In this daily Bible reading is the account of Solomon ruling Israel with greatness and wisdom. People came from all over the world to hear the wisdom that God had granted Solomon, and Solomon grew very wealthy.
Solomon had many wives from foreign lands. These wives worshipped other gods, and Solomon provided them means to worship their gods or demons. Eventually, Solomon participated with his wives in worshiping demons.
This made God very angry, and God removed 10 tribes of Israel from Solomon’s kingdom after Solomon died. Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled only Judah and Benjamin. The other tribes were initially ruled by Solomon’s opponent, Jeroboam, who Solomon had sent into exile.
So, the line of David was preserved in Judah. The other tribes became a separate nation called Israel, sometimes referred to as Samaria or Ephraim.
Eventually, God removed both Judah and Israel from the land for their unfaithfulness. Assyria conquered and exiled Israel around 722 BC. Babylon conquered and exiled Judah around 587 BC. Babylon’s army then destroyed the Temple.
Judah returned 70 years later under the Persian empire. However, Judah was once again removed from the land by the Romans in about 132 AD.
God has a plan to restore Israel and Judah to the land before Jesus Christ returns to the Earth. I believe we see this happening today.
