Esau and Moab plans siege against Israel using the Assyrians

The general of the Assyrian army Holoferness started the invasion as his amassed forces marches against Bethulia. The immense forces marched out across the valleys and plains before Bethulia where the Israelites saw in fear. However, the Israelites were still in a geographically strategic position since they were on higher ground. A significant change in strategy was brought by the people of Esau and the Moabites who convinced Holofernes, that it is strategically better to cut out the water supply and lay siege rather than a frontal assault.

Strategically, Esau and Moab's plans made sense to Holofernes. Besides giving this free advice, they also offered to stay on the mountains to keep watch if the Israelites tried to escape. This devastating siege of the Israelites, was keenly participated by Esau and Moab because perhaps of their long hatred and jealousy of their distant relatives, the Israelites. They would later on meet their justice with God.


Judith 7
The Campaign against Bethulia
The next day Holofer′nes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had joined him, to break camp and move against Bethu′lia, and to seize the passes up into the hill country and make war on the Israelites. 2 So all their warriors moved their camp that day; their force of men of war was one hundred and seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, together with the baggage and the foot soldiers handling it, a very great multitude. 3 They encamped in the valley near Bethu′lia, beside the spring, and they spread out in breadth over Dothan as far as Balba′im and in length from Bethu′lia to Cyamon, which faces Esdrae′lon.

4 When the Israelites saw their vast numbers they were greatly terrified, and every one said to his neighbor, “These men will now lick up the face of the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight.” 5 Then each man took up his weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their towers they remained on guard all that night.

6 On the second day Holofer′nes led out all his cavalry in full view of the Israelites in Bethu′lia, 7 and examined the approaches to the city, and visited the springs that supplied their water, and seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then returned to his army.

8 Then all the chieftains of the people of Esau and all the leaders of the Mo′abites and the commanders of the coastland came to him and said, 9 “Let our lord hear a word, lest his army be defeated. 10 For these people, the Israelites, do not rely on their spears but on the height of the mountains where they live, for it is not easy to reach the tops of their mountains. 11 Therefore, my lord, do not fight against them in battle array, and not a man of your army will fall. 12 Remain in your camp, and keep all the men in your forces with you; only let your servants take possession of the spring of water that flows from the foot of the mountain— 13 for this is where all the people of Bethu′lia get their water. So thirst will destroy them, and they will give up their city. We and our people will go up to the tops of the nearby mountains and camp there to keep watch that not a man gets out of the city. 14 They and their wives and children will waste away with famine, and before the sword reaches them they will be strewn about in the streets where they live. 15 So you will pay them back with evil, because they rebelled and did not receive you peaceably.”

16 These words pleased Holofer′nes and all his servants, and he gave orders to do as they had said. 17 So the army of the Am′monites moved forward, together with five thousand Assyrians, and they encamped in the valley and seized the water supply and the springs of the Israelites. 18 And the sons of Esau and the sons of Ammon went up and encamped in the hill country opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men toward the south and the east, toward Acr′aba, which is near Chusi beside the brook Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, and covered the whole face of the land, and their tents and supply trains spread out in great number, and they formed a vast multitude.

The Distress of the Israelites
19 The people of Israel cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded them and there was no way of escape from them. 20 The whole Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them for thirty-four days, until all the vessels of water belonging to every inhabitant of Bethu′lia were empty; 21 their cisterns were going dry, and they did not have enough water to drink their fill for a single day, because it was measured out to them to drink. 22 Their children lost heart, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and fell down in the streets of the city and in the passages through the gates; there was no strength left in them any longer.

23 Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered about Uzzi′ah and the rulers of the city and cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders, 24 “God be judge between you and us! For you have done us a great injury in not making peace with the Assyrians. 25 For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to strew us on the ground before them with thirst and utter destruction. 26 Now call them in and surrender the whole city to the army of Holofer′nes and to all his forces, to be plundered. 27 For it would be better for us to be captured by them;[a] for we will be slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness the death of our babes before our eyes, or see our wives and children draw their last breath. 28 We call to witness against you heaven and earth and our God, the Lord of our fathers, who punishes us according to our sins and the sins of our fathers. Let him not do this day the things which we have described!”

29 Then great and general lamentation arose throughout the assembly, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice. 30 And Uzzi′ah said to them, “Have courage, my brothers! Let us hold out for five more days; by that time the Lord our God will restore to us his mercy, for he will not forsake us utterly. 31 But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do what you say.”

32 Then he dismissed the people to their various posts, and they went up on the walls and towers of their city. The women and children he sent home. And they were greatly depressed in the city.

Solomon led to idolatory by wives

It appeared that Solomon was a great lover, but the consequences was that he fell under the influence of his wives spirituality. Since most of his wives were from the cultures God specifically told the Israelites not to marry with, Solomon was already in disobedience. His wives idols and false gods became the idols and false gods of Solomon and thus he no longer walked with the true God of Israel.

Out of his promise and faithfulness to David, God decided that the punishment would not occur in Solomon's time but instead his kingdom will be taken over but only a small portion remain for his descendents.

The chapter also introduces Jeroboam and describes the beginning of the splitting of Israel. Jeroboam was one of the ambitious officials. The prophet Ahijah revealed to Jeroboam how God was angered by Solomon and had planned to split the kingdom. This was no doubt in preparation for Jeroboam to take control of the parts of Israel which God will take away from Solomon.


1 Kings 11

Solomon’s Heart Turns from the LORD

 1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. 11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

Adversaries of Solomon
 
14 Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom. 15 For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, after he had killed every male in Edom 16 (because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him. Hadad was still a little child. 18 Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.
21 So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”
22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country?”
So he answered, “Nothing, but do let me go anyway.”
23 And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, when David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion
 
26 Then Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.
27 And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: Solomon had built the Millo
29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have[a] forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. 34 However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes. 36 And to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there. 37 So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’”
40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Death of Solomon
 
41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.