Inquiring Hearts and Wandering Minds: The Bible in 45 Minutes
Inquirers Class: Week 2
So you are back for a 2nd week because you thought, "Surely it can only get better!" or "At least he puts in some pictures!" Whichever is the case (or both), I will include a few more pictures from the Israel trip to hopefully keep this at least marginally interesting.
The Jordan River is really not very big! I had always imagined it was more like the Black Warrior River and maybe even as big as the Mississippi in some places. But we crossed the
Jordan River several times and it's more like a creek. But keep in mind, water is scarce in Israel and the Jordan River was really the only river, creek, or stream we saw. It's also (as you can probably tell) rather muddy.
 |
| The Jordan River |
That is a Russian Orthodox church on the other side. What you can't see in this photo is the rope that stretches across the middle of the Jordan. It separates Israel from the country of Jordan. We stood in the river where John the Baptist baptized Jesus and renewed our Baptismal vows as soldiers on the other side made sure no one crossed the border. It was a sobering experience.
There are a few basic things about the Bible we always should keep in mind. First, the Bible is God's revelations of God to us. While there are lots of people in the Bible, the scriptures are always first and foremost about God and God's relationship with us. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each revealed to us as God so we can know God more and more.
Now a couple of things that are not as important to Episcopalians. God is perfect, but the Bible is not. Remember, we worship God, not the Bible. There are stories in the Bible that contradict one another, 613 commandments that sometimes tell you to act one way and then the total opposite, and the Gospels describe several times when the Last Supper could have taken place. There are places, events, and people doing things that could not possibly have happened exactly the way the Bible says. It's like your family stories. One person remembers it one way, another forgets the exact date, and nobody gets the story exactly right. None of this actually matters because it is not the history of that time period we are asked to believe in - it is God.
In the Beginning!
Not literally the beginning, but more like 2000 BC. This was the time of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Bible story begins in the region of Chaldea near the city named Ur. From here Abraham will go to the land of the Canaanites as God commanded. The book of Genesis tells the story of Abraham, Isaac his son, and Jacob who becomes Israel whose 12 sons form the 12 tribes of Israel.
From Canaan, the story shifts to Egypt where the Hebrew people go when there is a famine in Canaan. The story of Joseph and his brothers is told in Genesis and leads up to the story and the Book of Exodus. Now a couple of interesting side notes include the story of Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham's first son. The Islamic faith traces its Hebrew roots through Ishmael and the Koran teaches that he was the true heir of Abraham's legacy. Also, Jacob was a twin and the tradition teaches that his brother, Esau, was the father of the Edomites, sworn enemies of the Israelites.
The Exodus is one of the great stories of the Bible and Jewish History. Scripture tells us that the Hebrews had been living in Egypt for 400 years or more when Moses led them out. Now imagine 600,000 men PLUS women and children leaving on foot into the wilderness. Keep in mind that "the Wilderness" in Egypt and Israel is more like the desert to us. This picture was taken from on top of a mountain in Israel and must have been something like what the Hebrews saw as they crossed the Red Sea.
The day we were there it was very hot and very dry and I cannot imagine spending a day - much less 40 years - walking in this wilderness. Scholars have set the total number of people leaving Egypt at between a mind-boggling 2 and 5 million people. There were Egyptians who left with the Hebrews in hopes of a better life in someplace new. One writer estimates that just to camp required a 5 square mile area.
During this time, the Hebrews were formed into the 12 tribes of Israel with each tribe aligned with the heirs of one of the 12 sons of Jacob (who were obviously dead at this point since the Hebrews had been in Egypt for over 400 years). Judges governed the people serving as interpreters of the commandments for everyday life.
However, people being people, after a while and as they settled into the Promised Land of Palestine, the Hebrews wanted a King and the first was King Saul. Anointed by the prophet Samuel, Saul unified the 12 tribes and set the stage for what comes to be called the country of Israel. King David completes the unification of a Kingdom that is basically 2 sections joined together. There is the Northern Kingdom of Israel which would later become Samaria and Galilee in the New Testament. To the south is Judah and the city of Jerusalem. Under David and Solomon, these two kingdoms formed one country. But there was tension and when Solomon dies, the two kingdoms split with different kings and different fates.
Solomon's great accomplishment was building the first Temple in Jerusalem. It was a massive structure and all of Jerusalem was built around it. Here was the home of the Ark of the Covenant kept in the innermost chamber of the Temple called the Holy of Holies. The high priest of all of Israel could only enter 1 day of the year and God would appear to the High Priest and speak to the Chosen People.
Unfortunately, the unified Kingdom did not last long past Solomon. The Northern Kingdom tribes refused to recognize Solomon's son, Rehoboam, as their king and broke away from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. For about 200 years, the 2 kingdoms existed side by side in what can best be compared to the Alabama-Auburn rivalry. Sometimes there was peace, often war, and not a whole lot of trust. Then in 722 BC, the Assyrians came to town and conquered Israel. The people of the Northern Kingdom were sent into exile and are known today as the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel.
The Southern Kingdom of Judah lasted for another 150 or so years until 586 BC when the Babylonians invaded, sacked Jerusalem, and destroyed the Temple. This was the Babylonian Exile and Jerusalem was in ruins and empty. But then in 539, Persia defeated the Babylonians and Cyrus allows the Hebrews to return to Jerusalem. The Temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem with the help of Cyrus and Zerubbabel, Governor of the territory, on the Temple Mount. It was a rather modest structure compared to Solomon's Temple and did not contain the Ark of the Covenant which was destroyed by the Assyrians (or is housed in a government warehouse if you believe Indiana Jones). You can read all about the return from the exile and rebuilding the Temple in the Bible books of Nehemiah and Ezra.
All was as calm as things can be in Israel for many years. Then in 63 BC the Romans came to town and defeated the Persian Empire. King Herod the Great took over and was very tolerant of Jewish practices and worship. In the 1st century BC, Herod decided to rebuild the Second Temple so it would be the greatest religious structure of its kind. All of this was because Herod loved to build big buildings so that people would remember him forever. It was a monumental structure! This was the Temple in Jerusalem where Jesus and the disciples were found whenever they came to town.
All would have gone well and stayed that way except in 66 AD the Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire (think Birmingham-Southern vs the Crimson Tide). The Jews held Jerusalem for 4 years until the Emperor decided enough is enough and sent the Roman legions who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
Much of the history of Israel between the Babylonian Empire and the destruction of the Second Temple is found in the Apocrypha.
The Exodus is one of the great stories of the Bible and Jewish History. Scripture tells us that the Hebrews had been living in Egypt for 400 years or more when Moses led them out. Now imagine 600,000 men PLUS women and children leaving on foot into the wilderness. Keep in mind that "the Wilderness" in Egypt and Israel is more like the desert to us. This picture was taken from on top of a mountain in Israel and must have been something like what the Hebrews saw as they crossed the Red Sea.
During this time, the Hebrews were formed into the 12 tribes of Israel with each tribe aligned with the heirs of one of the 12 sons of Jacob (who were obviously dead at this point since the Hebrews had been in Egypt for over 400 years). Judges governed the people serving as interpreters of the commandments for everyday life.
However, people being people, after a while and as they settled into the Promised Land of Palestine, the Hebrews wanted a King and the first was King Saul. Anointed by the prophet Samuel, Saul unified the 12 tribes and set the stage for what comes to be called the country of Israel. King David completes the unification of a Kingdom that is basically 2 sections joined together. There is the Northern Kingdom of Israel which would later become Samaria and Galilee in the New Testament. To the south is Judah and the city of Jerusalem. Under David and Solomon, these two kingdoms formed one country. But there was tension and when Solomon dies, the two kingdoms split with different kings and different fates.
Solomon's great accomplishment was building the first Temple in Jerusalem. It was a massive structure and all of Jerusalem was built around it. Here was the home of the Ark of the Covenant kept in the innermost chamber of the Temple called the Holy of Holies. The high priest of all of Israel could only enter 1 day of the year and God would appear to the High Priest and speak to the Chosen People.
Unfortunately, the unified Kingdom did not last long past Solomon. The Northern Kingdom tribes refused to recognize Solomon's son, Rehoboam, as their king and broke away from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. For about 200 years, the 2 kingdoms existed side by side in what can best be compared to the Alabama-Auburn rivalry. Sometimes there was peace, often war, and not a whole lot of trust. Then in 722 BC, the Assyrians came to town and conquered Israel. The people of the Northern Kingdom were sent into exile and are known today as the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel.
The Southern Kingdom of Judah lasted for another 150 or so years until 586 BC when the Babylonians invaded, sacked Jerusalem, and destroyed the Temple. This was the Babylonian Exile and Jerusalem was in ruins and empty. But then in 539, Persia defeated the Babylonians and Cyrus allows the Hebrews to return to Jerusalem. The Temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem with the help of Cyrus and Zerubbabel, Governor of the territory, on the Temple Mount. It was a rather modest structure compared to Solomon's Temple and did not contain the Ark of the Covenant which was destroyed by the Assyrians (or is housed in a government warehouse if you believe Indiana Jones). You can read all about the return from the exile and rebuilding the Temple in the Bible books of Nehemiah and Ezra.
All was as calm as things can be in Israel for many years. Then in 63 BC the Romans came to town and defeated the Persian Empire. King Herod the Great took over and was very tolerant of Jewish practices and worship. In the 1st century BC, Herod decided to rebuild the Second Temple so it would be the greatest religious structure of its kind. All of this was because Herod loved to build big buildings so that people would remember him forever. It was a monumental structure! This was the Temple in Jerusalem where Jesus and the disciples were found whenever they came to town.
All would have gone well and stayed that way except in 66 AD the Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire (think Birmingham-Southern vs the Crimson Tide). The Jews held Jerusalem for 4 years until the Emperor decided enough is enough and sent the Roman legions who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
Much of the history of Israel between the Babylonian Empire and the destruction of the Second Temple is found in the Apocrypha.
Comments
Post a Comment