Alrighty, so we’re in the process of examining the history of the first Temple of Israel built by Solomon.
Yesterday, I gave you a brief snapshot of the timeline.
Solomon finished building the Temple in Jerusalem around 960 B.C.
From that point on, it stayed in operation for a good 400 years or so, until the Babylonians leveled it to the ground in 586 B.C.
So what happened after that?
Well, after Solomon passed away, Israel fell into a devastating civil war that split the nation.
The 12 tribes that had prospered under David and Solomon’s rule divided along old tribal rivalries.
These internal conflicts can be traced all the way back to the Exodus.
That’s right.
The northern and southern divisions had actually existed since the days of Exodus.
So when the kingdom finally cracked, it tore right along those same seams.
After Solomon’s death, you had two kingdoms:
Judah, ruled by Rehoboam in the south.
And Israel, ruled by Jeroboam in the north.
So what’s the key point I wanna give today?
I’ve actually covered this before.
But since it’s so freakin’ important to understanding the rest of the Bible, and even for prophecy in our modern age, it behooves me to review it again with you.
So here’s what’s up.
Over the next several chapters and books of the Old Testament, we’re gonna be reading about the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel.
But here’s what flies over most folks’ heads.
The kingdom called Israel did NOT consist of all twelve tribes.
It was only made up of the 10 tribes in the north.
And after the civil war split Solomon’s kingdom, it only went by the name “Israel” for a few decades.
After that, the 10 northern tribe coalition started going by the name “Ephraim.”
Why?
Because over time, the tribe of Ephraim became the strongest tribe in that northern kingdom.
Ya feeling me here?
So, to sum things up, everything I’ve just explained can be boiled down to these two simple facts.
Fact 1:
Within 30 to 50 years after Solomon died in 925 B.C., there were two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Judah in the south and the Kingdom of Ephraim in the north.
Fact 2:
The northern kingdom was originally called “Israel,” but also started going by the name “Ephraim.”
You’ll often see both names used to refer to the northern coalition.
So what amazing takeaway can we extract from all of this?
The amazing takeaway is simple, man.
Get this info thoroughly embedded into the deepest recesses of your cranium.
Because as I’ve been saying.
All of this is integral to you being able to understand the rest of Scripture.
And future prophecy yet to come.
Ya feel me?
Done.
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