The history of Israel – Part 1

DAILY BYTE

We move now to the task of considering the broad sweep of Israel’s history, as the Bible records it. As was mentioned yesterday, the biblical record is not absolute historical fact, but rather a theological presentation and interpretation of historical events. Nevertheless, constructing a biblical history of Israel is possible and worthwhile, and can add great depth and substance to our reading of the Old Testament.

There are ten distinct periods that can be identified in Israel’s history. The biblical references where these periods are dealt with are included in parentheses at the end of each section:

1. The Patriarchal period – which refers to the colourful stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This period culminates with the stories of Joseph, through which the action is relocated to Egypt. (Genesis 12 – 50).
   


2. Slavery in Egypt and the events of the Exodus. Moses is the key figure in this period, who confronts Pharaoh with a word from God who says, ‘Let my people go’ (Ex 5:1.)Through a series of plagues (God’s rolling mass action) culminating in the dreadful events of the night of Passover, the Israelites are led out of captivity and into the perilous uncertainty of freedom. (Exodus 1 – 15).
   


3. The Wilderness Wanderings. Following the Israelites’ liberation from Egypt, which involved the dramatic crossing of the Red Sea, the Israelites spent forty years wandering in the wilderness. It was one thing getting the Israelites out of Egypt, but altogether another getting Egypt out of the Israelites. In the wilderness, that shift in mindset began as they entered into a covenantal relationship with God (when the 10 Commandments were given at Mount Sinai) and learnt what it meant to live in trusting obedience to God. In the wilderness they were fed daily with manna, and learnt the lessons of observing the Sabbath and the importance of keeping the law. (Exodus 16 – 40; Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy).
   


4. Settlement in the Promised Land. The mantel of leadership passed from Moses to Joshua, who led the people into the Promised Land of Canaan, once again involving a dramatic water crossing, this time the Jordan River. Taking possession of the land involved a programme of conquest to displace the inhabitants who were already occupying the land. The defeat of the city of Jericho is the best-known and most dramatic story, in which the walls of Jericho came crashing down by the people shouting and blowing their trumpets (or was it vuvuzelas?). The point of the story, of course, was that God was opening the way for the Israelites to take hold of the land. (Joshua).
   


5. The period of the Judges. From time to time, charismatic leaders were raised up in times of crisis to unify and lead the Israelite tribes living in Canaan. These leaders are referred to as Judges. Some of the more well-known Judges would include Deborah, Gideon & Samson, but there were many others. (Judges).

That’s far enough for today, tomorrow we’ll continue our whistle-stop journey through the biblical history of Israel as we look at what happened when Israel wanted a king, and everything that followed from there.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Eternal God, you exist beyond time and space, and yet you show yourself to be the God who enters the particularities of history and geography as you get involved with the realities of human existence. This is so evident as we consider the history of the people of Israel. But we know that this is true of us too, for you are a God who is interested and intimately involved with every detail of our lives. Thank you! Help us, this day, to hold onto this good news. Amen