I. General Aspects of the Kingdom of Ju´dah.
1. Its territory. It embraced the mountain portion of the tribe of Ju´dah, from the Dead Sea to the Phi-lis´tine plain; a part of Ben´ja-min, in which tribe the larger part of Je-ru´sa-lem stood; and also a part of Dan (Chron. 11. 10). Sim´e-on was nominally within its border, but was practically given up to the A-ra´bi-ans of the desert; E´dom was tributary, though often in rebellion, and finally independent (1 Kings 22. 47; 2 Kings 8. 20); Phi-lis´ti-a was outside of its boundary. Its extent was about 3,435 square miles, about half the area of Massachusetts.
2. Its government was a monarchy, with but one family on the throne, the line of Da´vid, in direct succession, with the exception of Ath-a-li´ah´s usurpation (2 Kings 11. 1-3), through nineteen reigns.
3. Its religion. Through all the history we find two forms of worship strongly opposed to each other, yet both rooted in the nation. 1.) The worship of Je-ho´vah through the temple, the priesthood, and the prophets. 2.) But side by side with this pure religion was the worship of idols upon "high places," probably begun as a form of worshiping Je-ho´vah, but degenerating into gross and immoral idolatry. There was a struggle going on constantly between these two elements in the state, the spiritual and the material. Notwithstanding the efforts of reforming kings like Je-hosh´a-phat, Hez-e-ki´ah, and Jo-si´ah, the general tendency was downward.
II. The Duration of the Kingdom. The kingdom lasted from B. C. 934 to 587—more than one hundred and thirty years longer than Is´ra-el. Reasons for its endurance may have been:
1. Its retired situation: hemmed in by mountains and deserts; at a distance from the ordinary lines of travel; not in the direct path of conquest from any other nation. Ju´dah had few foreign wars as compared with Is´ra-el.
2. The unity of its people. They were not ten tribes loosely connected, but one tribe, with a passionate love of their nation and a pride in their blood.
3. Its concentration at Je-ru´sa-lem. Through all its history there was but one capital, where the palace of the king and the temple of the Lord were standing together.
4. The reverence for the House of Da´vid also kept the people together. There was no change in dynasty, and the loyalty of the people grew stronger through the generations toward the family on the throne. There being no usurpers, the throne was permanent until destroyed by foreign power.
5. The purity of its religion tended to keep the nation united and to keep it in existence. No bond of self-interest or of blood will hold a people together as strongly as the tie of religion. Ju´dah's strength was in the measure of her service of God, and when she renounced Je-ho´vah her doom came speedily.