Can you believe Bible prophecy? The history of the kingdoms of Israel
and Judah is a powerful testimony to the accuracy and precision of Bible
prophecy. Consider, for example, God's prophecies of the fate of Israel
if the Israelites rebelled against Him.
The story begins with Israel's split into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah,
around 931 B.C., soon after Solomon's death. Jeroboam, king of Israel (ca.
931-910), instituted idolatry as part of his kingdom's worship (1 Kings 12:26-33).
God warned Jeroboam's wife of the consequences of his, and the kingdom's,
idolatry: "For the Lord will strike Israel . . . He will uproot
Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter
them beyond the River [the Euphrates], because they have made their wooden
images, provoking the Lord to anger" (1 Kings 14:15).
God continued, through His prophets, to warn of the punishment sure to
come if the Israelites would not turn from their sinful ways. He waited,
patiently and mercifully, for a repentance that never came.
One such prophet was Micah (mid to late 700s B.C.), author of the biblical
book that bears his name. "The word of the Lord that came to Micah...which
he saw concerning Samaria [Israel's capital] and Jerusalem...I will make
Samaria a heap of ruins in the field, places for planting a vineyard; I
will pour down her stones into the valley, and I will uncover her foundations" (Micah 1:1-2,6).
