Why were the Israelites exiled out of the Promised Land?

I've been putting together my notes for OT2 and this is such a huge question, covering all of the Former Prophets.

1. Rebellion against the Lord.

This began even as Moses led them out of Egypt: 'the whole community grumbled' (Ex 16:2). They spent 40 years in the wilderness because of this!

At the end of the book of Joshua, he gives the people a strong reminder that they need to obey the Law (Josh 23:6). If they fail, the consequence will be exile:
'If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods... the Lord's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land He has given you.' (Josh 23:16).

During the time of the Judges, as Joshua's generation dies, 'another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.' (Judges 2:10-11). Consequently, they were routed by their enemies and God raised up Judges to save them. 'Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them.' (Judges 2:17)

Even the Judges themselves were dubious heroes; Gideon lacked decisive faith and made a golden ephod which became a snare to Israel, Jephthah made a rash vow which resulted in him killing his own daughter, and Samson's life was full of compromise instead of being a true Nazirite.

The ending of the book shows moral chaos in the gruesome story of the Levite and his concubine, which threatens to destroy the unity of Israel by causing civil war and the near cutting-off of the Benjaminites.

2. Lack of godly leadership.

The chaos in Judges is attributed to the fact there is no king; 'everyone did as they saw fit' (Judges 21:25).
The people in 1 Samuel demand a king. As Samuel presents Saul to them, he gives them a solemn warning:
'if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God- good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against His commands, His hand will be against you.' (1 Sam 12:14-15)

No sooner is Saul declared king than he goes against God's Word and offers up the burnt offering himself instead of waiting for Samuel, the priest. Samuel tells him that because of this his kingdom will not ensure and God has sought out 'a man after his own heart' (1 Sam 13:14). Saul repeatedly tries to do things his own way, instead of obeying God. In the rest of 1 Samuel, we see his deterioration into madness, paranoia and murderous thoughts towards David, despite David's righteous conduct and refusal to touch the Lord's anointed (see 1 Sam 24).

When David finally becomes king, and he is the best of the kings, he commits adultery and murder in a terrible sequence of events (2 Sam 11).

The majority of the kings in 1 & 2 Kings commit terrible acts in the eyes of the Lord, and lead the whole nation into apostasy. Ahab, king of Israel, did more evil than all before him (1 Kings 16:30). He and his wife Jezebel persecute Elijah and install Baal worship as the norm. Even after the glorious display of God's power at Mt Carmel, they remain unchanged.

3. Ignoring the Prophets.

Not only does the dramatic revelation of the reality of God as Lord leave Ahab unmoved, but repeatedly he is shown to ignore and despise God's prophets.

In one incident, a prophet comes to tell him that God will give him victory over Ben-Hadad (King of Aram), and Ahab decides to let the king go. In another incident, Ahab desires Naboth's vineyard (which, according to the distribution of the land and to the inheritance laws, he had no right to claim), and allows Jezebel to have Naboth killed so that he can seize it. Elijah comes to rebuke him for this dreadful action, and Ahab greets the prophet by calling him his 'enemy' (1 Kings 21:20). God says through Elijah 'you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin' (1 Kings 21:22), and the incredible thing is that Ahab does then humble himself. In great mercy, God decides to bring disaster upon Ahab's son instead of Ahab himself.

And yet how much has Ahab really changed? Not much it seems, because when the godly king Jehoshaphat of Judah comes to help him against the king of Aram, Jehoshaphat insists upon seeking counsel from a 'prophet of the Lord', not just a phoney prophet who says whatever the king wants to hear. Ahab acknowledges that there is a true prophet, but he hates him because he never prophesies anything good about him (1 Kings 22:8). Jehoshaphat's reply 'The king should not say such a thing' highlights how wrong Ahab's attitude is towards the prophets and thus towards God, as the prophets speak God's Word to him.

4. Forgetting the Law.

In Josiah king of Judah's day, the Book of the Law is found as they repair the temple. This is a sad indication of how God's Word has been forgotten over the reigns of so many godless kings. Josiah is a great reformer, but he recognises that it is too late: they stand under God's wrath for disobeying His commands (2 Kings 22:13), which the prophet Huldah confirms.

5. Lack of godly parenting.

'Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen... Teach them to your children and to their children after them.' Deut 4:9

Closely linked to the people forgetting the Law is the fact that parents were not training their children in the ways of the Lord, and this is why there was so much moral chaos and apostasy.

Even the God-fearing men were at fault here: Eli was challenged by God ('why do you honour your sons more than Me?' 1 Sam 2:29) and David did not have effective control of his family- the incident of Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar, and David's lack of decisive action to intervene which causes Absalom to act in bloody vengeance, is a prime example of this (2 Sam 13).

6. God keeps His covenant promise.

God had made it clear that if Israel were not obedient, He would send them into exile. That is why the exile happened.

'Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; He afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until He thrust them from His presence.' 2 Kings 17:20


And yet, in all of this, there is hope in God's grace. Not all the kings were bad (Josiah and Hezekiah stand out as really godly leaders), and Isaiah prophesies the future fall of Sennacherib (king of Assyria) in 2 Kings 19, and reminds the people that God is in control:
'Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass.' v25

A summary of David's life

Lessons from David- 2 Samuel 23-24

It is the end of the book, and the writer records David's last words in ch 23 as a summary of his reign and role as king:

- He was a poor man anointed and exalted by God (1).
- God's Spirit spoke through him (2)- we see this in the Psalms and in his godly leadership.
- He ruled in righteousness and fear of God (3), and this points towards Jesus, the ultimate Ruler of righteousness.
- God made an 'everlasting covenant' with him, to keep his house in the lineage for the throne- again this points towards Jesus as David's son and heir.
- David was confident that God would save him and answer his prayers (5). This confidence came from his persistent trust and faith in God throughout his life.
- David avoided evil in his life and always disassociated himself with evil men (6-7).

The added descriptions of David's 'mighty men' further emphasise that this was a blessed time in Israel's history. God had raised up a leader after His own heart, and had given Israel victory over their enemies through miracles and the great courage and strength of those who fought for David. Dai Hankey's book 'The Hard Corps' is an inspiring read based on these heroes who are often overlooked.

The incident of David numbering the army perhaps occurs at the end so that we do not idolise him- he did make mistakes, and his imperfections shown how much we need Jesus, our perfect King.

The account of the plague sent by God, the way He stopped it at the threshing-floor of Araumah, and the way David built an altar there and worshipped the Lord, all point towards God's incredible grace and mercy, rather than David being an inherently 'worthy' person.

David's theology summed up

Lessons from David- 2 Samuel 22

It is coming to the end of David's reign, and the writer includes this amazing chapter of David's raise, that is really an amalgamation of many different Psalms.

The main points are:
Salvation- God is his rock,deliverer, horn of salvation and refuge- from violent men, but also spiritually.

Help- in his worst situations, David could come to Him and be rescued in an amazing way. This parallels God coming down from heaven to deal with our worst situation- hell. Satan is our 'powerful enemy', and God defeated him for us!

Pleasure- it was God's pleasure to save us, because He delights in us (20).

Purity- we need to live obedient lives. We can rejoice because Jesus was perfectly obedient for us (21-25).

Perfection- God is worthy of our praise and worship (31). He sets us free from enemies, and shows us unfailing kindness (51).

Family Problems

Lessons from David- 2 Samuel 13-15

When David sinned with Bathsheba, God said 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you.' (2 Sam 2:11) In this section of the story we see this calamity begin.

Firstly, David's son rapes his virgin half-sister in brutal lust, discarding her straight afterwards. David does nothing, despite his anger. Absalom takes matters into his own ands, and acts in a violent and deceitful way. He is then exiled, and it takes Joab's manoeverings of a 'wise woman' to bring David to a realisation that he damages his family and the nation by the course of action.

David calls for Absalom to return, but does not allow him back into the court. This spurs him on to start a conspiracy to take over the throne. David has to flee Jerusalem in order to rally support, and the whole situation escalates.

David himself seems humble enough to let God do His will, without trying to use the ark of the covenant as a talisman for himself (25). 'Let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him' (26). But once more, David is in a position where he is threatened and in much misery (31). Whilst this is obviously being used by God to further hone and refine his character, David needs to become aware of how important his parenting is.

Parents have such a hard job! They ought to instruct their children in God's ways, whilst still loving and forgiving their children when they make mistakes.

If a situation of sin arises and isn't dealt with, terrible consequences can ensue.

A big mess-up

Lessons from David: 2 Samuel 11-12
Things were going so well for David. He was experiencing the fulfilment of God's promises to him (he had rest on every side from his enemies), and was leading Israel to victory in every battle (through God's grace). The problem with things going well is that we become complacent and arrogant. This seems to have happened to David.

He decides not to go off with the other kings to battle, but to have a rest at home. And the story is well-known: he views Bathsheba bathing, orders for her to be brought to him, sleeps with her, then tries to deal with her subsequent pregnancy by giving her husband too much wine and trying to make him go home to sleep with her. When Uriah refuses to do so, David arranges for him to be killed in battle. He abuses his power as king to take something that is not rightfully his.

Nathan's parable illustrates the selfishness and brutality of David's actions. Faced with the ugliness of his sin, he repents- but must take the consequences (his son's death).

God's grace, though, is shown in His desire to forgive David. The incident shows us how perfect Jesus is by comparison, why He is our true King, and reminds us that we can't hide our sin from God. The best thing to do when we have big mess-ups is to go straight to Him and ask for forgiveness. The spiral of sin David found himself in is one that we are all susceptible to.