Brief Overview of Israel’s History
A very brief overview of Israelite history is essential to understand the prophets’ message. Throughout their history Israel had strayed from God and he was calling them to repentance, and back to him, through the prophets.
God used Moses to bring his people, Israel, out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land, Canaan. Because of their faithlessness they spent forty years wandering in the desert while the older generation died. With the exception of Caleb and Joshua, they were spared because of their faith in what God could do. God established a covenant relationship with his people, the seal of which was circumcision. The people agreed to obey God and his commands and he would be their God and watch over them, he promised to be with them always (Genesis through Deuteronomy).
God settled Israel, the twelve tribes of Jacob, into the Promised Land over time (book of Joshua). Not all at once because she wasn’t strong or numerous enough to populate and care for the land so it had to be a gradual process (Deut 7:22-23). Following their conquest of Canaan Israel enters the period of about 330 years referred to as the Period of the Judges (book of Judges). During this time the generation that entered the promised land died and the next generation grew up and didn’t know the Lord (Judges 2:10). God raised up judges to lead the people and save them from their enemies. After several hundred years of Judges the people wanted to have a King so they could be like the nations around them. God, although not wanting to do this, grants their request and establishes Saul as the first King over Israel. Saul eventually stops following God and God removes his spirit from Saul and promises to replace him as King. David is anointed as Saul’s successor although many years pass while David is allowed to go through trials to prepare him for the Kingship. After Saul’s death, David ruled the nation of Israel for forty years (1 Samuel 17 – 2 Samuel 24). His son Solomon succeeds him. Solomon ruled Israel for forty years (I Kings 1 –11); among many other accomplishments, he is allowed by God, to build the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6). After Solomon’s death his son Rehoboam succeeded him to the throne. Rehoboam made a series of bad decisions that led to a rebellion among the people, eventually of the twelve tribes all but the tribe of Judah rejected Rehoboam as king. (I Kings 12).
The nation of Israel is divided at this time.
There is a long succession of kings in both the Northern & Southern Kingdoms (1Kings 12 – 2 Kings & 1 & 2 Chronicles). Neither Judah nor Israel is following God the way they were commanded. Israel has the more blatant sin of false worship and Judah occasionally falls into worshipping the gods of the neighboring nations. God would send a prophet to either the Northern or Southern Kingdoms to preach a message of repentance. God is always calling his people back to them. In his messages through the prophets God promises that if they don’t repent he will allow his people to go into captivity, to bring them to their senses. The Northern Kingdom was captured by the Assyrians within about 200 years (721 BC) and the Southern Kingdom was captured by the Babylonians, who had already conquered the Assyrian Empire) within about 350 years (606 BC). The temple was at this time destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon when he overthrew Jerusalem (2 Kings 25). The wall surrounding Jerusalem was broken down, the people were carried into exile and the temple was burnt to the ground, including the Ark of the Covenant.
The temple is significant in Israel’s history. Established on Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered Isaac on the altar and where David built an altar on the threshing floor at Arunah (1 Chronicles 21:16-30, 1Chronicles 22:1 & 2 Chronicles 3:1). The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies –where the glory of the Lord resided.
After being in captivity under the Babylonian Empire for about 70 years, the Jews are allowed to return to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the temple. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah cover this period. In Ezra, Cyrus King of Persia sends the Jews back to rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem, during the rebuilding he dies and is succeeded by four different kings over a period of 60 years. The temple is completed during Darius’ reign (Ezra 6:15). Ezra & Nehemiah return to Jerusalem with another wave of the remnant during the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia. Nehemiah is the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes and he requests permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall surrounding the city, which is also completed (Nehemiah 6:15). Under Nehemiah’s direction leaders of the remnant settled in Jerusalem, under a system of lots people from every tribe were allowed to move back into Jerusalem to begin living and worshipping, as God has commanded. Nehemiah brought about many reforms in worship to bring the people in obedience to Gods commands. When they came out of captivity, they came as a united nation, no longer separated by tribes and were under the Governorship of Zerubbabel and then Nehemiah until the time of the prophet Malachi’s writing.