A Brief Overview Of The Divided Kingdom

After Solomon, the fame and fortunes of Israel went downhill. The nation rebelled against God and his laws. God might have destroyed Israel had He not promised to Abraham a redeemer and He still planned to use the house of David for this. When Solomon died a civil war broke out as Solomon`s sons and generals fought over the throne. Rehoboam had his fathers blessing to be the new king, but Jeroboam had more military influence. In the end, Rehoboam took the southern half of the country and called it "Judah". Jeroboam took the northern half and kept the name Israel. Each claimed to be God`s chosen king.