From the garden to the desert, from slavery to prosperity, God has led this nation of wanderers to a settle in a promised land. Here we are, poised at the edge of a golden age for Israel. All that God asks is for faithfulness from this people, made to be a light to all nations.

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David’s kingdom

David made Jerusalem his capital, and brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city, placing it in a special tent.

When the LORD had brought peace to the land and King David was settled in his palace, David summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look!” David said. “Here I am living in this beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out in a tent!”

Nathan replied, “Go ahead and do what you have in mind, for the LORD is with you.”

But that same night the LORD said to Nathan,

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a temple to live in? I have never lived in a temple, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until now. My home has always been a tent, moving from one place to another.

I chose you to lead my people Israel when you were just a shepherd boy, tending your sheep out in the pasture. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies.

And now the LORD declares that he will build a house for you – a dynasty of kings! For when you die, I will raise up one of your descendants, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house – a temple – for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

2 Samuel 7:1-6,8-9,11b-13

After this, David subdued and humiliated the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest city. David also conquered the land of Moab.

The Lord made David victorious wherever he went. David reigned over all of Israel and was fair to everyone.

2 Samuel 8:1-2,14-15

David’s mistake

One spring, the time of year when kings go to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

Late one afternoon David got out of bed after taking a nap and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite,” Then David sent for her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her … Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent a message to inform David.

So David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting on and how the war was progressing. Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah wouldn’t go home. He stayed that night at the palace entrance with some of the king’s other servants.

When David heard what Uriah had done, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter with you? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”

Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and his officers are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear I would never be guilty of acting like that.”

David invited Uriah to stay for a second night and got him drunk, but he still did not return home. So David sent word to his commander:

“Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.”

2 Samuel 11:1-11,15

Nathan’s story

When Bathsheba heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was very displeased with what David had done.

2 Samuel 11:26-27

The LORD sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but a little lamb he had worked to buy. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing a lamb from his own flocks for food, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and served it to his guest.”

David was furious. “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The LORD, the God of Israel says, I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you his house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough I would have given you much, much more. Why then have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah and stolen his wife.”

2 Samuel 12:1-9

Then David confessed to Nathan. “I have sinned against the LORD.”

Nathan replied, “Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. But you have given the enemies of the LORD great opportunity to despise and blaspheme him, so your child will die.”

2 Samuel 12:13-14

Bathsheba’s sons

The LORD made Bathsheba’s baby deadly ill. David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. All the leaders of the nation pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused. Then on the seventh day the baby died. David’s advisors were afraid to tell him. “He was so broken up about the baby being sick,” they said. “What will he do to himself when we tell him the child is dead?”

But when David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the baby dead?” he asked.

“Yes”, they replied. David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the Tabernacle and worshipped the LORD.

Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon.

2 Samuel 12:15-20,24-25

Solomon builds the temple

After David died, his son Solomon became king. He inherited a land at peace, and set about building the temple:

“The LORD my God has given me peace on every side, and I have no enemies and all is well. So I am planning to build a Temple to honour the name of the LORD my God, just as he instructed my father that I should do. For the LORD told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honour my name.’”

1 Kings 5:4-5

The foundation of the LORD’s Temple was laid in mid spring of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. The entire building was completed in every detail by mid autumn of the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple.

1 Kings 6:37,38

Then the priests carried the Ark of the LORD’s covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple – the Most Holy Place – and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim.

As the priests came out of the inner sanctuary, a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their work because the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple.

1 Kings 8:6,10-11

Israel’s golden age

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. King Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the River Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.

God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding and knowledge too vast to be measured. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations.

He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

1 Kings 4:20-21,29-34

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s reputation, which brought honour to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, huge quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, they talked about everything she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba realised how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, she was breathless.

She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true!

The LORD your God is great indeed! He delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because the LORD loves Israel with an eternal love, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

1 Kings 10:1-5a, 6,9

Solomon turns away

Each year Solomon received about 23 tonnes of gold… All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the palace… They were not made of silver because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day.

Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses.

1 Kings 10:14,21,26

King Solomon loved many foreign women… He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. And sure enough, they led his heart away from the LORD. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship their gods instead of trusting only in the LORD his God, as his father, David, had done.

The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD’s command. So now the LORD said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my laws, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. And even so, I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”

1 Kings 11:1-4, 9-13

The kingdom divided

One of Solomon’s officials called Jeroboam led a rebellion against him, and when Solomon died the kingdom was divided. Ten tribes chose the rebel Jeroboam as their king, leaving Solomon’s son Rehoboam with Judah and the little tribe of Benjamin. So the kingdom was divided into the land of Israel, with ten tribes, and the land of Judah. 

The Israelites still worshipped God, but the temple was in Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah.

Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. When the people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the LORD, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.”

So on the advice of his counsellors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”

1 Kings 12:26-28

 

Jeroboam led Israel away from God, and so did the kings that came after him. Judah’s kings were little better. Rehoboam was a proud and arrogant king, but God blessed Judah because of the promise made to David.

God calls the people back

Again and again the LORD had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and laws, which are contained in the whole law that I commanded your ancestors and which I gave you through my servants the prophets.”

But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors and refused to believe in the LORD their God. They rejected his laws and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the LORD’s command not to imitate them.

2 Kings 17:13-15

 

God spoke through the prophets to warn Israel. One of the prophets was called Hosea, and he brought this message from God:

“When Israel was a child, I loved him as a son, and I called my son out of Egypt. But the more I called to him, the more he rebelled, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. It was I who taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him.

“But since my people refuse to return to me, they will go back to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria. War will swirl through their cities; their enemies will crash through their gates and destroy them, trapping them in their own evil plans. For my people are determined to desert me.

Hosea 11:1-3,57

Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged Samaria. Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria.

2 Kings 17: 5-6a

Judah follows Israel

Israel was taken into exile, but Judah did not learn from what had happened to them. Then the prophet Jeremiah came to the king with this message:

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Give up your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem.

But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the LORD, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’ ”

Jeremiah 22:3-5

Everything was destroyed

The LORD, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the LORD’s anger could no longer be restrained and there was no remedy.

So the LORD brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young and old, men and women, healthy and sick. God handed them all over to Nebuchadnezzar. The king also took home to Babylon all the utensils, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the LORD’s Temple and the royal palace.

Then his army set fire to the Temple of God, broke down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value. The few who survived were taken away to Babylon.

2 Chronicles 36:15-20

Far from home, the exiled poets wrote of the tragedy.

Jerusalem’s streets, once bustling with people, are now silent. Like a widow broken with grief, she sits alone in her mourning. Once the queen of nations, she is now a slave.

Her oppressors have become her masters, and her enemies prosper, for the Lord has punished Jerusalem for her many sins. Her children have been captured and taken away to distant lands.

“And the Lord is right,” she groans, “for I rebelled against him.”

Lamentations 1:1,5,18

“O God, why have you rejected us for ever? Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture?

Remember that we are the people you chose in ancient times, the tribe that you redeemed as your own special possession! And remember Jerusalem, your home here on earth. Walk through the awful ruins of the city; see how your enemy has destroyed your sanctuary.

They chopped down the entrance like woodcutters in a forest.

With axes and picks, they smashed the carved panelling.

They set the sanctuary on fire, burning it to the ground.

They utterly defiled the place that bears your holy name.

We see no miraculous signs as evidence that you will save us.

All the prophets are gone; no one can tell us when it will end.

You, O God, are my king from ages past,

Bringing salvation to the earth.

Remember your covenant promises, for the land is full of darkness and violence!

Psalm 74:1-3,5-7,9,12,20

 

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So much gained, and so much lost. God’s chosen people have failed the promise, and God has taken back all that was given to them.

But God also promised a kingdom that would last forever, and God does not forget what is promised.

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Unless marked, all Bible text taken from New Living Translation,©2007