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A Brief History of the Jewish People
Patriarchs and Matriarchs
Abraham - (1900 B.C.E.)
 | Jews known as Hebrews |
| Abram first to follow the One God (the God of gods, the totally spiritual
God, the God that is a faithful concerned friend, a God beyond Limits) |
| As a sign of this new personal relationship between God and Abram, God
gave Abram a new name: Abraham |
| This relationship - based on love - is call a Covenant |
| Covenant = I will be your God and you will be my people! |
Isaac
| Son of Abraham and Sarah |
| Abraham so loved God that he was willing to sacrifice his only (long
awaited) son - but our God does not want Human Sacrifice |
Jacob
| Son of Isaac and Rebekah |
| Jacob renews the covenant with God, Jacobs name becomes Israel |
| Jacob becomes the father of twelve sons |
Joseph and the Settlement in Israel
| Joseph, son of Jacob (Israel) and Rachel - is sold into slavery and ends
up in Israel |
| Joseph ends up saving the Egyptians and as a result his family is invited
to live in Egypt |
| Many years after Joseph’s death, the Israelites are forced into slavery |
| Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph - fathers/leaders of a family,
fathers of faith |
| Matriarchs - Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel - mothers of faith |
Moses (1290 B.C.E.)
| called to free the Israelites from slavery |
| God reveals the name of God to Moses Yahweh - I am; To be |
| (Note: the significance of names - page 55) |
| The ten plagues reveals Gods power over the lives of people |
| The tenth plague - the death of the firstborn in Egypt; the Passover meal
and God protecting the Israelites; the Passover |
| God frees the Israelites - and gives them the ten commandments |
| After receiving the 10 commandments, the Israelites roamed the desert for
forty difficult years |
Life in the Promised Land (about 1250 B.C.E.)
| After Moses’ death the Israelites were led into the promised land (Canaan)
by Joshua |
| They encountered much opposition as they tried to settle in a land that
was already occupied (wars, tempted by foreign religions) |
| Judges (great warriors), were appointed to fight and defeat Israel’s
enemies |
| The people (wanting to be like other nations), want a strong, visible
leader - a king! |
The Kingdom of Israel (1000 B.C.E.)
Saul - Warrior King (1020 B.C.E.)
| Saul, the first King, was a brave man in battle but he was a weak man
personally. |
| He was jealous of David, one of the leaders in his army - this
jealousy and his stubbornness led to his disaster |
David - Uniting the People
| As king, David was able to unite the twelve tribes of Israel (1000 B.C.E.)
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| He was able to defeat the enemies of Israel, making Jerusalem both the
political and spiritual capital of the united Israel |
| He was a great leader |
| While he was not always faithful to the covenant, he struggled to do what
was right and showed great sorrow for his sins (He is the patron Saint of
repentant sinners!) |
Solomon - Son of David
| Solomon was the third King of Israel |
| Under his leadership Israel experienced a period of great building,
increased trade, and prosperity. The temple was built at this time. |
| But this prosperity came at a price - heavy taxes and idolatry. The
spiritual well-being of the people was not protected. |
| After his death the Kingdom was divided. |
The Kingdom Divided
| Disagreements between the type of leadership and the type of laws need for
the United Kingdom, led to the division of the Kingdom. Israel (ten northern
tribes) in the north, and Judah in the south. |
| This was a period of weak kings and religious disgrace. |
| The voice of God could be heard through the prophets - calling the people
back to the covenant. |
| Eventually the northern kingdom of Israel as destroyed by the Assyrians
(721 B.C.E.) |
| The southern kingdom of Judah was overrun by the Babylonians - the temple
was destroyed, thousands were led into captivity (slavery) in Babylon. |
| Those not captured dispersed themselves along the Mediterranean Sea - were
they tried to remain faithful to the covenant. (The Diaspora) |
Renewal of the Covenant and Return to Judah
| While in Babylon some tried to renew their relationship with God, they
tried to live much more closely to God - they were called the Remnant |
| In 538 B.C.E. the Persian king Cyrus overran the Babylonians which led to
the release of the exiles |
| They went back to Judah, worked on rebuilding the temple (finished in 515
B.C.E.) |
| Because they were from Judah, they came to be called Jews a form of the
word Judaism. |
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