In this course, we will study the Kings of Ancient Israel - focusing especially on the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, but also putting the Biblical History within the wider context of ancient world history. This will also help us to appreciate the prophetic writings of the Old Testament more fully.
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The Kings
of the Old Testament
Adult
Faith Formation Series, May/June 2022
Session
1: Introduction to the Kings of the Old Testament
Class Schedule, Tuesdays from 7
to 8pm
May 17th –
Introduction: Goals for this Course, Historical Background, Biblical Books
May 24th – Saul and
David (1 and 2 Samuel)
May 31st – Solomon and
the Divided Kingdom (1 and 2 Kings)
June 7th – The Divided
Kingdom up to the Assyrian Invasion of Israel
June 14th – Kings of
Judah up to the Babylonian Captivity
June 21st – No Class,
Preparing for Ordination of Bishop Elect Fleming
June 28th – The Return
to Jerusalem
I. Scope
and Goals of this Course
A. We
will discuss the history of the Kings of the Old Testament, especially as
presented in 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings (also taking into account 1-2
Chronicles). This will be a more of a
history class than a true Bible Commentary, but should give the background and
context to appreciate the biblical books.
B. We
will set the story of Ancient Israel in the context of the history of the near
East, especially noting the period from the end of the Bronze Age to the rise
of the Persian Empire. Hopefully, this will help to see the providence of God
in the establishment of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, as well as
appreciating the unique contributions of this relatively tiny people to all of
world history.
C.
Still, this will not simply be a history course – we will discuss various
theological topics and questions, especially related to interpretating certain
passages of Scripture which are difficult. This theological commentary will be
interspersed throughout the course.
D.
Understanding the events related to the Kings of the Old Testament will allow
us to read and interpret the prophetic books, since each prophet can only be
understood by starting with his historical context.
II. Historical
Context and Background – the End of the Bronze Age
A. Timeline
1 Kings
6:1 tells us that “in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of
Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s
reign over Israel,” the Temple began to be built. This gives us a helpful reference for our
timeline.
Moses
and the Exodus from Egypt: about 1440 BC
The
time of the Judges: about 1350-1025 BC
King
Saul: about 1030-1010 BC
King
David: about 1010-970 BC
Divided
Kingdoms: about 930-720 BC
Assyrian
Invasion of Israel (the Northern Kingdom): 721 BC
Babylonian
Invasion of Judah (the Sothern Kingdom): 586 BC
Return
to Jerusalem and Judah: 538 BC
Thus
our course covers about 500 years of Old Testament History; but really even
less (only 450 years), since the old line of kings ends with the Babylonian
Captivity.
B.
What’s happening in the broader context of the Near East leading up to 1,000
BC?
The
Bronze Age lasted from about 3300 BC to 1200 BC. One of the major military
innovations of this period was the chariot – which was adopted by the Egyptian
Empire as well as the other major powers. Note how often the chariot is
associated with Egypt in the Scriptures.
The New
Kingdom of Egypt lasted from about 1550-1069 BC, and concluded with the Ramesside
in which eleven Pharaohs took the name Ramesses. During this period, Egypt
sought to extend its influence over the Levant (the region which includes the
land of Israel).
In
addition to the Egyptians, there were the Hittites to the north and the
Assyrians to the north and east. Although these empires were in competition
with one another, they maintained the first recorded significant diplomatic
relations. There was relative stability.
All
this changed with the end of the Bronze Age, which brought about the fall of
many of the great powers of the world. The “sea peoples” (a mysterious group
possibly made up of Aegeans [ancient Greeks] and peoples from Central Europe)
came by boat and ravaged much of the Near East along the Mediterranean Sea. In
addition to the sudden aggression/migration of these Sea Peoples, the great
powers of the Bronze Age suffered from a period of drought, famine, plague and
rebellions. All of this led to the collapse of the Hittite Empire which
precipitated a major imbalance of power and ultimately led to the end of the
Bronze Age.
What is
interesting for our course, is that the Sea Peoples were ultimately
unsuccessful in their attacks on Egypt, and were forcibly sent to the Levant to
colonize there. It is very likely that these peoples combined with others in
the area and became the Philistines we know from Biblical History. Perhaps
because of some development with the use of iron in the Aegean world, the
Philistines were the first to make significant advancement of the use of iron
in warfare. Their iron weapons gave the Philistines an incredible advantage
over others – especially the Israelites.
1 Samuel 13:19-22 “Not a
blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines
had said, 'Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!'...So on the day
of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his
hand.”
The
collapse of the Bronze Age plunged the Mediterranean World and the Near East
into a dark age (1200-900 BC), in which writing was almost completely lost,
even in Greece! Interestingly, it was
through contact with the Phoenicians (north of Israel) that the Greeks learned
again the technique of writing, and this time even with an Alphabet – the
history of this Alphabet is quite fascinating, since it seems to have
originated with the Israelites upon their exodus from Egypt! This Alphabet was
spread by the Phoenicians (also with their characters, not the semitic letters)
throughout the world.
Because
of this collapse of the major powers at the end of the Bronze Age, there was a
major opportunity for the peoples of the Levant to establish their own
independent states. It is in this time that the Philistines and then the
Israelites were able to build their kingdoms.
However, when all is settled after the Bronze Age Collapse, it would be
the Assyrians who would rise as the greatest (and perhaps cruelest) Empire the
world had ever seen. The Assyrians will be followed by the likewise severe
Babylonians, and these two empires bring about the fall of the Kingdoms of
Israel and Judah.
In
addition to the advent of Iron tools and weapons as well as the revolution of
the alphabet, this period also saw the domestication of the camel (which
allowed for more trade). Additionally,
and obviously, as the Israelites come into the world sphere for the first time
as a united people and soon-to-be nation, Monotheism is first introduced to the
rest of the world.
III. The
Judges and the Beginning of the Monarchy
A. Who
were the Judges? And what power did they have?
The
Book of Judges recounts the history of Israel from the time they had settled in
the Promised Land under Joshua to the time of Samuel, the last judge (and the
beginning of the monarchy). In this
time, the twelve tribes of Israel lived in something like a coalition rather
than a nation unified under a single ruler. God sent Judges to lead his people
through these years – however, although there are twelve Judges, they are not
from each of the twelve tribes; furthermore, while there were periods in which
Judges overlapped, there are also extended periods when there was no
Judge. This arrangement continues for
about 300 years (from 1350 to 1025 BC).
The
major challengers to the Israelites during this time are the Philistines, who
will continue to rival Israel until David (though they continue as a separate
nation until the Babylonians subject the region of the Levant).
B. Why
did the Israelites transition to the Monarchy? And was this a good or bad
thing?
One of
the main themes of the Book of Judges is that the Israelite people were
unfaithful to the Lord and continued to turn to false worship and immoral practices.
Particularly at the end of the Book, we are told that the lawlessness and sin
of the Israelites was a characteristic of the time before a king – “In those
days there was no king in Israel: but every one did that which seemed right to
himself.” (And this is after an horrendous story of an unfaithful wife being
brutally abused and murdered by men of the tribe of Benjamin. In retaliation,
the other tribes unite and slay all but 600 men of the tribe of Benjamin,
sparing none of the women. However, realizing that this would result in the
extermination of the whole tribe, the rest of the Israelites consented that the
Benjaminites should abduct the young girls of Shiloh and carry them off as
their wives.) This continual refrain,
especially in the latter portion of Judges
“In those days there was no king in Israel.”
In 1
Samuel, it is sometimes portrayed as bad that the Israelites asked for a king,
because they were imitating the pagan nations around them; only the Lord is the
true King of Israel. On the other hand,
Samuel seems in other places to be perfectly happy to ordain first Saul and
then David as king – and they were the Lord’s anointed. Further, the monarchy
did (for a time) bring an end to some of the lawlessness and idolatry.
Additionally, it is through the Kingly Line of David that God promises to send
the Messiah. Perhaps this is an example
of how God brings good out of evil.
[Note
the story of Abimelech who is the first to have attempted to be king, declaring
himself such (Judges 9). He was son of Gideon and had all of his seventy
brothers murdered except Jotham who escaped. He waged war against his own
people, trying to assert his authority. God smote him through the hands of a
woman who threw a stone from a city wall and mortally struck Abimelech as he
had come too close to the wall during a battle.
(It is somewhat humorous to note how Abimelech is the butt of a
proverb)]
C. The
important role of Samuel
Samuel
was the last of the Judges, and his two sons were so wicked that God would not permit
them to succeed him. His mother Hannah had dedicated him to the Lord from his
infancy, and he was raised by the priest of Shiloh, Eli. Upon Eli’s death,
Samuel succeeded as Judge of Israel, and it was he who acquiesced to the
request of the people that a king should be appointed for them.
Last of
the Judges, Samuel is also the first of the prophets (certainly, there were
others who were prophets before Samuel – Abraham and Moses, and many others –
but he is the first to whole the prophetic office as we often consider it under
the monarchy and afterwards). We see this prophetic role in that Samuel (by
God’s inspiration) chooses Saul as king, and then remains in a position of
authority as a critic of Saul’s evil deeds. Further, Samuel repudiates Saul
(again, with Divine Authority) and chooses David as king.
Samuel probably
wrote the book of Judges, and also at least a large portion of 1 Samuel.
IV. The
Ark and Worship prior to the Kings
A. The
Ark of the Covenant which had been constructed by Moses during the time of the
Exodus (he had received the detailed plans for the Ark, made of acacia wood,
while he was one Mount Sinai). The Ark
symbolized (and in some way made real) the presence of God among his people.
The Ark was brought with the Israelites through their 40 years journey in the
wilderness, and was kept in a separate tent where worship was offered to the
Lord. The Ark goes before the people into the river Jordan and makes the waters
to flow back so that the people can come into the Promised Land. Further, the
Ark is carried around Jericho when the Lord destroys the walls of that city.
B. The
Israelites would consult the Ark during the time of the Judges, to discern the
will of the Lord. During these years, the Ark was kept at various places
including Bethel and, finally, Shiloh. As there was no Temple, much of the
formal worship and feasts of Israel were not yet established.
C. In 1
Samuel 4-6, we have the account of the captivity of the Ark by the Philistines,
which is a major event leading up to the end of the time of the Judges. After
the battle of Eben-Ezer, which the Israelites lost to the Philistines, the Ark
was taken to various cities of the Philistine Pentapolis (the five major cities
of the Philistines). At Ashdod, in the temple of the idol Dagon, the statue of
the idol was made to prostrate before the Ark and was then found to have been
destroyed by the Lord. Various plagues broke out among the Philistines, so that
they returned the Ark to the Israelites.
However,
it was at this battle of Eben-Ezer that the two wicked sons of the priest Eli
were killed, and Eli himself died when he heard of the disaster. Thus, Samuel comes to the fore as Judge and
Prophet.
The Ark
is stationed at Kirjath-Jearim and remains there until the time of David. It is
under David that Jerusalem will become the true Capital City, and the site
where true worship is offered.
