The ancient Israels/Hebrews were just one of a number of nations living in the ancient Near East. This region of the world included Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, Palestine, and Egypt. Each of the nations in the area experienced at least one period in its history when it was more powerful or influential than its neighbors. But the nature of empires is such that all of them were destined to fall and to be replaced by a society that was more aggressive than those it overthrow.
The first of these great empires was that of the Sumerians. It consisted of about a dozen small city-states located in southern Mesopotamia, northwest of the Persian Gulf. The Sumerians established the first high culture in human society about 4000 B.C. They made fundamental discoveries in many important areas of life. They were at their height when a person named Sargon founded an aggressive culture at Agade, northwest in central Mesopotamia, adopting much of the Sumerian culture.
Sargon's dynasty was overthrown ultimately by a nation that was itself conquered after a century of rule by a powerful Babylonian king named Hammurabi ( about 1790-1750 B.C. ) During Hammurabi reign, the Sumerian cities were conquered and a large Semitic empire was established in Mesopotamia.
It is difficult to assign an exact beginning to Hebrew history. But if we regard Abraham as the forefather of the Israelites, it is clear that they had their roots in ancient Sumer. Abraham came from Ur, a Sumerian city. - Gen. 11:31 - Abraham became prosperous in Haran in northwestern Mesopotamia, then later moved to the land of Canaan - Gen. 12:5 - where he received God's assurance that he would be the ancestor of a mighty people.
Abraham's promised son Isaac had two sons of his own, Esau and Jacob. God chose Jacob for the renewal of His promise to Abraham. - Gen. 28:13-15 - Jacob later moved from Haran, where he had married Leah and Rachel, daughters of Laban, and settled in Canaan. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel after an encounter and experience with God. - Gen. 32:24-30 - had twelve sons. Eleven of these sons plotted to sell their youngest brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt.
When God prospered Joseph and made him a high official in Egypt, the brothers was forgiven, after being humiliated. They were instructed to bring their father and other family members to Egypt, where they settled in the fertile Goshen area for over two centuries. Then a Pharaoh who did not acknowledge Joseph's achievements came to power. The descendants of Israel, now known as Hebrews or Israelites, were uprooted from their land and forced to work on the rebuilding of great Egyptian cities.
After the Israelites experienced considerable suffering, God appointed Moses to liberate His people from bondage. Moses had been born to Hebrew slaves. He was set adrift in a basket on the Nile River in an attempt to prevent him from being killed by Pharaoh's troops. An Egyptian princess rescued him and brought him up as her own son.
Fleeing later from Egypt because of a crime that he had committed - Ex. 2:12 - Moses experienced a divine revelation in the wilderness. He was ordered by God to return to Egypt where, with Aaron his brother, he would confront Pharaoh, and demand the release of the captive Israelites. Pharaoh's stubborn refusal finally resulted in the death of the Egyptian firstborn, after which Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea to safety in the Sinai region.
God appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai [Horeb] and entered into a relationship with the twelve tribes, which bound them to Himself and made them, in effect, the nation of Israel. The relationship was in the form of a Covenant. This Covenant is fundamentally important for Israelite history. Through it a number of independent tribes were bonded together into one Hebrew nation and given a specific destiny as the people chosen by God as a channel for divine revelation. The Israelites, however, were not to behave just like any nation of the ancient world. All of these were pagan, following depraved and corrupt moral practices as part of their worship.
The Israelites were to live as a religious community in which each member cared for the others. The exploitation of such helpless persons as strangers, widows, and orphans was strictly forbidden under the Mosaic Law - Deut. 24:17 - since God Himself was their champion. - Deut. 10:18 - God promised to provide a land for the Hebrews in which they could settle in obedience to covenant law as a holy nation - Ex. 19:6 - and be witnesses of His existence and power to all the neighboring nations.
Throughout Israel's history, God's covenant people were meant to be an example of spirituality to the world. This, rather than political activity or territorial conquest, was to be their true destiny. Unfortunately, much of Israelite history was marked by periodic disobedience of the covenant laws.
Israelite history began badly with an idolatrous act. The people made and worshiped a golden calf while Moses was still on Mount Sinai. - Ex. 32:1-6 - After their punishment, the covenant was renewed and work began on the building of the "Tabernacle." The structure was portable, and it moved with the Israelites whenever they wandered in the wilderness. Subsequent Hebrew temple were to reflect something of its structure.
During the wilderness years and because the Israelites disobeyed God by refusing to enter Canaan. - Num. 14:30-34 - they were compelled to wander for a generation in the wilderness. These aimless wanderings are summarized in the book of Numbers, chapter 33. The people apparently moved between various oases in the Sinai wilderness. After Aaron's death - Num. 20:22-29 - the Israelites moved steadily toward Moab and prepared to conquer Canaan. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, who owned large herds, were allowed to settle in the conquered lands and to raise their cattle. The remainder of the Israelites prepared to cross the Jordan River at Jericho and occupy the Promised Land. Moses was not permitted to lead the Israelites to victory because he had not carried out God's will properly. - Deut. 32:51 - Instead, he was allowed to view Canaan from the summit of Mount Nebo. After this, he died and was buried in Moab. - Deut. 34:6 -
Jericho was like a town under siege when Joshua, who had been commissioned as leader shortly before Moses died - Deut. 34:9 - advanced to overthrow it. He obeyed God's instructions regarding the attack upon the fortress like city that guarded the entrance to Canaan. The Hebrews march around it daily for six days, and it collapsed dramatically on the seventh day. - Josh. 6:12-20 -
The next assault was on nearby Ai. This offensive, however, met with disaster because an Israelite named Achan had defied God's instructions about not taking plunder from Jericho. When his sin was discovered, he and his family were stoned to death - Josh. 7:25 - after which Ai was was overthrown. Shortly afterwards, Joshua was tricked into sealing a covenant with the neighboring Gibeonites. This was followed by a defense of the royal city of Gibeon against the attack of five Canaanite kings who resented the pact made with Joshua. The kings were captured and executed. - Josh. 10:16-27 - Then Joshua proceeded to conquer the southern area, where Lachish and Hebron were important cities. Jerusalem, however, was not captured at this time, nor was Megiddo in central Palestine.
The final phase of occupation involved northern Palestine, where Joshua was confronted by a military group led by Jabin, king of Hazor. Perhaps, because the Israelites was anxious to keep the cities intact, none were destroyed except Hazor, the chief city of the north. This policy proved costly in later years. Although the Israelites had occupied the Promised Land, they had not conquered the people completely. Once the Canaanites were able to restablish themselves, they presented serious problems for the Israelites.
After Joshua died, individual charismatic leaders known as judges provided leadership for the Hebrew nation. This event coincided with increasingly independent activity by the Israelite tribes, caused partly because of Canaanite resistance to the conquerors. The lack of centralized leadership meant that covenant law was not being observed, and it was being replaced by idolatry.
Although the judges tried hard to correct local problems, they were no match for the increasingly militant Canaanites, or for Eglon, a Moabite ruler who oppressed some of the Hebrew people for 18 years before being killed by a left-handed judge named Ehud. - Judg. 3:15-30 - By this time Hazor had been occupied by Canaanites under Jabin, their king, who made several northern tribes his subjects for 20 years. - Judg. 4:2-3 - Jabin forces were superior because they had iron-fitted, horse-drawn chariots. These chariots were effective on level ground, but they proved less threatening in the hill country. Jabin's general Sisera was defeated by the Hebrew cammander Barak and slain by Jael, the wife of an ally named Heber. - Judg. 4:21 -
The Book of Judges shows clearly that Israel's troubles were the result of rejecting covenant law and adopting various forms of Canaanite idolatry....
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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