READING THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE BIBLE IS A BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
The Bible is primarily a book of remembrance. Remembrance is important to both Jews and Christians (Hebrew Zekar; Greek Anamnesis). The Jews remember God's saving hand, especially in the Exodus. Christians recall that at the table of the Lord, on the night before he died, Jesus took bread, broke it, gave it to his disciples and said, "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Cor 11:25).
THE BIBLE IS A FAITH RECORD
The bible is a faith record of a people-- their triumphs and defeats, joys and sorrows, faith and disbelief. The bible did not record these events with a camera or tape. God's saving works were communicated orally for centuries, by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Ancient cultures were based on oral tradition with a memory much better than ours. Stories were remembered, especially when there were no reference books or libraries such as we have today. Later, these stories were re-interpreted in light of the people's current circumstances and eventually these stories were written down. The events took on meaning because of the people's faith in God's revelation.
THE BIBLE TOOK SHAPE OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME
The writings of many individuals with distinct voices each had a unique contribution. The result is a composite work, which is not completely uniform, so that the various parts do not always fit together perfectly. For instance there are two somewhat different versions of the same story, for example: the Creation, the Flood, Abraham's and Moses' call. The editors saw no need to blend the stories, but simply laid one alongside the other, much as Grandma's quilt was put together piece by piece, giving it the character it has today.
TORAH / PENTATEUCH
The first five books of the Bible -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy -- form a distinct group. The Jews know them as Torah, or "The Law." Another name for these books is the Pentateuch (Greek for "the five books"). These books are the founding charter of the nation of Israel, and at their heart, is the story of how God chose Israel. These books were given their final form about 400 BCE, but they deal with events that took place many hundreds of years before that date. What we now have is the end product of a long process of experiencing the event, proclaiming what was handed down, writing and editing.
CREATION
The opening chapters of the Bible are not a scientific or historical account of creation, but a theological account. Adam and Eve personify the human race that chose sin over God's providence and suffered the consequences. The story attempts to describe why we experience evil and disorder in a world that God made good. The stories God's faithfulness and our unfaithfulness recur again and again throughout the entire Bible. The accounts of creation in Genesis are filled with symbols such as: earth, clay, potter, water, river, garden, tree, fruit, serpent, man and woman, husband and wife. Symbols are capable of communicating truth on a deeper level than ordinary language. These stories reveal the deepest truth about the world and about ourselves. Though these are symbolic stories, at some level they may be factual as well. The story of the deluge in Noah and the Ark could be based on some catastrophe that really happened. But, as said previously, the Bible is not a science book nor is it a book of history. The story of Adam and Eve is meant to teach us about free will, and human choice of sin. Adam's name is a play on words. God took adama (Hebrew for "earth") and fashioned "the first man," ha adam'. Eve's name, Chavvah, means the "mother of all living." Together they are an archetype to represent the first human beings. This means that God is the source of all human life.
COVENANT
The words "Old Covenant" sounds outdated and no longer useful. The "New Covenant," or New Testament, was not meant to supplant the old, but to fulfill it.
"If you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine (Exodus 19:5). Abraham and his family leave Ur and head northwest to Haran at the apex of what is still known as the Fertile Crescent. Anyone traveling from Mesopotamia to Egypt, or any land bordering the Mediterranean, was required to make that trek. The only alternative was straight across the Arabian desert, hundreds of miles of barren lava beds and stony wastelands. At Haran, Abraham (then known as Abram), received a call from God: "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram went, as the LORD had told him (Genesis 12:1-4a).
EXODUS
A four century journey that began happily ended disastrously in slavery in Egypt. Moses, liberator and lawgiver, was called by God to lead his people on their most famous journey, the Exodus. The book of Exodus is the key to understanding the Hebrew scriptures. It is this experience that gave the Jews their own purpose and identity as the "People of God." The liberation of God's people from slavery profoundly affected Israel. When the people wanted to understand other events, they looked back to the Exodus. Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:1-8a).
COMMANDMENTS
God takes the Hebrew people out of an unjust society, and teaches them how to live in freedom in a mutual contract -- a covenant of grace -- the Ten Commandments. The first three laws are for people in relationship to their God:
1) There is one God 2) God is holy 3) We must respect the holiness of the Lord's day.
The next seven laws are for people in relationship to one another:
4) Honor parents 5) Honor all life - womb to tomb 6) Honor marriage 7) Honor property 8) Honor reputations 9-10) Do not covet another's home or property.
In Chapter 24, the people responded: "We will do everything that the Lord has told us." The reality was that they could not obey even the first command as shown in their worship of the "Golden Calf." The principles of the covenant help us understand what God is like. God is not just a law to be obeyed, but a presence to whom we respond. It is our choice to obey or not.
LEVITICUS
The Lord promised Israel that she would be a kingdom of Priests, a holy nation. The book of Leviticus reminds Israel: "Be holy, for I, the Lord; your God, am holy" (Lv 19:1). True holiness involves every aspect of our lives -- there should be no separation between "religion" and "life."
NUMBERS
The book of Numbers continues Israel's sojourn in the desert. Numbers asks, "Does Israel have sufficient numbers to possess the land?" Two censuses were taken, one at the beginning of the desert journey, and one at the end as they prepared to enter the promised land. God punished the people for their disobedience by a longer stay in the wilderness. A trip that should have taken ten to twelve days, if they went in a straight direction, took forty years of wandering aimlessly.
DEUTERONOMY
The final book in the Torah is the book of Deuteronomy, meaning Second Law. Deuteronomy is not a new code of law, but a repetition and explanation of the Law of Moses. It is presented as a series of exhortations and corrections by Moses to the people as they were about to enter the Promised Land, which Moses never entered himself. Moses did not actually write this book. If he did, he recorded his own death and burial (Ex 34). It was not uncommon in ancient days for books to be written in the name of important people, which lent the book greater authority. The book was written by the Deuteronomic "school," a current of thought and tradition that was also responsible for the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel and I & 2 Kings. These books are called "Deuteronomic History." They are also called the "Former Prophets" as they explain that the reason Israel failed to keep the land was because of their failure to keep the Law.
CONQUEST - JOSHUA
Acceptance of God's covenant changed Israel from a wandering tribe of nomads to a community with God as their leader. Israel could now see the past in light of God's revelation. The future must be lived in this light. Under Joshua, the Israelites gained territory and Joshua divided up the land among the tribes, which were known by their tribal names. After forty years of wandering in the desert, the people found themselves back in Canaan. Moving from a nomadic to an agrarian life, Abraham's descendants settled down on the land for the next two hundred years. But living as defenseless tribes left a lot to be desired.
JUDGES
In the book of Judges, we read of war leaders such as Deborah, Gideon and the best known of all -- Samson. Each story follows the same pattern: The people sin; They are punished by their enemies; They cry out to God to save them; God raises up a leader to rescue them; The people repent; The people sin again. The Book of Judges ends with the statement that: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best" (Jdg 21:25).
CORONATION - SAMUEL I & II
After the period of the judges, the leader of the nation was Samuel who was judge, prophet and priest. There was a growing feeling that Israel should have a king. The prophet Samuel asked, "Why do you want a king?'' The people replied, "Because everyone has one." Samuel objected to the people's demands; Israel was not "like other nations." Israel already had a king who was the Lord. Acceptance of an earthly king would compromise Israel's covenant. Samuel pointed out that a king would make heavy demands on the people. Still the people insisted. Their punishment? They got a king. First Saul was chosen and anointed (messiah, mashach, "anointed one") king (melek) by Samuel. That was in 1030 BC and his reign lasted twenty years. At first, God's favor was with Saul, and he led the nation to victories. However, Saul fell from favor because he disobeyed God's command. The king of Israel was not to be above the law, but was bound by the covenant as much as any other Israelite.
David, the youngest son of Jesse, was a shepherd boy. Time and again God chose the least likely people to carry out God's designs. Although David seemed too young and inexperienced to lead the people, the Lord said to Samuel: "Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).
David's victory over the Philistine's leading warrior, Goliath, won him great renown. David was anointed king of the southern tribes of Judah. David defeated the Philistines, who had been such a threat to the Israelites, and conquered Israel's immediate neighbors. About the year 1,000 BC, David captured the city of Jerusalem from the Canaanite clan which held it up to then. Situated on the borders of the tribes of Benjamin (Saul's tribe) and Judah (David's tribe) Jerusalem immediately became the capital, the "City of David." When David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (the portable shrine containing the tablets with the ten commandments), Jerusalem also became the religious center.
David's ambition was to have a temple built for the ark of the Lord -- a permanent dwelling place for Yahweh. Through the prophet Nathan - David's request was refused. God said that David and his descendants would be the "House of the Lord," with an eternal rule over Israel.
The LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:11b-14a, 16).
DIVISION - KINGS I & II
David's son Solomon succeeded him as king. Solomon suceeded in building a glorious temple to God. In its inner sanctuary was placed the tablets with the Law given to Moses. Under David and Solomon, Israel reached her zenith as a political power. These kings justified the hopes that the people had placed in them. The nation was united, secure, well defended and was even able to expand. During this peaceful, prosperous time, the people reflected on their past, gathered their stories and traditions and began to write their history, and also some psalms and proverbs. But Solomon's weaknesses and excesses led to the nation's downfall. He established social classes of the rich and poor, and his intermarriage with foreign wives introduced pagan worship in the temple courts.
After Solomon's death in 931 BC, the nation fell apart. Solomon's son Rehoboam increased the "harsh service and heavy yoke" laid on the people by his father. The northern tribes revolted and made Jeroboam their king. The United Kingdom lasted only 70 years. The weakened divided nation had trouble trying to maintain itself against the great powers rising once more in Mesopotamia. Judah got caught up in the rivalry between Egypt and the Babylonian Empire. Kings Hezekiah and Josiah tried to reform the pagan practices of their people. When a copy of the book of Deuteronomy was found in the temple, King Josiah tore his garments in repentance and read the book out loud to all the people gathered in the temple precincts.
Elijah was the great prophet who called the people back to God's covenant, which was in conflict with the political world of the kings. King Ahab had granted Baal, the Canaanite god of his wife Jezebel, the same status as Yahweh. Elijah pointed to a national drought as punishment for this idolatry. On Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to call on their god to bring rain. When Elijah won the contest he killed hundreds of Baal's prophets. Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah in return and the prophet escaped to the mount of the covenant Mount Horeb (Sinai). Unlike Sinai, God speaks to Elijah not in wind, earthquake or fire.
THE EXILE -- PROPHETS
The prophets were now the spiritual leaders of Israel, not the kings. During Assyria's rise in power Amos and Hosea reminded Israel of her unfaithfulness to the covenant. Amos spoke of the need to repent and do justice: "Seek good and not evil, that you may live" (Amos 5:13). Hosea's marriage to an adulterous woman provides the image of Israel and Yahweh "I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart . . . On that day, says the LORD, She shall call me "My husband," and never again "My Baal." (Hosea 2:16-18).
In 721 BC the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom with its capital at Samaria, deported its inhabitants (the Ten Lost Tribes) and replaced them with foreign colonists. This mixed population is called the Samaritans. Judah survived the Assyrian invasion for another 130 years, but in 587 BC the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and took the king and leading citizens into captivity. The people traveled back around the Fertile Crescent to where God's people began -- in Babylon. In the exile (587-538 BC) the people lost everything: king, kingdom, land and temple. In that dark time of darkness and chaos, the priests, added their creation hymn to the beginning of the book of Genesis. God said, "Let there be light, and there was light" (Genesis 1:3).
The disaster of the Exile posed a real problem for the faith of Israel. Their world was shaken to its foundation, along with their faith. God promised that David's line would last forever -- but the king was deported. Was this the end? Had God been overcome by the gods of Babylon? Did God break the covenant? Had God been unfaithful? Had God abandoned them?
The prophets saw the nations' exile as God's judgment on people and kings alike for the way they failed to keep the covenant. Even in this darkness of the loss of the Promised Land, the prophets looked back to see God in the midst of the tragedy. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed the enduring power of God's word. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11).
The Bible is primarily a book of remembrance. Remembrance is important to both Jews and Christians (Hebrew Zekar; Greek Anamnesis). The Jews remember God's saving hand, especially in the Exodus. Christians recall that at the table of the Lord, on the night before he died, Jesus took bread, broke it, gave it to his disciples and said, "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Cor 11:25).
THE BIBLE IS A FAITH RECORD
The bible is a faith record of a people-- their triumphs and defeats, joys and sorrows, faith and disbelief. The bible did not record these events with a camera or tape. God's saving works were communicated orally for centuries, by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Ancient cultures were based on oral tradition with a memory much better than ours. Stories were remembered, especially when there were no reference books or libraries such as we have today. Later, these stories were re-interpreted in light of the people's current circumstances and eventually these stories were written down. The events took on meaning because of the people's faith in God's revelation.
THE BIBLE TOOK SHAPE OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME
The writings of many individuals with distinct voices each had a unique contribution. The result is a composite work, which is not completely uniform, so that the various parts do not always fit together perfectly. For instance there are two somewhat different versions of the same story, for example: the Creation, the Flood, Abraham's and Moses' call. The editors saw no need to blend the stories, but simply laid one alongside the other, much as Grandma's quilt was put together piece by piece, giving it the character it has today.
TORAH / PENTATEUCH
The first five books of the Bible -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy -- form a distinct group. The Jews know them as Torah, or "The Law." Another name for these books is the Pentateuch (Greek for "the five books"). These books are the founding charter of the nation of Israel, and at their heart, is the story of how God chose Israel. These books were given their final form about 400 BCE, but they deal with events that took place many hundreds of years before that date. What we now have is the end product of a long process of experiencing the event, proclaiming what was handed down, writing and editing.
CREATION
The opening chapters of the Bible are not a scientific or historical account of creation, but a theological account. Adam and Eve personify the human race that chose sin over God's providence and suffered the consequences. The story attempts to describe why we experience evil and disorder in a world that God made good. The stories God's faithfulness and our unfaithfulness recur again and again throughout the entire Bible. The accounts of creation in Genesis are filled with symbols such as: earth, clay, potter, water, river, garden, tree, fruit, serpent, man and woman, husband and wife. Symbols are capable of communicating truth on a deeper level than ordinary language. These stories reveal the deepest truth about the world and about ourselves. Though these are symbolic stories, at some level they may be factual as well. The story of the deluge in Noah and the Ark could be based on some catastrophe that really happened. But, as said previously, the Bible is not a science book nor is it a book of history. The story of Adam and Eve is meant to teach us about free will, and human choice of sin. Adam's name is a play on words. God took adama (Hebrew for "earth") and fashioned "the first man," ha adam'. Eve's name, Chavvah, means the "mother of all living." Together they are an archetype to represent the first human beings. This means that God is the source of all human life.
COVENANT
The words "Old Covenant" sounds outdated and no longer useful. The "New Covenant," or New Testament, was not meant to supplant the old, but to fulfill it.
"If you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine (Exodus 19:5). Abraham and his family leave Ur and head northwest to Haran at the apex of what is still known as the Fertile Crescent. Anyone traveling from Mesopotamia to Egypt, or any land bordering the Mediterranean, was required to make that trek. The only alternative was straight across the Arabian desert, hundreds of miles of barren lava beds and stony wastelands. At Haran, Abraham (then known as Abram), received a call from God: "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram went, as the LORD had told him (Genesis 12:1-4a).
EXODUS
A four century journey that began happily ended disastrously in slavery in Egypt. Moses, liberator and lawgiver, was called by God to lead his people on their most famous journey, the Exodus. The book of Exodus is the key to understanding the Hebrew scriptures. It is this experience that gave the Jews their own purpose and identity as the "People of God." The liberation of God's people from slavery profoundly affected Israel. When the people wanted to understand other events, they looked back to the Exodus. Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:1-8a).
COMMANDMENTS
God takes the Hebrew people out of an unjust society, and teaches them how to live in freedom in a mutual contract -- a covenant of grace -- the Ten Commandments. The first three laws are for people in relationship to their God:
1) There is one God 2) God is holy 3) We must respect the holiness of the Lord's day.
The next seven laws are for people in relationship to one another:
4) Honor parents 5) Honor all life - womb to tomb 6) Honor marriage 7) Honor property 8) Honor reputations 9-10) Do not covet another's home or property.
In Chapter 24, the people responded: "We will do everything that the Lord has told us." The reality was that they could not obey even the first command as shown in their worship of the "Golden Calf." The principles of the covenant help us understand what God is like. God is not just a law to be obeyed, but a presence to whom we respond. It is our choice to obey or not.
LEVITICUS
The Lord promised Israel that she would be a kingdom of Priests, a holy nation. The book of Leviticus reminds Israel: "Be holy, for I, the Lord; your God, am holy" (Lv 19:1). True holiness involves every aspect of our lives -- there should be no separation between "religion" and "life."
NUMBERS
The book of Numbers continues Israel's sojourn in the desert. Numbers asks, "Does Israel have sufficient numbers to possess the land?" Two censuses were taken, one at the beginning of the desert journey, and one at the end as they prepared to enter the promised land. God punished the people for their disobedience by a longer stay in the wilderness. A trip that should have taken ten to twelve days, if they went in a straight direction, took forty years of wandering aimlessly.
DEUTERONOMY
The final book in the Torah is the book of Deuteronomy, meaning Second Law. Deuteronomy is not a new code of law, but a repetition and explanation of the Law of Moses. It is presented as a series of exhortations and corrections by Moses to the people as they were about to enter the Promised Land, which Moses never entered himself. Moses did not actually write this book. If he did, he recorded his own death and burial (Ex 34). It was not uncommon in ancient days for books to be written in the name of important people, which lent the book greater authority. The book was written by the Deuteronomic "school," a current of thought and tradition that was also responsible for the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel and I & 2 Kings. These books are called "Deuteronomic History." They are also called the "Former Prophets" as they explain that the reason Israel failed to keep the land was because of their failure to keep the Law.
CONQUEST - JOSHUA
Acceptance of God's covenant changed Israel from a wandering tribe of nomads to a community with God as their leader. Israel could now see the past in light of God's revelation. The future must be lived in this light. Under Joshua, the Israelites gained territory and Joshua divided up the land among the tribes, which were known by their tribal names. After forty years of wandering in the desert, the people found themselves back in Canaan. Moving from a nomadic to an agrarian life, Abraham's descendants settled down on the land for the next two hundred years. But living as defenseless tribes left a lot to be desired.
JUDGES
In the book of Judges, we read of war leaders such as Deborah, Gideon and the best known of all -- Samson. Each story follows the same pattern: The people sin; They are punished by their enemies; They cry out to God to save them; God raises up a leader to rescue them; The people repent; The people sin again. The Book of Judges ends with the statement that: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best" (Jdg 21:25).
CORONATION - SAMUEL I & II
After the period of the judges, the leader of the nation was Samuel who was judge, prophet and priest. There was a growing feeling that Israel should have a king. The prophet Samuel asked, "Why do you want a king?'' The people replied, "Because everyone has one." Samuel objected to the people's demands; Israel was not "like other nations." Israel already had a king who was the Lord. Acceptance of an earthly king would compromise Israel's covenant. Samuel pointed out that a king would make heavy demands on the people. Still the people insisted. Their punishment? They got a king. First Saul was chosen and anointed (messiah, mashach, "anointed one") king (melek) by Samuel. That was in 1030 BC and his reign lasted twenty years. At first, God's favor was with Saul, and he led the nation to victories. However, Saul fell from favor because he disobeyed God's command. The king of Israel was not to be above the law, but was bound by the covenant as much as any other Israelite.
David, the youngest son of Jesse, was a shepherd boy. Time and again God chose the least likely people to carry out God's designs. Although David seemed too young and inexperienced to lead the people, the Lord said to Samuel: "Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).
David's victory over the Philistine's leading warrior, Goliath, won him great renown. David was anointed king of the southern tribes of Judah. David defeated the Philistines, who had been such a threat to the Israelites, and conquered Israel's immediate neighbors. About the year 1,000 BC, David captured the city of Jerusalem from the Canaanite clan which held it up to then. Situated on the borders of the tribes of Benjamin (Saul's tribe) and Judah (David's tribe) Jerusalem immediately became the capital, the "City of David." When David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (the portable shrine containing the tablets with the ten commandments), Jerusalem also became the religious center.
David's ambition was to have a temple built for the ark of the Lord -- a permanent dwelling place for Yahweh. Through the prophet Nathan - David's request was refused. God said that David and his descendants would be the "House of the Lord," with an eternal rule over Israel.
The LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:11b-14a, 16).
DIVISION - KINGS I & II
David's son Solomon succeeded him as king. Solomon suceeded in building a glorious temple to God. In its inner sanctuary was placed the tablets with the Law given to Moses. Under David and Solomon, Israel reached her zenith as a political power. These kings justified the hopes that the people had placed in them. The nation was united, secure, well defended and was even able to expand. During this peaceful, prosperous time, the people reflected on their past, gathered their stories and traditions and began to write their history, and also some psalms and proverbs. But Solomon's weaknesses and excesses led to the nation's downfall. He established social classes of the rich and poor, and his intermarriage with foreign wives introduced pagan worship in the temple courts.
After Solomon's death in 931 BC, the nation fell apart. Solomon's son Rehoboam increased the "harsh service and heavy yoke" laid on the people by his father. The northern tribes revolted and made Jeroboam their king. The United Kingdom lasted only 70 years. The weakened divided nation had trouble trying to maintain itself against the great powers rising once more in Mesopotamia. Judah got caught up in the rivalry between Egypt and the Babylonian Empire. Kings Hezekiah and Josiah tried to reform the pagan practices of their people. When a copy of the book of Deuteronomy was found in the temple, King Josiah tore his garments in repentance and read the book out loud to all the people gathered in the temple precincts.
Elijah was the great prophet who called the people back to God's covenant, which was in conflict with the political world of the kings. King Ahab had granted Baal, the Canaanite god of his wife Jezebel, the same status as Yahweh. Elijah pointed to a national drought as punishment for this idolatry. On Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to call on their god to bring rain. When Elijah won the contest he killed hundreds of Baal's prophets. Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah in return and the prophet escaped to the mount of the covenant Mount Horeb (Sinai). Unlike Sinai, God speaks to Elijah not in wind, earthquake or fire.
THE EXILE -- PROPHETS
The prophets were now the spiritual leaders of Israel, not the kings. During Assyria's rise in power Amos and Hosea reminded Israel of her unfaithfulness to the covenant. Amos spoke of the need to repent and do justice: "Seek good and not evil, that you may live" (Amos 5:13). Hosea's marriage to an adulterous woman provides the image of Israel and Yahweh "I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart . . . On that day, says the LORD, She shall call me "My husband," and never again "My Baal." (Hosea 2:16-18).
In 721 BC the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom with its capital at Samaria, deported its inhabitants (the Ten Lost Tribes) and replaced them with foreign colonists. This mixed population is called the Samaritans. Judah survived the Assyrian invasion for another 130 years, but in 587 BC the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and took the king and leading citizens into captivity. The people traveled back around the Fertile Crescent to where God's people began -- in Babylon. In the exile (587-538 BC) the people lost everything: king, kingdom, land and temple. In that dark time of darkness and chaos, the priests, added their creation hymn to the beginning of the book of Genesis. God said, "Let there be light, and there was light" (Genesis 1:3).
The disaster of the Exile posed a real problem for the faith of Israel. Their world was shaken to its foundation, along with their faith. God promised that David's line would last forever -- but the king was deported. Was this the end? Had God been overcome by the gods of Babylon? Did God break the covenant? Had God been unfaithful? Had God abandoned them?
The prophets saw the nations' exile as God's judgment on people and kings alike for the way they failed to keep the covenant. Even in this darkness of the loss of the Promised Land, the prophets looked back to see God in the midst of the tragedy. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed the enduring power of God's word. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11).
Hear, O Israel!
FOR REFLECTION: The prayer called the "Shema" ("Hear!") is the central prayer of Jewish worship. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
What does this prayer say to you about your relationship with God? What does it say about your responsibility to teach God's Word to your family? Do we have a responsibility to share God's Word with others?
What does this prayer say to you about your relationship with God? What does it say about your responsibility to teach God's Word to your family? Do we have a responsibility to share God's Word with others?