ISRAEL
DURING THE TIME OF JONAH
Jonah prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II. We read a
brief account of his reign in 2 Kings.
2
Kings 14:23-29 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah
Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned
forty and one years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord:
he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel
to sin. He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the
sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he
spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which
was of Gathhepher. For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very
bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel.
And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under
heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. Now the
rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he
warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for
Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and
Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.
This Jeroboam followed in the footsteps of his ancestor,
the first Jeroboam, who was made king over the 10 northern tribes called
Israel, dividing them from the rest of the kingdom. This fulfilled the prophecy
that Solomon’s kingdom would be divided. This occurred during the time that
Rehoboam ruled Judah. Jeroboam led Israel into sin, especially idol worship.
You may read his story in 1 Kings chapters 11-14 and 2 Chronicles chapters 9-13.
The prophets Hosea and Amos ministered in the northern kingdom during
Jeroboam’s reign.
Jeroboam II also led Israel into sin. Despite the king’s
evil deeds and the idolatry and unfaithfulness of the people, the Lord God
graciously allowed Jeroboam to restore the borders of Israel, and there was a
time of relative peace. The books of Amos and Hosea, prophets in Israel during
this time, show that the people did not respond to God’s grace with repentance.
However, Assyria was in the process of trying to expand their borders as well,
so eventual war with Assyria was inevitable.
Here is a link to an excerpt from The Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius
Josephus, a Jewish historian.
Another good article on the historical
background for the book of Jonah is found at:
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