God explicitly claims responsibility for the division of the northern ten tribes of Israel from the southern two tribes of Judah, declaring, "Let every man return to his house, for this thing—the division of His people—is from Me." A few hundred years later, the wholesale scattering of Israel and Judah further demonstrates that it is God, not satan, who scatters as a result of sin. Large portions of the Old Testament, including the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, as well as many minor prophets like Amos, warn God's people to repent to escape His judgment, which often involved being scattered. Sadly, Israel and Judah did not believe that God scatters due to sin until it happened to them. The same principle applies to the church, where God, in His sovereignty, responds to the spiritual condition by creating division, both as a reaction to a loss of focus on Him and as a proactive measure to discipline His children and instill His character in them. When salvation is under threat due to drifting, God, not satan, causes division, formalizing and manifesting the separations that already exist, ensuring the best possible result for His people.

God first uses the name Israel to identify Jacob, the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel, as seen in Genesis 32:28. From this point, the Bible uses Jacob and Israel interchangeably. In Genesis 48:16, God through Jacob places the name Israel on the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, not on Judah, marking the beginning of a distinction. By the time of King Saul, God begins to distinguish Israel from Judah, attaching the name Israel to the other tribes, excluding Judah. During King David's reign, this distinction continues, with the ten tribes making up the house of Israel, as evidenced by their claim of ten shares in the king in II Samuel 19:43. This division, already in place over 250 years before the deportation by the Neo-Assyrian Empire circa 722 BCE, led to a rebellion and brief civil war between the two houses. God applies the name Israel to the ten tribes, not to Judah, a distinction that begins well before the famous split after Solomon's reign. After Solomon's reign, a final separation occurs, with Israel comprising the ten tribes, and Judah including Judah, Benjamin, and the Levites, as detailed in the books of Kings. The only time God includes Judah under the name Israel is when referring to all the children of Israel. After their deportation, the house of Israel and the house of Judah take divergent paths, one into historical oblivion and the other into perpetual prominence. The Bible consistently identifies as Israel those nations known as the Ten Lost Tribes, rather than the house of Judah. God's intention, as stated in Amos 9:9, is for the house of Israel to remain lost or hidden, sifted among all nations, yet not a single grain shall fall to the ground. The Bible speaks of a future time when God will unite the house of Israel and the house of Judah, indicating that the house of Israel must still exist, just as the house of Judah does today.

The division of Solomon's kingdom into two nations occurred after Jeroboam led a successful tax-revolt against Rehoboam, Solomon's son. Judah, Benjamin, and Levi remained under the Davidic monarchy with Rehoboam, while the ten northern tribes formed the Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam. Jeroboam introduced religious changes to strengthen his control over the northern tribes, establishing a priesthood loyal to his government. This became a sin for Israel, leading to the destruction of Jeroboam's house, as he refused to obey God and forfeited the promise of an enduring house. His son Nadab was assassinated after two years, and Baasha of Issachar took the throne, slaughtering Jeroboam's progeny. The consequences of Jeroboam's apostasy extended beyond his family, as the children of Israel continued in his sins without departing from them. Subsequent kings of the northern kingdom followed his path, never correcting his errors, which angered the Lord, resulting in Israel's removal from His sight. The Kingdom of Judah, despite witnessing Israel's idolatry and fall, refused to repent, and God judged Judah as more treacherous than Israel. Through prophets like Hosea, God warned Judah not to follow Israel's course, yet with few exceptions like Hezekiah and Josiah, Judah's kings were often more corrupt, stumbling alongside Israel into iniquity. The ongoing sins of Judah ultimately led to severe consequences, as their refusal to turn from idolatry mirrored Israel's disastrous path. Frequent conflicts arose between the Kingdom of Judah in the south and the Kingdom of Israel in the north, highlighting their deep divisions.

God declared that Solomon's descendants would not rule over all Israel due to Solomon's apostasy, promising to tear part of the kingdom from them. Upon Solomon's death around 975 BC, after a forty-year reign of unparalleled splendor, his son Rehoboam took the throne. The heavy taxation and forced labor under Solomon had burdened the people, fulfilling Samuel's prophecy about the cost of monarchy. Seizing on this unrest, Jeroboam, a talented Ephraimite, challenged Rehoboam to lighten the yoke Solomon had imposed. Rehoboam, lacking his father's wisdom, responded by threatening an even heavier burden. As a result, certain tribes rebelled against the house of David, rejecting Rehoboam's authority with the cry, "What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!" Consequently, the kingdom split into two. Rehoboam's realm, named after the leading tribe, became the Kingdom of Judah, comprising three tribes and often called the southern kingdom due to its location. Jeroboam's domain, known as the Kingdom of Israel, included the remaining ten tribes and was referred to as the northern kingdom because of its position north of Judah. Thus, while someone from the tribe of Judah would always rule a part of Israel, another part followed different leadership under Jeroboam, setting the two kingdoms on divergent historical paths.

The division of Israel and Judah emerged as a significant turning point in the history of God's chosen people. At the time of Saul's death, the tribes of Israel split into two houses: Israel, consisting of ten tribes in the northern areas of Palestine, led by the half-tribes of Joseph; and Judah, comprised of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and most of Levi. While Judah accepted David as its king, Israel chose Ishbosheth, Saul's son, leading to civil war. Eventually, David gained the upper hand and unified the kingdom, establishing Jerusalem as his capital. After Solomon's death around 931 BC, the house of Israel rebelled against David's line, setting up their own monarchy under Jeroboam. This division deepened as Israel fell into idolatry, rejected the Levites, and broke God's Sabbaths. Within just over two hundred years, Assyria conquered Israel around 722 BC, capturing many of its people, and as a whole, the house of Israel never returned to Palestine. Though some post-captivity Israelites, identified by historians as Scythians, briefly resettled their ancestral lands during Josiah's reign, they soon rejoined the main body of Israelites near the Caspian Sea. Judah, under a succession of 19 kings and one queen, fared somewhat better, with many rulers striving to follow God's laws. Yet, idolatry and Sabbath-breaking ultimately led to their downfall, and they fell to the Babylonians in a series of invasions from 604 to 586 BC. After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, the house of Judah was permitted to return to Palestine by Cyrus, king of Persia, around 538 BC. Determined to avoid the sins that led to their destruction, the returning exiles vowed never to repeat idolatry and Sabbath-breaking, maintaining their identity as God's chosen people, while the other tribes are often considered lost.