The era of Judges (1200 – 1030 BC)
*
After Joshua’s death, the people of Israel were governed by Judges until Saul was appointed king. This period is called the Era of Judges.

Famous Judges are: Othniel （ Judges 3:7-11）、 Ehud（ Judges 3:12-30）、 Shamgar （ Judges 3:31）、 Deborah And Barak （ Judges 4:1 - 5:31）、 Gideon and Abimelek （ Judges 6:1 - 9:57）、 Tola （ Judges 10:1-2）、 Jair （ Judges 10:3-5）、 Jephthah （ Judges 11:1 - 12:7）、 Ibzan（ Judges 12:8-10）、 Elon （ Judges 12:11-12）、 Abdon （ Judges 12:13-15）、 Samson （ Judges 13:1 - 16:31）、 and Samuel, the last Judge （ 1 Samuel 1:1 - 7:17）。

Samuel was the last Judge of the Israelites. When he grew old, the elders of Israel asked him to appoint a king for them. Samuel warned them, according to the Lord, that the king would have many rights and would take away everything possessed by their sons. “The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning.” " The LORD answered: “Listen to them! Appoint a king to rule over them." (1 Samuel 8:19,21）

The Monarchy (1030-931 BC)
*
Saul was the first king of the people of Israel (1030 BC). He ascended to the throne at the age of thirty and reigned as king of Israel for forty years.” After taking possession of the kingship over Israel, Saul waged war on its enemies all around and delivered Israel from the hand of those who were plundering them. Whenever Saul saw any strong or brave man, he took him into his service.” (1 Samuel 14:47,48,52） Later, Saul did not obey the Lord's command, plundered and did things that the Lord didn't like. The Lord asked Samuel to send a message to Saul : “I will not return with you, because you rejected the word of the LORD and the LORD has rejected you as king of Israel..” (1 Samuel 15:26）

“The LORD said to Samuel: How long will you grieve for Saul, whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for from among his sons I have decided on a king. “ (1 Samuel 16:1） “Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.” (1 Samuel 16:13） The Messiah predicted by the prophets was a sprout from Jesse and a bud from the house of David. This Messiah is Jesus Christ. After Saul's death, the tribe of Judah and all other successive tribes embraced David as king (1010 BC). After David captured Jerusalem, he made Jerusalem the center of all powers (religious, political, military and financial) . “David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years:" (2 Samuel 5:4） Under David's rule, the people's livelihood was stable and the territory secured. It is a pity that later David persecuted the good people because of his lust for women. The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to warn David and made him repent. David wanted to know the number of population under his rule and ordered a census. " Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people. David said to the LORD: “I have sinned grievously in what I have done. Take away, LORD, your servant’s guilt, for I have acted very foolishly." (2 Samuel 24:10） The Lord sent a prophet to tell David that He would bring disasters to Israel. " The LORD sent a plague over Israel from morning until the time appointed.”（ 2 Samuel 24:15）， " Then David built an altar to the LORD there, and sacrificed burnt offerings and communion offerings. The LORD granted relief to the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.”（ 2 Samuel 24:24） Although David is king, he is but a mortal and he sinned. But he believed that the Lord is merciful and will forgive his sins.

When David grew old, he ordered the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan to take his son Solomon to Gihon and there anoint and proclaim him king. (970 BC). When David was dying he told his son, Solomon " Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, and wherever you turn, and that the LORD may fulfill the word he spoke concerning me” (1 Kings 2:3） “Then Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingship was established.” (1 Kings 2:12） Solomon admired the Lord and obeyed the statutes of his father David. He also asked the Lord to give him a wise heart so that he could rule the Lord’s people wisely and be able to judge between good and evil. “The Lord was pleased by Solomon’s request. “ (1 Kings 3:10）

The split of the kingdoms(931 BC)
*
Soon after Solomon's death, the country was divided. The ten northern tribes were led by Ephraim. The southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin were led by Judah. They broke from each other. The leader who caused the split was Jeroboam, who belonged to the tribe of Ephraim and was originally thought highly of by Solomon who asked him to supervise construction projects. However, Jeroboam, like most of the northern tribes, was dissatisfied with Solomon, who was born in the southern tribe of Judah. He was reluctant to serve Solomon and escaped to Egypt.

When Solomon's son, Rehoboam succeeded, he was recognized by the southern tribes, but he still had to go to Shechem to seek acceptance from the northern tribes. As soon as Jeroboam heard the news, he went to Shechem to meet Rehoboam, and the two clashed. As a result, the ten northern tribes established Israel, the Northern Kingdom, ruled by Jeroboam. While the southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah established Judah, the Southern Kingdom and Rehoboam became king of Judah (1 Kings 12:1 - 13:34）。

The Kingdom of the North wanted independence and broke away from Jerusalem. They abandoned the worship of one God but accepted the worship of multiple gods. The kings of the Northern Kingdom were mostly tyrants and there were nineteen in total.

In the southern kingdom of Judah, although Jerusalem was the center of politics and religion, the kings replaced religious ideals with their own set of rules and there were twenty kings in total.

The most prominent thing in this period is the rise of prophets. In the history of Israel, there have always been prophets. Moses is called the most important prophet, and Samuel is also a prophet. The people of Israel often feel the call of their Lord "Yahweh" and prophets will speak to the people on behalf of the Lord. The words and deeds of the prophets affected the lives of the Israelites. The prophets courageously participated in the political activities of the country, preached important messages and exhorted the Israelites to worship God instead of evil idols.

Although the most famous prophets came from the South, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, but the North is the birthplace of outstanding prophets. Famous prophets are Elijah, Elisha, Micah, Amos and Hosea.