History in the Old Testament

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.

Joseph M. Bolton RELS 103-02 Online Old Testament Studies Spring Semester 2011 Session E May 8, 2011 to July 2, 2011 The Old Testament TimeLine Creation & Primeval History The Creation: * God creates the Heavens and the Earth * God creates man in his image. *

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did Hashem let us get defeat ? Let us bring the ark of Hasham covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us  of our enemies.”

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.

Unlike the other two major religions Judaism evolved form the Israelites who didn't deny the existence of other gods for other nations, though they only worshipped one deity. Its deity was Yahweh, the god of the patriarchs, who was worshipped in a sacrificial cult centered in Jerusalem and later at sanctuaries in the north, where a rival Jewish kingdom was formed. Prophets who warned against the people's reliance on these temple cults saw themselves vindicated when both the northern and southern kingdoms were destroyed by foreign conquerors. The exile of the Judeans to Babylonia in 586 BC was a major turning point in Israelite religion. The prior history of Israel now was reinterpreted

The names “Old Testament” and “New Testament” are inherently theological in nature. Because there is a difference distinctly built into giving them different notations, it implies that there are differences between each the Old Testament and the New Testament, whether it is subtle in nature or obvious in nature. To Christians, the difference means that the Old Testament contains dealings between God and the world and even some of the rules made are made irrelevant by the interactions of Christ Jesus with the world. One of the differences between the New Testament and the Old Testament is the way each of the Testaments describe God and God’s nature. The Old Testament describes an angry God, one who only created the world and was obsessed with laws and rules. The New Testament describes a loving God who redeemed the world. The different ways the Old Testament and New Testament describe God and his nature are very much influenced by their perspective of God. By the rules, actions, and laws God made, the early writers of the Old Testament made their judgements about God and wrote those perspectives into the books of the Old Testament. The writers of the Old Testament did the best they could with the information they had and got some things about God right, but also got things wrong. The writers of the New Testament and therefore, Christian believers understand God better.

God of the Old Testament is a God of election. Throughout the Old Testament we see God choosing whether to bless or curse people. Youngblood explains this through Jacob and Esau. Both were from the same father yet he chooses to bless Jacob who was younger than Esau. Election removes pride and boastfulness in humans and puts all of us on the same level waiting for God’s will in different ways. Youngblood than brings out the aspect of the covenant. Since the beginning of the time, God made covenants with the people. Through these covenants, God portrays that he always keeps his promise, and he is fair, and trustworthy to all who honor God.

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.

An understanding of Israel’s history and geography is necessary for proper interpretation of the Old Testament. The Middle East provided the setting for the events recorded in the Old Testament, specifically Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria-Palestine. This area lies along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia up to the Persian Gulf. This area was the cradle of civilization and the scene of God 's activities as recorded in the Old Testament. The majority of the events take place in Palestine, the ancient land of Canaan, though at times the Israelites lived in Egypt and Babylon. This is

The Old Testament is a work that is saturated with the theme of Covenant. There is an ebb and flow of the epic history of the Old Testament. According to some theologists, a covenant was not just an agreement or or a contract; it was a solemn bond established between two or more parties. For example, in Exodus when God flooded the earth, He sent a rainbow to Noah to make a covenant with him and the people of the earth that he would never destroy the earth again with water. A covenant also involved a firm commitment to the relationship. There is a slight difference between a covenant and a contract, however. Covenant involves a person’s whole being for the rest of their life.

Late in 1922 the British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. “In early 1923, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his financier friend George Herbert, Lord Carnarvon, ceremoniously opened the long-obscured burial chamber of the boy.” (real?, Is, and Coroner's Tut. "Is The Curse Of King Tut Real?.). Sir Archibald Douglas Reid, who supposedly X-rayed the mummy and died mysteriously in 1924

From my reading, I have realized that The Laws of God and His established commands of the Old Testament were not given to restrict or enchain man, but to reveal to man God’s own true and righteous character. It was a way for God’s people to be identified with Him, and though they were forever falling short, they were identified and forever learning from the holy and righteous glimpse of God their creator through the Law. The entire Old Testament was one continuous story of God faithfully reaching for fallen man, and as man would repent and turn to God as their one and only God, He would deliver beyond mans’ deserves with blessing, victory, and hope for salvation.

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.

Looking back, we can see glimpses of the lives of those who lived in the Ancient Near East, known as the ANE, through their stories and myths that have survived over centuries of time. Many of these stories contain unique elements that make each one personal to the civilization that they belong to, but there are common themes and ideas that are virtually shared between the traditional stories stemming from this region of the world. In fact, these parallels even extend into Old Testament literature; laced within the stories that we’ve come to know and love. It is not surprising that the Old Testament contains similarities found within ANE tradition, seeing that

The process by which the English Bible, as it is known to the English culture today, was compiled is an extraordinary thing to see. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The process by which both Testaments were written and then canonized into one book transpired over a period of many years. Once the canonization of the Bible officially came to an end, it was translated into English. Since then, many versions of the modern Bible have been made. Since the individual books of the Bible became scattered as they were written, people set forth to preserve God’s Word by compiling them into one