| THE NATION SPLITS APART |
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| The North: A Perpetual Slide Downward Ironically, the North seceded as part of a reform movement, to correct some of the excesses of Solomon's reign. But starting with the first king, Jeroboam, no king of Israel did what was right in God's eyes. The book of Kings condemns all the Northern kings. Northern kings brought idoltary into their religion and corruption into their politics. They adopted all the oppressive ways that had sparked the original rebellion: harsh taxation, repression of prophets, abuse of power. Of 19 Northern kings, eight either were murdered or committed suicide. One king, Zimri, lasted only seven days. The worst rulers, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, introtuced the terrible practice of Baal worship. Israel hit its spiritual low point, and Ahab replaced Jeroboam as a symbol of evil. Kings to follow wre called "Ahabs" much as a ruthless tyrant today is compared with Hitler. Israel's future destruction became certain; after Ahab and Jezebel, the nation was merely marking time. The South: A Surprising Twist While Israel - which began as a reform movement - slid toward disaster, the two tribes in the South, Judah, proved more faithful to God. The produced at least a handful of good kings. Even when other nations took advantage of Judah's weakness and plundered Jerusalem, the nation still held together. Idolatry plagued Judah also, but not the same extent as in the North. The temple remained a powerful symbol of worship of the true God. And every few generations a sincere, committed king arose to sweep away his predecessors' dangerous practices. The authors pointedly note that these good kings usually outlived the bad rulers. |
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