rebellion and the splitting of the kingdom into two parts as God had warned Solomon would happen because of his

sin:

`Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee (that is idolatry - see previous

verses), and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend

the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy

father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will

give one tribe (Judah) to thy son for David My servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen'

(1 Kings 11:11-13).

This political disaster had been foreseen in a remarkable way by Samuel and now it had come to pass, spoiling the

purpose of God that a united Israel should be central to His earthly purpose and Jerusalem the capital and chief city

of the world.

`And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they

have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works

which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have

forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit

yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel

told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of

the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to

be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and

captains over fifties; and will set them to ear (plough) his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his

instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and

to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the

best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and

give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your

goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye

shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and

the LORD will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they

said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge

us, and go out before us, and fight our battles' (1 Sam. 8:7-20).

The amazing wealth of Solomon and his court is detailed in 1 Kings 4:22-24 and 10:21-25 `all king Solomon's

drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were

of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon'. Gold and precious objects flowed into the kingdom

in great quantity (1 Kings 9:26-28; 10:1,2,14,22). He made silver to be as stones (verse 27). In spite of all this, he

found by experience that real satisfaction and contentment can never come from material things and he expressed

this in the book of Ecclesiastes (see 2:1-11).

It was all `vanity and vexation of spirit' (Ecc. 2:11) or put in modern language it was utterly empty and

meaningless. Would that this message could be sounded out today when the great god of materialism is worshipped

by millions and they are deceived into thinking that this is going to bring them lasting joy and satisfaction.

In the years following the reign of Solomon under the kings of Israel and Judah, the political and spiritual

decline became swift and certain. After Solomon, kings ceased to be chosen directly by Jehovah. They took the

throne either by inheritance or force, the nation finally sinking so low that foreign powers dictated who should

occupy the throne (2 Kings 23:34; 24:17).

With one or two exceptions, the kings of the divided nation were degenerates who led the people into further

disaster and declension. However, it is important to note that, as the scene darkened, God raised up true witnesses

for Himself in the ministry of the prophets who became His immediate spokesmen, for He will never allow Himself

to be without faithful witness to His truth. Their ministry was paralleled by that of the judges who sought to bring

the people back to the Lord when they had gone into apostasy. The prophets were more than predictors of the

future. They dealt with the nation's needs, spiritual and moral, that were relevant to the times in which they lived.

But at the same time, in their writings, they produced a body of prophetic truth that would guide and encourage the