Chapter 5 Flashcards
The denial of God and the repudiation of faith.
Apostasy
Typically a vestment worn by Hebrew priests; however in the example connected to Gideon it was likely an idol fashioned to worship as a false god.
Ephod
The key to Joshua’s success in the conquest of the Promised Land.
Obedience to God - when the Israelites obeyed, they were victorious. When they ignored God and followed their own will, they failed.
Example: before Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land he stayed close to the Lord, celebrated a Passover Meal before the invasion, and always obeyed the Lord’s commands.
The “cycle of apostasy” during the period of the judges
- The Israelites sinned by worshiping the false gods of the Canaanites in hope of receiving crops & livestock.
- False worship led to God’s disciplining the Israelites by handing them over to their enemies.
- Israelites cried out to God to save them.
- YHWH took pity and appointed a judge to save them. Judges believed the Israelites had to destroy the Canaanites in battle to eliminate the temptation to worship false gods.
- One a particular judge died, the cycle repeated itself.
Who were the judges? Name three important ones and list their accomplishments.
Judges were local, tribal leaders that God raised up.
Deborah - a prophetess who instructed the general Barak to lead the army in a successful holy war.
Gideon - first thought he was too weak and unworthy to lead, but an angel gave him courage. God gave him a sign using a woolen fleece to show YHWH would lead Israel to victory through him. Later he abandoned his faith while fashioning an ephod, which was forbidden by law. Because of his infidelity, YHWH punished Gideon’s family.
Samson - fought bravely against the Philistines. He was a hero, but had personal feeling that led to infidelity and suffering.
The Old Testament books of Joshua and Judges cover the historical period of the Israelites from
The time of Moses’ death to the beginning of the monarchy
1250 BC to 1030 BC
First and Second Samuel report the history of Israel from
The end of the period of Judges until the last year’s of King David’s reign
1075-970 BC
Same religious theme
Fidelity to God leads to success; disobedience leads to disaster.
Israel’s last and most significant judge
Samuel (he was a priest and prophet)
Samuel was different from other judges because
His rule covered a wider range of tribes rather than localized tribes ruled by other judges
Samuel’s mother
Hannah
Samuel ruled wisely as a just judge, helping the people turn from the worship of false gods but the people wanted a
King
Samuel warned that their request insulted _________ who was the sole King and Ruler of Israel.
YHWH
Samuel, with God’s approval appointed ____________ to lead the chosen people
Saul
Samuel assembled the tribes to choose a King by lot. Saul was selected , a sign of divine choice.
Saul became prideful and lost his kingship to
David
The second and greatest of all Israel’s kings
David
David was anointed by Samuel to replace Saul while Saul was still _________
King
David was a skilled harpist and was called to Saul’s court to help sooth his troubled soul. Saul made David his armor-bearer. David was a brave warrior - he killed Goliath the Philistine giant. David had a strong faith in God. At first Sail loved David, ___________ set in
Jealousy
Saul tried to kill David many times, but his attempts failed because of David’s friendship with Saul’s son ____________
Jonathan
Jonathan even renounced his claim to the throne for David
The Philistines captured Saul, killed his sons and wounded him. Saul was so upset, he _________
Fell on his sword
When Saul died, Israel was in turmoil.
David became king of Judah in the south and one of Saul’s sons ruled in the north. After a time _________ became the sole King of Israel, uniting all the tribes into a single nation
David
David made _______ Israel’s capital
Jerusalem
Jerusalem did not belong to any tribe, therefore it was an ideal site for a
Unified kingdom
David brought _________ to Jerusalem to show YHWH’s presence to the new nation.
The Ark of the Covenant
David tried to build a Temple to house the Ark, but the prophet Nathan, speaking for God stopped him. Nathan told David YHWH would establish a royal dynasty through him. This promise led to the belief of a Messiah who would
Save the Chosen People from their enemies.
What made David’s kingship so successful.
Good administration
An experienced army led by an excellent general
The decline of other powers
David had an adulterous affair with
Bathsheba (wife of Uriah - one of David’s soldiers)
David plotted to have Uriah killed in battle and then he married Bathsheba.
Bathsheba and David had a son who died and another son Solomon who would succeed David as King.
God forgave David, but David was punished by having a troubled household. David had a rebellious son named
Absalom (he turned against David)
Absalom was killed by David’s army by becoming entangled in a tree.
At the end of his reign David became less effective and his judgement was clouded by favoritism. He appointed his son _________ to be his successor.
Solomon
Son of David and Bathsheba
Chapters 1-11 of 1 Kings tell of
King Solomon’s reign.
King Solomon’s greatest achievement
Building the Temple in Jerusalem which became the center of Israel’s life.
King Solomon failed because:
- He spent too much money by keeping a large harem of wives that he had to support in luxury
- Supplying his large army and various building projects led to severe taxation and forced labor among the people.
- His many foreign wives introduced their gods and priests into the land causing many Israelites to turn to false religions.
After Solomon’s death, the United Kingdom was split into two.
- The southern kingdom of Judah
2. The northern kingdom of Israel
Kingdom of Judah
Rehoboam - Solomon’s son ruled
Included territory belonging to just two of the twelve tribes -Judah and Benjamin. Smaller than the northern kingdom, but more tightly United.
Kingdom of Isreal
Ruled by Solomon’s servant Jefoboam
Included the ten tribes of the old alliance
Jeroboam centered worship at two ancient shrines - Dan and Bethel - not at Jerusalem
Assyria would conquer the northern kingdom. Jews say this was caused by not worshiping God in Jerusalem and because King Ahab’s wife Jezebel, built altars to the pagan God Baal, which led to idolatry throughout the kingdom.
What gave rise to Israel’s greatest prophets?
Israel and Judah’s decline and the period of Babylonian captivity.
The basic Hebrew word for prophet
Nabi - one who speaks for another or mouthpiece.
The first prophet of the Old Testament
Moses
Other prophets of the Old Testament are often classified into two groups
Major and minor
Refers to the length of the books on which their names appear, not the importance of the message.
The books of the major prophets took up one scroll each
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
The 12 minor prophets were all written on the same scroll
Amos Nahum Hosea Habakkuk Micah Zephaniah Joel Haggai Jonah Zechariah Obadiah Malachi
2 short prophetic books following the book of Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch
Why did the prophets preach
Because they received an irresistible call from God sometimes in dreams, visions or internal inspiration
Prophets messages often began with
“Thus says the Lord”
Prophets messages basically said
Punishment if sins were not repented of, but prosperity if the people heeds god’s warning.
Prophets typically went against the nation and the King so
They were unpopular and their lives were often threatened by the King
A true prophet was successful
if his prophecy was fulfilled and his teaching was in line with the doctrine of God.
Those who acted as temporary military leaders, as well as arbiters of disputes within and between tribes. They were expected to remind the people of their responsibility to God.
Judges
