Religion Exam #3 Study Guide

Ahab

* one of the king’s of the north
* his wife, jezebel, believes in Baal. So he creates a temple for him
* His prophet is Elijah

Amos

* the prophet of Jeroboam the second
* claims that judges have been bought, creating a situation where justice in the courts is a joke.
* 3 main prophesies:
* God’s judgment is coming toward Israel
* The Day of Yahweh will not be a good day for you
* Therefore, Israel must repent

Ark of the Covenant

* David moves this to the new capital (Jerusalem)

Assyria

* advances across the Fertile Crescent toward Egypt
* Israel revolts against _______ in 724 BCE.
* The new king of _____, Shalmaneser V, quickly attacks Samaria
* Shalmaneser V dies in battle, but his successor, Sargon II, finishes the job of conquering Samaria.
* In 721 BCE, Samaria (and therefore Israel) fell to _____,__ becoming an _____ province.
* According to Sargon’s annals, 27,290 Israelites were deported, and Israel was repopulated with people from other lands
* Babylonia conquers _____

Babylonia

* ____ conquers Assyria. Now ______ is the BIG power
* In 587 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar of _______ conquered Jerusalem again, destroying the city and the Temple, and Judah is gone.
* ______takes even more people into exile.
* _______ was not a poor nation and, in fact, superior \n architecturally. Their Temples were particularly impressive.
* _______ will fall to Persia who is under the leadership of Cyrus

Bathsheba

* Uriah’s wife
* David saw her (while she was “purifying” herself from her period) and then decide to have sex with her
* Gets pregnant with David’s kid
* After Uriah’s death, marries David
* First kid, was a miscarriage (as punishment from God)
* helps to make Solomon king

Bethel

One of the two worship sites in which Jeroboam created after the split in Israel.

Cyrus

* The exile is not the last event. Babylonia will fall to Persia who is \n under the leadership of ________
* \

Dan

One of the two worship sites in which Jeroboam created after the split in Israel.

David

* anointed while Saul was still King (by Samuel)
* two different stories on how he met Saul
* played music to soothe Saul
* Provide for me someone who can play well and bring him to me.” One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence and the Lord is with him.”
* killed the Goliath
* Johnathan helps him escape, Saul’s wrath
* hid amongst the Philistines, pretending to be them
* After Johnathan and Saul’s death he came back and took his place as king
* He mourned for both Johnathan and Saul
* killed the man who killed Saul (even though Saul asked for a mercy kill)
* Becomes king of Judah (south Israel)
* eventually becomes King over all of Israel
* Captures the city of Jerusalem and makes it the capital and moves the Ark of the Covenant here
* Does great things
* He defeats the Philistines, forcing them into a small area southwest of Israel.
* He also conquers other territories around Israel, expanding Israel’s territory.
* Changes in structure
* He sets up an administrative system to do business within the land and outside of it. This gives people opportunities beyond village life.
* He develops trade and commerce with other nations, increasing Israel’s wealth.
* He establishes a standing army for protection.
* He brings political stability to Israel.
* Wants to make a temple for, but God wants to make something for him.
* God makes a covenant guaranteeing his lineage
* He sleeps with Bathsheba and when she becomes pregnant he tries to hide his mistake (has her husband killed)
* Had many children including, Amnon, Absalom, and Tamar (to name a few).
* Kings in the South are compared to their ancestor, King _____.

Davidic Covenant

promises that:

* David’s son will succeed him to the throne
* God’s favor will remain with David’s successors, even when they mess up
* “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Sam 7:16).

Day of Yahweh

* A festival every year when the people anticipated a day to \n come when God would exalt Israel and crush all of her \n enemies.
* But Amos proclaims that Yahweh had selected Israel for \n responsibility, not just for privilege. And there are \n consequences for not fulfilling the role of a covenant \n community.
* Therefore, _______ will be punishment, not reward.

Eli

* The priest of Shiloh
* found Hannah and promised God would help her
* Samuel is left to grow up under his guidance

Elijah

* “my god is Yahweh”
* One of Ahab’s prophets
* criticizes Ahab for worshipping other religions
* Leaves and goes into hiding (drought occurs)
* reappears and tells Ahab to bring his prophets to Mount Carmel. Here he proves that Yahweh is the one and only God.
* Jezebel wants him dead
* Doubts Yahwehs power but when he goes to Mount Horeb he is remind of the power
* Confront Ahab about Naboth’s vineyard

Elkanah

✓ has two wives

✓ One is able to have children, Penninah \n ✓ One is barren BUT is the favorite, Hannah

Samuel’s father, leaves Samuel at Shiloh to serve under Eli

Ephraim

the northern kingdom of Israel also goes by \n this name

\
(the largest tribe of the North).

Exile (The)

* Nebuchadnezzar attacks Jerusalem and conquers \n it.
* He takes Judah’s elite into ____
* Babylonia takes even more people into ______
* A bunch of Israelites from Judah have been moved to other locations, but they have not been scattered as thoroughly as the Assyrians scattered Israelites.
* Israelites left in the area of Judah are primarily poor people of the land.
* For this period of “_______,” who writes texts that were included in the Hebrew Bible?

Ezekiel

* was one of the first taken from Judah to Babylonia in 597 BCE.
* He had been a priest.
* Becomes a prophet after he gets to Babylonia.
* Until 587/6 BCE, while in Babylonia, _____ warns his fellow exiles that Jerusalem will suffer complete destruction
* After 587/6 BCE, _____’s prophecies shift to being much more helpful and hopeful.
* Three of ______’s insights:
* (1) Each generation is responsible for its own response to God.
* A common complaint of the people is that “the parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
* (2) God will revive the nation.
* Though it seems impossible, God can create a new beginning.
* ____ 37:1-14 _____’s vision of a valley of dry bones
* _____ prophesies >>> bones come together >>> sinews >>> flesh >>> skin- Ezekiel prophesies again >>> breath
* God promises to bring them back to their land.
* (3) God will establish a new covenant with the people.

Gomer

* Hosea’s wife
* has 3 kids (Each are named by God so that they become living symbols of God’s word to Israel)
* Is “unfaithful” according to Hosea’s analogy

Hannah

* One of Elkanah’s wife
* God has closed her womb (she is barren)
* Goes to Shiloh and prays
* Eli thinks she’s drunk at first but once he hears her woes he helps her
* Gives birth to Samuel
* Gives Samuel to Eli at Shiloh

Hosea

* prophesies in the north not long after Amos
* Married to Gomer
* What he says to the Northern kingdom:


1. _____'s analogy – ____’s marriage to an unfaithful wife. \n God too is married to a faithless people.

* They worship other gods
* They trust in foreign alliances for protection.
* Both Hosea and God experience the hurt of these relationships.


2. Therefore, the Mosaic Covenant has been broken. \n _______’s wife, Gomer, has 3 children. \n ➢ Each are named by God so that they become living symbols of God’s word to \n Israel. \n ➢ The youngest is named Lo-ammi = not my people
3. But there is good news. Yahweh’s love for Israel is such that God \n will never give up on them. \n - Instead, God will bring judgment on them so that they will turn \n from their evil ways.

\
* THE problem with ______'s analogy:•
* Husband (faithful) + Wife (unfaithful)
* ___ (faithful) + Gomer (unfaithful)
* God (faithful) + Israel (unfaithful)

\

incubation

having a theophany while sleeping.

(a theophany is in a visible manifestation to humankind of God or a god)

* can be practiced intentionally, but it is not here.

Ishbaal

* one of Saul’s sons
* anointed as the second king, by the general Abner (stands in Davids way)
* King of the North
* Joab kills Abner >>>2 of ______’s soldiers kill _____>>>David kills them.

Israel

North Kingdom = 10 tribes

Jeroboam

* He represents the interests of people in the northern part of the kingdom, confronted Rehoboam on behalf of those in the North.
* Kings in the North are compared to the first king of the northern kingdom, King _____.
* Considered a failed King because he didn’t worship in Jerusalem but instead creates two new cities Dan and Bethel.

Jeroboam 2 (the sequel)

* Northern King, whose prophet was Amos
* He addresses 3 different aspects of life in Israel:
* (1) the political
* He takes advantage of a peaceful political \n situation to expand Israel’s borders and \n become prosperous
* (2) the social
* (1) Prosperity has helped to create an oppressive social pyramid. Only a few (the upper class) are benefiting from the nation’s prosperous foreign and domestic policies and are ruthlessly taking advantage of the poor and defenseless.
* (2) There is no justice in the land. Amos claims that judges have been bought, creating a situation where justice in the courts is joke.
* (3) the religious
* (1) The people, particularly the wealthy, are involved in elaborate worship. - They are thronging to the worship sites to offer sacrifices, etc.- They are thanking God for their prosperity – personally and nationally.
* (2) Nothing is being said at key worship sites about the oppression of the poor by the rich, which is now rampant in their society. - Religion has taken a “hands off” stance. - Religion is silent about the lack of justice in the court systems.
* (3) People continue to worship Yahweh and Baal at the same time.

Jerusalem

* \
* The people in exile had lots of questions about how ________ could have been \n destroyed

Jezebel

* She is the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians
* She is NOT tolerant of Israel’s religious views. \n - She kills all of the prophets of Yahweh that she can find. \n - She imports her own prophets of Baal
* Wants Elijah dead for his actions
* Married to Ahab
* She is manipulative and gets Naboth’s territory, while also having him stoned

Joab

* David’s general
* Follows David’s orders to kill Uriah, but he tweaks plan
* killed Absalom when he attempted a rebellion against King David.

Johnathan

* Son of Saul
* Nearly dies due to Saul’s second error
* Helps David escape
* Dies with Saul

Judah

Southern Kingdom = 1 tribe

* Jerusalem is the capital

Marduk

* Babalonyian god (during exile Israel greatest threat was assimilating into this culture)

Michaiah

* King Ahab wants to start a war against the King of Judah.
* When Ahab consults the prophets, they all tell Ahab yes
* However, when the king asks this prophet first tells him yes to appease him but is immediately honest afterwards, in which he tells him that disaster will is coming for King Ahab (especially if he goes to war here)

monotheism

* Second Isaiah is the first clear declaration of this

Mosaic Covenant

Follow God by following God’s law, and God will bless you!

Mount Carmel

* Elijah has Ahab bring his prophets (450 Baal and 400 Asherah) here
* Elijah competes to see which God will light the offering on fire, in which Yahweh and him win.

Mount Horeb

* Elijah has doubts of God’s power against Jezebel


* Elijah is told to go here by God in order to receive a theophany
* God proves his strength

Naboth

* Has a vineyard that King Ahab wants and that it is because it is “ancestorial ancestor)
* Jezebel gets his land and also has him stoned to death

Nathan

* David’s court prophet
* God tells him not to build a temple for him (like David wants to)
* Gets onto David for the Bathsheba thing

Nebuchadnezzar

* in 597 BCE, ______ attacks Jerusalem and conquers it.
* He takes Judah’s elite into exile. The remnant!
* In 587/6 BCE, _________ of Babylonia conquered Jerusalem again, destroying the city and the Temple, and Judah is gone.

Persia

* The exile is not the last event. Babylonia will fall to _______ who is \n under the leadership of Cyrus

Philistines

(Sea people)

* growing threat to the Israelites; they are crossing the Mediterranean se and trying to take the land that the Israelites half conquered
* Fight against Israel (while Saul is king)
* (where Saul’s first error occured)

Queen of Sheba

* wants to test Solomon’s knowledge
* She is met with a wisdom and left with no more spirit in her (she was proven wrong?)

Rehoboam

* Son of Solomon
* Becomes the next king of Israel
* when asked to be a better king, he disagrees
* The countries split because of his decision and he is King of the Southern

Samaria

* The new Assyrian king, Shalmaneser V, quickly attacks _____.
* He dies in battle, but his successor, Sargon II, finishes the job of conquering _____.
* In 721 BCE, _____ (and therefore Israel) fell to Assyria, becoming an Assyrian province.
* According to Sargon’s annals, 27,290 Israelites were deported, and Israel was repopulated with people from other lands

\

Samuel

* Son of Elkanah and Hannah
* Was raised in Shiloh, by the priest Eli
* while sleeping in the temple where the covenant is, he receives incubation
* becomes a significant Israelite leader, but he is NOT a king.
* the big issue while he is a leader is that the people want a king
* He doesn’t think having a king is a good idea
* Is the advisor to Saul; criticizes what he does
* Eventually pulls away from Saul (but still grieves for him)
* anoints David to be the new king

Saul

* First Isrealite king chosen by God
* a very tall and handsome man from a wealthy, prestigious Benjaminite family
* seemed like good choice at first, he embodies some great qualities \n for a leader, both humble and protective
* is outraged by this report and calls all of the tribes to come help fight against the Ammonites by cutting an ox into 12 pieces.
* proves to be a good warrior and defeats not just the Ammonites, but also the Philistines in multiple battles
* makes 3 critical errors on 3 separate occasions
* he makes a sacrifice without Samuel
* takes a foolish oath, nearly killing his son, Jonathan
* fails to complete the ḥerem against the Amalekites (keeps spoils of war)
* God leaves him and he becomes depressed
* Meets David (whose been annoited twice without realizing it)
* makes several attempts to kill David
* God says that his bloodline will end here
* Dies in battle with his son Johnathan
* Asked to be killed by one of their soldiers so the other side didn’t get the oppurtunity

Second Isaiah

* tries to combat the assimilation into Babalonyian culture
* Some of his MAJOR contributions to Israelite thinking are:
* (1) Yahweh is creator and, therefore, sovereign over the entire world
* (2) All other so-called gods are merely idols. The first clear declaration of monotheism.
* - He makes fun of Babylonian worship and their “gods.”
* (3) The exile is not the last event. Babylonia will fall to Persia who is \n under the leadership of Cyrus
* (4) Yahweh is seeking a relationship with all nations and works through Israel, God’s servant, to save the world

Solomon

* King that follows David’s reign (David’s son)
* Was known for his amazing buildings and extreme wealth.
* three positives of his reign:


1. Solomon is incredibly wise. \n (a) In 1 Kings 3:1-15, He goes to Gibeon, a high place, and has an amazing theophany. Intentional INCUBATION \n (b) In 1 Kings 3:16-28, His wise judgment
2. Solomon’s impressive building projects: the temple, the house of the forest of Lebanon, a palace for himself, a house for the Pharoah’s daughter - All extravagant!
3. a visit by the Queen of Sheba who wants to test his wisdom.

* has many wives and concubines (believed that this is why he started to drift from God)
* Because of his lovers he began to worship other Gods and built them temples.
* Has a son Rehoboam
* Reasons he was a bad King \n 1. In 1 Kings 9:10-14, he gave away 20 cities in Galilee \n in exchange for building materials. (a piece of the \n promised land in the North) \n 2. In 1 Kings 5:13, we learn that he conscripted forced \n labor among the Israelites in order to build the Temple.

3\. In 1 Kings 6:27-7:1, we read that He \n devoted 7 years to building the Temple. "_____ \n was building his own house 13 years, and he finished \n his entire house."

Temple

* \
* Antiochus went so far as to desecrate the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar of the 2nd Temple

Tiglath-Pileser 3

* has come to power in Assyria, and he has an important foreign policy.
* 727 BCE, _______ dies.

Uriah

* Bathsheba’s husband
* Refuses to sleep with her (as ordered by David) because his fellow men were still at war
* Dies in war (Due to David’s will)

wisdom literature

* the books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes, all reflect on what we can know about God by considering how the world works
* Basic meaning in Proverbs:
* This premise correlates with the conventional Old Testament theology.
* Good or wise judgment >>> good decisions >>> good results (positive outcomes)
* Bad judgment >>> bad decisions >>> bad results
* Job is a book that wrestles with this reality.
* It is a challenge to the traditional theology.
* This book is classified as a theodicy: a defense of God’s goodness and justice in a world where there is suffering and injustice.
* Truth: Sometimes good people are not rewarded with wealth and happiness. And there are plenty of irresponsible people who do get to be happy and wealthy.

\
* Proverbs upheld the traditional Old Testament theology
* Job challenged it by asserting God’s freedom
* Lesson: theology evolves, and what people think about God is complicated

Zion

* Jerusalem has two names now
* when God is present, that place is called ____ (the place where God is), the city is also known as Jerusalem

powerpoint of Samuel

\
The book of 1 Samuel begins with the story of Samuel’s birth. \n Setting the stage – a familiar pattern: \n ✓ Elkanah has two wives \n ✓ One is able to have children, Penninah \n ✓ One is barren BUT Elkanah’s favorite, Hannah \n According to the text (1 Sam 1:6), “the LORD had closed her womb.” \n “Hannah wept and would not eat. Her husband, Elkanah, said to her, \n “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? \n Am I not more to you than ten sons?” (1:7-8)

They go to Shiloh every year to worship, so \n Hannah prays earnestly for a child. \n “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on \n the misery of your servant, and remember \n me, and not forget your servant, but will \n give to your servant a male child, then I will \n set him before you as a Nazirite until the \n day of his death. He shall drink neither \n wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall \n touch his head.”

Because she wept bitterly as she prayed at the sanctuary in \n Shiloh, the priest, Eli, assumed she was drunk. \n But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply \n troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I \n have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not \n regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been \n speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this \n time.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel \n grant the petition you have made to him.” \n Feminist issues here? What are the implications of a view \n of God as one who opens and closes wombs? \n Guess what happens next! \n Once the boy is weaned, Elkanah and Hannah leave \n Samuel at Shiloh to serve the Lord under the priest Eli.

1 Samuel 3:1 “The word of the LORD was rare in those days; \n visions were not widespread.” \n However, in 1 Samuel 3:2-14, Samuel receives a word from God. \n - “Speak, for your servant is listening.” \n - Samuel happened to be “sleeping in the temple of the Lord where \n the Ark of God was” (3:3) \n - An example of Incubation: having a theophany while sleeping \n - Incubation can be practiced intentionally, but it is not here. \n Samuel becomes a significant Israelite leader, but he is NOT a king.

One key issue while Samuel is a leader in Israel is whether Israel should become a \n monarchy, whether they should be governed by a king “like the other nations.” \n Why do they want a king? \n ✓ To be like other nations \n ✓ To have a unified leader \n ✓ To create a standing army to fight remaining Canaanite powers and now also the \n Philistines (sea peoples). \n Though the people of Israel have begun to ask for a king to unify them, especially as they \n deal with the Philistine threat, Samuel is convinced that this is not a good idea. \n He and Yahweh see this as a rejection of Yahweh as King over them. \n But God tells Samuel to “Listen to the voice of the people” (8:7) but also to warn the people \n (8:9)

1 Samuel 8:11-18 \n He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your \n sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his \n chariots, and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders \n of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his \n implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to \n be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards \n and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain \n and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your \n male and female slaves and the best of your cattle and donkeys and put them to his \n work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that \n day, you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but \n the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

A king will limit their freedom and subject them to despotic \n tyranny, like the Pharaoh did when they were in Egypt. \n The Israelites have to decide how a human king will be in \n relationship with God, who is ultimately over them all. \n From this point on, that is what the prophet is for, namely, to \n hold kings accountable to Yahweh as supreme ruler.

powerpoint of Saul

Saul, the first Israelite king chosen by God \n At first, it sounds like God is choosing Saul to be another judge. \n - 1 Samuel 9:16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of \n Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my \n people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have seen the suffering of my people, \n because their outcry has come to me.” \n NOTE: Look for echoes of the story of the Levite’s Concubine in Saul’s story and how those \n echoes could shape the reader’s impression of Saul.

Based on 1 Samuel 9:1-2, Saul is a very tall \n and handsome man from a wealthy, prestigious \n Benjaminite family. \n • Seemed like a good choice for a king. \n And, at first, he embodies some great qualities \n for a leader, both humble and protective. \n Consider the story of the Ammonites torturing the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead.

1 Samuel 11:1-4 Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the \n men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” But \n Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, \n namely, that I gouge out everyone’s right eye, and thus put disgrace upon all Israel.” \n The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send \n messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will \n give ourselves up to you.” When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported \n the matter in the hearing of the people, and all the people wept aloud. \n 1 Samuel 11:5 “Now Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen.” \n • Does Saul NOT understand what it means to be king? \n Saul is outraged by this report and calls all of the tribes to come help fight against the \n Ammonites by cutting an ox into 12 pieces.

Saul proves to be a good warrior and defeats not just the Ammonites, but also the Philistines in multiple battles. \n But then, Saul, in quick succession in the story, makes 3 critical errors on 3 separate occasions.

First, in chapter 13, he makes a sacrifice without Samuel. \n 1 Samuel 13:5-15a The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots, and 6,000 \n horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and \n encamped at Michmash to the east of Bethaven. When the Israelites saw that they were in \n distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes \n and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns. Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of \n Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people who followed him trembled. \n Saul waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, \n and the soldiers began to slip away from Saul. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to \n me and the offerings of well-being.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had \n finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to meet him and \n salute him. Samuel said, “What have you done?”

Saul replied, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me and \n that you did not come within the days appointed and that the Philistines \n were mustering at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down \n upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord’. So I \n forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” \n Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the \n commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord \n would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your \n kingdom will not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own \n heart, and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people because \n you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” And Samuel left.

Second, in chapter 14, Saul takes a foolish oath, nearly killing his son, Jonathan. \n Third, in chapter 15, Saul fails to complete the ḥerem against the Amalekites. \n Saul wins the war, but he doesn’t kill King Agag or destroy all of the Amalekite herds. He \n takes these as spoils of war. \n Samuel confronts Saul. \n - Saul’s excuse? \n - Samuel’s response: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices \n as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice and to \n heed than the fat of rams” (1 Sam 15:22). \n Samuel withdrew his support from Saul and refused to talk with Saul anymore, though he \n “grieved for Saul” (15:35).

Samuel’s new work will be to anoint David as king, EVEN THOUGH Saul is still the king. \n David does not seem to be the perfect pick for king. He is very young and, according to the \n text, had only ever kept sheep for his family. His older brothers seemed much more \n qualified. \n But, given God’s direction, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence \n of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. \n "Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented \n him." \n Saul ends up in a deep depression.

Saul’s servants recommend music as a way to \n soothe Saul’s tormented spirit? \n Enter David ... \n 1 Samuel 16:17-18 So Saul said to his servants, \n “Provide for me someone who can play well and \n bring him to me.” One of the young men \n answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the \n Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of \n valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of \n good presence and the Lord is with him.”

We learn that David entered Saul’s service, and “Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer” (16:21).

BUT in the very next story in 1 Samuel 17, Saul doesn’t know who David is when he kills the \n Philistine giant, Goliath. \n 1 Samuel 17:55-58 When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine \[and kill him with a \n slingshot\], he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young \n man?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” The king said, “Inquire whose \n son this is.” On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him \n before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. Saul said to him, “Whose son are \n you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the \n Bethlehemite.” \n This is a seam in the text. Two traditions brought together in this long narrative. \n \[2 Sam 21:19 “Then there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son \n of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was \n like a weaver’s beam.”\]

Regardless of how Saul and David first meet, we have the set up for a politically delicate situation. The future king over Israel has infiltrated the court of the current king who is dangerously depressed and desperately trying to hold onto his power and authority.

Making matters even worse for Saul, David gains Jonathan’s friendship \n immediately. \n - Jonathan is Saul’s son and next in line for the throne. \n When Saul and David go out to battle, women come out into the \n streets praising David’s victories over Saul’s. \n - 1 Samuel 18:7 “Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten \n thousands.” \n Saul makes several attempts to kill David. \n David flees and gathers a group of disgruntled Israelites around him. \n _________________

powerpoint of David

David had fled from Israel because Saul, in his desperation \n and despondency, tried to kill him. \n He hid among the Philistines, “faking” allegiance to them ... \n Until the day the Israelites fought the Philistines and lost in \n a big way. \n AND King Saul and his oldest son, Jonathan, were killed.

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David \n remained two days in Ziklag. 2On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his \n clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did \n obeisance. \n 3David said to him, “Where have you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped from the \n camp of Israel.” 4David said to him, “How did things go? Tell me!” He answered, “The army \n fled from the battle, but also many of the army fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan \n also died.” \n 5Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, “How do you know that Saul \n and his son Jonathan died?” 6The young man reporting to him said, “I happened to be on \n Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen \n drew close to him. 7When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, \n ‘Here sir.’ 8And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9He said to \n me, ‘Come, stand over me and kill me for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still \n lingers.’ 10So I stood over him and killed him for I knew that he could not live after he had \n fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have \n brought them here to my lord.”

Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and all the men who \n were with him did the same. 12They mourned and wept and fasted until \n evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan and for the army of the Lord and \n for the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword. \n 13David said to the young man who had reported to him, “Where do you \n come from?” \n He answered, “I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.” \n 14David said to him, “Were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the \n Lord’s anointed?” \n 15Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come here and strike \n him down.” So, he struck him down and he died. \n 16David said to him, “Your blood be on your head for your own mouth has \n testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

17David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. 18(He \n ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is \n written in the Book of Jashar.) He said: \n 19Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places! How the mighty have \n fallen! \n 20Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon or the \n daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised \n will exult. \n 21You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you nor \n bounteous fields! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield \n of Saul, anointed with oil no more. \n 22From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of \n Jonathan did not turn back nor the sword of Saul return empty.

23Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they \n were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were \n stronger than lions. \n 24O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with \n crimson, in luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. \n 25How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan \n lies slain upon your high places. \n 26I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved \n were you to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love \n of women. \n 27How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

After Saul’s death, David is instructed by God to go to the town of Hebron, where \n he is anointed king over the people of Judah (southern Israel). \n He can’t proclaim himself king over all of Israel because Saul’s general, Abner, has \n already come back to Israel following Saul’s death and anointed one of Saul’s sons \n king – Ishbaal. \n The house of Saul lives on in his son Ishbaal or Ishbosheth in North Israel. \n Ish = man - Baal = Canaanite god - bosheth = shame

In the South, there is King David and his general, Joab. \n In the North, there is King Ishbaal and his general, Abner. \n Joab kills Abner >>> \n 2 of Ishbaal’s soldiers kill Ishbaal >>> \n David kills them. \n David becomes king over ALL of Israel, but tensions between North \n and South will persist forever.

* David captures the city of Jerusalem, which used to belong to the Jebusites, and makes it his new capital.
* It’s new and therefore neutral territory on the boundary between north and south.

He also moves the ark of the covenant into the new capital. \n Zion theology is important here.

David does some great things for Israel: \n (1) He defeats the Philistines, forcing them into a small area southwest of Israel. \n (2) He also conquers other territories around Israel, expanding Israel’s territory.

Now, for the first time, Israel has possession of the land God had promised to Abraham in its entirety. \n What does this mean theologically?

David begins to change the structure of things so that Israel more \n closely resembles the other nations. \n (1) He sets up an administrative system to do business within the \n land and outside of it. This gives people opportunities beyond \n village life. \n (2) He develops trade and commerce with other nations, increasing \n Israel’s wealth. \n (3) He establishes a standing army for protection. \n (4) He brings political stability to Israel.

The text also tells us about a new covenant established between God \n and David – the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7. \n David wants to build a “house” for God and the ark of the covenant, a \n permanent structure, a Temple. \n Nathan, David’s court prophet, receives a word from God that David \n should not build the Temple. \n Instead, God will build a “house” or dynasty for David.

The Davidic Covenant promises that: \n •David’s son will succeed him to the throne \n •God’s favor will remain with David’s successors, even \n when they mess up \n •“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever \n before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 \n Sam 7:16).

Now Israel has two important covenants with God: \n ❖Mosaic Covenant \n ❖Davidic Covenant \n What is the tension between them?

powerpoint of David and Bathsheba

We’re moving into the part of David’s story that isn’t so flattering. \n David is definitely not perfect in this narrative. \n In fact, this story is such a negative portrayal of David that we \n wonder how it was included in the history. \n It is likely that much of the earlier, positive history was written while \n David was king. This was probably included later.

2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent \n Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged \n Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. \n Why does David remain in Jerusalem? \n We should remember why the Israelite people wanted a king in the first place and David in \n particular. \n - 1 Samuel 8:19-20 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! \n but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, \n and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles." \n - 1 Samuel 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for it was he who marched out and \n came in leading them. \n Who has gone to battle instead of David?

This is the first time in the text that David fails to lead the army, and it marks the decline of David’s \n reputation in the eyes of the people and God. \n A literary critic asks how the story of the battle at Rabbah shapes the meaning of the story of David \n and Bathsheba. \n • The behavior of the men at battle contrasts with David’s behavior at home

2 Samuel 11:2-5 It happened, late one \n afternoon, when David rose from his couch \n and was walking about on the roof of the \n king’s house that he saw from the roof a \n woman bathing; the woman was very \n beautiful. David sent someone to inquire \n about the woman. It was reported, “This is \n Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of \n Uriah the Hittite.” So David sent messengers \n to get her, and she came to him, and he lay \n with her. (Now she was purifying herself \n after her period.) Then she returned to her \n house. The woman conceived, and she sent \n and told David, “I am pregnant.” \n While his men are at battle, what is David \n doing?

2 Samuel 11:6-13 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent \n Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and \n how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your \n feet.” \n Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But \n Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord and did not go \n down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said \n to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?” \n Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths, and my lord Joab and \n the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat \n and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such \n a thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you \n back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to eat \n and drink in his presence and made him drunk, and in the evening, he went out to lie on his \n couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

2 Samuel 11:14-15 In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”

What is David’s plan now? \n Do you think David loves Bathsheba? \n What kind of military strategist does David appear to be here? Good plan to get Uriah \n killed? \n - Joab tweaks the plan a little. \n 2 Samuel 11:16-17 As Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he \n knew there were valiant warriors. The men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and \n some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well. \n How did Joab tweak David's plan?

2 Samuel 11:18-21 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting, and he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the news about the fighting, then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not \n know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’, then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.’" If you were the person given the task of delivering this message, what would you be thinking?

Reference is made to the death of Abimelech in Judges 9:35-57, when he fights against Shechem. Judges 9:52-54 Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and came near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. Immediately he called to the young man who carried his armor and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so people will not say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So, the young man thrust him through, and he died. How does this story relate to the story of David and Bathsheba?

2 Samuel 11:22-24 So the messenger went and told David all that Joab had sent him \n to tell. The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and \n came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. \n Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are \n dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” \n How does the messenger change the message? \n 2 Samuel 11:25 David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not let \n this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another; press your \n attack on the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.” \n If you’re the messenger, what do you think of David here? \n How might this message sound to Joab?

2 Samuel 11:26-27 When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

Nathan, as David’s prophet \n and conscience, goes to David \n to hold him accountable for \n what he has done. \n • The story of a rich man, a \n poor man, and a little ewe \n lamb \n Do you remember Samuel’s \n warning to the people about \n what kings would do? \n • Kings would abuse their \n power and “take” from the \n people.

powerpoint of Solomon

The story of Solomon begins with the story of succession. \n Which of David’s sons would become king after him? \n Earlier - David’s oldest son, Amnon, raped his half-sister, Tamar. \n Then Amnon was killed by his half-brother, Absalom. \n Then Absalom was killed by Joab for leading a rebellion against his father, King David.

Adonijah is the third oldest of David’s son, so he is next in line for the throne. His fate is described in 1 Kings 1-2.

Solomon, who is not anywhere close to being next in line for the throne, becomes king because the prophet, Nathan, and his mother Bathsheba, intervene.

If King David is famous for his military conquests and the expansion of Israel’s borders, Solomon is famous as a king because of his incredible accumulation of wealth and magnificent building projects.

We’re in the midst of the story of Israel’s kings, and we find that kings \n tend to be evaluated based on how well they follow the laws of \n Deuteronomy – a series of speeches by Moses \n Theology of the Mosaic Covenant is paramount. \n Follow God by following God’s law, and God will bless you!

3 positive aspects of Solomon’s reign: \n (1) Solomon is incredibly wise. \n (a) In 1 Kings 3:1-15, Solomon goes to Gibeon, a high place, and has an amazing theophany. Intentional INCUBATION \n (b) In 1 Kings 3:16-28, Solomon's wise judgment \n “All Israel heard the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to execute justice” (1 Kings 3:28).


2. Solomon’s impressive building projects: the temple, the house of the forest of Lebanon, a palace for himself, a house for the Pharoah’s daughter - All extravagant!

The temple was so magnificent that after it was destroyed and the Israelites tried to rebuild it, they stood around the 2nd temple and wept because it was pathetic compared to Solomon’s temple


3. a visit by the Queen of Sheba who wants to test his wisdom.

1 Kings 10:3-5 Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from King that he could not explain to her. When the Queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of Solomon, the house he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his official, and the attendance of the servings, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

Despite a positive picture of Solomon at first, like the earlier Israelite kings, he \n messes up near the end of his reign. \n 1 Kings 11:1-8 King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the \n daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite \n women from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the Israelites, \n “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you; for \n they will surely incline your heart to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these \n in love. Among his wives were 700 princesses and 300 concubines, and his \n wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned \n away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not true to the Lord his \n God, as was the heart of his father David. ... Then Solomon built a high place \n for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of \n the Ammonites on the mountain east of Jerusalem. He did the same for all his \n foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrificed to their gods.

After Solomon died, the worst possible thing happens – the Israelite kingdom \n is split into two. \n Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, becomes the next king of Israel. \n Then a man named Jeroboam, who represents the interests of people in the \n northern part of the kingdom, confronted Rehoboam on behalf of those in \n the North. \n Jeroboam says to Rehoboam, “your father made our yoke heavy. Now \n therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he \n placed on us, and we will serve you” (1 Kgs 12:4).

Rehoboam is not sure how to respond. \n He consults his father’s advisors. \n He consults his friends. These young men, who had grown up \n with Rehoboam, tell him to say to Jeroboam, “My little finger is \n thicker than my father’s loins. Now whereas my father laid on \n you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father \n disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with \n scorpions” (1 Kgs 12:11) \n Guess whose advice he takes ...

How do you think Jeroboam reacts? \n - He says to people from the north, “What share do we have in David? We \n have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now \n to your own house, O David” (12:16b-17). \n 1 Kings 12:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this \n day. \n The nation is split in two and will never be united again. \n Northern kingdom = Israel (10 tribes) \n Southern kingdom = Judah (1 tribe)

Why are the people in the north so ready to abandon \n Israel’s royalty and the Davidic line? \n Maybe Solomon wasn’t as great a king as we originally \n thought. \n So we go back and take another look at 1 Kings 1-10, which \n appears at first glance to be so positive about Solomon.

Why are the people in the north so ready to abandon \n Israel’s royalty and the Davidic line? \n Maybe Solomon wasn’t as great a king as we originally \n thought. \n So we go back and take another look at 1 Kings 1-10, which \n appears at first glance to be so positive about Solomon.

There are hints in the Solomonic narrative that Solomon \n wasn’t such a great king. \n 1. In 1 Kings 9:10-14, Solomon gave away 20 cities in Galilee \n in exchange for building materials. (a piece of the \n promised land in the North) \n 2. In 1 Kings 5:13, we learn that Solomon conscripted forced \n labor among the Israelites in order to build the Temple.

3\. In 1 Kings 6:27-7:1, we read that Solomon \n devoted 7 years to building the Temple. "Solomon \n was building his own house 13 years, and he finished \n his entire house."

Elijah powerpoint

The books of 1 & 2 Kings detail what happens in the two split kingdoms until they are each \n destroyed.

For the author who writes these books, one law in Deuteronomy appears to \n be most important to him when it comes to evaluating each king. \n ➢This law declares that Jerusalem is the official place for people to worship \n Yahweh. \n ➢Therefore, it comes as no surprise that kings in the southern kingdom of \n Judah where Jerusalem is the capital at least had a chance of getting a \n good evaluation while the kings in the northern kingdom of Israel were all \n judged as total failures.

NOTE: there is a pattern in the evaluation of each king. \n Kings in the South are compared to their ancestor, King \n David. \n Kings in the North are compared to the first king of the \n northern kingdom, King Jeroboam.

All of the kings of Israel fail because every king “did what was \n evil in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the way \n of Jeroboam and his sin, which he made Israel to sin.” \n Jeroboam’s sin has everything to do with the rule in \n Deuteronomy regarding the "centralization of worship in \n Jerusalem."

1 Kings 12:26-30 Then Jeroboam said to himself, “Now \n the kingdom may well revert to the house of David. If this \n people continues to go up to offer sacrifices in the house \n of the Lord at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn \n again to their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they will \n kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.” So the \n king took counsel and made two calves of gold. He said to \n the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. \n Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of \n the land of Egypt.” He set one in Bethel, and the other he \n put in Dan. And this thing became a sin, for the people \n went to worship before the one at Bethel and before the \n other as far as Dan. \n A politically smart move but theologically problematic.

None of the kings of Israel remove these worship sites \n established by Jeroboam, so ALL of the kings fail. \n Note: In the Bible, the northern kingdom of Israel also goes by \n the name of Ephraim (the largest tribe of the North).

For this class, we will consider one particular king in the North named \n Ahab and his prophet Elijah. \n Here is the historian’s evaluation of Ahab. “And as if it had been a light \n thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took as \n his wife Jezebel daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians and went and \n served Baal and worshiped him.” \n Who do you think Jezebel is? \n What was the purpose of the marriage? \n What have we seen as the BIG challenge for kings with foreign wives?

Ahab builds a temple of Baal so that his wife can worship her gods. He is being tolerant \n of the religious views she brings with her. \n However, Jezebel is NOT tolerant of Israel’s religious views. \n - She kills all of the prophets of Yahweh that she can find. \n - She imports her own prophets of Baal. \n Therefore, many of the people of Israel end up worshipping BOTH Yahweh and Baal. \n This actually made sense at the time because ... \n ▪ of familiarity with polytheism \n ▪ these gods are perceived as two different types of gods \n Enter Elijah = “my god is Yahweh”

1 Kings 17:1 Elijah goes to King Ahab and says, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before \n whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” \n How does this proclamation challenge the power of Baal? \n Elijah goes into hiding for 3 years. Drought! \n He reappears, and when King Ahab sees him, he says, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” (1 \n Kings 18:17). \n Elijah instructs Ahab to meet him on Mount Carmel with the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 \n prophets of Asherah. \n Once there, Elijah asks the crowds, “How long will you go limping with two different \n opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21) \n - “If the LORD is God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him.”

A contest between Yahweh and Baal follows. Which god will bring down fire on the altar? \n Baal prophets go first. \n - “At noon, Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is \n meditating or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and \n must be awakened.” \n Yahweh’s turn.

When Elijah’s offering burns, the people fell on their faces and \n said, “The LORD indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God.” \n Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of \n them escape.” Then they seized them, and Elijah brought them \n down to the Wadi Kishon and killed them there. \n What is the point of the story? \n What character in the story should we emulate? \n What characteristics should we emulate?

Who is significantly not present for this contest? \n When Jezebel hears what has happened, she promises Elijah will die. So Elijah \n flees. \n Elijah may be wondering: how can Yahweh really be in control when Jezebel’s \n power seems to remain undiminished? \n He ends up at Mount Horeb where we expect him to experience a theophany \n here. \n God tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain for the LORD is about to pass by.

1 Kings 19:11b-13 Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting \n mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the \n wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and \n after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound \n of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out \n and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, \n “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

One more Elijah story – Naboth’s Vineyard (1 Kings 21:1-24) \n Naboth has a vineyard that King Ahab wants. He won’t sell it to Ahab because it is \n part of his “ancestral inheritance.” \n Jezebel decides to get this piece of land for her husband. She says to Ahab, “Do you \n now govern Israel?” \n Through deceit, she has Naboth stoned to death. \n Then Elijah confronts Ahab, much like Nathan confronted David after Uriah was \n killed. \n This story is also a protest against an aristocracy that thinks it can take whatever \n it wants.

One more VERY important story about Ahab in 1 Kings \n 22, this time with the prophet Michaiah. \n King Ahab of Israel wants to go to battle with King \n Jehoshaphat of Judah against Ramoth-gilead. \n - He consults his prophets – 400 court prophets. \n - Then he consults Michaiah.

1 Kings 22:19-23 Then Micaiah said, “I saw the Lord sitting on his \n throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right \n and to the left of him. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, so \n that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one \n thing, and another said another, until a spirit came forward and stood \n before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘How?’ the Lord asked him. \n He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his \n prophets.’ Then the Lord said, ‘You are to entice him, and you \n shall succeed; go out and do it.’ So you see, the Lord has put a lying \n spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed \n disaster for you.”

powerpoint for Amos and Hosea

Amos

About 100 years after Elijah’s work with King Ahab in Israel, the northern \n kingdom, Jeroboam II is a northern king whose prophet is Amos. \n He addresses 3 different aspects of life in Israel: \n (1) the political \n (2) the social \n (3) the religious

What is going on politically? \n Jeroboam II is king, and he’s great! \n He takes advantage of a peaceful political \n situation to expand Israel’s borders and \n become prosperous. \n What would the people assume about their relationship with God in these \n circumstances, according to the theology of the Mosaic Covenant?

What is going on socially? \n (1)Prosperity has helped to create an oppressive social \n pyramid. Only a few (the upper class) are benefiting from the \n nation’s prosperous foreign and domestic policies and are \n ruthlessly taking advantage of the poor and defenseless. \n (2)There is no justice in the land. Amos claims that judges have \n been bought, creating a situation where justice in the courts is a \n joke.

What is going on religiously? \n (1) The people, particularly the wealthy, are involved in elaborate worship. \n - They are thronging to the worship sites to offer sacrifices, etc. \n - They are thanking God for their prosperity – personally and nationally. \n (2) Nothing is being said at key worship sites about the oppression of the poor \n by the rich, which is now rampant in their society. \n - Religion has taken a “hands off” stance. \n - Religion is silent about the lack of justice in the court systems. \n (3) People continue to worship Yahweh and Baal at the same time.

Amos prophesies at \n Bethel that all of \n these areas of life \n are connected and \n reveal the failures \n of the northern \n kingdom to live up \n to the covenant \n obligations to God \n and the community.

Amos prophesies three main messages: \n (1) God’s judgment is coming toward Israel. \n - He addresses those “who feel secure on Mount \n Samaria” (6:1). \n - According to Amos, “the eyes of the Lord God were \n upon the sinful kingdom” to destroy it from the face of \n the earth (9:8).

(2)The Day of Yahweh will not be a good day for you. \n - A festival every year when the people anticipated a day to \n come when God would exalt Israel and crush all of her \n enemies. \n - But Amos proclaims that Yahweh had selected Israel for \n responsibility, not just for privilege. And there are \n consequences for not fulfilling the role of a covenant \n community. \n - Therefore, the Day of Yahweh will be punishment, not reward.

(3)Therefore, Israel must repent. \n - Give up your “evil ways” (injustice, oppression, empty \n worship) and return to Yahweh and your covenant obligations. \n - Perhaps God will give them another chance!

All of these points are illustrated in Amos 5. \n 5:1-3 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of \n Israel: Fallen, no more to rise, is maiden Israel, forsaken on her land with \n no one to raise her up. For thus says the Lord God: The city that marched \n out a thousand shall have a hundred left and that which marched out a \n hundred shall have ten left. \n 5:11 You trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain; \n you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you \n have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

5:16-17 Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: In all the \n squares there shall be wailing, and in all the streets they shall say, “Alas! alas!” \n They shall call the farmers to mourning and those skilled in lamentation to \n wailing; in all the vineyards there shall be wailing for I will pass through the \n midst of you, says the LORD. \n 5:18-20 Alas for you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you want the day \n of the LORD? It is darkness, not light - as if someone fled from a lion and was \n met by a bear or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall and \n was bitten by a snake. Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light, and gloom \n with no brightness in it?

5:21-24 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn \n assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain \n offerings, I will not accept them, and the offerings of well-being of your \n fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your \n songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down \n like waters and righteousness like an everflowing stream. \n Conclusion: Demonstrate obedience to Yahweh, not by going to Bethel to \n worship, but by letting justice roll down like waters!

Hosea \n Hosea prophesies in the north not long after Amos. \n The social and religious situations are basically the same. But a few things have changed \n politically. \n (1) Tiglath-Pileser III has come to power in Assyria, and he has an important foreign \n policy. \n (2) The monarchy in Israel has become very unstable. \n - Jeroboam II dies \n - Zechariah is murdered after 6 months \n - Shallum is murdered after 1 month \n - Menahem ... \n - Pekahiah ...

What does Hosea say to the northern kingdom, Israel? \n (1) Hosea's analogy – Hosea’s marriage to an unfaithful wife. \n God too is married to a faithless people. \n ➢ They worship other gods \n ➢ They trust in foreign alliances for protection. \n ❖Both Hosea and God experience the hurt of these relationships. \n (2) Therefore, the Mosaic Covenant has been broken. \n Hosea’s wife, Gomer, has 3 children. \n ➢ Each are named by God so that they become living symbols of God’s word to \n Israel. \n ➢ The youngest is named Lo-ammi = not my people

(3) But there is good news. Yahweh’s love for Israel is such that God \n will never give up on them. \n - Instead, God will bring judgment on them so that they will turn \n from their evil ways. \n THE problem with Hosea's analogy: \n • Husband (faithful) + Wife (unfaithful) \n • Hosea (faithful) + Gomer (unfaithful) \n • God (faithful) + Israel (unfaithful) \n Battered Love: Marriage, Sex, and Violence in the Hebrew \n Prophets by Renita Weems

•Assyria advances across the Fertile Crescent toward Egypt. \n •In 727 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser III dies. \n •Israel revolts against Assyria in 724 BCE. \n •The new Assyrian king, Shalmaneser V, quickly attacks Samaria. \n •He dies in battle, but his successor, Sargon II, finishes the job of conquering Samaria. \n •In 721 BCE, Samaria (and therefore Israel) fell to Assyria, becoming an Assyrian \n province. \n •According to Sargon’s annals, 27,290 Israelites were deported, and Israel \n was repopulated with people from other lands. \n •The lost tribes of Israel

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Ezekiel and 2nd Isaiah Powerpoint

Babylonia conquers Assyria. Now Babylonia is the BIG power! \n In 597 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar attacks Jerusalem and conquers \n it. \n •He takes Judah’s elite into exile. The remnant! \n In 587/6 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia conquered \n Jerusalem again, destroying the city and the Temple, and \n Judah is gone. \n Babylonia takes even more people into exile.

A bunch of Israelites from Judah have been exiled (moved to \n other locations), but they have not been scattered as \n thoroughly as the Assyrians scattered Israelites. \n Israelites left in the area of Judah are primarily poor people \n of the land. \n For this period of “The Exile,” who writes texts that were \n included in the Hebrew Bible? Where are they?

The Exile to Babylon \n Psalm 137 \n By the rivers of Babylon— \n there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. \n On the willows there we hung up our harps. \n For there our captors asked us for songs, \n and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ \n How could we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? \n If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! \n Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, \n if I do not remember you, \n if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. \n O daughter Babylon, you devastator! \n Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! \n Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!

What we learn from the biblical texts and other documents is that the \n Israelites who have been taken into exile are not treated too badly. \n - Remember, they are the aristocracy and skilled laborers. \n Ezekiel was one of the first taken from Judah to Babylonia in 597 BCE. \n - He had been a priest. \n - Becomes a prophet after he gets to Babylonia. \n Until 587/6 BCE, while in Babylonia, Ezekiel warns his fellow exiles that \n Jerusalem will suffer complete destruction. \n - Why would that be unpopular? \n After 587/6 BCE, Ezekiel’s prophecies shift to being much more helpful and \n hopeful.

For example, one of his visions is described in Ezekiel 1:1-28. \n In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was \n among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of \n God. ... As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with \n brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually, and in the middle of the fire, \n something like gleaming amber. In the middle of it was something like four living \n creatures. ... As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the \n living creatures, one for each of the four of them. ... Wherever the spirit would go, \n they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures \n was in the wheels. ... Over the heads of the living creatures there was something like \n a dome, shining like crystal, spread out above their heads. ... And above the dome \n over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire and \n seated above the likeness of a throne was something that seemed like a human \n form. ... This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

The people in exile had lots of questions about how Jerusalem could have been \n destroyed. Another of Ezekiel’s visions helps to explain: \n Ezekiel 10:18-22 Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the \n house and stopped above the cherubim. The cherubim lifted up their wings \n and rose up from the earth in my sight as they went out with the wheels beside \n them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, \n and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. These were the living \n creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar, \n and I knew that they were cherubim. Each had four faces, each four wings, and \n underneath their wings something like human hands. As for what their faces \n were like, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river \n Chebar. Each one moved straight ahead.

Three of Ezekiel’s insights: \n (1) Each generation is responsible for its own response to God. \n ➢ A common complaint of the people is that “the parents have eaten sour grapes, and the \n children’s teeth are set on edge.” \n (2) God will revive the nation. \n ➢ Though it seems impossible, God can create a new beginning. \n ➢ Ezekiel 37:1-14 Ezekiel’s vision of a valley of dry bones \n - Ezekiel prophesies >>> bones come together >>> sinews >>> flesh >>> skin \n - Ezekiel prophesies again >>> breath \n ➢ God promises to bring them back to their land. \n (3) God will establish a new covenant with the people.

What would have been the difficulties for Israelites living in a foreign \n land? \n - Remaining true to Yahweh! \n Babylonia was not a poor nation and, in fact, superior \n architecturally. Their Temples were particularly impressive. \n What would this have suggested to the Israelites? \n - Was Marduk a superior god to Yahweh? \n According to the next prophet of the Exile, the greatest threat to the \n people of Judah is that they will assimilate into Babylonian culture \n and disappear culturally.

Second Isaiah \n A prophet that we call Second Isaiah tries to combat this possibility. (Isaiah 40-55) \n Some of his MAJOR contributions to Israelite thinking are: \n (1) Yahweh is creator and, therefore, sovereign over the entire world. \n Have you not known? Have you not heard? \n The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or \n grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint and strengthens \n the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted but \n those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like \n eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Second Isaiah \n A prophet that we call Second Isaiah tries to combat this possibility. (Isaiah 40-55) \n Some of his MAJOR contributions to Israelite thinking are: \n (1) Yahweh is creator and, therefore, sovereign over the entire world. \n Have you not known? Have you not heard? \n The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or \n grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint and strengthens \n the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted but \n those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like \n eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

(2) All other so-called gods are merely idols. The first clear declaration of monotheism. \n - He makes fun of Babylonian worship and their “gods.” \n Isaiah 46:1-7 Bel (Marduk) bows down, Nebo (Marduk’s son) stoops; their idols are on \n beasts and cattle; these things you carry are loaded as burdens on weary animals. They \n stoop, they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into \n captivity. Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have \n been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, \n even when you turn gray I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will \n save. \n To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, as though we were alike? \n Those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh out silver in the scales— they hire a \n goldsmith, who makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship! They lift it to their \n shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its \n place. If one cries out to it, it does not answer or save anyone from trouble.

(3) The exile is not the last event. Babylonia will fall to Persia who is \n under the leadership of Cyrus. \n Isaiah 44:24, 28 \n Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am \n the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, \n who by myself spread out the earth, who says of Cyrus, “He is my \n shepherd, and he shall carry out all my purpose” and who says of \n Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Your foundation shall \n be laid.”

(4) Yahweh is seeking a relationship with all nations and works through Israel, God’s \n servant, to save the world. \n Enter the idea of the suffering servant. \n Isaiah 41:8-10 \n But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, \n my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest \n corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off.” \n Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen \n you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

The servant will not accomplish anything by might but through humiliation and suffering. \n Kings of other nations will not be impressed by the servant’s military might but by the fact \n that such an unlovely and despised figure is the one to whom “the arm of Yahweh” is \n revealed. \n In essence, the servant of God (Israel) suffers for the benefit of others, even for the benefit \n of those who cause their suffering because it is while they are suffering that other nations \n are introduced to God (Yahweh). \n "Surely he (the servant) has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we \n accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for (by) our \n transgressions, crushed for (by) our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us \n whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all \n turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:4-6)

powerpoint of Maccabees

Previously, we talked about wisdom literature – Proverbs and Job \n - Proverbs upheld the traditional Old Testament theology \n - Job challenged it by asserting God’s freedom \n Lesson: theology evolves, and what people think about God is \n complicated. \n Now, we’re in the post-exilic period when most of the books of the \n Kethuvim were written, including Proverbs and Job. \n Today, we’re looking at a book in the apocrypha (14 books accepted by \n Christianity but rejected by Judaism).

Historically, the books of Maccabees are: \n ➢ Apocryphal texts - therefore, in the Septuagint, but not in the Hebrew \n Bible. \n Big transition: Persia has fallen to Alexander the Great in 332 BCE \n - Introduces Hellenism, his own policy for dealing with those conquered \n Not long after, Alexander the Great dies, leaving his empire to his 4 top \n generals. \n ➢ Ptolemy and Seleucus fight over the area around Jerusalem for a \n while. \n ➢ Finally, the Seleucids get firm control (199 BCE). \n ➢ Antiochus Epiphanes becomes king in 175 BCE.

At the time, what’s going \n on in Judea? \n ▪ Jews are squabbling \n over Greek influences \n ▪ How Greek can we be \n ▪ Hellenizers vs. Hasidim \n In 175 BCE, Antiochus IV or Antiochus \n Epiphanes comes to power \n • Zeus in human form \n • Is this ridiculous?

The two Maccabees books are written by the hasidim, who reject Hellenism. \n 1 Maccabees 1:11-15 In those days certain renegades came out from Israel \n and misled many, saying, ‘Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles \n around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come \n upon us.’ This proposal pleased them, and some of the people eagerly went \n to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the \n Gentiles. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile \n custom, and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy \n covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil. \n There were clearly benefits to accepting at least some Hellenistic ideas and \n practices.

• I Maccabees 1:41-50 Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be \n one people and that all should give up their particular customs. All the Gentiles \n accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; \n they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath. And the king sent letters by \n messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. He directed them to follow customs \n strange to the land, to forbid burnt-offerings and sacrifices in the sanctuary, ... to \n sacrifice swine and other unclean animals, and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They \n were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane so that they \n would forget the law and change all the ordinances. He added, ‘And whoever does not \n obey the command of the king shall die.’ \n Encouraged Hellenism became \n forced Hellenism

Antiochus went so far as to \n desecrate the Temple by \n sacrificing a pig on the altar of \n the 2nd Temple. \n The conservative, orthodox \n Jews react. \n o Hasidim = holy ones \n 1 Maccabees 1:62-63 But \n many in Israel stood firm and \n were resolved in their hearts \n not to eat unclean food. They \n chose to die rather than to be \n defiled by food or to profane \n the holy covenant, and they \n did die. \n The Hasidim are led by Mattathias Maccabeus.

1 Maccabees 2:15-28 The king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy \n came to the town of Modein to make them offer sacrifice. Many from Israel \n came to them, and Mattathias and his sons were assembled. Then the king’s \n officers spoke to Mattathias as follows: ‘You are a leader, honored and great \n in this town, and supported by sons and brothers. Now be the first to come \n and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the people of Judah \n and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will \n be numbered among the Friends of the king, and you and your sons will be \n honored with silver and gold and many gifts.’ But Mattathias answered and \n said in a loud voice: ‘Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the \n king obey him, and have chosen to obey his commandments, everyone of \n them abandoning the religion of their ancestors, I and my sons and my \n brothers will continue to live by the covenant of our ancestors. ...

We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the \n right hand or to the left.’ \n When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the \n sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar, according to the king’s \n command. When Mattathias saw it, he burned with zeal and his heart was \n stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him on the \n altar. At the same time, he killed the king’s officer who was forcing them to \n sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. Then Mattathias cried out in the town \n with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let everyone who is zealous for the law and \n supports the covenant come out with me!’ Then he and his sons fled to the \n hills and left all that they had in the town.

1 Maccabees 2:42-48 Then there united with them a company of Hasidim, \n mighty warriors of Israel, all who offered themselves willingly for the \n law. And all who became fugitives to escape their troubles joined them and \n reinforced them. They organized an army and struck down sinners in their \n anger and renegades in their wrath. Survivors among the Jews fled to the \n Gentiles for safety. And Mattathias and his friends went around and tore \n down the altars; they forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that \n they found within the borders of Israel. They rescued the law out of the \n hands of the Gentiles and kings. \n The Maccabean Revolt ends on the 14th of December in 165 BCE. \n - The Hasidim won! \n - Hanukkah

2 Maccabees 7:1-41 the story of 7 brothers and their mother \n It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being \n compelled by the king, under torture with whips and thongs, to partake of unlawful \n swine's flesh. One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, "What do you intend to \n ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our \n ancestors." \n Though the Hasidim are conservative (resisting change), their \n theology does adapt to events during the Hellenistic period.

The king fell into a rage and gave orders to have pans and caldrons heated. These were \n heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out \n and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and \n the mother looked on. When he was utterly helpless, the king ordered them to take him \n to the fire, still breathing, and to fry him in a pan. \n The smoke from the pan spread widely, but the brothers and their mother encouraged \n one another to die nobly, saying, "The Lord God is watching over us and in truth has \n compassion on us, ... 7 After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward \n the second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair and asked \n him, "Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by limb?" 8 He replied in \n the language of his ancestors and said to them, "No." Therefore, he in turn underwent \n tortures as the first brother had done. 9 And when he was at his last breath, he said, \n "You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the \n universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his \n laws." ...

third ... the fourth in the same way. ... the fifth ... the sixth. ... The mother \n was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Although she \n saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good \n courage because of her hope in the Lord. She encouraged each of them in \n the language of their ancestors. ... "I do not know how you came into being \n in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in \n order the elements within each of you. Therefore, the Creator of the world, \n who shaped the beginning of humankind and devised the origin of all \n things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you \n now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws."

The Pharisees in the New Testament will be the theological descendants \n of this group called the Hasidim, and they will adopt a belief in \n the resurrection from the dead. \n The Sadducees will not. But they won’t survive as a group past 70 CE. \n If you are curious at all about how religions develop within the area of \n Jerusalem after this, you should take the New Testament course.

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Alexander The Great

* Persia has fallen to ________ in 332 BCE
* He Introduces Hellenism, his own policy for dealing with those conquered
* After he dies he leaves his empire to his 4 top generals.
* Ptolemy and Seleucus fight over the area around Jerusalem for awhile.
* Finally, the Seleucids get firm control (199 BCE).
* Antiochus Epiphanes becomes king in 175 BCE
* \

Antiochus Epiphanes

* In 175 BCE, he comes to power
* Believes he is Zeus in human form
* He went so far as to desecrate the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar of the 2nd Temple

Hanukkah

* The Maccabean Revolt ends on the 14th of December in 165 BCE.
* The Hasidim won

Hasidim

* rejects Helenism
* = “holy ones”
* led by Mattathias Maccabeus

Hellenism

* Alexander the Great impliments this after he takes over Persia
* a policy for dealing with those conquered
* Greek practices over Jewish practices
* was forced by Antiochus

Hellenizers

* People who wanted to assimilate into Greek culture

Maccabees

* these are apocryphal texts
* Mattathias helped spark a revolution against the hellenistic empire

Greece

Takes over Persia