How A Superpower Got Carried Away

In the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria.   2 Kings 17:6

How would you feel if forty-two of the fifty American states left the union? What if each of the forty-two had a completely independent government and armed forces and refused to pay taxes? Then, what if several years later, those forty-two independent states collapsed and were overrun by enemies?

As a citizen in one of the eight remaining states, you would no longer be part of a world superpower. Instead, you would be a citizen of a rather small and vulnerable country. Enemies who were once thousands of miles away could now move military installations very close to your border. What once seemed strong and secure would now seem weak and helpless.

That must have been how it was for the people of God in the two tribes that made up the southern kingdom of Judah. In the time of David, Israel had been a dominant power, with the twelve tribes united and the kings—Saul, David, and Solomon—ruling from the south. During Solomon’s reign, admiring heads of state came to Jerusalem to see the achievements of the world’s leading country.

After ten of the twelve tribes declared their independence, things changed radically for the South. The nation was diminished militarily and economically, and within two hundred years, the whole of the northern area was overrun by enemies.

If you were in the South at that point, you were among the remaining few of a once magnificent kingdom. You were part of a vulnerable group of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin. All that remained were two tribes.

God’s promise to bless Abraham and then to bring blessing to all the nations of the world through him must have looked very doubtful. But God’s promise had never been revoked, and although the people of the southern kingdom went through some harrowing times, God was faithful to his promise. Don’t let doubtful circumstances undermine your confidence in God’s faithfulness today.

For further reading, see Romans 11