Old Testament: Religion & Theology Essay

Old Testament
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Old Testament
Describe three major sins of Israel and Judah as revealed in 1 and 2 Kings and addressed by the prophets. Provide support for your answer using properly cited references from Chapter 13 and/or 19 of your textbook. (500 words)
The books of 1 and 2 Kings have highlighted some of the sins practiced by Israel and Judah's people. The nations' sins were mainly against their covenant with God and were practices that displeased God, resulting in Him punishing the two nations. Some of Israel and Judah's sins can be attributed to shortcomings by their kings as they failed to provide proper leadership regarding the best ways to ensure citizens followed God's wishes during their daily activities. In essence, there were some actions by Kings David, Solomon, and Jeroboam, which failed to adhere to God's commands and somehow influence their nations to commit major sins. At that time, God would send His prophets to warn Judah and Israel against sins, but that did not bear fruits.
One of the major sins highlighted by the two books was the practices of the worship of idols and false gods. In essence, King Solomon was dedicated to God's worship and even built a temple in Jerusalem to symbolize the true worship among Israelites (Lennox, 2009). God was so pleased with Solomon and even promised to extend to his dynasty. However, Solomon would later anger God by engaging in practices that promoted the worship of idols and false gods among Israelites. According to Lennox (2009), God was blessed with much wealth and decided to marry many wives. In essence, some of these women were not Israelites and came from nations that worshipped idols. As a result, they influenced Solomon to disobey God and began worshipping false gods and goddesses. He even began building statues and idols for the false gods to please his wives. His actions were essential in promoting the worship of idols among Israelites. The acts of worshipping false gods and idols among Israelites displeased God and vowed to break down the nation. Later, Jeroboam would promote idolatry in Judah by making Golden Calf idols to be worshipped. Although God would give them some of the sins, some of them led to Israel and Judah being punished and even defeated and conquered by their enemies.
Another major sin that is illustrated in the books of 1 and 2 Kings was sexual immorality among Israelites. Solomon was essential in promoting the acts of sexual immorality through marrying many wives and having hundreds of concubines (Lennox, 2009). His actions played a significant role in the spread of prostitution among Israelites. This is illustrated in the book of 1st Kings 14:24, which states, "There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestably practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites." One of the practices that God had warned Israelites was engaging in unholy practices that promoted sexual immorality.
There were also acts of unholy practices such as child sacrifice and separation between the rich and poor. In essence, human sacrifices became so prevalent in Israel and Judah, and this did not please God at all. The book of Kings has provided several ins...