Page 36 - Biblical Backgrounds student textbook

Study Section 6: The United Monarchy
(1 and 2 Samuel; 1 Kings 1-11; 1 Chronicles; and 2 Chronicles 1-9)

6.1 Connect.

As the Israelites settled in the land they slowly, like the Philistines, drifted toward a monarchy.
This means that instead of remaining a theocracy, where God rules His people, they wanted a
king. This is both an implicit rejection of God’s rule and a slide toward what was normal in
surrounding nations. In this section we will survey the backgrounds of this transition. We will
again look at the location, government, religion, and social and commercial backgrounds of the
period. From there we will investigate some other important background aspects of the period for
biblical interpretation.

6.2 Objectives.

1. Students should be able to describe the important background points of the location,
government, religion, social and commercial backgrounds for this period in the Old Testament.

2. Students should be able to name the kings of the United Monarchy and the approximate dates
of their reign.

3. Students should be able to identify what ended the United Monarchy in Israel.

6.3 The United Monarchy.

The location of the united monarchy altered over time. This is because various wars, both with
other people groups and civil unrest within Israel,
led to constantly changing borders. So it is
difficult to describe the borders of Israel without
carefully delineating the borders for each ruler
and at different stages in the rule. Rather than going to
this level of detail we will note various details. The kings of
the united monarchy reigned from around 1030 BCE – 930
BCE Saul was the first king who ruled all of Israel. He was
the king who God placed over the people when they
demanded a king. The Logos Deluxe Map Set is an
invaluable tool for illustration. The two maps we will
reference here are taken from it. The first map is the
borders of Israel during the reign of Saul.
78

78 Norris, D. Thaine. “Palestine in the Time of Saul, 1000 B.C.” Logos Deluxe Map Set. Oak Harbor, WA: Lexham
Press, 1997.

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