Audio Version read by Kathy Bird
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Israel Destroyed - Judah Destroyed - Israel Returned - End Of Old Testament ISRAEL IN THE PROMISED LAND Israel remains a loose confederation of tribes governed by heroic figures known as "The Judges". Though God is guiding his people, Israel wants a king like the other nations around them. God gives them a warning: A king will make them slaves and servants and will use whatever they have for his own benefit, but the people do not take the warning seriously and are intent on having a king. God gives them a king and Israel becomes a kingdom like other nations around them! Israel lives under the rule of three kings: Saul, David, and his son Solomon. ISRAEL IS DIVIDED INTO TWO KINGDOMS After King Solomon, Israel is divided into two kingdoms: Israel, the northern kingdom and Judah, the southern kingdom. God sends many great prophets (Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Obadiah, and Ezekiel), to warn the kings and people of each nation not to worship idols and not to disobey God! Because of their unfaithfulness to God, the northern kingdom of Israel is destroyed and taken into captivity by Assyria and remained there for about 186 years. THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH IS DESTROYED The kingdom of Judah follows in Israel's footsteps over a hundred years later and is destroyed by Assyria, with most of it's people taken into exile in Babylonia after the fall of Jerusalem! They remained there about 46 years and the only people not taken are the very poor who are used to take care of the vineyards and fields. (Found in 1Kings, Chapter 17 through the 25th Chapter of 2Kings) ISRAEL RETURNED AFTER CAPTIVITY After many years in captivity, God inspires King Cyrus of Persia, to allow the Jews (or the exiles from Judah, and later referred to anyone of the Hebrew race that returned from exile) to go back and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem! King Cyrus also gives the Israelites all the gold and silver utensils taken from the house of God when they were first taken into exile. The first group of Jewish exiles returns to Jerusalem, builds and dedicates the Temple and the worship of God is restored. Ezra, a descendant of Aaron and a scholar with a thorough knowledge of the Law which God gave Moses, leads a second group of Jews to Jerusalem. Among them are priests, Levites (only the true Levites, sons of Zadok, ministered in the temple), Temple musicians, Temple guards, and workman, and with them, all the treasure that was taken from the destroyed temple at their captivity. After he arrives in Jerusalem and carrying out the trust committed to him, Ezra starts his great work of reform. He finds out that the people, the priest, and the Levites were marrying foreign women; worshiping their gods and doing the same disgusting things that God destroyed Jerusalem for in the first place! Ezra sets up a divorce court so that Jews would be required to send their foreign wives and children away. Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the Persian emperor Artaxerxes, asks permission to go and rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem. He receives permission and is sent to govern Judah and under his supervision, the walls of Jerusalem are completed. Nehemiah cooperates with Ezra in bringing about many reforms based on the reading of the law of Moses to the people by Ezra. Nehemiah leads the people in public prayer and confession of Israel's sins and has them make a covenant, solemnly sealed, to walk in the law of the Lord as given by Moses! The book of Nehemiah closes the biblical history of the old testament and leaves the stage set for the coming of the Mashiah (Hebrew meaning "anointed one") or Christo`s. (Christ in the English form of the Greek Christo`s, meaning "anointed one") The Messiah's coming was foretold by many prophets in the old testament (Jeremiah, Isaiah, Malachi, Micah and also spoken of by David in Psalms) and is described as one who will deliver Israel from her enemies, and restore her as a nation. He would also put an end to war and rule righteously over his people and because he would establish justice and righteousness in the land, sin would be rooted out and Israel would become a holy people. |