Outline Studies in the Old Testament for Bible Teachers Part 16

4. A few =families united with the Jews=, returned with them to Pal'es-tine after the exile, yet retained their tribal relations.h.i.+p; for example, An'na (Luke 2. 36).

Blackboard Outline

III. =Kin. Isr.= 1. Ext. 9,375. 2. Cap. 1.) Sh. 2.) Tir. 3.) Sam.

3. Rel. 1.) Wor. cal. 2.) Wor. Ba. 3.) Wor. Jeh. 4. Rul.

1.) Hou. Jer. 2.) Hou. Ba. 3.) Hou. Om. 4.) Hou. Je.

5.) Hou. Men. 5. For. Rel. 1.) Per. Div. 2.) Per. All.

3.) Per. Syr. Asc. 4.) Per. Isr. Asc. 5.) Per. a.s.s. Asc.

IV. =Fat. Ten. Tri.= 1. Min. Gen. 2. Sam. Peo. 3. Disp. 4. Jews.

Review Questions

How long did the new kingdom of Is'ra-el last? What was its extent? What were its three successive capitals? What three forms of religion were found in it? Who was the first king of the ten tribes? What family introduced foreign idolatry? How many kings ruled over the ten tribes? What were the five royal houses? Which house raised Is'ra-el almost to its ancient power? What is this period of prosperity called? Who was the greatest king of Is'ra-el? With what other history is that of Is'ra el interwoven?

What were the five periods in the foreign relations of Is'ra-el? By what kingdom was Is'ra-el destroyed? Who was its last king? What finally became of the ten tribes?

THIRTEENTH STUDY

The Kingdom of Judah

I. =General Aspects of the Kingdom of Ju'dah.=

1. =Its territory.= It embraced the mountain portion of the tribe of Ju'dah, from the Dead Sea to the Phi-lis'tine plain; a part of Ben'ja-min, in which tribe the larger part of Je-ru'sa-lem stood; and also a part of Dan (Chron. 11. 10). Sim'e-on was nominally within its border, but was practically given up to the A-ra'bi-ans of the desert; E'dom was tributary, though often in rebellion, and finally independent (1 Kings 22. 47; 2 Kings 8. 20); Phi-lis'ti-a was outside of its boundary. Its extent was about 3,435 square miles, about half the area of Ma.s.sachusetts.

2. =Its government= was a monarchy, with but one family on the throne, the line of Da'vid, in direct succession, with the exception of Ath-a-li'ah's usurpation (2 Kings 11. 1-3), through nineteen reigns.

3. =Its religion.= Through all the history we find two forms of wors.h.i.+p strongly opposed to each other, yet both rooted in the nation. 1.) The wors.h.i.+p of Je-ho'vah through the temple, the priesthood, and the prophets. 2.) But side by side with this pure religion was the wors.h.i.+p of idols upon "high places," probably begun as a form of wors.h.i.+ping Je-ho'vah, but degenerating into gross and immoral idolatry. There was a struggle going on constantly between these two elements in the state, the spiritual and the material. Notwithstanding the efforts of reforming kings like Je-hosh'a-phat, Hez-e-ki'ah, and Jo-si'ah, the general tendency was downward.

II. =The Duration of the Kingdom.= The kingdom lasted from B. C. 934 to 587--more than one hundred and thirty years longer than Is'ra-el.

Reasons for its endurance may have been:

1. =Its retired situation=: hemmed in by mountains and deserts; at a distance from the ordinary lines of travel; not in the direct path of conquest from any other nation. Ju'dah had few foreign wars as compared with Is'ra-el.

2. =The unity of its people.= They were not ten tribes loosely connected, but one tribe, with a pa.s.sionate love of their nation and a pride in their blood.

3. =Its concentration at Je-ru'sa-lem.= Through all its history there was but one capital, where the palace of the king and the temple of the Lord were standing together.

4. =The reverence for the House of Da'vid= also kept the people together. There was no change in dynasty, and the loyalty of the people grew stronger through the generations toward the family on the throne.

There being no usurpers, the throne was permanent until destroyed by foreign power.

5. =The purity of its religion= tended to keep the nation united and to keep it in existence. No bond of self-interest or of blood will hold a people together as strongly as the tie of religion. Ju'dah's strength was in the measure of her service of G.o.d, and when she renounced Je-ho'vah her doom came speedily.

III. =Periods in the History.= Though Ju'dah was not without political contact with other nations, yet its history is the record of internal events rather than external relations. We may divide its history into four epochs.

1. =The first decline and revival.= 1.) The reigns of Re-ho-bo'am and A-bi'jah marked a decline indicated by the E-gyp'tian invasion and the growth of idolatry. 2.) The reign of A'sa and Je-hosh'a-phat showed a revival in reformation, progress, and power. Under Je-hosh'a-phat, Ju'dah was at the height of prosperity. This was the time of peace with Is'ra-el and of strength at home and abroad (2 Chron. 17. 5; 20. 30).

2. =The second decline and revival.= 1.) For nearly two hundred years after the death of Je-hosh'a-phat the course of Ju'dah was downward.

E'dom was lost under Je-ho'ram (2 Chron. 21. 8); the Ba'al-ite idolatry was introduced by the usurping queen, Ath-a-li'ah (2 Kings 11. 18); the land was again and again invaded under Jo'ash and Am-a-zi'ah, and Je-ru'sa-lem itself was taken and plundered. 2.) But a great reformation was wrought under Hez-e-ki'ah, who was the best and wisest of the kings of Ju'dah, and the kingdom again rose to power, even daring to throw off the As-syr'i-an yoke and defy the anger of the mightiest king then on the earth. At this time came the great event of the destruction of the As-syr'i-an host (2 Kings 19. 35).

3. =The third decline and revival.= 1.) The reforms of Hez-e-ki'ah were short-lived, for his son Ma-nas'seh was both the longest in reigning and the wickedest of the kings, and his late repentance did not stay the tide of corruption which he had let loose (2 Kings 21. 10-17; 2 Chron.

33. 1-18). The wickedness of Ma-nas'seh's reign was the great moral cause of the kingdom's destruction, for from it no reform afterward could lift the ma.s.s of the people. 2.) Jo-si'ah, the young reformer, attempted the task, but his efforts, though earnest, were only measurably successful, and after his untimely death the kingdom hastened to its fall (2 Kings 23. 29).

4. =The final decline and fall.= 1.) The political cause of the destruction of the kingdom was the rise of Bab'y-lon. The old As-syr'i-an empire went down about B. C. 625, and a struggle followed between Bab'y-lon and E'gypt for the supremacy. Ju'dah took the side of E'gypt, which proved to be the losing side. 2.) After several chastis.e.m.e.nts and repeated rebellions Je-ru'sa-lem was finally destroyed by Neb-u-chad-nez'zar, king of Bab'y-lon, and the kingdom of Ju'dah was extinguished, B. C. 587.

Blackboard Outline

I. =Gen. Asp. Kin. Jud.= 1. Terr. Tri. Jud. 3,435 m. 2. Gov. mon.

3. Rel. 1.) Jeh. 2.) Idol.

II. =Dur. Kin.= 1. Ret. sit. 2. Un. peo. 3. Conc. Jer. 4. Rev. Ho.

Dav. 5. Pur. rel.

III. =Per. Hist.= 1. Fir. dec. rev. 1.) Dec. Reho. Abi. 2.) Rev.

As. Jehosh.

2. Sec. dec. rev. 1.) Dec. 200 y. 2.) Rev. Hez.

3. Thi. dec. rev. 1.) Dec. Man. 2.) Rev. Jos.

4. Fin. dec. fal. 1.) Ris. Bab. 2.) Des. Jer.

Review Questions

What was embraced in the kingdom of Ju'dah? What was its area? How was it governed? What was its religion?

What was a.s.sociated with the wors.h.i.+p of Je-ho'vah?

What was the religious tendency of the people? How long did the kingdom of Ju'dah last? What were the causes of this duration? What were the periods in its history? Under what kings was the first decline? Who led in a revival and reformation? Who was the greatest of the kings of Ju'dah? What took place during the second decline? Who was the usurping queen? What did this queen try to do? Who wrought the second great reformation? What was the character of this king? What great destruction of Ju'dah's enemies took place at this time? Which reign was both longest, wickedest, and most evil in its results? Who attempted a third reformation? What was the result of his endeavor? What was the political cause of the fall of Ju'dah? By what nation and by what king was Je-ru'sa-lem finally destroyed?

FOURTEENTH STUDY

The Captivity of Judah

PART ONE

I. We must distinguish between the =Captivity of Is'ra-el= and that of =Ju'dah=.

1. The captivity of Is'ra-el took place B. C. 721, that of Ju'dah B. C.

587. The southern kingdom lasted one hundred and thirty-four years longer than the northern.

2. Is'ra-el was taken captive by the As-syr'i-ans under Sar'gon; Ju'dah by the Chal-de'ans under Neb-u-chad-nez'zar.

3. Is'ra-el was taken to the lands south of the Cas'pi-an Sea (2 Kings 17. 6); Ju'dah to Chal-de'a, by the river Eu-phra'tes (Psa. 137. 1).

4. Is'ra-el never returned from its captivity, which was the end of its history; but Ju'dah was brought back from its captivity and again became a flouris.h.i.+ng state, though subject to foreign nations during most of its after history.