Like any nation with a new identity shift, Israel suffers substantial growing pains after David took the crown of the joint country. King David did not address many of his own family's shortcomings and sinful activities, and his failure to raise his children to live godly lives is repeated just a few years later, albeit in a different form. When King Solomon dies, his actions lead to a serious decline in moral standards and Israel is falling back into the rut of sinful choices. God continues to send prophets to try to call Israel to repentance, but to no avail. God finally begins to prepare Israel for the proverbial spanking that is coming, all the while trying to convince His chosen nation that it will actually hurt Him more than it will hurt them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While Solomon was gifted with a wise and insightful heart, he certainly made his fair share of mistakes. He married 700 women and had another 300 concubines. Unfortunately, his lustful desires led him to care more about his wives and their gods than pleasing his own God. If Solomon was truly the "Master," there is a possibility that he eventually realized his mistake as wrote the concluding verses of Ecclesiastes 12:1, 12:13b. Regardless, the damage was already done because since he built the Temple, he proceeded to build worship areas for foreign deities (1 Kings 11:7-8). The people of Israel would have seen this and might have made assumptions about whether Solomon had changed his mind about Yahweh's existence, or at least about which gods were the most powerful. But it didn't stop there. Jeroboam went so far as to have golden calves made and placed in cult centers in the northern territory. To make matters worse, he declared that they were symbols of Yahweh, despite being the common symbol of Baal. Although some of the later rulers of the Davidic line were God-fearing men, they feared the people more and never tried to tear down false altars or destroy idols. They knew that worshiping false gods and idols was wrong, but they were afraid that people would revolt at the destruction of their favorite temples. As a result, the worship of the old gods became commonplace, the practice of prostitution in sanctuaries became acceptable, and child sacrifice was even performed by one of the kings. Worse still was the separation between rich and poor. Soon the rich found ways to exploit the rest of society instead of caring for the poor as the Mosaic Law commanded. God certainly could not tolerate this kind of behavior, so he sent his prophets again. Elijah did some amazing things that brought the people back from the worship of Baal to the worship of God. Elijah trained and mentored his replacement: a wealthy farmer named Elisha. After receiving Elijah's mantle (sign of the calling), Elisha turned his back on his former profession and answered his calling with unshakable faith. Elisha asked for a double dose of Elijah's spirit and received it. God provided Elisha with a ministry that did more than turn people away from Baal and Asherah. Elisha also took on the corruption and abuse of the poor and oppressed. Early in his ministry he performed at least 18 recorded miracles to help the sick and oppressed. He purified water, helped a widow pay debts, resurrected the dead, neutralized poisoned food, multiplied food to feed a hungry crowd, cured leprosy, and recovered a borrowed ax that fell into the Jordan and floated it. His actions.
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