Trouble in the Middle East
The Hebrews and the Land - Part 5
White House Church of Christ
Auditorium Class
July 19, 2026
Date Taught:
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Main Scripture:
Jeremiah 32:30-35
Teacher:
Jeff Smith
*** Lesson Series ***
This is Lesson #11 of a Lesson Series called Trouble in the Middle East.
For information about Trouble in the Middle East and the other lessons, click here.
Or, click to the Previous Lesson (#10) in the series or the Next Lesson (#12) in the series.
Class Notes
Israel’s sins (cont.)
I Kings 12:26-33, “Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin”
I Kings 16:30-33, Ahab marries Jezebel.
II Kings 21:1-6, Manasseh might win the prize for being the worst. “He sacrificed his own son in the fire……”
Why did Israel and Judah fall?
Jeremiah 32:30-35, “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the LORD. vs31 From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight……. vs33 They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they not listen or respond would to discipline. vs34 They set up their images vile in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. vs35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek , though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.”
“In my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath, I took him away.”
Hosea 13:11
1025 BC
King Saul
925 BC
Kingdom Divides
722 BC
Northern Israel captive to Assyria
586 BC
Judah to Babylon, Jerusalem destroyed
Last O.T. Prophet, Malachi, 422 BC
Once lost, even after the return in Ezra/Nehemiah’s day, the land was never fully possessed. Jews living there were always under a foreign “civil” power.
Old Testament Prophets are a mixture of coming judgment and coming hope.
Sin identified, Isaiah 1:2-4.
God never “consumed” His people, Isaiah 1:9.
Sin, but not without hope, Isaiah 1:18,19.
Something special about Jerusalem, Isaiah 2:1-5.
It is always well with the righteous, the “faithful remnant”, Isaiah 3:1,10.
Something good is coming out of Galilee, Isaiah 9:1-3.
The root of Jesse will aid the faithful remnant, Isaiah 11:1-4, 16.
A new kingdom is coming of a different kind and quality, Daniel 2:31-35.
God is faithful, Israel is not, Hosea 1:1-11.
The Intertestamental period.
400 years of silence, but great preparation for Messiah.
Jews in the land, but under “civil governments”.
Mixed Jewish bloodlines, Jerusalem traumatized, and evolving Jewish practice.
Key Historical Happenings.
Persian era until 332 BC.
Greek/Hellenistic era until 167 BC.
The Maccabean Revolt, 167 BC forward.
The Roman era, 63 BC.