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Bible Maps - Divided Kingdom - part 1

Bible overview
Maps of Judah and Israel.
1
King Solomon: Administrative Districts. <br/>Solomon’s many projects exacted an economic toll on his own people. To provide for the needs of his royal court, Solomon divided up Israel’s territory into twelve administrative districts and assigned each one responsibility for one month’s royal provisions every year (1 Kings 4:1-38). After Solomon’s death, Rehoboam’s refusal to lighten this heavy tax burden led most of the northern tribes to revolt against the rule of David’s family and set up Jeroboam as king (1 Kings 11-12; 2 Chronicles 10). – Slide 1
2
King Solomon – mine at Timna. <br/>The Arabah Valley was home to two extremely productive wealth generators for King Solomon. Solomon capitalised on his unfettered access to the Red Sea by launching a fleet of trading ships from Ezion-geber. These ships would return every few years loaded with immense riches and exotic goods from faraway lands (1 Kings 9:26-28; 2 Chronicles 8:17-18; 9:21). The great copper mines of Timna, with 10,000 mine shafts and tunnels, produced vast wealth for Solomon during his long reign. Originally controlled and worked by Egypt for over a thousand years. – Slide 2
3
King Rehoboam and the Divided Kingdom. <br/>After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king. many other Israelites demanded that Rehoboam lighten the heavy taxation burdern Solomon had placed on them, but Rehoboam rejected their request and threatened to inflict even heavier burdens on them. So the ten northern tribes rejected Rehoboam’s rule and set up Jeroboam as king. Only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained loyal to Rehoboam and the Davidic dynasty. – Slide 3
4
Nations across the Jordan. <br/>The small nations of Ammon, Moab, and Edom lay east of the Jordan River, and the people of these nations were distantly related to the Israelites. David eventually subjugated the Moabites and the Edomites (2 Samuel 8:2-14; 1 Chronicles 18:2-13), but many years later they regained their independence (2 Kings 1:1; 3; 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10). – Slide 4
5
King Asa and border conflict between Judah and Israel. <br/>Around 895 B.C., a few decades after Israel divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, a border dispute erupted between the two nations. King Baasha of Israel seized the strategic Judean border town of Ramah and fortified it to gain control over all routes leading to and from Judah along its northern border. King Asa bribed King Ben-hadad of Aram to attack Israel, capturing Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, the area of Kinnereth, and all Naphtali. – Slide 5
6
King Asa defeats Zerah. <br/>Asa fortified many of the towns throughout Judah. These efforts raised concerns among the Cushite peoples who dwelt along the western coast of Arabia (see Genesis 10:6-7), who likely feared that Asa was trying to tighten his control over important international trade routes that passed through southern Judah. A Cushite named Zerah gathered a massive army to fight Asa in battle at the Valley of Zephathah. The Lord struck down the Cushites, and they fled. – Slide 6
7
King Jehoshaphat and King Jehoram attack Moab. <br/>Soon after King Jehoram ascended to the throne of Israel in 852 B.C., he invited King Jehoshaphat of Judah to go with him to attack Moab. They chose to approach Moab from the south instead of the north. Elisha foretold that a nearby stream would be soon be filled with pools of water even though it would not rain there, and the armies of Israel would conquer every fortified city of Moab and ruin the land. – Slide 7
8
King Jehoshaphat - The Moabite Alliance Attacks Judah. <br/>After King Ahab of Israel died in 853 B.C., the nation of Moab revolted and reestablished their independence from Israel (2 Kings 1:1), and then they immediately formed an alliance with the Ammonites and the Meunites to attack King Jehoshaphat of Judah. Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord for help, and the Lord promised to deliver the people of Judah without them even having to fight. All they needed to do was to trust in the Lord and show up for the battle in the desert near Tekoa. – Slide 8
9
King Omri rises to power. <br/>During (or perhaps before) the brief two year reign of Elah son of Baasha (c. 886-885 B.C.), Omri rose to the rank of commander among Israel’s forces. Omri laid siege to Tirzah, leading Zimri to commit suicide thus ending his short seven day reign. Another man named Tibni also tried to set himself up as king, and a five year civil war ensued with the people of Israel evenly divided between the two men. Eventually Omri prevailed over Tibni and became king. He built a new capital city named Samaria. – Slide 9
10
King Ahab's wars with Aram. <br/>Ahab became king after the death of his father Omri (1 Kings 16:8-28). Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of the Sidonian King Ethbaal, and adopted her zealous worship of Baal. Ahab engaged Ben-hadad II of Aram in multiple battles (1 Kings 20-22). – Slide 10
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Slide 11