A chariot is a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle, developed for the battlefield rather than as a means of transportation for troops movement behind the lines of war. Basically, it consists of a semicircular platform mounted on a single axle, with sides thigh-high and curved around the front. The open back of the car has a tongue and yoke harnessed to speedy horses and a floor of rope network that provides speed, maneuverability and stability for fast and easy entrance in combat and gives soldiers a mobile firing platform and furnish them with psychological shock power when charging into ranks of foot soldiers.
The Book of Joshua testifies about the power of this type of instruments of war by saying in chapter 17:
The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, "Why have you given us only one part of the Land to possess as our own? There are very many of us because the Lord has blessed us." 17:14
Joshua answered, "If there are so many of you and the Hill Country of Ephraim is too small for you, then go into The Forests and clear ground for yourselves in the Land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim." 17:15
They replied, "the Hill Country of Ephraim is not big enough for us, but the Canaanites in the Plains have Iron Chariots, both those who live in Beth Shan and its surrounding Towns and those who live in Jezreel Valley." 17:16
Joshua said to the Tribes of Ephraim and West Manasseh, "There are indeed many of you, and you are very powerful. You shall have more than one share. The Hill Country will be yours. Even though it is a Forest, you will clear it and take possession of it from one end to the other. As for the Canaanites, you will drive them out, even though they do have Iron Chariots and are a strong people."
The Book of Judges also testifies about the use of the chariots' power by saying in chapter 1:
The descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenite, went on with the People of Judah from Jericho, the City of Palm Trees, into the barren country South of Arad in Judah. There they settled among the Amalekites. The People of Judah went with the People of Simeon, and together they defeated the Canaanites who lived in the City of Zephath. They put a curse on the City, destroyed it, and named it Hormah. The Lord helped the People of Judah, and they took possession of the Hill Country. But they did not capture Gaza, Ashkelon, or Ekron, with their surrounding territories. These People living along the Coast had Iron Chariots, and so the People of Judah were not able to drive them out. 1: 16-19
As Moses had commanded, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove out of the City the three clans descended from Anak. But the People of the Tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, and the Jebusites have continued to live there with the People of Benjamin ever since. 20-21
Chariots with many variations of design are widely illustrated on ancient monuments, attesting their widespread use in antiquity. Often they were outfitted with auxiliary equipment consisting of quiver and bow cases, shields and spears. And added menace to foot soldiers were the iron scythes that sometimes extended from the hubs of the wheels. When there was only one charioteer, the reins were held around his waist or hips in battle, leaving his hands free to handle the weapons. Larger and heavier chariots with multiple spans of horses had crews of two, three or four, with a driver and one or two fighters and a shield-man. Also by moving the axle toward the rear, greater maneuverability and stability were achieved. Spoked wheels replaced the solid ones, lightening the weight and increasing the speed.
In Israel no sizable national Chariot force developed until the time of Solomon. This was due in large measure to YHWH's warning that the King was not to multiply horses, as if the nation's security depended on them. Horses were used at that time to power such vehicles of war (Deut,17). Samuel warned of the burden that human kings inflict on God's people by saying, "Your sons YHWH will take and put them as His in His Chariots ... and some will have to run before His Chariots" (1 Sam 8).
Both Absalom and Adonijah, in attempting to usurp the kingship, had chariots made for themselves and put 50 men to run before each chariot (2 Sam 15). When David defeated the king of Zobah, he preserved a hundred chariot horses (2 Sam 8-10). King Solomon expanded the number of chariots of Israel's army to 1,400 (1 Ki 10; 2 Chron 1).
1 Kings 7 says: King Solomon sent for a man named Hu'Ram, a craftsman living in the City of Tyre, who was skilled in Bronze work. His father, who was no longer living, was from Tyre, and had also been a skilled Bronze craftsman, his mother was from the Tribe of Naphtali. Hu'Ram was an intelligent and experienced craftsman. He accepted King Solomon's invitation to be in charge of all the Bronze work (13-14). Hu'Ram cast two Bronze columns, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference, and placed them at the entrance of the Temple (15). Huram placed these two Bronze columns in front of the entrance: the one on the South side was named Jachin and the one on the North was named Boaz (21).
He also made two Bronze capitals, each one 7 1/2 feet tall, to be placed on top of the columns (16). The capitals were shaped like lilies, 6 feet tall (19). The top of each column was decorated with a design of interwoven chains and two rows of pomegranates (17). There were 200 pomegranates in two rows around each capital (20). The lily shaped Bronze capitals were placed on top of the columns on a rounded section which was above the chain design (19).
Hu"Ram made a round tank of Bronze, 7 1/2 deep, 15 feet in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference.
All around the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of Bronze gourds, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank. The tank rested on the backs of twelve Bronze bulls that faced outward, three facing in each direction. The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outward like the petals of a lily. The tank held about 10,000 gallons (23-26).
Hu'Ram also made 10 Bronze Carts, each was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet high. They were made of square panels which were set in frames with the figures of lions, bulls, and winged creatures on the panels; and on the frames, above and underneath the lions and bulls, there were spiral figures in relief. Each cart had four Bronze wheels with Bronze axles. At the four corners were Bronze supports for a basin; the supports were decorated with spiral figures in relief. There was a circular frame on top for the basin. It projected upward 18 inches from the top of the Cart and seven inches down into it. The circular frame had carvings around it. The wheels were 25 inches high; they were under the panels, and the axles were of one piece with the carts. The wheels were like Chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of Bronze. There were four supports at the bottom corners of each cart, which were of one piece with the cart. There was a 9-inch band around the top of each cart; its supports
and the panels were of one piece with the cart. The supports and panels were decorated with figures of winged creatures, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was space for them, with spiral figures all around. This, then, is how the Carts were made; they were all alike, having the same size and shape.
Huram also made ten basins, one for each Cart. Each basin was 6 feet in diameter and held 200 gallons.
He placed five of the Carts on the South side of the Temple, and the other five on the North side; the tank he placed at the South East corner (27- 39).
In addition to Jerusalem, other towns known as "Chariot Cities" had special facilities for taking of all this vehicles of war (1 Kin 9; 2 Chron 8-9). After Solomon's death, chariots were very common in both the Northern and Southern kingdoms. The Northern kingdom had a "chief of half the chariots"(1Ki16).
War Chariots were employed in Biblical times by many of the nations who opposed the God of Israel. At the Red Sea, Pharaoh's entire army including his 600 special war chariots, and "all the other chariots of Egypt,"were destroyed by YHWH (Exodus 14-15; Joshua 24).When conquering the Promised Land the Israelites routed the enemy and burned many of their captured chariots (Joshua 11). Jabin the king of Canaan held the Israelites in bondage for 20 years until YHWH pinned down and destroyed his fleet of 900 Chariots equipped with iron scythes and commanded by Sisera, at the Kishon River (Judg 4-5).
During Israel's kings period, at one time or another, the Philistines, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Syrians, Assyrians and Babylonians battled against them with large Chariot forces, as many as 30,000/32,000
chariots on different occasions (1 Sam 13; 2 Sam 1; 1 Chron 19; 2 Chron 12-14-16; Isa 37). Prophets, in their pronouncements of doom era, mentions the chariots in which enemy nations prides themselves
(Micah 5; Jer 50-51).
Though the Chariot was primarily a war instrument, there are also instances where it was used for other peaceful purposes. Joseph as a food administrator of Egypt rode in a Chariot of Honor, second only to that of Pharaoh. In his chariot he rode out to meet his father Jacob when he entered Egypt (Gen 41-46).
Upon Jacob's death many chariots were in the funeral procession that went from Egypt to Mach'Pelah, the burial place that Abraham had purchased (Gen 50). As a means of transportation, chariots were also employed by Kings Rehoboam and Ahab, Naaman the Syrian army chief and the Ethiopian official who invited the evangelist Philip to ride with him on the Road down to Gaza (1Ki12; 18; 2 Ki 5; Act8).
Richly decorated and shaded Chariots carried victorious rulers in processions. Sacred Chariots and the horses that drew them were dedicated to the power of the sun by apostate Judean rulers and were used in ceremonial driving to meet the energy that encompasses the rising of the sun (2 Ki 23).
In a figurative and prophetic sense, chariots are used as symbols of war, just like the bow and sword.
Isaiah 22 says: This is a message about the Valley of Vision. What is happening? Why are all the people of the City of Jerusalem celebrating on the roof of the houses? The whole City is in uproar, filled with noise and excitement. Your people who died in this war did not die fighting. All your leaders run away and were captured before they shot a single arrow (1-3). This is a time of panic, defeat, and confusion in the Valley of vision, and the Sovereign Lord Almighty has sent it on us. The walls of our City have been battered down, and cries for help have echoed among the hills. The soldiers from the Land of Elam came riding on horseback, armed with bows and arrows. Soldiers from the Land of Kir had their shields ready. The fertile Valley of Judah were filled with Chariots; soldiers on horseback stood in front of Jerusalem's Gates. All of Judah's defenses crumbled (4-7). When that happened, you People brought weapons out of the arsenal. You found the places where the Walls Of Jerusalem needed repair (8-10). In order to store water, you built a reservoir inside the City to hold the water flowing down from the Old Pool. But you People paid no Attention to God's Word, who planned all this long ago and who caused it to happen. The Sovereign Lord Almighty was calling you People then to weep and mourn, to shave your heads and wear sackcloth. Instead, you People laughed and celebrated. You killed sheep and cattle to eat and you drank wine.You said,"We might as well eat and drink! Tomorrow we will be dead." The Sovereign Lord Almighty Himself spoke and said, "This evil will never be forgiven them as long as they live. I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken."(11-14)
Isaiah 27 says: On that Day the lord will use His powerful and deadly sword to punish Levi'Athan, that wriggling, twisting dragon, and to kill the monster that lives in the sea (1). On that Day the Lord will say of His pleasant vineyard, "I watch over it and water it continually. I guard it night and day so that no one will harm it. I am no longer angry with the vineyard. If there were thorns and briers to fight against, I would burn them up completely. But if the enemies of My people want My protection, let them make peace with Me. Yes, let them make peace with Me (2-5). Israel's sins will be forgiven only when the stones of idol altars are ground up like chalk, and no more incense altars or symbols of the goddess Ash'Erah are left" (9). On that Day, from the Euphrates to the Egyptian border, the Lord will gather His people one by one, as threshing separates the wheat from the chaff. When that Day comes, a trumpet will be blown to call back from Assyria and Egypt all the Israelites who are in exile there. They will come and worship the Lord in Jerusalem, on His sacred hill (12-13).
"The War Chariots of YHWH"are said to be "in tens of thousands, thousands over and over again, "denoting YHWH's invincible power to destroy His enemies. (Psalm 68; 2 King 6).
Saturday, 22 September 2018
Monday, 10 September 2018
ANCIENT INDIAN RELIGION.
Indian religions based on a contemplative life and not centered on the idea of deities, are the ones that originated in the Indian subcontinent: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from the corresponding final period of hunter-gatherer cultures and from which scattered rock paintings have been found.
- Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world and today scholars refer to it as a way of life widely practiced since 1500 BCE. It contains a broad range of philosophies linked by shared concepts, rituals such as worship (Puja) and recitations, meditation, family oriented rites of passage, cosmology, annual festivals, textual resources and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Sources of authority and eternal Truths in its texts play an important role and there is a strong tradition of questioning authority in order to deepen the understanding of these Truths and to further develop them. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring leaving beings (Ahimsa), patience, forbearance, self-restraint, and compassion, among others. Prominent themes include the 4 proper goals or aims (Purusarthas) of human life: 1) ethics/duties (Dharma), 2) prosperity/work (Artha), 3) desires/passions (Kama), 4) liberation/freedom/salvation (Moksha); action, intent and consequences (Karma), cycle of rebirth (Samsara), and the various paths or practices to attain liberation/freedom/salvation (Yogas).
- Jainism postulates an eternal and ever-existing world which works on universal laws. It has a firm and an unalterable shape which is measured by means of a unit (Rajju) that is supposed to be very large. The universe is divided into 3 parts. The world is surrounded by 3 atmospheres: dense-water, dense-wind, and thin-wind. It is then surrounded by infinitely large non-world which is absolutely empty. The whole world is said to be filled with living beings. In all 3 parts, there is the existence of a very small living beings (nigoda). Nigoda are of 2 types: Nityas which will reborn as Nigoda forever and the Itaras which will be reborn as other beings too. Within the mobile region of universe there are animals and plants everywhere and where humans are restricted to 2.5 continental area of middle world. The beings of the lower world are called Naraki (hellish). The demi-gods (Deva) live in whole on the top and middles world and the top 3 realms of lower world. Living beings are divided into 14 classes (Jivasthana): 1)fine beings with one sense. 2)Crude beings with one sense. 3)Beings with two sense.
4)Beings with three sense. 5)Beings with four sense. 6)Beings with five sense without mind. 7)Beings with five sense with a mind. These can be under-developed or developed which makes it a total of 14. Humans get any form of existence and are the only ones which can attain salvation. The followers are called "Jains," a word derived from the Sanskrit word "Jina" meaning "victory" and connoting the path of victory in crossing over life's stream of rebirths through an ethical and spiritual life.
- Buddhism is the world 4th-largest religion or 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. It is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of the Buddha. He was moved by the innate suffering of humanity and its endless repetition due to rebirth. He set out on a quest to end this repeated suffering.
He first studied under Vedic teachers, learning meditation and ancient philosophies, particularly the concept of "nothingness, emptiness" and "what is neither seen nor unseen." Finding this teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often to the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Then he turned to the practice of meditation, which he had already pursued in his youth. He famously sat in meditation under a sacred Fig Tree. He gained insight and attained enlightenment. He attracted followers and founded a monastic order (Sangha). Now, as the Budha, he spent the rest of his life teaching what he had discovered and died at the age of 80 in India. His teachings were propagated by his followers, and in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, 18 Buddhist sub-school of though were founded, each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations of Buddha's teachings.
- Sikhism was founded in Punjab area of South Asia, which now falls into the present day states of India and Pakistan. The Sikh faith began around 1500 CE, when Guru Nanak (1469-1539) began teaching a faith that draw from the religious ideas of Hindu and Islamic thought. He was already an original spiritual thinker and expressed his thoughts in extraordinary poetry that became the basis of Sikh scripture.
Nanak's birth and early years were marked with many events that demonstrated that God had marked him out for something special and was keeping an eye on him. He soon showed an advanced interest in religion and studied Islam and Hinduism extensively. As a child he demonstrated great ability as a poet and philosopher. One famous story about him tells of his rebellion at the age of 11. At this age Hindu boys of his caste would star to wear the sacred thread to distinguish them. Nanak refused to wear the sacred thread by saying that people should be distinguished by the things that they did, and their individual qualities, rather than by a thread.
Nanak continued to demonstrate a radical spiritual streak by arguing with local holy men and sages, both Hindu and Muslim, that external things like pilgrimages, penances and poverty were of far less spiritual importance than internal changes to the individual's soul.
He worked for a while as an accountant but while still quite young decided to devote himself to spiritual matters. He was inspired by a powerful spiritual experience that gave him a vision of the true nature of God, and confirmed his idea that the way to spiritual thought was through meditation and through living in a way that reflected the presence of the divine within each human being.
In 1946, although married and having a family because of his family tradition in the Hindu faith, Nanak set out on a set of spiritual journeys through India, Tibet and Arabia that lasted nearly 30 years.
Nanak studied and debated with learned men he met along the way and as his ideas took shape he began to teach a new route to spiritual fulfillment. The last part of his life was spent at Katarpur in the Punjab, where he was joined by many disciples attracted by his teachings.
The most famous teachings attributed to Nakar are that there is only one God, and that all human beings can have direct access to God with no need of rituals or priests. His most radical social teachings denounced the caste system and taught that everyone is equal, regardless of caste or gender.
Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from the corresponding final period of hunter-gatherer cultures and from which scattered rock paintings have been found.
- Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world and today scholars refer to it as a way of life widely practiced since 1500 BCE. It contains a broad range of philosophies linked by shared concepts, rituals such as worship (Puja) and recitations, meditation, family oriented rites of passage, cosmology, annual festivals, textual resources and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Sources of authority and eternal Truths in its texts play an important role and there is a strong tradition of questioning authority in order to deepen the understanding of these Truths and to further develop them. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring leaving beings (Ahimsa), patience, forbearance, self-restraint, and compassion, among others. Prominent themes include the 4 proper goals or aims (Purusarthas) of human life: 1) ethics/duties (Dharma), 2) prosperity/work (Artha), 3) desires/passions (Kama), 4) liberation/freedom/salvation (Moksha); action, intent and consequences (Karma), cycle of rebirth (Samsara), and the various paths or practices to attain liberation/freedom/salvation (Yogas).
- Jainism postulates an eternal and ever-existing world which works on universal laws. It has a firm and an unalterable shape which is measured by means of a unit (Rajju) that is supposed to be very large. The universe is divided into 3 parts. The world is surrounded by 3 atmospheres: dense-water, dense-wind, and thin-wind. It is then surrounded by infinitely large non-world which is absolutely empty. The whole world is said to be filled with living beings. In all 3 parts, there is the existence of a very small living beings (nigoda). Nigoda are of 2 types: Nityas which will reborn as Nigoda forever and the Itaras which will be reborn as other beings too. Within the mobile region of universe there are animals and plants everywhere and where humans are restricted to 2.5 continental area of middle world. The beings of the lower world are called Naraki (hellish). The demi-gods (Deva) live in whole on the top and middles world and the top 3 realms of lower world. Living beings are divided into 14 classes (Jivasthana): 1)fine beings with one sense. 2)Crude beings with one sense. 3)Beings with two sense.
4)Beings with three sense. 5)Beings with four sense. 6)Beings with five sense without mind. 7)Beings with five sense with a mind. These can be under-developed or developed which makes it a total of 14. Humans get any form of existence and are the only ones which can attain salvation. The followers are called "Jains," a word derived from the Sanskrit word "Jina" meaning "victory" and connoting the path of victory in crossing over life's stream of rebirths through an ethical and spiritual life.
- Buddhism is the world 4th-largest religion or 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. It is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of the Buddha. He was moved by the innate suffering of humanity and its endless repetition due to rebirth. He set out on a quest to end this repeated suffering.
He first studied under Vedic teachers, learning meditation and ancient philosophies, particularly the concept of "nothingness, emptiness" and "what is neither seen nor unseen." Finding this teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often to the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Then he turned to the practice of meditation, which he had already pursued in his youth. He famously sat in meditation under a sacred Fig Tree. He gained insight and attained enlightenment. He attracted followers and founded a monastic order (Sangha). Now, as the Budha, he spent the rest of his life teaching what he had discovered and died at the age of 80 in India. His teachings were propagated by his followers, and in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, 18 Buddhist sub-school of though were founded, each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations of Buddha's teachings.
- Sikhism was founded in Punjab area of South Asia, which now falls into the present day states of India and Pakistan. The Sikh faith began around 1500 CE, when Guru Nanak (1469-1539) began teaching a faith that draw from the religious ideas of Hindu and Islamic thought. He was already an original spiritual thinker and expressed his thoughts in extraordinary poetry that became the basis of Sikh scripture.
Nanak's birth and early years were marked with many events that demonstrated that God had marked him out for something special and was keeping an eye on him. He soon showed an advanced interest in religion and studied Islam and Hinduism extensively. As a child he demonstrated great ability as a poet and philosopher. One famous story about him tells of his rebellion at the age of 11. At this age Hindu boys of his caste would star to wear the sacred thread to distinguish them. Nanak refused to wear the sacred thread by saying that people should be distinguished by the things that they did, and their individual qualities, rather than by a thread.
Nanak continued to demonstrate a radical spiritual streak by arguing with local holy men and sages, both Hindu and Muslim, that external things like pilgrimages, penances and poverty were of far less spiritual importance than internal changes to the individual's soul.
He worked for a while as an accountant but while still quite young decided to devote himself to spiritual matters. He was inspired by a powerful spiritual experience that gave him a vision of the true nature of God, and confirmed his idea that the way to spiritual thought was through meditation and through living in a way that reflected the presence of the divine within each human being.
In 1946, although married and having a family because of his family tradition in the Hindu faith, Nanak set out on a set of spiritual journeys through India, Tibet and Arabia that lasted nearly 30 years.
Nanak studied and debated with learned men he met along the way and as his ideas took shape he began to teach a new route to spiritual fulfillment. The last part of his life was spent at Katarpur in the Punjab, where he was joined by many disciples attracted by his teachings.
The most famous teachings attributed to Nakar are that there is only one God, and that all human beings can have direct access to God with no need of rituals or priests. His most radical social teachings denounced the caste system and taught that everyone is equal, regardless of caste or gender.
Sunday, 9 September 2018
THE MEANING OF KIDRON VALLEY.
The Kidron Valley is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as being crossed by Jesus in his journeyings to and fro (John 18). It was through this Valley that Jesus walked to go from Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane immediately prior to His arrest and His death by crucifixion. It was at Gethsemane that the Lord felt the full force of His upcoming death. It was also at Gethsemane that we see the Lord's perfect unselfish submission to the Will of His Father. Also, Judas Ischariot travelled the same path to Gethsemane, resulting in the betrayal and arrest of Christ.
In the Book of Matthew, the Kidron Valley is mentioned as the place where Jesus was tempted by Satan. It says: "Then, after Jesus was baptized, he was led out into the Wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. For 40 days and 40 nights Jesus ate nothing and became very hungry. Then the Devil came and said to Him, 'if you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread.' But Jesus told him, 'No! The Scripture says, People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every Word of God.' Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, 'if you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scripture says, God orders His Angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your food on a stone.' Jesus responded to the Devil, 'the Scripture also says, Do not test the Lord your God.' Next the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the World and all their glory and said, 'I will give it all to you if you will only kneel down and worship me.' "Get out of here, Satan,' Jesus told him. 'For the Scripture says, 'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only Him.' Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
The Book of Mark mention the Kidron Valley in relation to Jesus by saying: "Immediately after finishing supper, Jesus and his disciples leave the Old City and cross the Kidron Valley heading towards the Mount of Olives."
The Hebrew name Kidron is derived from the root "Qadar,"meaning "to be dark, ashy dark color, or turbid" The Valley is related to the feeling of sorrow, the state of mourning and death.
The central point of reference for the Upper Kidron Valley (a mountain ravine) today is its confluence of Jerusalem's richest concentration of rock-hewn tombs and graves. Burying people here became a practice in the days of Josiah (2 Kings) in the Second temple period. Its precipitous, rocky banks (outskirts of the Old City) are filled with ancient tombs, especially the left bank opposite the Temple area. The greatest desire of the Jews of today is to be buried there, from the idea that the Kidron is the Valley of Jehoshaphat mentioned in the Book of Joel. Through this mountain ravine no water runs, except after heavy rains in the mountains round about Jerusalem.
In the Old Testament the Scripture says in the Book of Jeremiah: "The days are coming"declares the Lord, "when this City will be rebuilt... The whole Valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the East as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The City will never again be uprooted or demolish."
In Christian tradition the similarity between the Greek word for "cedar"(kedros) and the Greek name of the valley "Kedron," has led to the Kidron Valley being wrongly called "Valley of the Cedars."
The Kidron Valley is on the Eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem, and runs North-South separating the Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives (the city of David). The Valley then continues through the Judean desert in the West Bank towards the Dead Sea, descending 4000 feet along its 20-mile course. It is important to realize that the Kidron Valley was much deeper 2,000 years ago. The bottom of the Valley has been raised by the rubble and debris of centuries falling into it.
The Gih'On Spring naturally filled this Valley, but the settlers of Jerusalem diverted the natural water into pools and channels to be used by the city. In the Book of Genesis, the Gih'On (to burst forth) is described as one of the 4 Rivers that branched out from the main River issued on Eden and "encircling the entire land of Cush."
At various times in the Old Testament it was at Kidron, where false idols were destroyed, symbolically representing termination, or death of idolatry itself. This took place 3 different times: under the rule of Asa (1 King 15, under the rule of Josiah (2 Kings 23), and under the rule of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29;30).
In 2 Samuel, a situation is described involving King David fleeing bare-foot and weeping, across the Valley of Kidron up to the Mount of Olives with all his followers, to escape his son Absalon.
In 2 Kings, Athaliah is mentioned as being executed at the entrance to the King's House, out to the Gate where the horses enter the palace grounds, in the Kidron Valley, after her evil reign in Judah was brought to a violent end.
The Kidron Valley afterwards became the receptacle for all manner of impurities. 2 Chronicles 29 says,
Hezekiah was 29 years old when he became the king of Judah and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, just as his ancestor David had done. ..Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repair them.
He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the Courtyard East of the Temple. He said, "Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary. Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, our God. They abandoned the Lord and His Temple; they turned their backs on Him. They also shut the doors of the Temple's foyer, and they snuffled out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting Burnt Offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel. That is why the Lord's Anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made us an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can so plainly see. Our fathers have been killed in battle and our sons and daughters and wives are in captivity. But now i will make a Covenant with he Lord, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger will turn away from us. My dear Levites, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in His presence, to minister to Him, and to lead the people in worship and make offerings to Him." ... The work began (by specific men whose names were mentioned) on a Day in early Spring. These men called together their fellow Levites, and they purified themselves. Then they began to purify the Temple of he Lord. They were careful to follow all the Lord's instructions in their work. The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple Courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley. In 8 Days they had reached the foyer of the Lord's Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the Lord itself, which took another 8 days. So the entire task was completed in 16 Days.
The Lord's end times renovation of Kidron is a beautiful picture of us being saved permanently from the darkness of sin to the light of God's Holiness.
In the Book of Matthew, the Kidron Valley is mentioned as the place where Jesus was tempted by Satan. It says: "Then, after Jesus was baptized, he was led out into the Wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. For 40 days and 40 nights Jesus ate nothing and became very hungry. Then the Devil came and said to Him, 'if you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread.' But Jesus told him, 'No! The Scripture says, People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every Word of God.' Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, 'if you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scripture says, God orders His Angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your food on a stone.' Jesus responded to the Devil, 'the Scripture also says, Do not test the Lord your God.' Next the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the World and all their glory and said, 'I will give it all to you if you will only kneel down and worship me.' "Get out of here, Satan,' Jesus told him. 'For the Scripture says, 'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only Him.' Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
The Book of Mark mention the Kidron Valley in relation to Jesus by saying: "Immediately after finishing supper, Jesus and his disciples leave the Old City and cross the Kidron Valley heading towards the Mount of Olives."
The Hebrew name Kidron is derived from the root "Qadar,"meaning "to be dark, ashy dark color, or turbid" The Valley is related to the feeling of sorrow, the state of mourning and death.
The central point of reference for the Upper Kidron Valley (a mountain ravine) today is its confluence of Jerusalem's richest concentration of rock-hewn tombs and graves. Burying people here became a practice in the days of Josiah (2 Kings) in the Second temple period. Its precipitous, rocky banks (outskirts of the Old City) are filled with ancient tombs, especially the left bank opposite the Temple area. The greatest desire of the Jews of today is to be buried there, from the idea that the Kidron is the Valley of Jehoshaphat mentioned in the Book of Joel. Through this mountain ravine no water runs, except after heavy rains in the mountains round about Jerusalem.
In the Old Testament the Scripture says in the Book of Jeremiah: "The days are coming"declares the Lord, "when this City will be rebuilt... The whole Valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the East as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The City will never again be uprooted or demolish."
In Christian tradition the similarity between the Greek word for "cedar"(kedros) and the Greek name of the valley "Kedron," has led to the Kidron Valley being wrongly called "Valley of the Cedars."
The Kidron Valley is on the Eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem, and runs North-South separating the Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives (the city of David). The Valley then continues through the Judean desert in the West Bank towards the Dead Sea, descending 4000 feet along its 20-mile course. It is important to realize that the Kidron Valley was much deeper 2,000 years ago. The bottom of the Valley has been raised by the rubble and debris of centuries falling into it.
The Gih'On Spring naturally filled this Valley, but the settlers of Jerusalem diverted the natural water into pools and channels to be used by the city. In the Book of Genesis, the Gih'On (to burst forth) is described as one of the 4 Rivers that branched out from the main River issued on Eden and "encircling the entire land of Cush."
At various times in the Old Testament it was at Kidron, where false idols were destroyed, symbolically representing termination, or death of idolatry itself. This took place 3 different times: under the rule of Asa (1 King 15, under the rule of Josiah (2 Kings 23), and under the rule of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29;30).
In 2 Samuel, a situation is described involving King David fleeing bare-foot and weeping, across the Valley of Kidron up to the Mount of Olives with all his followers, to escape his son Absalon.
In 2 Kings, Athaliah is mentioned as being executed at the entrance to the King's House, out to the Gate where the horses enter the palace grounds, in the Kidron Valley, after her evil reign in Judah was brought to a violent end.
The Kidron Valley afterwards became the receptacle for all manner of impurities. 2 Chronicles 29 says,
Hezekiah was 29 years old when he became the king of Judah and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, just as his ancestor David had done. ..Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repair them.
He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the Courtyard East of the Temple. He said, "Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary. Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, our God. They abandoned the Lord and His Temple; they turned their backs on Him. They also shut the doors of the Temple's foyer, and they snuffled out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting Burnt Offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel. That is why the Lord's Anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made us an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can so plainly see. Our fathers have been killed in battle and our sons and daughters and wives are in captivity. But now i will make a Covenant with he Lord, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger will turn away from us. My dear Levites, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in His presence, to minister to Him, and to lead the people in worship and make offerings to Him." ... The work began (by specific men whose names were mentioned) on a Day in early Spring. These men called together their fellow Levites, and they purified themselves. Then they began to purify the Temple of he Lord. They were careful to follow all the Lord's instructions in their work. The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple Courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley. In 8 Days they had reached the foyer of the Lord's Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the Lord itself, which took another 8 days. So the entire task was completed in 16 Days.
The Lord's end times renovation of Kidron is a beautiful picture of us being saved permanently from the darkness of sin to the light of God's Holiness.
Thursday, 23 August 2018
WHO WAS ELIJAH?
Elijah was the last and one of the foremost Hebrew prophets and a supernatural worker in the two Books of Kings in the Old Testament. His name means "my God is YHWH." Elijah's home was in Tish'Beth, a village in the land of Gilead, East of the Jordan River. He started his long career as prophet during the reign of King Ahab of Israel and his Phoenician-born queen Jezebel, and continued as such during the reign of Ahab's son Ahaziah. The last time he is mentioned serving as a prophet (this time for Judah) is toward the end of the 8th Year reign of King Jehoram of Judah (2 Chronicles 21; 2 Kings: 8).
Israel, still united under Solomon, it was ripped in two as it is mentioned in the Scripture:- the Northern kingdom of Israel and -the Southern kingdom of Judah which retained Jerusalem along whit its Temple.
The first king of the 10-tribe kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam, was the son of Nebat, one of Solomon's officers in the village of Zered'Ah; of the tribe of Ephraim. At an early age Jeroboam was left fatherless, to be raised by his widowed mother Zeru'Ah (1King 11). When Solomon observed that Jeroboam was not only a valiant, mighty man but also a hard worker, he was put in charge of the compulsory labor force of the House of Joseph. Subsequently, God's prophet Ahij'Ah approached him with specific news. After tearing his new garment into 12 pieces the prophet told Jeroboam to take 10 of them in a way to symbolize how God would rip Solomon's kingdom in 2 and make Jeroboam king over 10 of the tribes.This was a governmental division and not a departure from true worship centered at the temple in Jerusalem, the capital of the Southern Kingdom. So God assured Jeroboam that He would bless and prosper his reign and build him a lasting House of Successors as long as he keeps God's Law and Commandments (1King11:40).
It was upon learning of these events that Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam. He fled to Egypt and there under the sheltering protection of Pharaoh Shishak he remained alive until the death of Solomon. Upon the news he quickly returned to his homeland where he joined his people that at that specific time were demanding that Solomon's son, Rehoboam, lighten their burdens if he wanted the support of the 10 tribes to his kingship. Rehoboam disregarded the good advice of the older counselors in taking the supporting offer, preferring to take the advice of his younger companions who told him to increase the workload of the people. The 10 tribes responded to this harshness by making Jeroboam their king. This turn of affairs took place in order to make Jeroboam the one to carry out the task that God had spoken by means of Abij'Ah the prophet (1Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10). Jeroboam immediately set about to build up Shechem as his royal capital, and East of Shechem, on the other side of the Jordan, he fortified the settlement of Penuel (Peniel), the place where Jacob had wrestled with an angel (Genesis 32).
Jeroboam, upon seeing his subjects streaming up to the temple in Jerusalem to worship God, he thought in a human way that in time his subjects might switch their allegiance to Rehoboam and kill him.
So, to secure himself in his post, Jeroboam designed a religion centered around 2 golden calves, which he set up, one at Beth'El in the South, the other at Dan in the North, with his own non-Aaronic priest-hood, composed of those among the people in general who were willing to procure the office by offering 1bull and 7 rams. These designed religion then served for the high places, for the goat-shaped demons and for the calves that he had made. He also invented special holy days and personally led the people in sacrificing to his newly created gods (1 Kings 12; 2 Kings 22; 2 Chron 11; 13).
Omri, succeeded him as King of Israel and continued the policies of king Jeroboam, contrary to God's Law. He also encouraged the building of local temple altars for sacrifices and worship of Baal. He, for a time, achieved economic prosperity and domestic security using a marriage alliance between his son Ahab and princess Jezebel, a priestess of Baal and daughter of the king of Sidon. But the marriage did not bring peace between the spiritual forces at stake. The true prophets of God exercised at that time a very strict interpretation and application of God's Law to the people who followed the true worship of the God of Israel. The tensions grew and this was the time when the spiritual and moral condition of the people of Israel fell to an alarmingly low state. Ahab, committed to build a strong worship for Baal and Asherah, his wife Jezebel, a priestesses and queen of the Northern kingdom, brought a large entourage of Baal &Asherah's priests, priestesses and prophets into their territory.
It is in this context that Elijah is introduced in 1Kings 17 as Elijah "the Tish'Bite." He is sent by God to announce chastisement. With his first reported words: "As the Lord, the God of Israel before whom I do stand Is Living," he pointed out that the living God of Israel made a decree that no sacred rain or dew will occur for a period of Years, except at Elijah's word (3 Years and 6 Months). After this, God directed Elijah to the Torrent Valley of Cherith to the East of the Jordan in the territory of the Tribe of Gad. Here ravens brought food to him. He got sacred water from the Torrent Valley, which in God's due time dried up. God continued to guide him, sending him across to the Western side of Ahab's land to Zarephath, between Sidon and Tyre, where Ahab's father-in-law Eth'Baal was ruling (1 King 16).
In this place, Elijah meets a widow preparing a final meal for herself and her son with their very last bit of sacred flour and oil. He requested the widow to make a cake for him promising that the provision of the God of Israel would protect her and her son during the sacred drought. Because she recognized him as a man of God she complied to his request and she received the blessing. During Elijah's stay in her home the widow's son died. Elijah prayed to God, and God brought him to life. Many believers have the thought that the widow's son was Jonah, the prophet who disobeyed God's command, and since the Scripture teaches God's Law in a very symbolic way, the thought is correct.
Eventually God instructed Elijah to show himself to Ahab requesting a meeting with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asher'Ah on Mount Carmel. Elijah proposed a test to prove Who is the True God to be followed in front of all the people of Israel. Whichever god answer by consuming a bull sacrificing to him is to be acknowledge by all. Baal is first called on, but in vain, no proof that Baal is a living god, although his prophets kept praying to him even cutting themselves according to their ritual.
Elijah mercilessly mocked them, increasing their frenzy (1 Kings 18). Now Elijah was free to perform his act. He mended an altar that had been torn down using 12 stones. Then he had the priests soaking in water the offering and the altar 3 times with the trench around the altar circumscribing the squared area filled with the water. About the time of the daily evening Grain Offering, Elijah payed once to the God of Israel, the only living God, and Fire came from the heavens consuming not just the offering, but also the wood, the stones of the altar and the water in the trench. The people seeing this, fell upon their faces saying: "God is the true living God of Israel!" Then Elijah slaughtered all the 450 prophets of Baal at the torrent Valley of Kish'On. Then God answered Elijah's prayer and broke the drought by a downpour of sacred rain.
On being informed of the death of Baal's prophets, Jezebel vowed to have Elijah put to death. Elijah fled in fear Southwestward of Beer-Sheba, to the West of the lower Dead Sea. Leaving his attendant there, he went still farther into the wilderness, praying to die. Here the angel of the Lord appeared to him, to prepare Elijah for a long journey to the sacred mountain of the True God, Horeb. Sustained for 40 days by what he ate on his journey, he arrived at Horeb. Then God spoke to him after a display of His Power in an awe-inspiring wind, earthquake and fire. Unlike the personalized and idolized power of Baal as the god of sky, storm, weather and vegetation, that represent natural forces, God showed to Elijah that He is not in these manifestations, which are merely expressions of His Active Force. Then God manifested to Elijah His Power with the purpose of correcting Elijah's thought about considering himself the lone worshiper of God in Israel. God showed him the 7,000 ones who have not bowed to Baal's power. Elijah was sent back to his assignment, naming 3 persons who were to be anointed or commissioned to do a work for God: Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu as king over Israel, and his own successor Elisha (1 Kings 19). Time later, the greedy Baal-worshiper Ahab, illegally seized a sacred vineyard, the hereditary possession of Nab'Oth the Jezre'Elite, by allowing his wife to use false charges, false witnesses and unrighteous judges to have Nab'Oth murdered. Elijah met Ahab at the vineyard and told him that his blood will be licked up by dogs at the same place where the dogs licked up the blood of Nab'Oth. Elijah also announced a similar fate for Jezebel. Three Years later Ahab died in battle. His war chariot was washed by the pool of Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood. Time later, his wife was executed and also her blood was licked by dogs.
Then the time for Elijah to transfer his sacred mantle of his prophetic office to Elisha, came. Elijah went to Beth'El, from there to Jericho and then down to the Jordan. Elisha sticked close to him all the way. Because of his faithfulness Elisha is rewarded by seeing a fiery war chariot with fiery horses and Elijah ascending to the heavens in a windstorm, and at the same time Elijah's garment fell off him and it was received by Elisha and the two parts (like a firstborn son's portion) of Elijah's spirit.
In Matthew 10, Jesus shadows the same circumstances that occurred in Elijah's time by saying: "Those who declare publicly that they belong to Me, I will do the same for them before My Father in heaven. But those who reject Me publicly, I will reject them before My Father in Heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law, your worst enemies will be the members of your own family. Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be My disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be My disciples.Those who do not take up their cross and follow in My steps are not fit to be My disciples. Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for My sake will gain it."
Ahab and his queen Jezebel, stand at the end of a line of kings of Israel who are said to have "done evil in the sight of the Lord" it projects the same end of times in which all believers are going to be tested and the circumstances of today proved to be the same.
Elijah is the one who holds the keys of the priesthood and is portrayed as the leader of the school of prophets known as "the sons of the prophets," that was continued by his successor Elisha.
Israel, still united under Solomon, it was ripped in two as it is mentioned in the Scripture:- the Northern kingdom of Israel and -the Southern kingdom of Judah which retained Jerusalem along whit its Temple.
The first king of the 10-tribe kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam, was the son of Nebat, one of Solomon's officers in the village of Zered'Ah; of the tribe of Ephraim. At an early age Jeroboam was left fatherless, to be raised by his widowed mother Zeru'Ah (1King 11). When Solomon observed that Jeroboam was not only a valiant, mighty man but also a hard worker, he was put in charge of the compulsory labor force of the House of Joseph. Subsequently, God's prophet Ahij'Ah approached him with specific news. After tearing his new garment into 12 pieces the prophet told Jeroboam to take 10 of them in a way to symbolize how God would rip Solomon's kingdom in 2 and make Jeroboam king over 10 of the tribes.This was a governmental division and not a departure from true worship centered at the temple in Jerusalem, the capital of the Southern Kingdom. So God assured Jeroboam that He would bless and prosper his reign and build him a lasting House of Successors as long as he keeps God's Law and Commandments (1King11:40).
It was upon learning of these events that Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam. He fled to Egypt and there under the sheltering protection of Pharaoh Shishak he remained alive until the death of Solomon. Upon the news he quickly returned to his homeland where he joined his people that at that specific time were demanding that Solomon's son, Rehoboam, lighten their burdens if he wanted the support of the 10 tribes to his kingship. Rehoboam disregarded the good advice of the older counselors in taking the supporting offer, preferring to take the advice of his younger companions who told him to increase the workload of the people. The 10 tribes responded to this harshness by making Jeroboam their king. This turn of affairs took place in order to make Jeroboam the one to carry out the task that God had spoken by means of Abij'Ah the prophet (1Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10). Jeroboam immediately set about to build up Shechem as his royal capital, and East of Shechem, on the other side of the Jordan, he fortified the settlement of Penuel (Peniel), the place where Jacob had wrestled with an angel (Genesis 32).
Jeroboam, upon seeing his subjects streaming up to the temple in Jerusalem to worship God, he thought in a human way that in time his subjects might switch their allegiance to Rehoboam and kill him.
So, to secure himself in his post, Jeroboam designed a religion centered around 2 golden calves, which he set up, one at Beth'El in the South, the other at Dan in the North, with his own non-Aaronic priest-hood, composed of those among the people in general who were willing to procure the office by offering 1bull and 7 rams. These designed religion then served for the high places, for the goat-shaped demons and for the calves that he had made. He also invented special holy days and personally led the people in sacrificing to his newly created gods (1 Kings 12; 2 Kings 22; 2 Chron 11; 13).
Omri, succeeded him as King of Israel and continued the policies of king Jeroboam, contrary to God's Law. He also encouraged the building of local temple altars for sacrifices and worship of Baal. He, for a time, achieved economic prosperity and domestic security using a marriage alliance between his son Ahab and princess Jezebel, a priestess of Baal and daughter of the king of Sidon. But the marriage did not bring peace between the spiritual forces at stake. The true prophets of God exercised at that time a very strict interpretation and application of God's Law to the people who followed the true worship of the God of Israel. The tensions grew and this was the time when the spiritual and moral condition of the people of Israel fell to an alarmingly low state. Ahab, committed to build a strong worship for Baal and Asherah, his wife Jezebel, a priestesses and queen of the Northern kingdom, brought a large entourage of Baal &Asherah's priests, priestesses and prophets into their territory.
It is in this context that Elijah is introduced in 1Kings 17 as Elijah "the Tish'Bite." He is sent by God to announce chastisement. With his first reported words: "As the Lord, the God of Israel before whom I do stand Is Living," he pointed out that the living God of Israel made a decree that no sacred rain or dew will occur for a period of Years, except at Elijah's word (3 Years and 6 Months). After this, God directed Elijah to the Torrent Valley of Cherith to the East of the Jordan in the territory of the Tribe of Gad. Here ravens brought food to him. He got sacred water from the Torrent Valley, which in God's due time dried up. God continued to guide him, sending him across to the Western side of Ahab's land to Zarephath, between Sidon and Tyre, where Ahab's father-in-law Eth'Baal was ruling (1 King 16).
In this place, Elijah meets a widow preparing a final meal for herself and her son with their very last bit of sacred flour and oil. He requested the widow to make a cake for him promising that the provision of the God of Israel would protect her and her son during the sacred drought. Because she recognized him as a man of God she complied to his request and she received the blessing. During Elijah's stay in her home the widow's son died. Elijah prayed to God, and God brought him to life. Many believers have the thought that the widow's son was Jonah, the prophet who disobeyed God's command, and since the Scripture teaches God's Law in a very symbolic way, the thought is correct.
Eventually God instructed Elijah to show himself to Ahab requesting a meeting with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asher'Ah on Mount Carmel. Elijah proposed a test to prove Who is the True God to be followed in front of all the people of Israel. Whichever god answer by consuming a bull sacrificing to him is to be acknowledge by all. Baal is first called on, but in vain, no proof that Baal is a living god, although his prophets kept praying to him even cutting themselves according to their ritual.
Elijah mercilessly mocked them, increasing their frenzy (1 Kings 18). Now Elijah was free to perform his act. He mended an altar that had been torn down using 12 stones. Then he had the priests soaking in water the offering and the altar 3 times with the trench around the altar circumscribing the squared area filled with the water. About the time of the daily evening Grain Offering, Elijah payed once to the God of Israel, the only living God, and Fire came from the heavens consuming not just the offering, but also the wood, the stones of the altar and the water in the trench. The people seeing this, fell upon their faces saying: "God is the true living God of Israel!" Then Elijah slaughtered all the 450 prophets of Baal at the torrent Valley of Kish'On. Then God answered Elijah's prayer and broke the drought by a downpour of sacred rain.
On being informed of the death of Baal's prophets, Jezebel vowed to have Elijah put to death. Elijah fled in fear Southwestward of Beer-Sheba, to the West of the lower Dead Sea. Leaving his attendant there, he went still farther into the wilderness, praying to die. Here the angel of the Lord appeared to him, to prepare Elijah for a long journey to the sacred mountain of the True God, Horeb. Sustained for 40 days by what he ate on his journey, he arrived at Horeb. Then God spoke to him after a display of His Power in an awe-inspiring wind, earthquake and fire. Unlike the personalized and idolized power of Baal as the god of sky, storm, weather and vegetation, that represent natural forces, God showed to Elijah that He is not in these manifestations, which are merely expressions of His Active Force. Then God manifested to Elijah His Power with the purpose of correcting Elijah's thought about considering himself the lone worshiper of God in Israel. God showed him the 7,000 ones who have not bowed to Baal's power. Elijah was sent back to his assignment, naming 3 persons who were to be anointed or commissioned to do a work for God: Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu as king over Israel, and his own successor Elisha (1 Kings 19). Time later, the greedy Baal-worshiper Ahab, illegally seized a sacred vineyard, the hereditary possession of Nab'Oth the Jezre'Elite, by allowing his wife to use false charges, false witnesses and unrighteous judges to have Nab'Oth murdered. Elijah met Ahab at the vineyard and told him that his blood will be licked up by dogs at the same place where the dogs licked up the blood of Nab'Oth. Elijah also announced a similar fate for Jezebel. Three Years later Ahab died in battle. His war chariot was washed by the pool of Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood. Time later, his wife was executed and also her blood was licked by dogs.
Then the time for Elijah to transfer his sacred mantle of his prophetic office to Elisha, came. Elijah went to Beth'El, from there to Jericho and then down to the Jordan. Elisha sticked close to him all the way. Because of his faithfulness Elisha is rewarded by seeing a fiery war chariot with fiery horses and Elijah ascending to the heavens in a windstorm, and at the same time Elijah's garment fell off him and it was received by Elisha and the two parts (like a firstborn son's portion) of Elijah's spirit.
In Matthew 10, Jesus shadows the same circumstances that occurred in Elijah's time by saying: "Those who declare publicly that they belong to Me, I will do the same for them before My Father in heaven. But those who reject Me publicly, I will reject them before My Father in Heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law, your worst enemies will be the members of your own family. Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be My disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be My disciples.Those who do not take up their cross and follow in My steps are not fit to be My disciples. Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for My sake will gain it."
Ahab and his queen Jezebel, stand at the end of a line of kings of Israel who are said to have "done evil in the sight of the Lord" it projects the same end of times in which all believers are going to be tested and the circumstances of today proved to be the same.
Elijah is the one who holds the keys of the priesthood and is portrayed as the leader of the school of prophets known as "the sons of the prophets," that was continued by his successor Elisha.
Friday, 20 July 2018
THE WISDOM OF THE PROVERBS.
The Book of Proverbs contains many valuable lessons for everyone. Over thousands of years, it has taught billions of people how to live their lives and how to improve their lives as well. It is packed with life lessons and insights that are still very valuable to our lives in the world of today.
The very beginning of Wisdom is fearing the Lord. This fear is not the kind of fear of being struck dead but one reverential fear, respect of His Laws, and deep admiration of His Glory. To have this fear we must continually abide in His Word, the Scripture. The more we know about God the more we learn to fear Him. Where there is no fear there is no Wisdom.
Wisdom is the ability to discern which aspects of knowledge are true, right, lasting, and applicable to our personal life. Knowledge is made of about facts and ideas that we acquire through investigation, observation or experience. Insight is a truer understanding, and the deepest and clearest perception of life . It grasp the underlying nature of knowledge, and the essence of wisdom. Proverbs 2 says: "Indeed if you Call Out For Insight, Cry Aloud For Understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for gold, then you will Understand the Fear of the Lord and Find Knowledge of God" (3-5).
Some Scriptural verses tell us how things were wrong when every man did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The idea of Trusting God is trusting in What He Says and what He says is often contrary to what humans believe. Proverbs 16:20 says: "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who Trust In The Lord." The more we lean on our own ideas we are showing a lack of Trust in God. Our own understanding lead us to a hard fall and eventually to an eternal death.
The greatest way to build discernment is to lean in God's Words for it has power to discern what is the best path to take. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Dark paths lead us to death.
David knew this kind of power and that is why he wrote "The Law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The Statutes of the Lord are Trustworthy, making wise the simple"(Psalm 19:7).
It is not a coincidence that there is so much Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs. It has 31 chapters that are there waiting to be read and become part of our deep thinking. They reveal God's perspective on our daily life, increasing our power of observation and the effect that they bring is to gain Wisdom day by day. They comments extensively on relationships, mentioning more than 180 different kinds of people. Each of them may speak about our friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even our enemies.
Some Proverbs refer to behavioral patterns that God either applauds or condemn pinpointing the behavior that God wants us to implement or curb. Other Proverbs describe the positive or negative consequences of a particular course of action motivating us to discard unwise behaviors. For example, Proverbs 15:25 warns us about the damaging consequences of pride: "The Lord tears down the proud man's house." Also Proverbs 16:18 says: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before fall."
Over 100 verses in the Book of Proverbs talk about the tongue describing conversational sins. When we provide an apt answer or a timely word, it is because we adopted a listening posture before we talk.
Spend time meditating on each one of the chapters and commit to your memory verses that challenged you the most or left the biggest impression in your conscience. For example, if you have a tendency of being rude in your conversational manners remember Proverbs 1:15 that says: "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 14:30 says as well: "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."
Applying Truth from Proverbs to stimulate the growing of your personal character in your walk with God, remember them as practical tools to enhance your vision and not a legalistic straightjacket. Think of it as a kaleidoscopic approach that enables us to see many facets of Truth in each of the chapters and soak deeply on the Wisdom of this practical Book of Proverbs.
The very beginning of Wisdom is fearing the Lord. This fear is not the kind of fear of being struck dead but one reverential fear, respect of His Laws, and deep admiration of His Glory. To have this fear we must continually abide in His Word, the Scripture. The more we know about God the more we learn to fear Him. Where there is no fear there is no Wisdom.
Wisdom is the ability to discern which aspects of knowledge are true, right, lasting, and applicable to our personal life. Knowledge is made of about facts and ideas that we acquire through investigation, observation or experience. Insight is a truer understanding, and the deepest and clearest perception of life . It grasp the underlying nature of knowledge, and the essence of wisdom. Proverbs 2 says: "Indeed if you Call Out For Insight, Cry Aloud For Understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for gold, then you will Understand the Fear of the Lord and Find Knowledge of God" (3-5).
Some Scriptural verses tell us how things were wrong when every man did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The idea of Trusting God is trusting in What He Says and what He says is often contrary to what humans believe. Proverbs 16:20 says: "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who Trust In The Lord." The more we lean on our own ideas we are showing a lack of Trust in God. Our own understanding lead us to a hard fall and eventually to an eternal death.
The greatest way to build discernment is to lean in God's Words for it has power to discern what is the best path to take. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Dark paths lead us to death.
David knew this kind of power and that is why he wrote "The Law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The Statutes of the Lord are Trustworthy, making wise the simple"(Psalm 19:7).
It is not a coincidence that there is so much Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs. It has 31 chapters that are there waiting to be read and become part of our deep thinking. They reveal God's perspective on our daily life, increasing our power of observation and the effect that they bring is to gain Wisdom day by day. They comments extensively on relationships, mentioning more than 180 different kinds of people. Each of them may speak about our friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even our enemies.
Some Proverbs refer to behavioral patterns that God either applauds or condemn pinpointing the behavior that God wants us to implement or curb. Other Proverbs describe the positive or negative consequences of a particular course of action motivating us to discard unwise behaviors. For example, Proverbs 15:25 warns us about the damaging consequences of pride: "The Lord tears down the proud man's house." Also Proverbs 16:18 says: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before fall."
Over 100 verses in the Book of Proverbs talk about the tongue describing conversational sins. When we provide an apt answer or a timely word, it is because we adopted a listening posture before we talk.
Spend time meditating on each one of the chapters and commit to your memory verses that challenged you the most or left the biggest impression in your conscience. For example, if you have a tendency of being rude in your conversational manners remember Proverbs 1:15 that says: "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 14:30 says as well: "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."
Applying Truth from Proverbs to stimulate the growing of your personal character in your walk with God, remember them as practical tools to enhance your vision and not a legalistic straightjacket. Think of it as a kaleidoscopic approach that enables us to see many facets of Truth in each of the chapters and soak deeply on the Wisdom of this practical Book of Proverbs.
Sunday, 15 July 2018
ANCIENT EDUCATION IN MESOPOTAMIA.
In ancient Israel, the chief source of information regarding education was the teachings written in the Old Testament. The writers of the Old testament were not interested in education as it is known now in the Western world, instead they were more concerned about the transmission of ceremonial traditions, and the provision of information concerning this type of educational processes.
This evidence is supplemented by other literary sources and archaeological discoveries. A form of cuneiform writing was established, scribal places of teachings emerged, with the aim to teach the understanding of the form of writing to scribes serving in palaces, temples, and administration offices. In ancient Summer and Egypt, a form of schooling was developed prior to Israel's conquest of Canaan and this practice influenced the education and development of teaching practices in Israel, related to the family unit.
The places of teaching this art flourished between 2,500 and 2,000 BC and the variety of positions held by the scribes suggests that the places were numerous. The students were the sons of wealthy families and the fathers of the students generally held responsible positions. The head of the institution was the most experienced father, the assistants were "the big brothers"and the students were called "sons" or "sons of the Tablet House." The curriculum included both oral and written practices. Discipline was enforced by strong methods that included whipping or caning. Ancient instruction texts that have been recovered bears the writing of students at various stages along the way towards mastery of the script.
Young-scribes-to-be were taught lists of words and terms which would be needed for writing various ceremonial documents; and also the practice of copying them was enforced.
Rooms used to teach these practices have been found in Nippur, Sippar, Ur, and Mari. A"teaching day"
article written about 2,000 BC by an anonymous instructor vividly describes the daily routine at the instruction places and a successful attempt at"apple polishing." Learning the staggering number of of necessary characters of the oral and writing process took a great deal of time; the student memory was taxed, and discipline was harsh. The use of Wisdom's sayings in their curriculum was popular since they were brief and generally edifying.
Sumerian teachings in cuneiform writing were later collected by the Assyrian king Ashur'Banipal, whose library also contained interlinear texts of Sumerian and Assyrian.
In Egypt, this formal type of education was introduced sometime during the 3rd millennium BC. It was primarily vocational in aim, teaching the skills needed to become a priest, crafter, noble, or soldier.
The priests were the first to use writing taught in temple schools, since lives of the dead were written and buried with them. Sacred music and dance were also taught because of the ceremonial significance.
Written texts for teaching purposes unearthed from trash heaps near the temples suggest that great attention was paid to calligraphy. In addition to various correspondences and documents used as models to be copied by the students, there are writings which praise the scribe's occupation and exhort the student to diligence.
The nomadic Israelites were influenced directly or indirectly by this approach of philosophical training prior to the settlement of the tribes of Israel in Canaan. We can only speculate about it in the person of Moses and his personal education among the Egyptians and his role as mediator of Egyptian pedagogy to the Israelites. (Acts 7:22; Exodus 2: 10-15) After the Conquest, educational practices were adopted and more youths were taught to write. Alphabetic writing developed by the Hyksos period of 1730-1580 BC. It is the earliest known alphabet . The Phoenician alphabet also influenced the development of early Hebrew writing.
For ancient Israelites, the training of one's children was a religious duty, and much of the content of what was taught in the homes was the sacred religious beliefs of Israel. Genesis 18:19 states: "For I have chosen Abraham, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the Way of the Lord by doing Righteousness and Justice; so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He Has Promised him." This verse underscores the importance of instruction, its purpose (that children might live righteously and justly), and the integral relationship of this kind of instruction to the hope of the nation ("that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has Promised him).
This evidence is supplemented by other literary sources and archaeological discoveries. A form of cuneiform writing was established, scribal places of teachings emerged, with the aim to teach the understanding of the form of writing to scribes serving in palaces, temples, and administration offices. In ancient Summer and Egypt, a form of schooling was developed prior to Israel's conquest of Canaan and this practice influenced the education and development of teaching practices in Israel, related to the family unit.
The places of teaching this art flourished between 2,500 and 2,000 BC and the variety of positions held by the scribes suggests that the places were numerous. The students were the sons of wealthy families and the fathers of the students generally held responsible positions. The head of the institution was the most experienced father, the assistants were "the big brothers"and the students were called "sons" or "sons of the Tablet House." The curriculum included both oral and written practices. Discipline was enforced by strong methods that included whipping or caning. Ancient instruction texts that have been recovered bears the writing of students at various stages along the way towards mastery of the script.
Young-scribes-to-be were taught lists of words and terms which would be needed for writing various ceremonial documents; and also the practice of copying them was enforced.
Rooms used to teach these practices have been found in Nippur, Sippar, Ur, and Mari. A"teaching day"
article written about 2,000 BC by an anonymous instructor vividly describes the daily routine at the instruction places and a successful attempt at"apple polishing." Learning the staggering number of of necessary characters of the oral and writing process took a great deal of time; the student memory was taxed, and discipline was harsh. The use of Wisdom's sayings in their curriculum was popular since they were brief and generally edifying.
Sumerian teachings in cuneiform writing were later collected by the Assyrian king Ashur'Banipal, whose library also contained interlinear texts of Sumerian and Assyrian.
In Egypt, this formal type of education was introduced sometime during the 3rd millennium BC. It was primarily vocational in aim, teaching the skills needed to become a priest, crafter, noble, or soldier.
The priests were the first to use writing taught in temple schools, since lives of the dead were written and buried with them. Sacred music and dance were also taught because of the ceremonial significance.
Written texts for teaching purposes unearthed from trash heaps near the temples suggest that great attention was paid to calligraphy. In addition to various correspondences and documents used as models to be copied by the students, there are writings which praise the scribe's occupation and exhort the student to diligence.
The nomadic Israelites were influenced directly or indirectly by this approach of philosophical training prior to the settlement of the tribes of Israel in Canaan. We can only speculate about it in the person of Moses and his personal education among the Egyptians and his role as mediator of Egyptian pedagogy to the Israelites. (Acts 7:22; Exodus 2: 10-15) After the Conquest, educational practices were adopted and more youths were taught to write. Alphabetic writing developed by the Hyksos period of 1730-1580 BC. It is the earliest known alphabet . The Phoenician alphabet also influenced the development of early Hebrew writing.
For ancient Israelites, the training of one's children was a religious duty, and much of the content of what was taught in the homes was the sacred religious beliefs of Israel. Genesis 18:19 states: "For I have chosen Abraham, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the Way of the Lord by doing Righteousness and Justice; so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He Has Promised him." This verse underscores the importance of instruction, its purpose (that children might live righteously and justly), and the integral relationship of this kind of instruction to the hope of the nation ("that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has Promised him).
Saturday, 14 July 2018
THE AMARNA TABLETS.
The Amarna Tablets are an archive, written on clay, primarily consisting of correspondence between the Egyptian representatives in Canaan and the rest of the Great Powers and independent kingdoms, between 1360-1332 BC. The recovery of the Amarna Tablets in our time was the result, in part, of their storage in ancient times in the Royal Records Office in the kingdom of Egypt. They total 382 ordered chronologically and geographically and the time in between the correspondence spans a period of at most 30 years. Several Tablets dates back to the rule of Amen'Hotep III (1390-1353 BC), father of Akhen'Aten, meaning that they were brought to the new royal city from an older archive. The primary reason for the storage is explained practically by the information recorded in them -recent ceremonial promises, requests, gifts and tribute- tangible traces of important contracts forged across long distances that needed to be checked or verified by the future generation of rulers.
Most of the Tablets are ceremonial correspondence written from rulers of the lands North of Egypt and received by the Egyptians, and only a few of them were written by the Egyptian king. Some of the letters, written on the clay surface, seem to have been made to be visually impressive, with larger tablet sizes and bold handwriting as well as carefully planned margins or marked-off sections.
Like other rulers who wrote to the Egyptian king, Abi-Milku and Ashur-Uballit sought to achieve specific goals: -one practical like the assurance of safety and protection, -the other ideological and status-oriented like establishing contact with Egypt and acquiring knowledge of the foreign land. Other correspondence are inscribed with myths, epics, syllabary, lexical texts belonging to the kind used to learn cuneiform writing. Also some of them contain instructions for ceremonial training purposes, the exchanged correspondence requests or send a list of gifts asking something in return.These information is divided into Tablets that exchanged correspondence between Great Powers and the ones with correspondence to independent kingdoms only.
-The Great Powers were considered an exclusive group in which kingdoms were treated equally. They were the most influential and prosperous. Egypt only entered this group after the campaigns of Thut'Mose III. The others were Babylon, Hatti, Mitanni, and Assyria. They had a brotherly relationship and had to employ a specific pattern when writing to each other. At first, they had to identify who was writing and for whom the letter was written, then, report their wishes to the other, as showed in this example : "Say to Nap'Hurreya, the king of Egypt, my brother, my son-in-law, whom I love and whom loves me: Thus Tush'Ratta, Great King, the king of Mittani, you father-in-law, who loves you, your brother. For me all goes well. For Tadu-Heba, my daughter, your wife, for the rest of your wives, for your sons, for your magnates, for your chariots, for your horses, for your troops, for your country, and for whatever else belongs to you, may all go very, very well." The rest of the correspondence was less stereotypical, making requests or listing the items being sent.
- The Independent Kingdoms are only two places, which is Ar'Zawa and Al'Ash'Iya. Ar'Zawa was located on the South of the Anatolian coast. The alliance with Egypt was made via marriage. Al'Ash'Iya was on Cyprus and was known as a source of copper.
The Amarna Tablets were discovered around 1887 CE, in Upper Egypt (Land of Reeds), by local Egyptians who secretly dug most of them from an area located in the center of the ruined city, the short lived capital of Akhen'Aten, founded by pharaoh, Akhen'Aten (1350s-1330s BC) and sold them in the antiquities market.
Akhen'Aten, known before the 5th BC as Amen'Hotep IV (Amun is satisfied), was a pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who ruled for 17 years and died in 1336 BC. He is noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, an aspect of the god Ra, focusing on the monotheistic religion of Atenism. He tried to shift the traditional Egyptian religion to the monotheistic one. The shift was not widely accepted. After his death, his monuments were dismantled and hidden, his statues destroyed, and his name excluded from the king lists. Traditional Egyptian practices were gradually restored and years later, new rulers without clear rights of succession from the 18th Dynasty climbed into power, they founded a new dynasty, discrediting Akhen'Aten and his immediate successors, referring to Akhen'Aten himself as "the enemy" or "that criminal" in archival records. He was all but lost in history until the discovery of the Amarna Tablets.
In 1891- 1892 the ruins of the site of Akhen'Aten, the city built and designed for the worship of Aten, were explored more by an English digger and archaeologist by nature, with no formal education, but instructed at home as a surveyor by his own father. He uncovered 21 fragments. Then, since 1903, more tablets, or fragments, have been found, either in Egypt, or identified in the collections of various museums in Germany, England, Egypt, France, Russia, and the United States.
The Tablets were found in Upper Egypt (named: "the Land of Reeds,"a strip of land on both sides of the Nile between Nubia to Lower Egypt), at Amarna, the modern name for the ancient Egyptian capital of Akhet'Aten (el-Amarna), founded by pharaoh, Ahken'Aten (1350s-1330s BC) during the 18th dynasty of Egypt (classified as the 1st of the Ancient New Kingdom period lasting from 1549 to 1292 BC). This dynasty boasts several of Egypt's most famous pharaohs, including Tutankh'Amun.
The Amarna Tablets are of great significance for Scriptural studies since they shed light on the ancient culture and language of the Canaanite people several centuries prior to their actual manifestation. The tablets are mostly written in Akkadian cuneiform, rather than of ancient Egypt, and heavily colored by the mother tongue of the writers, who spoke an early form of Canaanite, the language family which later evolved into its daughter languages, Hebrew and Phoenician.
The Tablets of Amarna proofs that the history of the Scriptural writings and the conquest of the Promise Land under Joshua leadership, is true. The Hebrew conquest of Canaan took 8 Years to complete but it was not counted until he began the conquest of Southern Israel, followed by the conquest of Northern Israel. Aaron died on the 1st Day of the 5th Month of the 40th Year of the wilderness wandering. Shortly after mourning Aaron for 30 Days, the people left Mount Hor, defeated Trans'Jordan nations, and then mourned for Moses 30 Days. They crossed the Jordan on the 10th Day of the 1st Month of the 41st Year, 4 Days before the Passover, which was exactly 40 Years to the Day they left Goshen.
From Joshua 14 we know that Caleb was given Hebron 45 Years after Moses promised it to him. This correspond with the 5th Year after crossing the Jordan.
The Habiru (also spelled Apiru) who are attacking the ones who are writing the Amarna Tablets, are the Hebrews under the command of Joshua. The etymology of "Hebrew" is "one who wanders." The 1st time the word "hebrew" is used in the Scripture is in Genesis 14 when it is applied to Abraham.
The Amarna Tablets make the connection of Habiru with Hebrew and tells about the Hebrews taking possession of the Land of Canaan shortly after they crossed the Jordan River under the command of Joshua. They are a secular witness to the Power of God and the truthfulness of the Scriptural record.
Most of the Tablets are ceremonial correspondence written from rulers of the lands North of Egypt and received by the Egyptians, and only a few of them were written by the Egyptian king. Some of the letters, written on the clay surface, seem to have been made to be visually impressive, with larger tablet sizes and bold handwriting as well as carefully planned margins or marked-off sections.
Like other rulers who wrote to the Egyptian king, Abi-Milku and Ashur-Uballit sought to achieve specific goals: -one practical like the assurance of safety and protection, -the other ideological and status-oriented like establishing contact with Egypt and acquiring knowledge of the foreign land. Other correspondence are inscribed with myths, epics, syllabary, lexical texts belonging to the kind used to learn cuneiform writing. Also some of them contain instructions for ceremonial training purposes, the exchanged correspondence requests or send a list of gifts asking something in return.These information is divided into Tablets that exchanged correspondence between Great Powers and the ones with correspondence to independent kingdoms only.
-The Great Powers were considered an exclusive group in which kingdoms were treated equally. They were the most influential and prosperous. Egypt only entered this group after the campaigns of Thut'Mose III. The others were Babylon, Hatti, Mitanni, and Assyria. They had a brotherly relationship and had to employ a specific pattern when writing to each other. At first, they had to identify who was writing and for whom the letter was written, then, report their wishes to the other, as showed in this example : "Say to Nap'Hurreya, the king of Egypt, my brother, my son-in-law, whom I love and whom loves me: Thus Tush'Ratta, Great King, the king of Mittani, you father-in-law, who loves you, your brother. For me all goes well. For Tadu-Heba, my daughter, your wife, for the rest of your wives, for your sons, for your magnates, for your chariots, for your horses, for your troops, for your country, and for whatever else belongs to you, may all go very, very well." The rest of the correspondence was less stereotypical, making requests or listing the items being sent.
- The Independent Kingdoms are only two places, which is Ar'Zawa and Al'Ash'Iya. Ar'Zawa was located on the South of the Anatolian coast. The alliance with Egypt was made via marriage. Al'Ash'Iya was on Cyprus and was known as a source of copper.
The Amarna Tablets were discovered around 1887 CE, in Upper Egypt (Land of Reeds), by local Egyptians who secretly dug most of them from an area located in the center of the ruined city, the short lived capital of Akhen'Aten, founded by pharaoh, Akhen'Aten (1350s-1330s BC) and sold them in the antiquities market.
Akhen'Aten, known before the 5th BC as Amen'Hotep IV (Amun is satisfied), was a pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who ruled for 17 years and died in 1336 BC. He is noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, an aspect of the god Ra, focusing on the monotheistic religion of Atenism. He tried to shift the traditional Egyptian religion to the monotheistic one. The shift was not widely accepted. After his death, his monuments were dismantled and hidden, his statues destroyed, and his name excluded from the king lists. Traditional Egyptian practices were gradually restored and years later, new rulers without clear rights of succession from the 18th Dynasty climbed into power, they founded a new dynasty, discrediting Akhen'Aten and his immediate successors, referring to Akhen'Aten himself as "the enemy" or "that criminal" in archival records. He was all but lost in history until the discovery of the Amarna Tablets.
In 1891- 1892 the ruins of the site of Akhen'Aten, the city built and designed for the worship of Aten, were explored more by an English digger and archaeologist by nature, with no formal education, but instructed at home as a surveyor by his own father. He uncovered 21 fragments. Then, since 1903, more tablets, or fragments, have been found, either in Egypt, or identified in the collections of various museums in Germany, England, Egypt, France, Russia, and the United States.
The Tablets were found in Upper Egypt (named: "the Land of Reeds,"a strip of land on both sides of the Nile between Nubia to Lower Egypt), at Amarna, the modern name for the ancient Egyptian capital of Akhet'Aten (el-Amarna), founded by pharaoh, Ahken'Aten (1350s-1330s BC) during the 18th dynasty of Egypt (classified as the 1st of the Ancient New Kingdom period lasting from 1549 to 1292 BC). This dynasty boasts several of Egypt's most famous pharaohs, including Tutankh'Amun.
The Amarna Tablets are of great significance for Scriptural studies since they shed light on the ancient culture and language of the Canaanite people several centuries prior to their actual manifestation. The tablets are mostly written in Akkadian cuneiform, rather than of ancient Egypt, and heavily colored by the mother tongue of the writers, who spoke an early form of Canaanite, the language family which later evolved into its daughter languages, Hebrew and Phoenician.
The Tablets of Amarna proofs that the history of the Scriptural writings and the conquest of the Promise Land under Joshua leadership, is true. The Hebrew conquest of Canaan took 8 Years to complete but it was not counted until he began the conquest of Southern Israel, followed by the conquest of Northern Israel. Aaron died on the 1st Day of the 5th Month of the 40th Year of the wilderness wandering. Shortly after mourning Aaron for 30 Days, the people left Mount Hor, defeated Trans'Jordan nations, and then mourned for Moses 30 Days. They crossed the Jordan on the 10th Day of the 1st Month of the 41st Year, 4 Days before the Passover, which was exactly 40 Years to the Day they left Goshen.
From Joshua 14 we know that Caleb was given Hebron 45 Years after Moses promised it to him. This correspond with the 5th Year after crossing the Jordan.
The Habiru (also spelled Apiru) who are attacking the ones who are writing the Amarna Tablets, are the Hebrews under the command of Joshua. The etymology of "Hebrew" is "one who wanders." The 1st time the word "hebrew" is used in the Scripture is in Genesis 14 when it is applied to Abraham.
The Amarna Tablets make the connection of Habiru with Hebrew and tells about the Hebrews taking possession of the Land of Canaan shortly after they crossed the Jordan River under the command of Joshua. They are a secular witness to the Power of God and the truthfulness of the Scriptural record.
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