Tag: Judah

Judgement Unfolds

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 9 – The Prophets and writings

Judgement Unfolds

[Bible references: I Kings 6:12; 2 Kings 17, 25; 2 Chronicles 36:15-16; Jeremiah 25:11-12]

The covenant God made with Israel had the proviso “if you follow my commands.” Israel continually demonstrated its inability to do that[1] and God’s judgment followed. The nation of Israel would suffer the consequences. The first sign of the consequences manifested itself in the splitting of Israel into two kingdoms.

After that, the northern kingdom of Israel was the first to collapse in 722 BC with the invasion of the Assyrians whose policy was to scatter the captured inhabitants throughout their empire and replace them with Assyrians. These northern tribes seem to have been totally assimilated into the Assyrian empire and would not be heard from again in history.

In 586 BC, the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom of Judah. The best and the brightest of Judah were taken as captives to the capital of Babylonia for “retraining” so that they could contribute to the Babylonian society. It was at this point that the nation of Israel would now be referred to Jews. It was from this point on that, despite the return of some of the Jews to their homeland, most Jews would now be living outside their homeland.

[1] Margalit, Ruth. “In Search of David’s Lost Empire” The New Yorker 22 June 2020 www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/29/in-search-of-king-davids-lost-empire; Syace, A.H. “Polytheism in Primitive Israel” The Jewish Quarterly Review Oct 1889, Vol 2. No. 1 pp.25-26 University of Pennsylvania Press www.jstor.org/stable/1450128; Zevit, Ziony. Review of “The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Parallactic Approach” by Hess, Richard. Vol 5. Denver Journal 2002 denverseminary.edu/the-denver-journal-article/the-religions-of-ancient-israel-a-parallactic-approach/ Israel’s susceptibility to idol worship was so extensive, that archeological evidence indicates continuous polytheism. 

Observe

Read Jeremiah 25:11-12. It seemed hopeless. The unfaithful nation of Israel was no more. But promises were made by a faithful God who would eventually restore them. What are God’s promises to us?

The Divided Kingdom

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 8– Kings and kingdoms

The Divided Kingdom

[Bible references: I Kings 11:11-13, 26-40; 12:1-24; 2 Kings 12]

Solomon’s divided heart ended up dividing the kingdom. When Solomon’s son Rehoboam succeeded him on the throne, Rehoboam foolishly followed the advice to increase taxes, causing a revolt. Yahweh, who knows all things, had already selected Jeroboam to lead the revolt. The result was that ten tribes (the Northern kingdom, commonly called Israel) followed Jeroboam, leaving only two tribes (the Southern kingdom, commonly called Judah) to follow Rehoboam. With only a few exceptions, most of the kings in the divided kingdom participated in idolatry and the associated practices of the surrounding communities, earning God’s wrath. These two kingdoms were in continual conflict with each other until each came to an ignominious end.

Reflect

God’s discipline of Israel was a slow process as God was at work carrying out his plans for them. Does it comfort you to know that in all circumstances God is carrying out his will for you?

Observe

Read 2 Kings 12. What should we learn from Rehoboam’s mistake?

The genealogies

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 1 – Prelude

The genealogies

[Bible references: Matthew 1; Luke 3]                              

There are not many passages in the New Testament that the average person tends to gloss over, but there are two places where that happens the most. Two of the Gospels have genealogies that look very different from one another, telling the story of Jesus from different perspectives. Neither genealogy is comprehensive, they are there to establish who Jesus is through particular relationships and to give different messages. It is typical for the average reader to skip over the genealogies when they read the Bible, but sometimes the stories attached to each name make a significant point, and sometimes the names themselves give a particular message. The genealogies are designed to give particular stories.

Matthew[1]

Matthew’s genealogy tells a three-part story that begins with Abraham, uses both Jews and Gentiles, includes women, and ends with Christ.

The list

  • Waiting for the Kingdom – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and Tamar, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon and Rahab, Boaz and Ruth, Obed, Jesse, David and Bathsheba
  • The Kingdom – Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jeconiah
  • Waiting for the re-established kingdom – Jeconiah, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus

Items of note:

  • Matthew’s genealogy, starting from Abraham, traces a line to Judah to establish royal bloodline. Matthew shows Christ as the Messiah, by tracing the legal line from Judah and then to Joseph. This genealogy established Jesus’ legal rights to the throne through Judah.
  • The genealogy includes women with interesting stories:
    • Tamar was raped by Judah.
    • Salmon had children by Rahab a Gentile who was a prostitute in Jericho.
    • Boaz’s wife was Ruth who was a Gentile.
    • David had an affair with Bathsheba, who was married to Uriah.
  • Includes all the kings of Judah. Jeconiah appears twice (was last king before exile, then was part of exile) Zerubbabel (governor of Jerusalem after the return).
Luke[2]

Luke’s genealogy tells a story that starts with Adam, the son of God and ends with Jesus, the Son of God. Luke establishes Jesus as the Son of Man and goes back through Mary’s line to Noah and then to Adam. Ancient Greek genealogies traced the father’s lineage not the mother’s—but what do you do with the unique virgin-born Jesus? Certainly, Joseph was not his father, so the only logical male name available was that of Jesus’ maternal grandfather, Heli, for he was the last man involved in the genealogical process which led to Jesus. So Heli was the father of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus.

The list

  • God, Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, Cainan, Shela, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah
  • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Aminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David
  • Nathan, Mattatha, Menna, Melea, Eliakim, Jonam, Joseph , Judah, Simeon, Levi, Matthat, Jorim, Eliezer, Joshua, Er, Elmadam, Cosam, Addi, Melchi, Neri, Shealtiel
  • Zerubbabel, Rhesa, Joannan, Juda, Joseph, Semein, Mattathias, Maath, Naggai, Esli, Nahum, Amos, Mattathias, Joseph,  Jannai, Melchi, Levi, Matthat, Heli, Joseph, Jesus

Items of Note:

[Bible references: Genesis 5:25; 11:12-26; Jeremiah 22:30; Matthew 1; Luke 3]                             

  • Starts from Adam instead of Abraham, traces Mary’s line to establish Son of God, includes 4 generations born in captivity,
  • Methuselah (oldest recorded age), Shem (the Semitic race),
  • If we translate, instead of transliterating the first 10 generations from Adam to Noah we can read: Man (is), Appointed, Mortal, Sorrow (but), The Blessed God, Shall come down, Teaching, His death shall bring, The despairing, Comfort and rest
  • There is an interesting prophecy in Jeremiah, where it appears to refer to termination of David’s legal line to the throne from Jeconiah onwards. Jeremiah 22:30 implies a BLOOD LINE curse on Solomon’s line. This separation of the genealogies from David resolves the prophecy. With Mary being of David’s blood line through Nathan, the Messiah is from the House of David yet avoids the curse, whilst still claiming the legal claim through Solomon’s line, through Joseph his adopted and legal father
  • The values of the letters in David’s name (dalet=4, vav=6, dalet=4) add up to 14. Matthew’s genealogy is set up in groups of 14.
  • Jeconiah was the last operative King and the first waiting King, he ends the second group, and starts the third.
  • The name Zerah: Meaning: Rising, Dawn; Etymology From the verb זרח (zarah), to rise or break out.
  • The name Perez: Meaning: A Breach: Etymology: From the verb פרץ (paras), to break through.
Mark

[Bible references: Mark 9:35]                                        

Mark is portraying Christ as a servant and so does not use a genealogy.

John

[Bible references: John 1:1-2]                                         

John shows Jesus directly to be the Son of God.

[1] In Hebrew, the Hebrew word translated as genealogies, ‘toledoth’ always denotes father/son relationships, always works forward.

[2] In Hebrew, the word ‘yaghash,’ is used to establish legal rights or obligations; in contrast, it always works backwards tracing an individual’s legal right or duty back to its source.

Observe

Read John 21:15-25.  Which disciple do you identify more with and why, Peter or John.?

Exile and return

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 1 – Prelude

Exile and return

[Bible references: Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah]                                     

When Assyria captured the Northern kingdom, they took most of the inhabitants and scattered them throughout the empire and replaced them with people from elsewhere in the empire. The result was that the 10 northern tribes were integrated into the Assyrian empire and were never heard from again as a people group.

Babylon overran the Assyrians and also captured the Southern kingdom. The practice of the Babylonians was to take the best and brightest, bring them to their capital and train them to work for the Babylonian empire. A couple of the prominent people taken were Daniel and Ezekiel. 

Since it was primarily the people of Judah that were captured and the other kingdoms had essentially disappeared, the people of Israel now became known as Jews. It was while in captivity, that the Jews got serious about preserving their culture. It was while in captivity that they worked on 1) identifying which writings they had would be considered as scripture and 2) developing cultural patterns that would allow them to preserve their identity. It was in captivity that synagogues developed as a way of continuing to worship without the availability of the temple. Interestingly, it also showed how they knew that they could function under the Law of Moses without a temple and therefore without the system of animal sacrifices.

The Babylonian kingdom was then overrun by the Persian empire. The policy of the Persian empire was to allow the captured peoples that were exiled to Babylonia, to return to their homeland. The first returnees rebuilt the temple that was destroyed by the Babylonians, although the new temple was not as grand as it had been before. Later, Ezra would return to re-establish the Law and then Nehemiah would return to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.

Observe

Read Jeremiah 18:1-10. How does God interact with our decisions?