• Photograph of Masada by Kelly Repreza from unsplash

The History of Israel - Part 3

Note: These four articles are formatted as Study Notes. After reading each section, there are Bible references (some are a number of verses, some are whole chapters) that you are expected to read to learn the full details of the article.

In the last two articles in this series, we examined the development of the nation of Israel from the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Their history continued through Egyptian enslavement, the Exodus from Egypt, and the giving of the Mosaic Law at Mount Sinai. God punished the children of Israel for their disbelief, and they wandered in the Sinai desert for 40 years before entering the land of Canaan.

The conquest of Canaan

First, the conquest of Canaan might appear as a kind of ethnic cleansing which is abhorrent to most people in modern times. However, we need to bear in mind that these events were directed by God and are part of His plan to form a nation for Himself as He promised to Abraham.

Second, we see in current news that there is continual conflict in the Middle East between the State of Israel, the disputed West Bank territory, the Gaza Strip and neighbouring countries. Israel's conquest of the land of Canaan, subsequently known as Palestine, and now known as Israel, is recorded in the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. These events took place about 1,450 years before Christ. The reason why to this day there is continual conflict over the land of Israel, is central to the message of God in the Bible. This revolves around the Jews, God's chosen people, and his plan of salvation for the human race.

As far as the Middle East and the relationship between Jews and Arabs are concerned, the rest of the Bible narrative up to the end of the 1st century AD and the 2,000 years since then, is all about claim and counter-claim to the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. It is important to note that whilst the Jewish claim to the land is contested widely across the world today, many being in favour of Arab claims, God very clearly told Abraham, (who was father of the Arab nations as well as Israel) that the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, would also be blessed. The words are printed here for absolute clarity regarding the various claims on the land of Israel (Palestine):

"And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before you!" Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year". Then he finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham."

• Reading: Genesis 17:18-22.

Note that the everlasting blessing or covenant is not with Ishmael the son of Hagar, but with Isaac, and the whole of the Biblical narrative about the salvation of all mankind, including the Arab nations, will be brought about through Isaac's great descendant, Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Messiah.

It is also worth repeating that Jacob was Abraham's grandson. In Genesis 32:28 Jacob, whose name literally means "holder of the heel" or "supplanter," was renamed Israel by God. The new name given to Jacob means "God prevails"’. Jacob was a twin and supplanted his brother Esau.

• Reading: Genesis 25:23-28.

With this background, we can pick up the narrative where we left off (see Light Volume 32.2 page 27). Last time we considered the covenant God made with the Hebrews (the descendants of Abraham) at Mount Sinai, a reiteration and development of the covenant originally made to Abraham. This covenant is referred to as the Law of Moses because it was given to them through their leader Moses; it instructed them how to worship God and behave in everyday life.

But there was strife and disobedience to God's laws and even Moses, in an uncharacteristic moment of frustration, succumbed to loss of faith. For this he forfeited going into the promised land of Canaan with the people he had led for 40 years.

• Reading: Numbers 20:1-13.

Joshua became the new leader of the Hebrews, who became known as the children of Israel.

Joshua and the conquest of the land

Joshua was appointed leader after the death of Moses. He led their successful campaign resulting in the conquest of the land of Canaan. The first city to be taken was Jericho. Rahab, who lived in Jericho, played an important part in the victory. She was adopted into the tribe of Judah and had an inheritance in Israel because of her faith in God and the help she gave to the two Hebrews who came to spy out the land.

The conquest of Canaan is set out in the book of Joshua. Sometimes the children of Israel made mistakes in the way they conducted the assault on the land, and God punished them by refusing to fight their battles for them. On another occasion the angel of the Lord instructed Joshua to reduce the army of Israel down to a very small size, yet the battle was still won. The narrative is a demonstration of how God protects and develops those who serve Him faithfully.

We could quote a few passages here and there from Joshua, but really the whole book is worth reading to get the flavour not only of the assault on Canaan, but also how God views wicked nations and how He requires obedience to His specified commandments.

• Readings: Joshua 1:1-9, chapter 6; 13:7-8 and for context Numbers 33:50-56.

It should be noted that, at the end of the conquest, the children of Israel had not completely driven out all the wicked tribes that inhabited the land of Canaan as God had instructed them to. The Amalekites, for example, became a continual problem during the later history of Israel.

Chart of the sequence of biblical Judges

Author Cush - Public Domain on Wikipedia

The time of the Judges

After the death of Joshua, God raised up many different leaders called judges, who led the people into battle and delivered them from the oppression of their enemies. This period of Israel's history took place between 1400 and 1100 BC. Reading Judges chapter 2. This gives an account of the way the children of Israel continually went astray from God and how He punished them. This falling away from God's laws occurred throughout the period of the Judges and was largely due to the influence of the surrounding nations, some of whom would not have existed if Israel had been thorough with their conquest of the land earlier under Joshua. In the book of Judges we can observe that there is a cycle to Israel's behaviour. Disobedience to God's laws is followed by oppression by their enemies, orchestrated by God as punishment for their waywardness. Israel pleads for help, and a judge is raised up to save them from oppression and return them to serving God.

• Readings: Deuteronomy 7:1-11; Judges 2 and 3:1-7.

There is in these events a very important lesson for us. True service to God requires separation from the evils of the world. Intermingling with the world at large and its evil practices leads to enmity with God. The same lesson can be observed throughout the history of Israel. A true servant of God will strive to honour God and avoid being tainted by worldly practices that are opposed to His ways.

• Reading: 1 John 2:15-17

But there is a striking contrast that tells us a lot about the character of Almighty God. In all the events of the period of the Judges we can see that God had continuing mercy and love towards His people. His forbearance and repeated forgiveness of Israel's transgressions are a testimony to His patience with those whom he loves and those who strive to serve Him. We can see in the Book of Judges that when the people repented of their evil ways and turned again to God, then He gave them deliverance from their enemies, sometimes by spectacular means. Good examples of such cases are the judges Gideon, Barak and Samson.

• Readings: Judges chapters 4, 6,7,14,15 and 16.

Not all the Children of Israel went away from serving God during the times of the Judges. There were always some faithful, God-fearing men and women who tried to obey and serve God. The book of Ruth, which follows the book of Judges, demonstrates such cases. The book of Ruth is short (only four chapters) and it's well worth reading the book in one sitting. Not only does it demonstrate the things we are considering here, but also how God includes people who are trying to serve Him properly, and whom He cares for, in His purpose. You should also note that both Rahab and Ruth the Moabitess were Gentiles (non-Jews) but both demonstrated their faith in joining the Jewish people and serving Israel's God. They both became part of the ancestry of Christ. Note the implied blessing that comes through those two women of faith.

• Readings: Matthew 1:1-17 and Hebrews 11:31.

Israel – The Kingdom of God

Samuel was the last judge of Israel. During his lifetime something pivotal happened in the nation's history. The people asked Samuel for a king to rule over them. In the book of Deuteronomy, written by Moses, God predicted that this would happen and even set out what the king should and should not do.

• Reading: Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

However, Samuel was at pains to try to dissuade the nation from this request. God was displeased with it because He was their King. He had set them apart as His people at Mount Sinai. They were a "kingdom of priests and a holy (or separate) nation" (Exodus 19:5-6). Nevertheless, God instructed Samuel to grant them their request but at the same time warned them of the consequences.

• Reading: 1 Samuel 8:1-9, 19-22: 1 Samuel 12:12-19.

The result was that Saul was selected as the first king. He was the sort of person the people wanted, to be like the nations around them. Saul was head and shoulders taller than anyone. With the help of Samuel and the blessing of God, he waged a successful war against the Philistines.

• Reading: 1 Samuel 14:47-48.

The Philistines were a continual source of trouble to Saul and were not entirely defeated until King David came to the throne. Saul's tenure on the throne came to an end when he disobeyed a direct instruction from God.

• Reading: 1 Samuel chapters 13, 14 and 15.

What we learn from these events recorded in the First Book of Samuel is significantly important: God requires obedience to his commandments. This is essential in God's dealings with man. At this point it is a good idea to get some background on this precise point.

• Readings: Isaiah 66:1-2; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8; Matthew 9:13; Mark 12:32-33.

King David

Samuel was instructed to anoint David son of Jesse to replace Saul on the throne.

• Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13.

The two books of Samuel and the first book of Chronicles record the events of David's life and reign. David's trust in God was clearly demonstrated when he fought the Philistine giant, Goliath, singlehanded.

• Reading: 1 Samuel 17:26,34-50.

Again, it is worthwhile reading a larger portion of the narrative and noting how David had complete faith in God.

• Reading: 1 Samuel chapters 24-26.

Next time

In the next issue, God willing, we will take a look at how God's people went forward under the rulership of human kings. To begin with we'll look at how God's covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob was renewed to King David in person. We will see how the kingdom of Israel deteriorated into idolatry and lost sight of their God, and how God sent prophets to warn them to repent or suffer the consequences.

The important points to note in all these historical considerations is how God deals with people who seek to serve Him righteously (e.g. Ruth, Rahab and David) and so are rewarded, and how He deals with people who ignore Him and live wickedly (e.g. Saul). It is interesting to note that in Jewish communities the world over to this very day, there are many establishments named after King David but there are none named after King Saul!