The Period of the Kings: Events in Yehuda and the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes (719 BCE Onwards). In 719 BCE, the reign of Ahaz, son of Ahab and Jezebel, began in Shomron.
The sons of Israel had heard the voice of God, crossed the sea, and witnessed innumerable miracles. These miracles granted them victory over their enemies and salvation from conquerors. However, they turned away from their Protector, losing the moral integrity necessary to remain on the holy land and to fulfill their role as teachers and mentors to all nations. Their mission was to bring the understanding of God's unity and to foster peace and prosperity throughout the world.
Reasons for the Fall:
From the moment of the Exodus from Egypt, some among the freed people reverted to the customs and ideas of the idolatrous world. Despite this, the majority of the sons of Israel preserved their faith in the one God for centuries, meticulously observing the laws given at Mount Sinai. This commitment enabled the tradition to be passed down through generations (Daat Sofrim).
During the era of the judges (1227 – 890 BCE), the tribes began to assimilate with the peoples of Canaan. Idolatry infiltrated the tribes of Israel during Saul's reign (877 – 876 BCE) but was eradicated and did not resurface under David or Solomon. The power of the kings, rooted in the Torah, upheld its laws until the nation's eventual disintegration. Rebellions against David were power struggles rather than conflicts between believers and idolaters.
When the ten tribes separated from Yehuda (796 BCE), they abandoned Moses' traditions. Nonetheless, many in the northern kingdom retained their true faith and adhered to Torah's rules. The prophets, sent by God, opposed the kings who led the people astray, permitted sacrifices outside the Temple in Jerusalem, and encouraged the worship of Baal as a manifestation of God.
Yerovam ben Nevat, the first king of the ten tribes, feared that his subjects would revert to Davidic rule if they continued to visit the Temple. He forbade pilgrimage to Jerusalem under penalty of death. Yerovam 's policies laid the groundwork for the spiritual decline of the northern kingdom, and his successors continued on this path.
Significant changes occurred with the rise of Omri, who tolerated idolatry, and his son Ahab, who allowed his wife Jezebel, from the royal house of Sidon, to establish her own order. The separation from Jerusalem, a city of wisdom and holiness, and the Temple, where the Divine presence was felt, was the primary reason for the population's spiritual decline. Jezebel's reign enforced idolatry with the aid of numerous priests of Baal and Ashtoreth.
Despite the prophets' opposition, the majority of the population failed to discern between true worship and the sacrifices offered to Baal. This spiritual confusion persisted, and the people did not return to the correct understanding of God.
The situation improved when, following the prophet's command, Jehu killed Joram (705 BCE), the idolatrous king of the northern kingdom, and seized power. Jehu eradicated Baal worship but did not restore Temple service. Jehu's dynasty ruled for a century, but the kings' inability to unite the ten tribes with Yehuda sealed their fate.
The capital of the ten tribes, Samaria, fell in 555 BCE, ending the northern kingdom. 
In Yehuda, the righteous rulers from the Davidic dynasty faced their challenges. Asa (777 – 749 BCE) married his son Jehoshaphat to a woman from the idolatrous house of Ahab. Jehoshaphat (749 - 727 BCE), a man of exceptional righteousness, repeated this mistake, marrying his son Joram to Ahab's daughter, Athaliah.
Joram, influenced by his mother, adopted idolatrous practices, killed his brothers, and reinstated idol worship in the country. After Joram's death, Athaliah seized power, killing all potential heirs to rule herself. Yehuda struggled to recover from this blow and faced ongoing ideological crises.
Periods of allegiance to the Torah in Yehuda alternated with times of intense and bloody conflict, involving the prophets among others. During the reign of the righteous King Hizkiahy (561-532 BCE), Yehuda experienced a miraculous salvation from the Assyrian troops of Sennacherib, when 180,000 soldiers perished near Jerusalem. However, the country failed to capitalize on this miracle, and the fear of Jehovah dissipated after Hizkiahy 's death.
Hizkiahy 's successor, Menashe (532 - 477 BCE), despite being raised by a righteous father, quickly turned to villainy and waged an implacable struggle against his opponents. A significant factor in Menashe's actions was the looming threat of Yehuda's absorption by Assyria, the first empire to conquer many nations, including the kingdom of the ten tribes.
The thirty-one-year reign of the righteous King Yoshiahy (475 - 444 BCE) marked a continuous struggle against idolatry and became a pivotal period for the people. However, it did not save them from exile. Menashe's reign had so deeply altered the consciousness and way of life of the sons of Israel that returning to true concepts was impossible. Thus, it is said that the decision to destroy the Temple was made in Heaven.
Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by Nevuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He also dealt harshly with the elite of the nation: the high priest, priests, rulers, military commanders, brave warriors, and the last king of Yehuda, Zidikiahy, son of Yoshiahy. Following the fall of Jerusalem, the rivers of bloodshed, and the expulsion of the remaining survivors, a glimmer of hope for the kingdom's revival emerged. Nevuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah ben Ahikam as deputy of the devastated Yehuda, and the surviving people, including armed groups, began to gather around him.
However, Gedaliah was soon assassinated by conspirators, leading the remaining sons of Israel to flee to Egypt. The nascent state structure, which had the potential to grow into a kingdom, was destroyed before it could form.
The closing narrative of the Book of Kings II (25:27-29) offers a poignant scene: "And the king of Babylon lifted up the head of Yehoiachin king of Yehuda out of prison...and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life." The privileged position of a captive in the land of Jerusalem's destroyers only deepens the sorrow over the lost dignity of the house of David and the greatness of the sons of Israel.
"You will be lost among the nations..." is a call to preserve oneself even in exile, not a prediction of disappearance. The sons of Israel, the bearers of the Divine Spirit in a world driven by material values, must be revived. They will endure the horrors of exile and rise again. Their return to their homeland will bring light and prosperity to the entire world.
The people who embody the idea of direct and immediate connection with God (the idea of union) will never disappear.