THE CRISIS (WITHIN AND WITHOUT)

Lesson 2 for October 10, 2015

CRISIS

WITHIN

From Joshua to Solomon

± 1400 – 931 BC

The divided

kingdom

± 931 – 586 BC

WITHOUT

Babylon

CAUSES

Mistakes

Attitudes

FROM JOSHUA TO SOLOMON“And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.” (Judges 2:12)

CAUSES OF THE CRISIS GOD’S SOLUTION

The judges

The people turned away from God and worshipped other gods.

The unified kingdom

Solomon turned away from God and worshipped other gods.

± 1400 – 1050 BC

He sent judges to deliver them. He also unified the kingdom.

± 1050 – 931 BC

He divided the kingdom. He let them suffer the consequences of their mistakes.

T H E D I V I D E D K I N G D O M“Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” (1 Kings 12:28)

1. The Northern Kingdom, Israel. Ten tribes led by Jeroboam.

2. The Southern Kingdom, Judah. Two tribes led by Rehoboam, Solomon’s son.

Israel quickly left God behind and began to worship calves that Jeroboam made. No king in Israel was faithful to God.Finally, Shalmaneser—King of Assyria—destroyed the kingdom.

After Solomon died, the 12 tribes were divided into 2 kingdoms:

THE DIVIDED KINGDOM“But he [Amon] did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them.” (2 Chronicles 33:22)

The kings of the Southern Kingdom were mostly faithful to God.Nevertheless, apostasy spread throughout the kingdom since the destruction of the Northern Kingdom.

The two worst kings reigned in that time: Manasseh and Amon (2 Chronicles 33: 9, 22).God sent many prophets to avoid the consequences of their sins.

CRISIS WITHOUT: BABYLON“And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him.” (Jeremiah 27:6)

God didn’t abandon His people during that crisis. Nevertheless, the people was severely disciplined so they could come back and enjoy full divine communion.God began to submit all nations to Babylon since they defeated Egypt in Carchemish in 605 BC.God used Jeremiah to tell the people of Judah to surrender to Babylon.The people didn’t believe God would fulfill His word. They went unrepentant for 20 years, since King Jehoiakim until King Zedekiah.

M I S TA K E S“For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)

God had promised protection and prosperity if Israel was faithful (Jer. 2:2-3). However, the people abandoned God (“the fountain of living waters”) and worshipped idols (“broken cisterns”).

“The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’”

“Those who handle the law did not know Me.”

“The rulers also transgressed against Me.” “The prophets prophesied by Baal, and

walked after things that do not profit.”

What did their leaders do (Jeremiah 2:8)?

AT T I T U D E S

The Jews fooled themselves. They thought they were good people and God would never punish them (Jer. 2:23).There was a saying: “The temple of the Lord are these” (Jer. 7:4). Everything was alright. As long as they worshipped God in the temple, everything else didn’t matter?They ignored God’s warnings. They didn’t meditated on their ways. They didn’t regret their sinful thoughts.That’s a strong warning for us. How is your relationship with God today? Is religion just form for you? Have you surrendered your heart to God? Are you living in communion with God every day?

“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; see now and know; and seek in her open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth, and I will pardon her.” (Jeremiah 5:1)

“It will be well for us to consider what is soon to come upon the earth. This is no time for trifling or self-seeking. If the times in which we are living fail to impress our minds seriously, what can reach us? Do not the Scriptures call for a more pure and holy work than we have yet seen?”

E.G.W. (Selected Messages, book 2, cp. 53, pg. 400)