tiglath-pileser – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

Since the time that the kingdom of Israel and Judah had split into two separate parts, both kingdoms fought against each other for power. This situation created a long lasting rivalry that span hundreds of years. It was around 740 B.C., and King Pekah of Israel, and King Ahaz of Judah were going to war with each other. King Pekah of Israel decided to join forces with the King of the Arameans against King Ahaz and Judah. King Ahaz then appealed to Tiglath-Plilezer by paying him with the treasure from the Temple so that he would aid him against this alliance.

Tiglath_Pileser_III, Egyptian_Pharoah — Tiglath Pileser III

The Assyrian king complied, but he took advantage of the situation. He appears multiple times on the Bible Timeline for each event. God was angry with Ahaz, so he allowed King Tiglath-Pilezer to march into Judah and to harass him while he was there. He took tribute from the Judean king, but he didn’t unify with them against Israel.

The Israelites defeated many of Judah’s troops because Ahaz was a wicked man who promoted idolatry. Tiglath-PIlezer was given power by God to go out and subdue many different kingdoms who refused to worship him. The foreign people who lived all over the Middle East were aware of the God of the Hebrews, but many of them didn’t adhere to his Commandments. So he not only used this Assyrian king to punish Israel he also used him to punish foreigners.

Tiglath-Pilezer and many Assyrian kings had a policy of defeating kingdoms and then shipping the people off to other parts of the Assyrian empire. As a matter of fact, he transported foreigners into Israel once he took this kingdom over. Before Tiglath-Pilezer harassed Judah or forced King Pekah of Israel to pay him tribute, he made a former Israeli king named Menahem to pay him tribute. He had established a pattern of harassing Israel and Judah, and this was only because God allowed him to so.

He even encouraged Hoshea to assassinate Pekah and gave him the right to rule Israel. Tiglath-Pilezer played various Israeli and Judean kings against each other and themselves. Tiglath-Pilezer conquered other territories including Syria, Tyre, Arpad and Damascus. He forced these foreigners to pay the Assyrians tribute. King Tiglath-Pilezer also created many sweeping reforms within his empire. His policy was not only to deport foreigners to different parts of the kingdom he also divided up many of the lands that he conquered into smaller provinces. He elected rulers in each area, and this was done so that they would fight against each other if anyone would decide to revolt.

He also expanded his army with foreign soldiers. Tiglath-Pilezer continued his policies as long as he was in power, and future Assyrian kings also followed the same pattern of rule. They continued to harass the people of Judah and Israel, and they controlled many other territories as well. God might have given the Assyrians great power to carry out their agenda, but he eventually would punish them for their sins. Tiglath-Pilezer’s rule came to an end when he died in 727 B.C. His name means “my trust is in the son of Esharra”.

Biblical References:

2 Kings 15: 29 Tiglath-Pilezer conquers many territories
2 Kings 16: 7 – 9 Tiglath-Pilezer decides to harass Judah and Israel after King Ahaz requests his help.
2 Chronicles 28 Tiglath-Pilezer destroys Judean towns and takes Israelites captive.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings+16&version=NIV http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Chronicles+28&version=KJV http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiglath-Pileser_III http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14393-tiglath-pileser http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tilglath_pileser_iii.jpg

Historians speculate that the House of Gadi that ruled Israel in the 7th century B.C. might have been established through the Israelite tribe of Gad. King Menahem was the first ruler from the House of Gadi to control Israel. He appears on the Biblical Timeline Poster during the 7th century. Menahem took the throne after he assassinated King Shallum after one month in office. Menahem’s name means “counselor” or “comforter” but the life of this ruler revealed that his name didn’t reflect his character.

A rebellion had occurred in the land of Tappuah (Tiphasah) at some point in time during his reign. 1 Kings 4: 24 states the land of Tappuah was previously conquered by King Solomon in the past. So it has been under the control of Israel for some time. After finding out about the rebellion King Menahem sent his forces to bring the city back under control. The people were not trying to cooperate with the king so Menahem destroyed their city. He not only wiped out Tappuah, he also annihilated the surrounding countryside of Tizrah. He killed an entire population of people and the Bible says that he was so cruel that he even slaughtered pregnant women by cutting them open.

Menahem ruled Israel for 10 years and during his reign he led the people in idol worship. The Bible states that he performed the same sins as Jeroboam who started the Gold Calf Cult in Israel. Jeroboam was the first ruler of Israel after the kingdom divided. He created a false religion so that he could keep the people of Israel and Judah divided. This false religion was used as a form of policy by many Israeli kings and God didn’t approve of it at all.

During the reign of King Menahem an Assyrian king named Tiglath-pileser invaded Israel. He was a mighty conqueror and he would have probably easily defeated King Menahem forces in battle. King Menahem decided to save the kingdom of Israel by exploiting the rich people under his rule. He taxed them excessively so that he could pay tribute to King Tiglath-pileser. The money was going to be used to strengthen his position in Israel and to make an alliance with the Assyrian king. Tiglath-pileser was pleased with the tribute and Israel had to become a tributary of Assyria.

King Menahem’s actions forced Israel to pay a yearly tribute to Assyria for many years afterward. This happened for some time until the reign of King Hoshea. When King Hoshea refused to pay tribute to Assyria it caused the might Assyrian army to attack Israel and to carry off most of the people into captivity. God had allowed all of this to happen so he could punish Israel for its sins. Menahem ruled the land for 10 years before he died and when he did he was succeeded by his son Pekahiah who was also considered a cruel king.

Biblical References:

2 Kings 15: 14 Menahem assassinates King Shallum and takes over the throne of Israel
2 Kings 15: 16 King Menahem destroys a rebellion in Tappuah.
2 Kings 15: 17, 18 King Menahem rules Israel for 10 years and he doesn’t turn from his sins.
2 Kings 15: 19, 20 King Tiglath-pileser from Assyria rules attacks Israel and King Menahem taxes the rich people in his kingdom and pays a large sum of money to stop the invasion. Israel becomes a tributary of Assyria.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/374639/Menahem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Manahen-Menahem.jpg

Tag: tiglath-pileser

Tiglath Pileser III

Menahem of Israel, King