The Conquest Of David: Israel's Golden Age

Following the United Monarchy separating into two different nations the Kingdom of Israel, sometimes referred to as Samaria, existed with nineteen kings for two-hundred and seven years from 928 to 721BC. Consisting of ten of the twelve tribes - Reuben, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Ash, Ephraim and Manasseh. The Kingdom of Israel became weakened after the breakup of the United Monarchy which the Egyptians take advantage of in 925BC when they invaded and made the Kingdom of Israel a vassal nation of Egypt followed by the Kingdom of Ammon which gains its independence from the Kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam I the first king of the Kingdom of Israel from 928 to 907BC, created worship centers in the cities of Bethel and Dan and encouraged the people to return to their worshipping of pagan deities such as El, Asherah, Baal and Dagan from the Canaanite Pantheon.

Jerusalem is mentioned in the Old Testament 660 times. David transformed Jerusalem into the religious center of his kingdom by bringing into it the Ark of the Covenant. The arrival of the ark forever linked Jerusalem with the cult of Yahweh.

David’s personal strife continued when his son Amnon raped Tamar, Amnon’s half-sister. Absalom, who was David’s son and Tamar’s brother, then killed Amnon. Absalom fled, but David could not stop thinking about him. Finally, Joab convinced David to allow Absalom to return. Absalom was a handsome man and became popular with the people of Israel. Then, 40 years after Samuel had anointed David king, Absalom, along with 200 men,

King David secured the beginnings of a prosperous Israelite empire; he made Jerusalem its capital and brought the

The surrounding nations had an influence on the people of Israel and this was not pleasing to God. They wanted a king. They wanted to be like other nations and have a leaded. A king they could see.

The Jebusites were a Canaanite tribe who built and lived in Jerusalem prior to its invasion by King David. The Books of Kings state that Jerusalem was known as Jebus before this event. According to some biblical chronologies, the city was overthrown by King David in 1003 BC or according to other sources 869 BC. The Hebrew Bible describes the Jebusites as living in the mountains, besides Jerusalem. (Numbers 13:29, Joshua 11:3) In Exodus, the 'good and large land, flowing with milk and honey' which was promised to Moses as the future home of the distressed Hebrew people included the land of the Jebusites (Exodus 3:8). According to the Book of Joshua, Adonizedek led an alliance of Jebusites, and the tribes from the neighboring cities of Jarmut, Lachish, Eglon and Hebron against Joshua, (Joshua 10:1-3) but was soundly defeated, and killed.

He created a temple in the center of Jerusalem which became a major symbol of their religion. Solomon was known for his wise proverbs and still required high taxes. However, many people were unhappy with Solomon because he forced young men in the north to work in the mines. Therefore, after Solomon’s death, the people in the north rebelled and caused Israel to be divided into two parts: Israel in the north and Judah in the

Judaism holds claim over Jerusalem because of the history of the Jewish people in Jerusalem. According to the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, the First Temple was built by King Solomon, at the site known as the Temple Mount today. The temple is believed to have been built by King Solomon, who was the king of Israel and Judea, as a place of worship. Jerusalem is also the location of Mount Moriah, which is where Abraham almost sacrificed his son and spoke with God. When the Babylonians captured the city, they destroyed the First Temple and sent the Jews out of

-the temple of jerusalem was the most famous building of the son of king David

In July 1099, the crusaders captured Jerusalem which indicates the successful victory of the First Crusade. However, once the journey had ended, most of the crusaders left the Holy Land and returned to their homes. Pope Urban II did not specify how to govern Jerusalem and the crusade leaders refused to restore the lands to the Byzantine Empire. Therefore, the crusade leaders, among themselves, elected Godfrey of Bouillon as the king of Jerusalem. During his reign, Godfrey dedicated on preserving the Christian churches and religious rules.

The first three kings of Israel, Saul, David and Solomon were men that had one thing in common. Even though they had their own sets of strengths, they each shared one weakness, disobedience to God. In this essay I will explain why Israel wanted a king. I will give you background on each of the first three kings, their strengths, and their disobedience to God.

The Israelites were the chosen people of God and were one of the powerful kingdoms of the world at the time. This rise of power started out with David, who is considered one of the greatest kings of the Old Testament and many other kings after him are compared to him. This is where Kings 1 and 2 came into being. Years after David became king he and his people fell into the sin of adultery and idolatry. Many kings came after David and inner revolts came to be until the Babylonians deported many of the Israelites and left the people that had no interest or power to start a rebellion. When the Israelites were allowed to come back to their homeland, they found their cities in shambles and their temple in ruins. This caused a big impact on Judaism

The nation of Israel was set apart as holy to the LORD. But they When the children of Israel demanded a king, they did so to be like the other nations. The first three kings were Saul, (outwardly tall, handsome and strong—a seemingly good choice for a king, but inwardly arrogant, proud and unrepentant—not God’s choice), David (a man after God’s own heart who repented of his sins and as such was God’s choice), and Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived, but because of covenant disobedience became the catalyst for the division and ultimate exile of Israel.

King David, a member of the tribe of Judah was chosen by God to lead his people. As everyone knows, he proved by his wise choices to be a very effective leader. As a great military strategist David united the tribes and extended the national boundaries so that in his time Israel enjoyed a greater fraction of

Before, King David gathered a surplus of wealth when in power to bring the Jewish culture into the Golden Age. “With Solomon...the surplus accumulated...rapidly dissipated in ambitious building.” (Asali p.53) through large fortifications and military armaments. At his old age, he placed a heavy tax burden on his people, and in turn they became largely bitter towards him. After his death, massive conflicts came before the people to eventually split Israel and Judah into separate kingdoms. In 800 B.C.E., “two centuries later, the Assyrians conquered the north, and many of the Jews of Israel were deported” (Ardito, Gambaro and Torrefranca p.42). Later, in 600 B.C.E., the kingdom of Judah was overthrown by the Babylons. In turn, this lead to their captivity as slaves; entering a new era of a nomadic culture spread across the western world. On the other hand, it was this captivity which strengthened their religious identity, and evidently propagated the largest monolithic deity known throughout the 21st century: Jesus Christ.