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God willed this to happen due to Solomon's disobedience to God: Rehoboam, Solomon's son, was confronted by the people to be less harsh on them than his father. The elders advised Rehoboam to give them what they want, but the people that grew up with him told Rehoboam to be more harsh on the people. Rehoboam listened to the people that grew up with him. Due to that, the kingdom of Israel splits to the kingdom of Israel (north) and the kingdom of Judah (south).
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When most of the kings of Israel and Judah and their people sin, God sent prophets to speak on God's behalf to expose that their sin and called them to repent. They also reminded the kings and their people of their covenant with God before their ancestors entered the Promised Land.
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All of Israel's kings do not follow God and worshiped idols like the foreign nations. Part of their covenant with God was that God will curse them if they do not follow Him. Since they broke the covenant, God sent the Assyrian Empire to conquer Israel and bring them into exile.
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There were 20 kings that ruled over the kingdom of Judah. 8 of them followed God but 12 of them did not. It is still bad because most kings still also broke God's covenant. Since they broke the covenant, God sent the Babylonian Empire to conquer Judah, destroy Jerusalem, and bring them into exile and captivity.
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When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in the command of Nebuchadnezzar, the main significantly important thing they burned down was the Temple Solomon built. That's one of the things the Jews were angry at the Babylonians the most because that's the building the Jews used to communicate with God.
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When the Israelites were in exile by the Babylonians (foreign power), they believed that they had only two options. Resist and rebel against the Babylonians or submit to them, their culture, and their gods. This picture shows the Israelites submitting to the Babylonians by worshiping their god.
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Even though the Israelites believed that they had two options, Daniel and his friends exemplify a third way. They were loyal to the king and followed the Babylonian culture like adopting Babylonian names. They also showed subversion by not accepting the king's food because they believed it will defile them and not bowing to the Babylonian idols. Because of being subversive Daniel's friends were sent to burn and die in a hot furnace. But God saved Daniel's friends.
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There was a prophecy that the Persians would allow the Israelites to return to the Promise Land. The Israelites clung to that hope. Years later, the Babylonian Empire fell when the Persians under King Cyrus conquered Babylon. The Persians allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem.
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Even before the Israelites conquered Jerusalem, there were walls defending the city. During the time of the Persian Empire, the king allowed Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The king also allowed Ezra and Nehemiah to help him rule the province of Judea.
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Under the rule of the Persian Empire, the Israelites were able to return to their homeland and also rebuild their Temple which would be known as the Second Temple. But the Israelites were still under the rule of the Persians. Some of the Israelites returned to the Promised Land but some decided to stay where they were at during their exile at the time of the Babylonian Empire.
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The Greeks led by Alexander the Great (actually from Macedonia), managed to conquer the Persian Empire. Unfortunately, Alexander died really early and his empire was divided by his top generals. The Ptolemaic Greeks gave religious tolerance to all under it's rule. However, when the Seleucid Greeks took over, they weren't religious tolerant and forced everyone to worship Zeus.
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The Jews were definitely not happy to be forced to worship the Greek gods. So, the Maccabees led by Judah Maccabee led a revolution against the Seleucid Greeks for independence. The Maccabean Revolt lasted from 167 to 160 BC. In the end, the revolution was a success and the Maccabees removed idolatry in Israel. The Jews that continue to practice Greek culture were considered as outlaws under their rule.
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In 63 BC, the Romans led by Pompey captured Jerusalem and made Palestine under the Roman Empire. Eventually, in 0 Ad, Jesus Christ will come to earth as a Jewish human and get crucified to save as all humanity from our sin.
