B.C.  The last king of Judah, Zedekiah, was taken blinded and in chains to Babylon.

Before the conquest, however, the Lord again sent prophets to warn the people. The people had become arrogant and prideful.  They claimed responsibility for their own blessings and forgot God. “It can’t happen to us,” they said. “It can’t happen here.  The Assyrians didn’t conquer us because we were too great. No one will destroy Jerusalem.  No one will destroy the temple.”  People in the midst of sin don’t like having their sins pointed out to them.  When prophets of God like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lehi, warned them that Jerusalem would be destroyed unless the people repented, they scorned and ridiculed and sought to kill the prophets.   But it did happen there.  Jerusalem – the “holy city” - was destroyed

 

It is at this point in history – immediately prior to the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah - that the story of the Book of Mormon begins.

Text copyright June 2013 Gebara Education

Picture of King David's statue (Michelangelo) from multiple sources on the web
Picture of Solomon's Temple from yahoo images
Map of divided kingdome from www.wikipedia.com 
Picture of the Prophet Isaiah from www.christianimageresources.com