1. =Its territory.= It embraced the mountain portion of the tribe of
Ju'dah, from the Dead Sea to the Phi-lis'tine plain; a part of
Ben'ja-min, in which tribe the larger part of Je-ru'sa-lem stood; and
also a part of Dan (Chron. 11. 10). Sim'e-on was nominally within its
border, but was practically given up to the A-ra'bi-ans of the desert;
E'dom was tributary, though often in rebellion, and finally independent
(1 Kings 22. 47; 2 Kings 8. 20); Phi-lis'ti-a was outside of its
boundary. Its extent was about 3,435 square miles, about half the area
of Massachusetts.
2. =Its government= was a monarchy, with but one family on the throne,
the line of Da'vid, in direct succession, with the exception of
Ath-a-li'ah's usurpation (2 Kings 11. 1-3), through nineteen reigns.
3. =Its religion.= Through all the history we find two forms of worship
strongly opposed to each other, yet both rooted in the nation. 1.) The
worship of Je-ho'vah through the temple, the priesthood, and the
prophets. 2.) But side by side with this pure religion was the worship
of idols upon "high places," probably begun as a form of worshiping
Je-ho'vah, but degenerating into gross and immoral idolatry. There was a
struggle going on constantly between these two elements in the state,
the spiritual and the material. Notwithstanding the efforts of reforming
kings like Je-hosh'a-phat, Hez-e-ki'ah, and Jo-si'ah, the general
tendency was downward.
II. =The Duration of the Kingdom.= The kingdom lasted from B. C. 934 to
587--more than one hundred and thirty years longer than Is'ra-el.
Reasons for its endurance may have been:
1. =Its retired situation=: hemmed in by mountains and deserts; at a
distance from the ordinary lines of travel; not in the direct path of
conquest from any other nation. Ju'dah had few foreign wars as compared
with Is'ra-el.
2. =The unity of its people.= They were not ten tribes loosely
connected, but one tribe, with a passionate love of their nation and a
pride in their blood.
3. =Its concentration at Je-ru'sa-lem.= Through all its history there
was but one capital, where the palace of the king and the temple of the
Lord were standing together.
4. =The reverence for the House of Da'vid= also kept the people
together. There was no change in dynasty, and the loyalty of the people
grew stronger through the generations toward the family on the throne.
There being no usurpers, the throne was permanent until destroyed by
foreign power.
5. =The purity of its religion= tended to keep the nation united and to
keep it in existence. No bond of self-interest or of blood will hold a
people together as strongly as the tie of religion. Ju'dah's strength
was in the measure of her service of God, and when she renounced
Je-ho'vah her doom came speedily.
III. =Periods in the History.= Though Ju'dah was not without political
contact with other nations, yet its history is the record of internal
events rather than external relations. We may divide its history into
four epochs.
1. =The first decline and revival.= 1.) The reigns of Re-ho-bo'am and
A-bi'jah marked a decline indicated by the E-gyp'tian invasion and the
growth of idolatry. 2.) The reign of A'sa and Je-hosh'a-phat showed a
revival in reformation, progress, and power. Under Je-hosh'a-phat,
Ju'dah was at the height of prosperity. This was the time of peace with
Is'ra-el and of strength at home and abroad (2 Chron. 17. 5; 20. 30).
2. =The second decline and revival.= 1.) For nearly two hundred years
after the death of Je-hosh'a-phat the course of Ju'dah was downward.
E'dom was lost under Je-ho'ram (2 Chron. 21. 8); the Ba'al-ite idolatry
was introduced by the usurping queen, Ath-a-li'ah (2 Kings 11. 18); the
land was again and again invaded under Jo'ash and Am-a-zi'ah, and
Je-ru'sa-lem itself was taken and plundered. 2.) But a great reformation
was wrought under Hez-e-ki'ah, who was the best and wisest of the kings
of Ju'dah, and the kingdom again rose to power, even daring to throw off
the As-syr'i-an yoke and defy the anger of the mightiest king then on
the earth. At this time came the great event of the destruction of the
As-syr'i-an host (2 Kings 19. 35).
3. =The third decline and revival.= 1.) The reforms of Hez-e-ki'ah were
short-lived, for his son Ma-nas'seh was both the longest in reigning and
the wickedest of the kings, and his late repentance did not stay the
tide of corruption which he had let loose (2 Kings 21. 10-17; 2 Chron.
33. 1-18). The wickedness of Ma-nas'seh's reign was the great moral
cause of the kingdom's destruction, for from it no reform afterward
could lift the mass of the people. 2.) Jo-si'ah, the young reformer,
attempted the task, but his efforts, though earnest, were only
measurably successful, and after his untimely death the kingdom hastened
to its fall (2 Kings 23. 29).
4. =The final decline and fall.= 1.) The political cause of the
destruction of the kingdom was the rise of Bab'y-lon. The old
As-syr'i-an empire went down about B. C. 625, and a struggle followed
between Bab'y-lon and E'gypt for the supremacy. Ju'dah took the side of
E'gypt, which proved to be the losing side. 2.) After several
chastisements and repeated rebellions Je-ru'sa-lem was finally destroyed
by Neb-u-chad-nez'zar, king of Bab'y-lon, and the kingdom of Ju'dah was
extinguished, B. C. 587.