Israelites Historical Path

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were seen as people who failed to listen to God’s commandments. Despite knowing beforehand that they would be punished for their disobedience, they still continued to commit sin. God tried to deter their misbehavior by promising them many blessings, but it worked to no avail. Due to the insubordination of the Israelites, He made sure that the promises He made to them would be withheld and that they would face consequences.

In addition to the Pentateuch, the Old Testament books of the Deuteronomistic history reveal the theme of God’s faithfulness to his followers. Initial examples are found in the conquest of the Promised Land depicted in the book of Joshua. Throughout the Israelite campaign to oust natives and settle the land, God’s actions demonstrate his faithfulness. In one instance God uses Rahab to hide Israelite spies, while in several other situations he allows the Israelites to defeat its foes. From these actions, it is clear that God remained faithful to his promise with Abraham (to provide his descendents with land). In addition to Joshua, the book of Judges provides an example of God’s faithfulness. Throughout the book, Israel repeatedly is unfaithful to God and is conquered by foreign powers. In response to Israelite cries for help, God repeatedly raises up

For ages the Jewish population did not have a place to call home. They had been wandering around deserts, were once slaves in Egypt, but didn’t have any land to their name. Following the Holocaust, after many Jews had been persecuted by Hitler and the Nazis, a good portion of the overall amount of Jews in the world let alone Europe had been exterminated. As a result, Harry Truman and the UN suggested Israel, a homeland for the Jews. Tensions had been growing throughout the beginning of the 20th Century regarding the Palestinian area in the Middle East. This area was off to the side of Asia, near Africa. When the Jews and Arabs were offered part of this land, war broke out and still continues today. Even though a war happened as a result

The Israelite civilization dates back to between 1300 and 1200 BCE when they settled in Canaan from Mesopotamia. This was considered their homeland. The Israelites developed from the Cannanites, since their civilizations began together along with the Jebusites. They faced a lot of struggles, but after migrating to Egypt, and being separated into two kingdoms, they kept the faith that they would someday return to their homeland. The greatest achievements of the Israelites was their architecture, monotheistic religion, Ten Commandments, and their military. However, they were not enough to save the civilization. They fell due to the decline in leadership within the civilization, and attacks and conquest from the Assyrians and Babylonians.

Reflecting back to the Bible during the time of captivity, the spiritual condition of the people had mixed results. Many of them rebuked God and idolized other gods to help them restore their lives. The Israelites also fell into spiritual slothfulness and disobeyed the laws of marriage and their loyalty to God. However, some rejoiced, “The sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover. And they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel” (Ezra 6:21-22). Then many fell from God’s realm and didn’t trust what was in store for them so they did not want to leave the place they were once captive, so they became part of the community.

One example of this would be in the countless concentration camps Jews were sent to. The constant exposure to the horrific scenes and brutality of everyday life in the camps caused the Jews faith in God to dwindle over time. They couldn’t believe that their God would ever let such injustice and cruelty into the world. Eliezer got to the point of saying, “I did

Because of Joshua's faith and obedience to God, he was able to lead the children of Israel across the Jordan

The Jews are perceived as the “chosen people” of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God. However, the Shoah has posed as a challenge to the belief in the God of tradition who intervenes in history. It is questioned by Rubenstein, ‘how can Jews believe in an omnipotent, beneficent God after Auschwitz?. Therefore, maintaining belief in an all loving and all powerful God after the Holocaust has unsurprisingly been difficult for some Jews. Jewish scripture reveals how God intervened in the history to save his people from tragedy and to punish for sin. For example, the destruction of the temple in 70CE and God’s intervention to save his people as told in Exodus 14, where God selects Moses to lead his chosen people out of slavery in Egypt.

Israel and Judah survived the collapse of the united monarchy for 50 years after it fell. This was due mostly to the fact that there was no state that had achieved dominance around them (cite book pg. 158). After Omri was able to reform his alliance with Phoenicia Israel’s relations with Judah changed for the better. To symbolize the union between the two kingdoms, Ahab’s daughter was married to Jehoram of

What was so compelling about the Christian God that helped the Israelites hold onto their beliefs after being exiled? This question came to me as I read Hanneken. He states, “They could have given up and assimilated to the culture… Instead, they developed the idea that their God had not been defeated, but planned the exile for their own long-term good, and remained with them.” This was a clear departure in thought at the time and begs the question why? Understanding why the Israelites held onto God during their exile will help many see that this God is unique. I think that many topics of this course can shed light on the exceptional nature of God and help explain the continuing power of this deity as opposed to others.

Over the centuries, God’s plans for us have been fulfilled through suffering and faith. Amongst many cultures, the Hebrew people were one of the most notable civilizations in the Old Testament. Many times, they fell into temptation and did not trust God. “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord” (Revised Standard Version, Jeremiah 17:5). God taught the Hebrews by making them suffer through hardships, but with His help they always made out well. The Hebrew people interacted with different cultures including, the Canaanites, Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians. God knows the past, present and future of each of us; when we do not trust Him, he shows us that we need trust

Ancient Israelites from the Patriarchs to after the Romans had a different religious practice of worshipping to what happens in modern-day Jewish communities. During the age of the patriarchs, a household leader, particularly the father, would build a place to worship God and would also be the one to offer sacrificial purposes. (Frigge 203) During the time of David and Solomon, worshipping in high places became more popular instead. (Frigge 203) When King Josiah of Judah came into power, the high places were destroyed so the Israelites prayed at the Jerusalem Temple. (Frigge 203) During the Babylonian exile, the temple was also destroyed, so, after the Israelites rebuilt the temple recalling it the Second Temple. When Jesus was born, the sacrificial

The history of how the Bible came into existence has been explored for centuries and is an active area of study today. There are many facets to the Bible and each has its own set of unique characteristics and teachings. The Old Testament is considered a contemporary guide for daily living, even though it was composed hundreds of years ago. Where did the Old Testament come from? What are some of the influences that shaped the Old Testament? What are the significant events of the Old Testament? In order to gain a better understanding of the Old Testament and its message to Christians, special consideration is given to its historical and cultural context, and to the major milestones in its development. Personal application of the teachings offered in this section of the Bible should be the aspiration of all Christians today.

The two key figures in Hebrew culture, God and Moses, evolve throughout the bible, but their evolution is best seen in Exodus. The development of character is revealed when individuals are placed in stressful situations, certainly in the bible both God and Moses are presented with challenging situations which cause them to undergo change. However, because the book we are reading is the bible, every action performed by a character and every change undergone is representative of the ideal choice from the standpoint of the Hebrew culture. This means that every action taken by God and Moses is written to teach a lesson to the reader.

Studying the religion of the Ancient Israelite People must be done in a careful manner. The ways in which biblical scholars frame significant ideas can have a major effect on how their point is received. Today’s ideas about the religious lives of Canaanites have been drawn on primarily from The Hebrew Bible and archaeological evidence. In their respective works, biblical scholars Benjamin Sommer and Carol Meyers choose to interpret these pieces of religious evidence is varying ways; Meyers takes a more cultural approach while Sommer’s has a theological leaning. Recognizing these different perspectives, I prefer the approach that Meyers takes because of its focus in anthropology.