Around 800 years of long-suffering and patience for Northern Israel and Judah

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God’s patience is something you have to be able to do. There were around 800 years between the conquest of Samaria, northern Israel, and the final destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. These centuries not only show the patience with which God acts towards His completely stubborn people, but also the situation in our time. History repeats itself.

Prophets had (almost) hopeless positions

The apostasy of the people of Israel in the Old Testament, right up to the New Testament, was the real concern of the prophets sent by God. The fact alone that God sent His chosen messengers into the “lion’s den”, i.e. into His own people who had completely strayed from the path, shows the patience, long-suffering and love for His people that is almost incomprehensible to man. If the Father loves, He will chastise them. This was also the case again and again with the rebellious people in all of Israel and later in the north of Israel with the capital Samaria and the land of Judah with its center Jerusalem.

How long the period can be in which God tries to bring His people back onto the right path is shown by the reports of the partly futile attempts of the prophets, up to the destruction of Jerusalem, including the temple, in 586 BC by the Babylonians under the ruler Nebuchadnezzar. As long as there was still hope that the people would come to their senses, the prophets were at work. But at some point the “barrel overflows” and “hops and malt are lost”. When the apostasy from God’s path is so firmly established and there is no longer any prospect of reversal, then the “great stroke of the hand” comes. Under the king of Judah, Zedekiah, a “youngster” of 21 years, the time had come, 2 Chronicles 36:14-16:
“Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.“

God gave the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, a free hand and removed His protective hand from Judah. ​​Judah and Jerusalem were conquered. The people were deported to Babylon. A few years later, Solomon’s Temple was completely destroyed.

Northern Israel was the beginning

The prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel were contemporary witnesses to the events in Judah at that time. While Jeremiah and Ezekiel were among the prophets who warned the people “at full blast”, Daniel, still a teenager, was one of those who were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon.

The people of Judah witnessed the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel when it was destroyed by the Assyrians together with the capital city of Samaria in 721 BC. The last king of northern Israel at that time was Hosea. The Assyrian king Sennacherib had also targeted Judah. ​​But at that time God still had His hands protectively over Judah. ​​This despite the fact that Judah had anything but a clean record and was also in steep decline due to the adoption of paganism. Judah was to do even worse than the fallen northern Israel.

Ezekiel described the situation in Judah

The prophet Ezekiel had found clear words for the situation in Judah, Ezekiel 16:15;22;30:
“But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;“

Not exactly flattering words. Judah became unfaithful to God in all respects by adopting the practices and rituals of the Gentiles. Just as a bride becomes unfaithful to her bridegroom, prostitutes herself and is thus called a whore. The entire chapter 8 of the book of Ezekiel describes the unfaithfulness of the people of Judah through abominations and idolatry in the sanctuary of God. The wrath of God was thus certain, announced and warned of by the prophet Ezekiel. But the people did not listen. On the contrary, the prophet was branded as a “troublemaker, false preacher, troublemaker and spiritual arsonist”.

God makes a concrete distinction

As so often, “exceptions prove the rule”. Just as the prophet Elijah had to deal with an apostate people, especially through the work of the Phoenician priest’s daughter and Baal worshiper Jezebel, the wife of the King of Northern Israel Ahab, in which around 7,000 people still faithfully followed God, there were also some faithful followers of God in hopelessly apostate Judah. ​​The wrath of God described in Ezekiel 9 was to sweep over the land. However, those who were faithful to God were exempt from it. They were marked on their foreheads and spared from the wandering, executing cherub, Ezekiel 9:4:
“And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.“

Spiritual Leaders Instigators

The prophet Jeremiah made it clear who was primarily responsible for the massive apostasy within the people. At least as far as the teachings, rituals and ceremonies proclaimed were concerned. Jeremiah 5:31:
“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?”

False proclaimers, pseudo-prophets, apologists, storytellers everywhere. Everything was there, except the word of God in its pure form. The priests had already seen their service as a lucrative business model. A dilemma, because they profited from the sacrifices made by the people, either those for the forgiveness of sins, or sacrifices as gifts. For this reason, the priests were not particularly interested in people finally refraining from their sins. Instead, it was just right if the sins continued to be committed so that another sacrifice could be brought into the courtyard.

The prophet Isaiah, a contemporary witness of the downfall of northern Israel, knew this mass sacrifice, which had degenerated into a “folk festival”, all too well. God made His displeasure known to him unmistakably, Isaiah 1:11:
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.“

Everything that God set up as a tabernacle or temple, for sacrifices, as a shadow of what was to be fulfilled at a later date for the path of salvation of mankind through Jesus Christ, had degenerated into a superficial and routine spectacle, mostly also in connection with commercial advantages. In addition, there were rites, customs, traditions, symbols and figures that had come directly from paganism. A hopeless mess, completely lost from the path, a comprehensive whoredom, as Ezekiel described it.

False prophets with pleasant-sounding words. That is what the people wanted to hear and what they can deal with without a bad conscience.

Despising the Sabbath

The people of Judah had become so careless and ignorant of God’s statutes that they even disregarded the very first sanctuary established by God immediately after creation: the observance of the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath (Info). God pointed out this transgression directly through His prophet and also showed what would happen if they returned to the right path, and even if they did not, Jeremiah 17:22-23:
“Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.“

Jeremiah 17:27:
“But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.“It is obvious. Despite the warnings, which were, as usual, ignored, the people did not listen and went about their usual business on the Sabbath day. If so many outside traders and buyers from the surrounding heathen countries are coming, then the cash register should ring loudly.

The cup had overflowed

At some point it was over. A conversion of the people was not possible due to a lack of will. God announced in plain language through His prophet what consequences would follow, Jeremiah 25:8-9:
“Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.“

Jeremiah 25:11:
“And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.“

And that’s exactly what happened. Not even as a surprise, but with warning.

The last grace period

With the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, Jeremiah’s service came to an end. The prophet Daniel took over. In exile in the capital city of Babylon, he made it to the position of Nebuchadnezzar’s right-hand man. But Daniel remained faithful to God in all matters. The people had to live in exile for the 70 years that had been announced. It was only with the conquest of the Babylonian Empire by the Persian king Cyrus the Great that a new wind blew. The people of Judah were given a final grace period from God to repent. The prospect of reflection was, however, pitch black, because Daniel received a prophecy about the appearance of the necessary “savior”, Jesus Christ.

The people are to be “cut off” for 490 years, the so-called 70-year week was announced (Daniel 9 – Info). The work and death of Jesus Christ were announced during this last week. From then on, there were still 3.5 years left. History shows how this period was used for reflection. It culminated in the stoning of the apostle Stephen. This sealed the fate, which had already been announced by Jesus Christ to his disciples on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21). The final destruction of Jerusalem took place in 70 AD under the Roman general Titus.

800 years of forbearance and patience

There are around 800 years between the fall of Northern Israel or Samaria and the destruction of Jerusalem. That was 800 years of long-suffering, patience, warning, admonition, announcement from God and His prophets. Even the Son of God, Jesus Christ, appeared and repeated all of this again. 800 years. A person should try to endure such a situation for at least 8 years, with all patience and love towards a stubborn, rebellious people.

Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, working during the “last period” for the people, had to deal with an unteachable priestly caste despite the experience of 70 years of captivity in exile. In blunt words, Malachi spoke to the spiritual leaders who would not renounce paganism, Malachi 2:1-4:
“And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.“

In view of this permanent apostasy through pagan idolatry, which has continued for many centuries, the question arose as to how much time was actually left to draw positive examples for today. (Info).

In his final words, Malachi announced what humanity can expect at the end of days. This will be the case when healing is no longer possible:

Bible verses from King James Version