First Israelite king

The Israelites had a great enemy in the people of the Philistines who were always attacking them whenever they had the chance.  Up till then the Israelites had no king and they thought it would be a good thing to choose one to lead them to victory.  The first king was Saul but, though he won many battles, it was left to the next king, David, to defeat the neighbouring peoples and make his kingdom safe.

Temple of Solomon

When his son Solomon became king all was peaceful, and the time was ready to build a temple for God in Jerusalem.  Up to that time all they had was the Tabernacle.  This was a large tent which they had used in the desert for services.  It was divided into two parts, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, and was surrounded by a courtyard.  The Temple of Solomon was built after the same plan but was much bigger.  It was made of stone, was decorated with gold and took seven years to finish.

The divided kingdom

Towards the end of his life Solomon was rather cruel, especially to the 10 Israelite tribes in North Palestine.  He forced them to work at building his palace in Jerusalem and taxed them heavily in order to get the money to pay for it.  The result was that, when he died, these tribes set up a king of their own.  That made two kingdoms, the Northern one of Israel with its capital Samaria, and the Southern one of Judah with its capital Jerusalem.

SUMMARY

1. At Mount Sinai God promised that the Israelites should be his own chosen people and have his special care, and they promised to worship him only and to obey his Ten Commandments.  This partnership was called the Covenant (or Testament).

2. After wandering in the desert for 40 years, the Israelites settled in Palestine.

3. When Solomon, their third king, died the kingdom split into two parts, the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.