FINAL WARNING: The Curtain Falls
of the Jordan River. After the death of King Solomon, Israel was split
into two Kingdoms, along territorial and political lines. Judah and
Benjamin in the South remained loyal to the House of David; while the
rest of the tribes to the North were ruled by a succession of
monarchies.The Assyrian conquest of Israel mentioned earlier was a bit more
complex than what is generally known. The downfall of the country
began in 734 BC, and ended with the defeat of their capital at Samaria
in 722 BC. Plus there was another incursion into Samaria in 720 BC.
The actual deportation of Israelites which began with the initial
Assyrian attacks from 734-732 BC, actually continued until 715 BC.
Three different Assyrian kings were responsible for the forced
deportation of Israelites to Assyria: Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 BC),
Shalmaneser V (727-722 BC) and Sargon II (722-705 BC). The result
was that the Israelite population in northern Israel was virtually wiped
out.In 722-721 BC, Shalmanser V, the King of Assyria conquered the
Northern Kingdom of Israel, captured Samaria, and took these ten
tribes to Assyria where they were imprisoned in Halah, Habor, Hara,
and the river of Gozan. For all intents and purposes, these tribes
seemingly disappeared, and they became known as the Ten Lost
Tribes of Israel. It is believed, for the most part, that the southern
tribes of Judah and Benjamin make up what is known as the Jewish
people of today. However, Biblical evidence points to the fact that it
was known where these tribes were.In 2 Chronicles 30:1-10, recorded many years after the exile of the
Northern tribes, you’ll find this passage:“And (King) Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote
letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to
the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto
the LORD God of Israel ... So they established a decree to make
proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan,
that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God
of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in
such sort as it was written. So the posts went with the letters from
the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and