Kings and Prophets up to Exile

This module covers almost 400 years of Israel’s history from the end of David’s reign in 970 BC to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. 

Through studying the books of Kings you will follow Israel’s tragic decline and disloyalty to God resulting in the nation dividing, falling and going into exile.

You will also discover the important role the prophets played in calling God’s people back to Him. You will learn how God used and spoke through each prophet during this time and where they fit in to the Old Testament narrative.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module you should:

  • Understand what events led to the nation of Israel dividing into the Northern and Southern kingdoms
  • Understand how and why Israel and Judah declined and ended up in exile, and the significance of this for both Israel and salvation history
  • Understand the role of the prophets and how God used them during this era
  • Have studied the Old Testament narrative books of 1 and 2 Kings
  • Be familiar with the kings (and queen) of both kingdoms of Israel and Judah having logged dates, key events and prophets who spoke out during their reign on your Table of Kings and Prophets
  • Have reviewed the Old Testament Timeline pages of kings, prophets and events for this period
  • Have a basic understanding of other world powers such as Assyria and Babylon in relation to Israel’s history as well as important world events that were significant to Israel at this time
  • Have a good understanding of the Books of Prophecy and where they fit into the timeline of the Old Testament
  • Have studied the Old Testament prophets from the time of King David’s death to the Fall of Jerusalem, and know the context and situation in which each spoke out as God’s mouthpiece
  • Have studied the books of Amos, Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Micah, Isaiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah and Lamentations, and understand how and where each fit into this time period
  • Gain greater understanding of the big picture of God’s redemptive plan for humanity in both the narrative and prophecy
  • Have explored some of the implications of these books in contemporary life

This is a large module which will take time to work through so follow through one step at a time. The rewards will be great because by the end of this module you will have covered a large portion of the Bible, have a solid and deeper understanding of Scripture and know more of God’s heart for His lost world more. You will also have covered most of the books of the prophets which is perhaps the least known and least understood part of the Bible. So be patient and persevere lesson by lesson.

The Old Testament Timeline PDFs (pages 3-5) below is a useful resource to help you better understand the dates, reigns and prophets of both the united kingdom of Israel and the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah as well as significant world events that took place during this time. All these pages connect together forming part of the whole Old Testament Timeline.