Now that the kingdom of Israel has been taken off to exile in Assyria, we will turn to the Kingdom of Judah. Let’s recap what brought us to this point: Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son, became king over the complete nation of Israel which had been ruled by David and his father, Solomon. Soon after he ascended to the throne, Rehoboam was asked by the people to reduce their taxes and the mandatory labor that they had been forced to do under his father. Unfortunately, instead of listening to his wise advisors who encouraged him to win the people’s love by lightening their burden, Rehoboam followed the counsel of his inexperienced advisors who told him that he needed to make a show of strength by increasing the people’s taxes and mandatory labor. This went over like tofu at a bacon convention and 10 tribes broke away from king Rehoboam and formed the nation of Israel…the nation whose demise we have spent the last few weeks following.

Today, we will begin tracking the nation of Judah by going back to the breakup of the original nation of Israel. This will involve a return to the book of 1st Kings where we will follow Judah through their own struggles and celebrations. Here we will see that these events are the means by which God calls them out of their sin to His forgiveness and continues his plan of Salvation.