The Book of Daniel is a forerunner to the Book of Revelation…they are twin prophetic books and are linked together. Think of repeat and enlargement of the historical record and especially the end-time events that will be played out in earth’s history.
As we learned in chapter one, God’s people are reaping a bitter outcome for its many years of disobedience to God (2 Kings 21:10-16, 24:18-20). You may recall upon their Exodus God outlined two options: blessings or curses. The outcome was in their hands, just as it was in the case of Adam and Eve. God intended his people to be a light to the Gentiles (Isa. 42:6), in other words, they were to be the evangelists of the world.
Daniel 2 is the first prophetic chapter in Daniel, which lays the foundation for a number of prophetic visions that Daniel sees as recorded in the remaining prophetic chapters (7, 8, 9, and 11). Just to note, the foundation is vital. If the foundation is laid incorrectly; then the structure fails. We have to get chapter two right or we will come to a wrong conclusion as the prophecies build. In fact, Daniel 11 is the hardest chapter in Daniel and perhaps the hardest prophetic chapter in the whole Bible. So, we will need to lay a solid foundation in Daniel 2; which is not only profound but basic prophecy in scripture.
A Little History First
Near the end of the seventh century B.C., the Babylonians overcame the Assyrians and ruled as the dominant power in the ancient Near East. They were a powerhouse and power hungry, but how did they get there:
The twelve tribes became divided. Rehoboam, was Solomon’s successor. Rehoboam was the fourth king, and began as the king of the entire kingdom of Israel. Within a short period of time, he was left with only one tribe of Israel, and that was Judah. It must be said, that Judah included the tribe of Benjamin. The Benjaminite’s were assimilated by the more powerful tribe of Judah and gradually lost their identity. The first three kings: Saul, David, and Solomon.
Now, Solomon asked a lot of Israel in both taxes and service; but it was out of a sense of shared vision and purpose. Israel was one kingdom. Now that Solomon had passed, the people were wanting relief from the heavy taxation and forced labor, and they offered allegiance to Rehoboam if he agreed to this. The elders advised him to show kindness and have a servant’s heart towards the people, and they would love and serve him forever.
Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders, and counseled with the younger men, those that he grew up with. The young men’s advice was to add to their ‘yoke’, which was adversarial towards the people. Rehoboam simply wanted the people to follow his orders out of the fear of a tyrant.
Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue, to collect the taxes; but all Israel stoned him and he died. Rehoboam fled back to Jerusalem.
The ten tribes in northern Israel appointed Jeroboam as their king, officially separating themselves from Judah which was in the south. Jeroboam previously was a servant of Solomon in charge of the labor pool (1 Kings 11:28). At this point, the ten tribes became the Northern Kingdom known in the Bible as Israel. The other two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, became the Southern Kingdom known as Judah.
Rehoboam mounted an army to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the entire kingdom to himself. God intervened and told Rehoboam not to fight with his brethren and to turn back. Rehoboam went home.
So, the kingdom was divided into the Northern Kingdom – Israel which was made up of ten of the tribes; and the Southern Kingdom – Judah was made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The capital of Israel was Samaria, and Jerusalem was the capital of Judah. This was a fulfillment of prophecy from the LORD (1 Kings 11:11).
Northern Kingdom – Israel. Solomon had disobeyed God and performed idolatry, God vowed through Ahijah, a prophet, to take ten tribes from Solomon and give them to Jeroboam who was an official serving under Solomon. This upset Solomon and so he sought to kill Jeroboam. Jeroboam fled for his life and ran to Egypt where king Shishak gave him asylum.
With the passing of Solomon, Jeroboam returned to Israel and became the leader of the norther region (1 Kings 12:1-20).
The Israelites were still under the covenant obligations and Jeroboam knew they would make yearly trips to Jerusalem. Jeroboam, who was from the tribe of Ephraim, feared the political implications of this and was fearful that the people may kill him and return to the house of David (aka: Southern Kingdom – Judah). He did not want them to return to their LORD at Jerusalem. Rather than obedience to God, he led the ten northern tribes into idolatry.
Jeroboam could have had a much different outcome if he would have followed the council of God if he would have listened when Ahijah the prophet not only prophesied that he would get ten* of the tribes but also would have an enduring house if he would walk in God’s ways, do right, and keep the commandment (1 Kings 11:38). Again, this whole idea of blessings or curses.
*Note: The ten tribes: Reuben, Simon, Zebulun, Asher, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Naphtali, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Some of priestly tribe of Levi stayed, but many went to Jerusalem because of the apostacy. See: 2 Chronicles 11:13-16.
Jeroboam took some advice, scripture does not indicate who from, and made two golden claves for Israel to worship in an attempt to keep them from returning to Jerusalem. Basically, he told them it was too much for them to travel to Jerusalem, and gave them gods in the form of a golden calf (1 Kings 12:28). He appealed to their natural desire for convenience, and set one golden calf in Bethel and the other in Dan. Jeroboam also established a priesthood from every class of people who were not of the tribe of Levi as God commanded it to be.
Jeroboam instituted a politico-religio state, instituted feasts, worship centers complete with priests and an idol, and a sacrificial system.
The Northern Kingdom – Israel, had one king (Jehu) that obeyed God for a period of time, but he never abandoned his idol worship. Most of the kingdoms existence it warred with the Southern Kingdom and engaged with other nations. The great siege was yet to come upon them by Assyria, which would permanently dismantle the kingdom and scatter its people.
After a long siege, about 722 BC; the northern kingdom of Israel was attacked by the Assyrians. The Assyrians were militant and harsh. They did not want a large number of Hebrews living in one area to be able to revolt, so they scattered them up into different parts of the Assyrian empire. Some of the Israelites fled south to Judah, which remained free for 135 more years.
During the Northern Kingdom of Israel’s 200+ years of existence it had 19 kings, and none of them lead the Israelite people into worship of and relationship with the Lord. Instead, they all lead the people into greater and greater sin, primarily the sin of idolatry — the worship of false gods. The choice to go their own way eventually led them to be taken captive and scattered by the Assyrians. They were never to be again.
Southern Kingdom – Judah. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was made up of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and some of Levi many of which fled from the northern kingdom. Judah absorbed the tribe of Benjamin, and the tribe of Levi was the priestly tribe that provided the services of the temple in the capital city of Jerusalem.
Rehoboam initially followed God, unfortunately and tragically, after he became established in the southern kingdom, he abandoned the ways of God and led the people of Judah astray. (2 Chronicles 12:1). The nation slid into moral and spiritual decay. They set up high places and had male shrine prostitutes in the land. This stirred the heart of God against them (1 Kings 14:22). Later in the narrative of kings, Asa (Rehoboam’s grandson) removed the shrines.
In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt captured the fortified cities in Judah and set out against Jerusalem. Shemaiah the prophet told Rehoboam, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak” (2 Chronicles 12:5). “The leaders and the king of Judah humbled themselves and said, ‘The Lord is just’” (verse 6). Seeing their humility, God said He would not destroy them but would allow them to become subjects of Shishak. The Pharaoh attacked Jerusalem and removed all the treasures from the temple and the palace (1 Kings 14:26; 2 Chronicles 12:9). Rehoboam did make bronze shields to replace the gold ones his father had made (1 Kings 14:27; 2 Chronicles 12:10–11).
Rehoboam was unwise and perhaps brash in his treatment of the forced laborers, thus leading to his loss of the kingdom to Shishak king of Egypt (1 Kings 14:26, 2 Chronicles 12:9). However, that loss was God-ordained because of Rehoboam’s decision to lead the people astray. In his plight, Rehoboam confessed that God is just and proceeded to follow the ways of the Lord for some time. Second Chronicles 12:12 says, “Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah.” “Some good in Judah” seems a fitting way to characterize the reign of Rehoboam.
Over the years, several kings were captured by their enemies never learning allegiance to God was their protection. Their capture and 70-year captivity was yet to come by Babylon.
The city of Babylon eventually revolted against the Assyrians. In brief, the Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, expanded their kingdom and become known as the Second (Neo) Babylonian Empire. Idolatry consumed Judah and they fell to the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians burned Jerusalem, destroyed Solomon’s temple, and enslaved the Israelites. Many Israelites were killed and others were marched back to Babylon where they were enslaved for many years. This is where we pick up the story in Daniel.
Note: Under the reign of Cyrus of the Medo-Persian Empire, which is the kingdom who eventually captures Babylon, the Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuilt the city, establish its governance, and rebuilt the temple. Much more on this in later posts.
The Southern Kingdom of Judah had 20 kings, and lasted about 135 more years after the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians. The Southern Kingdom of Judah had only a few kings that were righteous.
For further study see: 1 Sam. 8:10-19, 1 Kings 11-14, 2 Chronicles 10-12, Ecclesiastes 2:18-19.
A good read that includes historical references: The End of the Israelite Monarchy, Roy Gane. Click here for the article.
To study the reign of the kings of Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom), click here for a chart with Bible references.
Please keep in the back of your mind north verses south. As we go through Daniel we will come to understand a very important part of the end time prophecy that has to do with north and south.
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2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” AND 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”