For numerous reasons the roots of Israel's disunity go as far back as Egypt. God knew from the beginning that good intentions don't always produce good actions: "The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41).

When Israel accepted His covenant (Exodus 19:8), God was well aware of the people's physical weaknesses: "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!" (Deuteronomy 5:29). The people would eventually reject Him (Deuteronomy 31:16-18, 27-29).

As Creator of mankind, God well understands that "the carnal mind is enmity [hostile] against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).

Later in Israel's history, the prophet Samuel wrote of Israel's desire for human rulership over God's theocratic rule: "And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day--with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods--so they are doing to you also' " (1 Samuel 8:7-8).

Clearly, the people of Israel rejected God as their king. They wanted Samuel to establish a human monarchy to rule over them, as was the practice in surrounding nations. The Israelites got what they wanted--except that their king was to be directly subservient to God.

God warned the Israelites that a human king would take their sons to maintain a standing army and their food to sustain that army: " 'And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.' Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, 'No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles' " (1 Samuel 8:18-20).

The seeds of Israelitish disunity germinated, taking firm root when King Rehoboam ascended the throne after Solomon's death. These seeds, which eventually separated the 12 tribes, existed long before Israelite unity dissolved. Three previous kings of Israel played indirect parts in Israel's ultimate separation:

• Saul's failure as king. When Saul was to be anointed as Israel's first king, he demonstrated a measure of humility (1 Samuel 9:21; 15:17). However, as time passed, his character weaknesses came to overshadow his strong qualities. In the climactic episode of his failure to lead in godly fashion, God told Samuel to instruct Saul that he should punish Amalek for attacking the Israelites when they came out of Egypt (1 Samuel 15:2). He gave Saul specific instructions.

Saul heard God's directives clearly. But, because he feared the people more than God (verse 21), he did what was right in his own eyes in order to gain their favor. His actions brought about his downfall and the end of his dynasty.

• David's sins. Based on outward appearance, David should never have become king. As a youth he apparently wasn't as tall as his older brothers. But he had a godly heart (1 Samuel 16:7; Acts 13:22), and God made him Saul's replacement as king over Israel.

Over the course of his 40-year reign, the trappings of power, prestige and prosperity sometimes obscured David's spiritual vision and clouded his judgment concerning his need to fully obey God's laws. Although he wholeheartedly repented (Psalm 51), his sins and other problems sowed seeds of vengeance in Israel. They promoted a subtle distrust and jealousy throughout Israelite society.

Shimei clearly reflected this attitude in his denunciation of David as he fled for his life from his own son, Absalom: "The Lord has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!" (2 Samuel 16:8).

The troubles of David were legendary. Difficulties in David's house began with David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. The son born from their illicit union eventually died (2 Samuel 12). There was also incest in David's house,, between Amnon and his half-sister, Tamar. In time Absalom, Tamar's full brother, murdered Amnon over this shameful act (2 Samuel 13).

In David's kingdom his oldest son, Absalom, rebelled against him and attempted to usurp the kingdom, a seditious act that eventually cost Absalom his life (2 Samuel 13-18). David's kingdom suffered famine, war and plague (2 Samuel 21-24). These events set the stage for more problems.

• Solomon's false gods. God chose Solomon, David's son, as Israel's third human king. Early in his reign Solomon asked God for wisdom, understanding and the ability to properly rule the nation (1 Kings 3:5-13). Later, however, Solomon's many wives and concubines turned his head and heart away from God (1 Kings 11:4).

Solomon's example helped sow the seeds of apostasy and separation from God throughout the nation. The reigns of both Rehoboam and Jeroboam, as well as those of most of the subsequent kings of Israel and Judah, followed Solomon's apostate example.

• Rehoboam's faulty reasonings. Havoc broke out when Rehoboam became king. The time for internal strife and ultimate separation was ripe throughout Israel, particularly in the north. Rehoboam ignored the sound wisdom of his father's seasoned advisers and followed that of his youthful, inexperienced peers. He unwittingly facilitated a split foreordained by Almighty God.

The seeds of separation were sown early by Israel's kings. They were watered and nurtured by many self-centered acts over multiple decades. Ultimately Israel reaped the harvest when much of the nation, seeing itself as largely disenfranchised, rallied behind an ambitious servant in Solomon's incredibly wealthy empire: a man named Jeroboam.

The nation's separation into two fragmented and competing kingdoms was bad enough. Even more devastating was their separation from God and the more far-reaching consequences of that fracture: the later destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. GN