chapter 60
BEFORE THEY WERE LOST
Under King Solomon , Israel was a united , rich and powerful kingdom , due to the fact that he kept the people in strict observance of Almighty God’s laws and away from pagan practices of Sabbath breaking and idolatry . This is one key reasons why today , Solomon is known for his wisdom .
When Solomon died in 940 BC he left the kingdom to his son , Rehoboam , who treated the people with cruel leadership that provoked a revolution , led by a prominent man from the tribe of Ephraim , named Jeroboam .
This is spoken of in 1 Kings 12 verse 20 and 2 chronicles 10 verse 3 . 1 kings 12 verse 19 says , Israel “ rebelled against the House of David unto this day “ . Since David was of the tribe of Judah this meant the ten tribes of Israel rebelled against the House of Judah .
Following the revolt Jeroboam was made king over all Israel .
This was the moment Israel split into two kingdoms , the Northern Kingdom , ten tribes situated in the region of Samaria the Bible continue to call Israel , was led by Jeroboam and the southern kingdom named Judah consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin as well as the Levites .
Judah was led by King Rehoboam and its headquarters remained in Jerusalem.
These two kingdoms were the whole family of Israel .