The Ancient Kingdom
The Israelite’s lived as a coalition of free tribes each named after one of Jacob’s 12 sons. Around 1025-BC, they united to form the Kingdom of Israel. Samuel the Prophet, anointed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin as their first king in 1020-BC, but it was his successor, David who in c.1006-BC organized the Kingdom and established Jerusalem as its center. Hebron was the capital prior to amalgamation, and Shechem (Syhchar in John’s Gospel) the capital under Saul.
David’s leadership really unified Israel uniting the tribes; his successful military campaigns provided secure borders, enabling Israel to grow into a regional power, achieving prosperity and pre-eminence over its neighbours. Solomon, in whom the nation enjoyed a significant period of peace, succeeded David. However, Israel’s good fortune was not to last due to Solomon’s failing.
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. (1Kings 11:4-6)
This was the beginning of the end for the ancient Kingdom; but due to David’s faithfulness, the LORD chose to spare Solomon the shame and divided the Kingdom under his son, Rehoboam. When the Kingdom was split it became two houses; the House of Israel (10 tribes) and the House of Judah. (2 tribes) Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen. (1Kings 11:13) That tribe was Benjamin the second son of Jacob’s beloved, Rachael and the last son of Jacob.
The Prophet, Ahijah took aside the king’s servant, Jeroboam the Ephraimite, and showed him the ten tribes the LORD would give him. And Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee. (1Kings 11: 30-31)
When news of this reached Solomon, he sought to kill Jeroboam who wisely fled to Egypt where he stayed until Solomon’s death. Soon after Rehoboam had assumed Solomon’s throne, tension between the northern and southern tribes began to develop due to the new king’s hardened heart. He dismissed complaints brought by the northern tribes, which soon escalated into open hostility resulting in the Kingdom being rent in two around 926-BC, as the LORD had foretold.
Under Jeroboam, the Ten Tribes set up their capital at Samaria becoming the northern House of Israel. (Gen 48: 19-20; Isa 7:17; 9:9; 2 Chronicles 13:4) Judah and Benjamin retained Jerusalem. Levi remained spread across all twelve tribes so found throughout the region. To prevent the House of Israel returning to Jerusalem for worship, and the reading of the Law every seven years, Rehoboam erected golden calves in the outlying cities of Bethel and Dan so turning his back to God. (1Ki 12:28-29)
Israel remained a semi-autonomous State until the reign of Hoshea when in 740-BC; the Assyrians began removing them into an area, which is now northern Arabia, Iraq and Iran. The Assyrians also beset the House of Judah, taking significant numbers into captivity along with their northern brethren. The removal of Israel and peoples from the outlying areas of Judah lasted 19 years; coming to an abrupt halt at the walls of Jerusalem in 721BC, when the Angel of the LORD smote 185,000 Assyrians in one night. (2Ki 19:35) The Assyrian survivors and their King Sennacherib then quickly departed to Nineveh with the captives of Judah still under their control.
To fully appreciate subsequent history it is important to understand this salient fact. The Tribes of Israel now completely disappear from Scripture; their last mention as an entity is found in 2 Kings 17:6. The House of Judah now comes to the fore, represented by the Jews who later returned from Babylon. Being wrongly tied to Israel, Judah has caused much confusion for Bible readers. So, it is vital the division between Israel and Judah is fully understood when we look to the Covenants the LORD made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Covenants were ultimately given to Israel. They are not transferable to Judah (or Jews) neither as some theologians assert, the Church; a fundamental error made by past and present scholars. Judah is Judah. Israel is Israel. An apple will always be an apple. But, we will now step back to the creation of Israel when Jacob, as recorded in Genesis, wrestled with a man.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he (the LORD’S Angel) saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said; let me go, for the day breaks. And he (Jacob) said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, what is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said; tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, wherefore is it that thou do ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (God’s face): for I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved. KJVA (Gen 32:24-30)
The Creation of Israel
To preserve Jacob’s life, the LORD revealed Himself as an Angel for it written; no man can see God and live. (Ex 33:20; 1Tim 16:6) As a reminder of his experience, Jacob was to remain lame for the rest of his life. His name is now Israel. Arriving at a definitive meaning for the name is easier said than done; but ‘a prince hast thou power with God and with men,’ will go some way to explain the intent of the name Israel, which has a yet deeper meaning, later discussed by Paul.
But at this time, Israel was to become not only a great people; through their lineage carry a gift from the LORD to every nation on Earth. Jacob’s twelve sons all went on to build large families, each becoming a clan. By the time they arrived in Canaan, having been led out of Egypt by Moses, Aaron, and Joshua they were established as large tribes, great in number. (Exo 1:9)
The total arriving in Canaan was around 4 million including women and children, but excluding Levi who was not counted … the Levites were not numbered among them. (Num 1:47) The count of men referred only to those in their prime able to bear arms. (Num 11:21) (The Book of Numbers holds tribal totals at the time.) The population of Egypt on the other hand had been drastically reduced; the country also in a state of anarchy having recently suffered the wrath of God. But here, we need to take a look at the family that brought us to this point.
The main Edenites are Adam, Eve, Seth and Enos, after whom men began to …call upon the Name of the Lord. (Gen 4:26) Next are Noah; his sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and their families. From the generations of Shem came, Abram the first of the Hebrews. The name Hebrew comes from Eber in Mesopotamia the region of his birth. It also denotes Abram crossed over into Cannan (literally and figuratively) being called by God.
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, as for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee.
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. (Gen 17: 1-7)
This contract was drawn between the LORD, Abraham and his descendants forever. It cannot be broken! It stands today as on the day the LORD uttered it and Paul agrees. For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. (Heb 6: 13-14)
Because there is none greater, the LORD swore an oath on His own Name. The LORD further established this Covenant with Abraham, when He spoke of Isaac: Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him. (Gen 17:19)
The first part of Isaac’s blessing was fulfilled when Rebekah gave birth to Esau and Jacob. And the LORD said unto her, two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bore them. (Gen 25:26)
When the boys were grown Esau favoured the outdoors, hunting with his father, but Jacob preferred …dwelling in tents, which set up a division of affection between their parents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob; (Gen 25:28) then came the day, which shaped the course of history.
And Jacob sod (see note) pottage and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. (Red) And Jacob said; Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. KJVA (Gen 25: 29-34)
Note: Sod means to boil, also to act presumptuously or deal with arrogantly; so there is implication here, which relates to Jacob’s attitude of claim or entitlement. Jacob seizes Esau’s birthright, which he failed to do in the womb when he wrestled with his brother. It was further sealed prior to Isaac’s death when Jacob, with help from his mother, acquired Esau’s blessing and inheritance.
And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, bless me, even me also, O my father. And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and has taken away thy blessing. And he said is not he rightly named Jacob, for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. (Gen 27: 34-36)
Now, Jacob did not take Esau’s birthright; Esau willingly gave it up, and even though they later had a reconciliation of sorts there remained bitterness between them, as we see from the Prophet Amos: …he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. (Amos 1:11) However, Esau’s hatred for Jacob did not go without a response from the LORD as Paul reminds us in Romans 9:13; even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. (See Malachi 1:2-3) The LORD hated Esau, because Esau detested his birthright, making the needs of the flesh greater than love for his parents, ancestors and God.
Jacob wisely avoided Esau and travelled to Haran to stay with his uncle Laban. On his journey he stopped at Luz where he slept resting his head on a stone dreaming of a ladder reaching from the Earth to the Heavens. Here, the Covenant given to Abraham, confirmed in Isaac (Gen 26:3) is now a third time confirmed in Jacob. (Gen 28: 13-14)
And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said: I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou lie, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
After Setting up a pillar as a memorial and anointing the stone with oil he called the place Beth-el. Jacob then travelled on to Haran where he met his cousins, Rachael and Leah. After fourteen years in servitude, after some slyness on his uncle’s part, Jacob starts his family of twelve sons. (Gen 29: 16-35) Oldest to youngest they are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. We also know of one daughter, Dinah. Prior to his death Jacob blessed all twelve sons; at birth each was given a blessing by the mother.
Joseph; Rachael’s firstborn, (he shall add – he has removed my shame) became an interpreter of dreams, which like his apparel deeply irritated his brothers resulting in their conspiracy to get rid of him, and deceive their father. After his rescue, Joseph ended up in Egypt. Having successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams of famine and plenty, he was made second only to Pharaoh and ruler over the land. It was the subject of the Pharaoh’s dreams, which brought Jacob and his extended family to Egypt in search of corn and maize. It was during their time in Goshen they grew in number and a nation was born. Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, High Priest of On, bore Joseph two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh, replacing Joseph in the numbering of the tribes. (In Joseph are two portions)
Meanwhile, Esau had also departed his homeland transferring his loyalty to his step-uncle, Ishmael. He married into that branch of the family, severing all ties with Jacob and the tribes of Israel. It is Esau’s descendants (the Edomites) who later become a thorn in Israel’s side fulfilling Isaac’s blessing to Esau; …by thy sword, shall thou live… (Gen 27:40)
The Influence of Edom
The Edomites are descendants of Esau; whose appearance at birth was Red and Hairy. (Gen 25:25) In Genesis 36:1, Esau is referred to as Edom; it is his alliance with Ishmael that saw the growth of the Edomite Kingdom. The land later settled by Esau-Edom was known as the Country of Edom. (Gen 32:3) Now, Esau had not only given away his birthright; he continued to seek misguided vengeance for Jacob’s believed deception. Red therefore, shows his countenance and spirit towards his brother, and the emergent tribes of Israel. Edom would have destroyed Israel had the LORD not intervened. In Ezekiel the LORD lays out His judgement of Edom (Mt. Seir) who …had a perpetual hatred to them, and has shed the blood of the children of Israel. (Eze 35:5; 15)
Edom was attacked and defeated by King Saul (1 Sam 14:47) and later by David. During the reign of Jehoshaphat, c.914-BC, the Edomites attempted to invade Israel, but failed. They later joined Nebuchadnezzar aiding in the destruction of Jerusalem, and the subsequent exile of the remnant of Judah to Babylon. (Psa 137:7) They also invaded the south of Palestine finally surrendering to the might of Chaldea (Babylon) and were soon after expelled. (Jeremiah 27:3; 27:6)
Yet, Edom thrived until the time of the Maccabeans when the more influential became merged into local society, later assuming control of the region as the Herodian line of kings. The Maccabeans founded the Hasmonean dynasty under Simon Maccabaeus, succeeding his brother Judas, who had routed the Greek Seleucid army during the Revolt of 165-BC. Their rule survived 103 years, before yielding to the Herodians founded by Herod Antipater supported by Rome.
Gaining the favour of Anthony and Octavian, Antipater was inaugurated King of the Jews in 37-BC at the age of 22. It is now Edom begins to assert its authority in the region, ultimately raging against the fledgling Church through Herod the Great and his son, Antipas at the time of Christ.
Edom achieved political influence through the Herodian Dynasty, gaining control throughout Judea, Pereira and Galilee, even if unpopular with the Jews who regarded them as foreigners, which they were. It was Herod the Great who ordered the slaughter of the innocents in the hope of killing the infant Jesus after hearing of His birth. His son, Antipas ordered the beheading of John the Baptist; killed the Apostle James with his sword, imprisoned Simon Peter, and like Pontius Pilate played his part in the crucifixion of Jesus.
Captivity and Judah
Turning back to Judah’s captivity, around 120 years after the exile of Israel, the remainder of Judah was taken east to Babylon after the campaign of Nebuchadnezzar; and the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath; so Judah was carried away out of their land. (2 Kings 25:21)
During Judah’s captivity (Dan 9:1) Babylon was overrun by the Persians around 539-BC. A year later, the young Persian King ordered the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and the return of all gold and precious objects earlier confiscated during the Babylonian attack on the city. (Ezra 5:13-15) The first to return were priests, Levites, singers, porters, and temple servants. This was not a general departure as Cyrus had made it a matter of choice, only those wishing to return did so, many stayed behind. I make a decree that all they of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee. (Ezra 7:13)
The few that returned were permitted to take all they possessed; some with new families. They also took the Babylonian calendar, and their new Pharisaic religion and writings known as the Talmud. On arrival, they found Judea had been repopulated by a variety of peoples, placed there by the Assyrians and to a lesser extent Babylon. They also discovered the Ptolemaic Kingdom; a blend of Egyptian and Greek cultures was now in control, which later fell to the Greeks c.200-BC.
People from many lands; Egyptians, Greeks, Chaldeans, Parthians, Edomites and various others now resident in the former Kingdom of Israel, were later joined by Rome who conquered the region in 63-BC. While there were many outlying Roman garrisons, and Caesarea was soon to become a major port, civil and religious administration was centred on Jerusalem. But unknown to them all; the lives of future generations were to be upturned by a humble birth in a stable, a few miles to the south…
Sum of Part 1
Many unrelated peoples now occupy Palestine. With its blend of cultures, the ever-present influence of Rome, and a handful of people returned from Babylon, they await the coming of the Messiah. On the other hand, the millions of Ephraim-Israel become by all accounts lost and appear to vanish from history, as they do from Scripture. By the time Jesus was born, the tribes of Israel had been away from their homeland for around 700 years.
The LORD visited certain individuals and tested their faith. And we see from this brief history, it was Abraham and his offspring who received the Covenants to become the line of promise. It was the line of Abraham, Jacob, and David through which Christ came. It was to these people the LORD revealed His Name through their leader and Prophet Moses. (Gen 3:14)
Each of Jacob’s sons was at birth, given a blessing by their mother. They were again blessed by their father prior to his death and again by Moses. These blessings detail the character of each tribe. They were likened to a lion, a bullock, a man, a vine, and a troop of soldiers; an adder and a wolf. Today, these act as signs or markers for students of history and also mark the Gospels. We will look at these in more detail as we travel further along this path, so please continue.
The most important thing to grasp is the fact Israel and the Jews who returned to Jerusalem, are now separated by thousands of miles and several hundred years. They are totally different people. The lineage of the sons of Jacob are now scattered into the nations never to return. Their name of Israel has been removed by the LORD forever. It is only a handful of the descendants of three tribes; Judah, Benjamin and Levi, now known as the Jews, which remained in the land at the time Jesus’ ministry began. Three years later they called for His crucifixion. The Ashkenazi Jews, which came from Eastern Europe, a proselyte people from the 8th Century, only adds to the noise and confusion.
As time unfolds we are better able to understand the blessings and promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And while some of them give the appearance of things on the Earth, they also pertain to another realm. Yet, the LORD used His people, now scattered into the nations and the Isles of the Sea, to declare His Gospel and to carry the Good News of Salvation, and His promise to the world.
End of Part 1