Sabbath school lesson 2, 4th quarter of 2015

1. Lesson 2 for October 10, 2015

3. “And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the
land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who
were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord
to anger.” (Judges 2:12)
The judges
The people
turned
away from
God and
worshipped
other gods.
The unified kingdom
Solomon
turned
away from
God and
worshipped
other gods.
± 1400 – 1050 BC
He sent judges
to deliver them.
He also unified
the kingdom.
± 1050 – 931 BC
He divided the
kingdom. He let
them suffer the
consequences of
their mistakes.

4. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM
“Therefore the king asked advice, made two
calves of gold, and said to the people, ‘It is too
much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are
your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from
the land of Egypt!’” (1 Kings 12:28)
After Solomon died, the 12 tribes were
divided into 2 kingdoms:
2. The Southern Kingdom, Judah. Two tribes
led by Rehoboam, Solomon’s son.
1. The Northern Kingdom, Israel. Ten tribes
led by Jeroboam.

5. “But he [Amon] did evil in the sight of the Lord, as
his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to
all the carved images which his father Manasseh had
made, and served them.” (2 Chronicles 33:22)
The kings of the Southern
Kingdom were mostly faithful
to God.
Nevertheless, apostasy
spread throughout the
kingdom since the
destruction of the Northern
Kingdom.
The two worst kings reigned in that time:
Manasseh and Amon (2 Chronicles 33: 9, 22).
God sent many prophets to avoid the
consequences of their sins.
THE DIVIDED KINGDOM

6. CRISIS WITHOUT: BABYLON
“And now I have given all these lands into the hand
of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant;
and the beasts of the field I have also given him to
serve him.” (Jeremiah 27:6)
God didn’t abandon His people during
that crisis. Nevertheless, the people
was severely disciplined so they could
come back and enjoy full divine
communion.
God began to submit all nations to
Babylon since they defeated Egypt in
Carchemish in 605 BC.
God used Jeremiah to tell the people
of Judah to surrender to Babylon.
The people didn’t believe God would
fulfill His word. They went
unrepentant for 20 years, since King
Jehoiakim until King Zedekiah.

7. “For My people have committed two evils: they
have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns
that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)
God had promised protection and prosperity
if Israel was faithful (Jeremiah 2:2-3).
However, the people abandoned God (“the
fountain of living waters”) and worshipped
idols (“broken cisterns”).
 “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’”
 “Those who handle the law did not know Me.”
 “The rulers also transgressed against Me.”
 “The prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked
after things that do not profit.”
What did their leaders do (Jeremiah 2:8)?

8. The Jews fooled themselves. They thought they
were good people and God would never punish
them (Jeremiah 2:23).
There was a saying: “The temple of the Lord are
these” (Jeremiah 7:4). Everything was alright. As
long as they worshipped God in the temple,
everything else didn’t matter?
“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;
see now and know; and seek in her open places if
you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes
judgment, who seeks the truth, and I will pardon
her.” (Jeremiah 5:1)
They ignored God’s warnings. They didn’t meditated on
their ways. They didn’t regret their sinful thoughts.
That’s a strong warning for us. How is your relationship
with God today? Is religion just form for you? Have you
surrendered your heart to God? Are you living in
communion with God every day?
ATTITUDES

9. E.G.W. (Selected Messages, book 2, cp. 53, pg. 400)