RE 112

• The Jewish people who inhabited Palestine in the time of Jesus had a long history which they kept alive initially through an oral tradition and subsequently in written form.
• The history of the Jews prior to Jesus is found in written form in the books of the Old Testament.
• The authors of Genesis tells us about Abraham who left Ur in Mesopotamia, went to Haran and from there continued the journey to Canaan.
• The group of Abraham traveled quite a distance.
• Abraham was called by Yahweh and followed the voice of Yahweh, separating from his own people to become the Father of the Israelites.
• Abraham had a son Isaac, who took over the leadership of the clan – the tribe of wandering Hebrews – after the death of Abraham.
• Isaac had two sons Ezau and Jacob.
• Although Ezau being the elder brother, was entitled to receive the birthright of his father, it was actually Jacob who, through the intrigues of his mother, received the blessings of his father and became the leader of the tribe – the wandering Arameans or the Hebrews.
• Jacob had twelve sons who were shepherds.
• The twelve sons of Jacob were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Juda, Isaachar, Zebulon, Dan, Nepthali, Gad, Asher, Joseph and Benjamin.
• Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was sold by his brothers as a slave to a group of Egyptian merchants.
• Joseph favored his brothers and invited them and his old father to live in Egypt in the area of Goshen.
• The stay of the Hebrew people in Egypt is the second event, called the Sojourn in Egypt.
• The Hebrew people multiplied fast and became a real power in Egypt, so much that the Egyptians became afraid that the tribe might become too powerful.
• The long period of great oppression begun.
• Moses entered the history of Israel; first as a guerilla fighter against the oppressive Egyptians.
• Moses married the daughter of Jethro, Zipporah.
• Moses felt uneasy and his mind and heart were constantly with his oppressed people in Egypt.
• The glory of the once united nation vanished when the Northern Kingdom was captured by Assyria in about 700 B.C.
• When King Sirus allowed the Israelites to return to their country, only a few went back to an empty, devastated and alien land.
• The Israelites are often referred to as the 'Rest' of Israel.
• The Greeks tried to replace the people's strong belief in One God with their own museum of gods and goddesses.
• The Israelites suffered much because of the high taxes imposed by the Romans and their corrupt leaders.
• Christ was born during the time of Roman occupation.
• The country was captured again by the fast growing superpower from the west - Greece and the Israelites experienced one of the cruelest occupations by a foreign nation.
• The Israelites believe that their God is a saving and a liberating God.
• The Southern Kingdom was also captured by Babylon in about 550 B.C., leading to the exile of most of the people.
• The Israelites, led by Moses, escaped from slavery in Egypt and organized themselves into a people's confederation based on belief in One God and One Religion.
• The Israelites found courage to rebuild their country due to their strong faith in Yahweh and adherence to some religion.
• The Israelites interpreted all historical events as actions of liberation of Yahweh.
• Solomon, however, was not able to manage his power and wealth and imposed higher taxes, leading to oppression and the division of the nation into Israel in the north and Judea in the south.
• The Israelites' faith experiences became an important part of their life as a covenanted people of God, so that every time they gather for a fellowship or worship or for the renewal of the covenant in a tribal confederacy, they would start by reciting the Israelitic Creed.
• The Israelites, under the leadership of kings David and Solomon, became one of the best organized and wealthiest countries and became a nation.
• Moses returned to Egypt as a conscientizer, mingled with his people, identified himself with the oppressed and deprived Hebrew slaves, experienced the unbearable oppression and became the leader of the Hebrews who were gradually growing in awareness.