Religion 131 Review of Unit 3 Kings and Prophets Dr. Fred Kellogg Emory & Henry College

 The song "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" refers to the prophet Elijah's being taken up into heaven from the banks of the Jordan River, pictured above.  Many centuries later, a new Elijah -- John the Baptist -- was also immersed in Jordan River tradition!  In this program, we will review the lives and teachings of the great prophets of Israel and Judah.  Then we will go through key places in ancient Israel.  You'll need the map of Israel in the Old Testament period at the end of your syllabus.  If you don't have a map, please stop now, and come back when you have a map, so that you can follow along as we travel from place to place in our review.  This summary is related especially to Michael D. Coogan, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament (New York:  Oxford University Press, 2009).  

PROPHECY DURING THE MONARCHY

    If we call the reign of Saul, David, and Solomon the United Kingdom, we could call the couple of centuries after that Golden Age the Divided Kingdom.  The Hebrews were split into two nations:  the northern kingdom of Israel, with its capital at Samaria, and the southern kingdom of Judah, with its capital at Jerusalem.  

    The main Hebrew leaders during the time of the Confederacy had been the judges, and the leaders during the Golden Age were the kings.  During the Divided Kingdom, the real leaders were the prophets [pronounced like profits].  These were people who were called to prophesy [prof-uh-sigh]; the verb means "to proclaim God's word."  We use the noun prophecy [prof-uh-see] for the message of a prophet.  The Hebrew term for "prophet"  is nabi, plural nebi'im.

    Prophecies are often misunderstood as just predictions of the future.  Rather, prophecies showed the disasters that would happen if people kept on in the way they were going.  Prophets challenged the people to decide and act in ways which would create a new future, rather than continuing toward a negative future.  Prophets declared God's judgment on people, especially because of their abuse of power and their unwillingness to commit themselves fully to God.  But the prophets always held open the possibility for change.  So their message was essentially positive, with concrete examples of how to bring about justice.  That's why the prophets were such inspirations for people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

  One of the most important early prophets was Elijah, who was similar in some ways to the judges.  He saw the greatest danger to the Hebrew faith as syncretism, the blending of various kinds of religious beliefs and practices which really didn't belong together.  We've seen how the Hebrews merged Canaanite agricultural practices, including the worship of deities such as Baal and Astarte, into the Israelite way of life.  Even the great King Solomon tolerated syncretism among his wives and built shrines for their gods and goddesses.  

    But Queen Jezebel of Israel (the northern kingdom) aggressively pursued syncretism as an evangelistic technique for her own Phoenician religion.  Elijah knew that he had to stop this fanatical evangelist before she destroyed the worship of Yahweh in Israel.  Her deity was the old Canaanite god Baal, known in Jezebel's home town of Tyre as Baal Melkart.  Elijah's victory over the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel helped to prevent the worship of Yahweh from being absorbed into a Canaanite religious mixture.  Other prophets continued to appeal to the Israelites, north and south, not to fall into syncretism.  They called the people back to their roots, the sacred history of God's bringing them out of Egypt through the wilderness to the Promised Land.

AMOS and HOSEA

    The great messengers of God during the monarchy whose prophecies have been preserved in writing include Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.  We began our study with Amos, a Southerner who came to the city of Bethel in the northern kingdom of Israel.  Many Israelites assumed that the prosperity which they were enjoying during an economic boom would last forever, because God was behind it.  They lost all concern for the poor, who were not part of the economic miracle but were being squeezed more and more. 

    The prophet Amos came up from Judah and urged the people of Israel not to make their special history the basis for the false assumption that God would enable them to enjoy prosperity indefinitely.  Amos pronounced God's judgment on Israel, using the metric rhythm of a funeral dirge.  A modern equivalent of a dirge is the kind of music which you can hear the organist playing in the funeral home, while you're waiting for the music to begin, but with words to it.  Have you already picked out a favorite hymn or two that you want the mourners to sing at your funeral?  (I have:  "How Great Thou Art" and one or two more.)  Anyway, Amos sang Hymn No. 5:2, a funeral hymn in a typical 3-2 meter like that wailed by mourners who had lost a loved one:

    "Fallen, no more to rise
        is virgin Israel;
    Abandoned on her land,
        with nobody to raise her up."

    Lamentation and doom were not Amos' main themes; his concern was repentance.  He wanted people to change.  "Go to the Lord, and you will live!"  But he knew that probably only a few would listen to his message.  Like other prophets, Amos put his hopes in the righteous few who were willing to repent and lead a new life.  The prophets called those righteous few the remnant, like leftover cloth from the end of a bolt that you might buy for a special price at Wal-Mart.   God's future didn't depend on the people in power; he could work with the minority, the remnant!

    The element of hope is even stronger in the prophecies of Hosea, although if you look at his life you may wonder why.  God led Hosea to give his children names that were capsule themes of rejection:  

• Jezreel (the valley near Armageddon where a massacre had taken place)
• Not-pitied
• Not-my-people

    Hosea's wife Gomer was unfaithful to him; she broke their marriage covenant time after time.  In her actions Hosea saw a sign pointing to Israel's unfaithfulness to God, while God remained true to his covenant with Israel.  Finally Hosea took the desperate step of divorcing his wife and sending her out of his home -- not to pay her back, but to help her realize how wrong her life was.  So also, said Hosea, God brings judgment on his people, so that they will come to their senses and repent. 

    When Gomer found herself in the slave market, rejected by her lovers, Hosea went down and bought her.  He brought her back home and gave her a new start in life, just as God forgives his people.  If we chose one word to characterize the life and teachings of Hosea, that word would be love.  God's covenant love, God's faithfulness to his people, is summed up in the Hebrew word hesed (covenant love) and symbolized by the relationship of marriage.  That same kind of love is the theme of Paul's beautiful poem about love in 1 Corinthians 13.  It is characterized by compassion and forgiveness.

ISAIAH

    The 750's B.C., when Amos and Hosea were prophesying in the northern kingdom of Israel, were prosperous times in the southern kingdom of Judah as well.  King Uzziah of Jerusalem brought Judah to a high point of economic and military power, even though he was eventually stricken with leprosy and had to live apart from other people.  Soon after Uzziah died, a man named Isaiah was worshipping in the Temple in Jerusalem, reflecting on what would become of Judah now.  In a vision, Isaiah saw the King of Judah.  That king was not Uzziah Junior or another human successor; the true King of Judah was God himself!  In this time of crisis in national leadership, Isaiah had a vision of Yahweh of Hosts, seated on a heavenly throne.  God called Isaiah to be his messenger, to proclaim his word, even though again and again the people would refuse to listen.

    The most famous message which Isaiah delivered from God was to Uzziah's earthly successor, King Ahaz of Judah, about a decade after his prophetic call in the Temple. The walled city of Jerusalem was under siege by armies from Israel and Syria, trying to force Judah into joining their anti-Assyrian coalition. 

    Isaiah declared to Ahaz that instead of trusting in his own armed forces, the king should put his trust in God.  As a sign, said Isaiah, a child would be born to represent God's presence with his people.  Like Hosea, Isaiah used symbolic names for children.  So he called this child Immanuel, Hebrew for "God with us."  The child would be a sign of the future, because by the time he was a dozen years old, Judah would not need to be concerned about the nations that were attacking it -- Syria and Israel would be wiped out. 

    When Isaiah gave this prophecy, he may have had a specific child in mind, or Immanuel may have been purely symbolic.  We know that within a dozen years both Syria and Israel, the two countries which had invaded Judah, were devastated by the Assyrians.  So Isaiah was right historically.

    I can't help but think that Isaiah's prophetic vision extended beyond the political and military events of his own time.  I see in some of his other prophecies beautiful descriptions of hope.  For example:

    "For unto us a child is born,
        unto us a son is given;
    And the government will be upon his shoulder,
        and his name will be called
        Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

    My Sigma Nu brother Harold Crowell says that the present tense "is born" means that Isaiah "is talking about someone already born and prophesying that he will be a great leader."  That is a very plausible interpretation; if it is correct, we can't identify that great leader, just as we're not sure about Immanuel.  This prophecy was seen by Matthew as fulfilled in the life of Jesus.  The evangelist Matthew may have been a rabbi, because he combed the Jewish scriptures and shared with us many such prophecies which he saw as fulfilled in Jesus' life.  (It would be interesting to ask Matthew how he understood "the government will be upon his shoulder" as applying to Jesus!)  Handel's Messiah has made this passage from Isaiah so familiar that it's hard to read it without singing it in your mind!

    In the year 721 B.C., the Assyrian army defeated the northern kingdom of Israel, destroyed its capital of Samaria, and took most of its people off into captivity, scattering them all over the Assyrian Empire.  They became known as the "Ten Lost Tribes."  Settlers were brought into the area to mingle with the remaining Israelites, ensuring their loyalty to Assyria.

JEREMIAH

    In the 600's B.C., a young King of Judah named Josiah began a project of remodeling the Jerusalem Temple.  While construction was going on, a scroll was discovered, which we now believe to have been the core of the book of Deuteronomy.  Josiah consulted a prophet named Huldah, and she interpreted the scroll for him.  Based on his understanding, he carried out a reform to get rid of the syncretism that had become so blatant, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.

    One of his supporters in the reform movement was Jeremiah.  He used the covenant lawsuit form of prophecy, based on the analogy of God as a husband and his people Israel as his bride, who has been unfaithful.  Like Hosea, Jeremiah proclaimed that God did not want to divorce his spouse, but instead to bring her back into a right relationship with him.  Jeremiah also preached a sermon in the Temple that people wouldn't forget, lambasting those who lived immoral lives and assumed that they could always simply offer up sacrifices, be forgiven, and then keep on sinning.  Negative reactions made his life miserable for many years.  He was banished from the Temple and had to proclaim his message on the street.  The king even cut up a scroll of his prophecies, bit by bit, and burned them up in a charcoal grill; Jeremiah had to produce a second edition.  Eventually Jeremiah proclaimed that God would use a foreign empire, the Babylonians, to punish the Jewish people for their sins.  That meant that he was branded as a traitor, but his insight into the rise of Babylon was right on target.

THE BABYLONIAN EXILE

    A little over a century after the northern tribes were scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire, that empire was no longer the major Middle Eastern power.  It had been replaced by another empire centered on the Tigris-Euphrates area:  the Babylonian Empire.  The people of the surviving Hebrew kingdom of Judah didn't really like being part of the Babylonian Empire; they had longed for freedom for some time.  Finally they began a rebellion which they hoped would reestablish their independence.  But the Babylonian Emperor, Nebuchadrezzar, was determined to hold his empire together, so he wasn't about to let this small province secede.  A massive Babylonian military force invaded in 597 B.C. Meanwhile the King of Judah died, leaving his eighteen-year-old son to succeed him.  His son was not much more than "King for a Day":  he ruled for three months until the Babylonians took him prisoner.  Along with the king went most of the political and religious leadership of Judah.  Nebuchadrezzar hoped that if he took away the Jewish leaders, the rest of the people would yield to Babylonian power.  He placed on the throne a ruler that he assumed to be a "yes-man," who would keep the Jews at home in line.

    The Jewish leaders were settled in a community beside a large canal not far from the city of Babylon, hundreds of miles away from their homeland.  Their refugee camp was named Tel-Abib.  In 1908 A.D., a group of Jews revived this ancient name by founding the city of Tel Aviv, which is now the largest city in Israel -- far from Babylon!  We refer to the sixty or seventy years that Jewish people spent in the refugee camp near Babylon in the 500's B.C. as the Babylonian Exile.   It is one of the darkest periods in Jewish history.

    One of the members of the Jerusalem aristocracy taken to Babylon was a priest named Ezekiel.  The main duty of a priest was to offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people.  He could no longer do that, since sacrifices were permitted only in the Jerusalem Temple.  But five years after the deportation to Babylon, God called Ezekiel to be a prophet.  The vision was similar to Isaiah's vision, in that God was seated on a throne and accompanied by winged figures.  But in Ezekiel's vision, the throne was also a chariot, with wheels within wheels, enabling it to move in all directions.  The symbolism is clear:  rather than remaining in Jerusalem, God had come to be with the Jewish exiles in Babylonia!  

    What did this imply for the people of Jerusalem?  According to Ezekiel, they were still unwilling to face the consequences of their lack of faithfulness to Yahweh.  Thus God would bring destruction on the whole city.  Indeed, the Babylonians invaded Judah again in 586 B.C., to put down another rebellion.  This time the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and a much larger number of Jewish prisoners were deported to Babylonia.  The greatest loss was the complete destruction of the magnificent Temple that King Solomon had built.

    When Ezekiel received word of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, surprisingly the tone of his prophecies changed from judgment to hope.  His most famous image of God's power to give new life to his people after their judgment was in Ezekiel's vision of a large valley.  What did he see in the valley?  Dry bones!  As he watched, God put the bones together, covered them with muscles and skin, and breathed life into a whole army of former skeletons.  God told Ezekiel that he would bring his people back to Judah and give them new life, just as he had resurrected those dry bones.  This story should remind you of a song about the "foot-bone connected to the ankle-bone, ankle-bone connected to the leg-bone ... now hear the word of the Lord."

SECOND ISAIAH

    Apart from Ezekiel, most of the priests of the Babylonian Exile were anonymous.  So was the greatest prophet of the Exile; we can't even guess at his or her name!  The scroll containing the prophet's magnificent poetry was attached to the scroll of Isaiah, one of the great prophets of a couple of centuries earlier.  The ideas in the poetry appear to have come from a "school" of Isaiah's disciples, although they are applied to a new situation in Jewish life during the Exile.  So scholars call the poet Second Isaiah, a name which represents the link with his spiritual ancestor.  The poetry is now identified as chapters 40-55 of the scroll which begins with the prophecies in chapters 1-39 of Isaiah of Jerusalem in the 700's B.C.

    Second Isaiah strengthened the faith of the Jewish exiles.  The message of pardon, comfort, and deliverance enabled them to prepare for the time when they would be free to return home.  Second Isaiah even described God as going ahead of his people, leading them to the Promised Land in a new Exodus:

   "A voice cries:
        'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
        Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'"
            [Isaiah 40:3]

    Some of Second Isaiah's most beautiful poetry portrays a figure who represents the highest ideals of Israel:  innocence, vicarious suffering, and redemption.  He does not call that person the Messiah (Hebrew for "Anointed One"), because the Messiah was expected to be a victorious ruler.  Second Isaiah calls him the Servant.  We often identify him as the "Suffering Servant," because he is portrayed in this poetry as the innocent one who suffers for others and is rejected, but whose sacrifice brings about the redemption of Israel.  Christians see Second Isaiah's prophecies as fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

SOLOMON'S PRINCESS BRIDE-TO-BE

    Now let's review some key places in our study of the Old Testament so far.  Please get out your syllabus map of Old Testament Israel, and follow along.  The purpose of this review is to help you remember Old Testament incidents and persons associated with each place on the map.  I made up the story and invented the princess character, but this fictional dialogue is based on historical facts that you have learned, so I hope you find it helpful. 

The Princess Bride-To-Be:  Hello!  Thank you for coming to visit me!  My name is Latifah, and I am a princess living in Damascus.  No, not the town near Emory, but the capital of Syria.  King Solomon of Jerusalem has asked for my hand, in order to cement a diplomatic relationship between Israel and Syria. My parents agreed to let me marry him, even though he already has 700 wives and 300 concubines.  Your mission, if you will accept it, is to help me travel safely from Damascus to Jerusalem, to become a member of King Solomon's harem.  Along the way, I'll share with you some interesting things about Palestinian towns and cities.

Dr. Kellogg:  I'll gladly accept this mission, Your Majesty.  My name is Fred, and as you know I'm teaching an Old Testament course in Emory, a small town in the mountains of Virginia.

You:  I will enjoy escorting you too, because I can learn things that will help me on Dr. Kellogg's challenging test.  :)  By the way, you're not a real person, are you?

Latifah (laughing):  No, I'm just an avatar, created by Dr. Kellogg to help you identify the places on Dr. Kellogg's map.  But maybe someday I'll be a Queen!  Now would you both please help me load our goods onto the camels in this caravan.  You look surprised when you see the way we're going from Damascus to Jerusalem.  

You:  The Damascus road seems familiar.  I must have heard of this highway before.  Hmmm...

Latifah:    You're probably thinking of a man who will live a thousand years in the future, long after my time.  He will have a powerful religious experience coming along this very road.  But he will be traveling toward Damascus, not away from it.

You:  Of course -- that's Paul!  He will one day experience a vision of the risen Jesus, and he will become one of Jesus' followers.  In fact, after his conversion on this road, he will be the greatest of all Christian missionaries!

Latifah:  Right!  Paul will of course live in the New Testament period, so you can't use his experience to identify Damascus on Dr. Kellogg's Old Testament map.  In our Old Testament times, you may know that in a couple of centuries Damascus will be known for something else.  As the capital of Syria, it will lead a coalition with Israel to try to secede from the Assyrian Empire.  When Judah refuses to join the alliance, King Rezin of Damascus will besiege Jerusalem, to overthrow the government and place his own ruler on the throne.  The prophet Isaiah will urge Judah to remain firm and trust in God.  But that's way on down the line.  Right now, Jerusalem and Damascus have established very good relationships.  My marriage to King Solomon is a symbol of those peaceful ties.  

Dr. Kellogg:  I wonder if in the 21st century A.D., the Prime Minister of Israel married a daughter of the President of Syria, what would happen?

Latifah:  Interesting speculation!  We'd better get started.  The trip is going to be hot and dry.  I'll be glad when we reach the first town!  Ah, here we are at Dan.  There's something very thirst-quenching for us here.  What do you think it is?

You:  Coca-Cola?

Latifah:  I'm sorry, but the Dan Oasis is being run by a new generation, which has switched to Pepsi.  That won't quench our thirst.

Dr. Kellogg:  I'm a Methodist preacher, so I don't drink wine, but maybe at Dan they serve Mogen David.

Latifah:  Mogen David is Hebrew, meaning "Shield of David," the six-pointed star which will one day be used on the flag of Israel.  But we can't drink a star!  The only thing that will quench our thirst at Dan is cool, clear water!

Dr. Kellogg:  I know why!  The springs at Dan have pure, cool water which makes this area a main source of the Jordan River on down to the south.  It's like our good White Top water in Virginia. In fact, the spring water at Dan probably comes from melting snow on the highest mountain in the area, Mount Hermon.  One of my friends, Dr. Samir Saliba, grew up in Lebanon with a view of the magnificent Mount Hermon like our view of the highest mountains in Virginia, Mount Rogers and White Top.  

Latifah:  Yes, and Dan is also famous as representing the northern boundary of Israelite territory.  The usual way of defining the northern and southern limits of Hebrew settlement is "from Dan to Beer-sheba."  There is a shrine for worship of Yahweh here, to which many Hebrews make pilgrimages.  But I've heard a fortune-teller say that in the reign of Jeroboam, who will lead the northern tribes to secede after the time of my future husband Solomon, an image of gold will be placed here for worship.

You:  What will the image look like?

Latifah:  It's a particular form of god especially identified with Baal, the agricultural deity.  So it's in the shape of an animal representing fertility.  The golden image also took this shape centuries ago, when the Hebrews were in the Sinai wilderness.  They melted their jewelry in a mold which produced a statue representing power and fertility.

You    You can't mean a golden calf?

Latifah:  Yes, that's it!  You'd think that the Hebrews would have learned from their mistake with a golden calf at Mount Sinai!  They know that one of the Ten Commandments forbids worship of images.  Some people think that the golden bull will simply be a pedestal for Yahweh to stand on.  But that's too anthropomorphic for me.  Aaaargh -- let's get out of here!

You:  Could we make some side trips on our way to Jerusalem?  

Latifah:  Yes -- in fact, King Solomon wants us to pick up some other women who are joining his harem.  So let's go by the city of Tyre and meet a beautiful Lebanese princess, who will be joining our caravan.  She has her trousseau all ready.  Her wedding clothes are stored in a finely crafted chest, made of the wood for which Lebanon is most famous.  

Dr. Kellogg:  I know that kind of wood, Your Majesty!  My grandmother kept our family heirlooms in a cedar chest, but I don't know if the wood came from Lebanon.  Cedar smells good to human beings and repulsive to moths.  So it makes a good chest for a wedding dress.  Lebanon is famous both for its cedars and for the carpenters who know how to build expertly.

Latifah:  I agree with you.  When King Solomon wanted the very best carpenters, masons, and other craftsmen to build the Temple in Jerusalem, he worked with King Hiram of Tyre.  Even the architectural designs for the Jerusalem Temple are similar to those of Phoenician (Lebanese) temples, so we know that these two kings must have worked together closely.

Dr. Kellogg:  That doesn't surprise me.  I'm a member of a Masonic Lodge in Abingdon, and both King Solomon and Hiram, King of Tyre, are important symbolic figures in the rituals of our lodge.  The Phoenician king's name sounds just like what he says whenever he finds people who take real pride in their work, whether they are masons, carpenters, or other craftsmen:  "Hire 'em!" 

Latifah:  I'll let you decide what direction we should go from Tyre:  north, south, east, or west.

You:  Go south, young woman, go south!

Latifah:  OK -- let's go south.  We'll stop briefly at Mount Carmel.  It's a long, impressive mountain range with a beautiful view of the sea.  About a century from now a great contest will be held here.  Two ways of life will be opposed.  Devotion to the Canaanite deity Baal will be represented by 450 prophets of Baal, who will dance around an altar all day, singing, "Come on, Baal, light my fire!"  But Baal will give no sign, even though he is supposed to control such things as lightning and thunderstorms.  Then the prophet Elijah will pray to the one God, Yahweh, who will send fire from heaven to burn up the sacrifice.  So Yahweh will win the day.  

Dr. Kellogg:  Yes, and the sponsor of the Mount Carmel contest will be Queen Jezebel of Tyre, who is trying to bring her home-town deity, Baal,  into Israel.  Just as the name Mary will one day make people think of purity and motherly love, the name Jezebel will make people think of evil.  She will live a selfish, power-hungry life and will die a violent death.

Latifah:  I'm glad that she won't be in King Solomon's harem with me!  A little way southeast of Mount Carmel is the Jezreel Valley.  That valley has been the scene of so many battles that it has become almost synonymous with war.  When the prophet Hosea wanted to give his child a symbolic name representing war and violence, he called the baby "Jezreel."  

    South of Jezreel are two key cities:  Shechem and Samaria.  Shechem was the capital of the Hebrew Confederacy when the Israelites were settling in this land.  You probably remember how Joshua gathered representatives of the twelve Israelite tribes at Shechem and renewed their covenant with God.   Samaria will be the capital of the North, when the ten northern tribes secede from the Union and become the Kingdom of Israel.  That won't happen until after the lifetime of my groom-to-be, King Solomon.

Dr. Kellogg:  Centuries before you were born, Your Highness, Hebrews used to stand on the nearby mountains and shout back and forth the basic demands of covenant law.  Those standing on Mount Gerizim would proclaim blessings for people who followed the law; those on Mount Ebal would proclaim curses on transgressors.  Someday the Samaritan religion will make Mount Gerizim its most holy place.  A favorite story about a member of that religion will make the faith known far and wide -- even in my state of Virginia!  This person helped a man who had been attacked by robbers and had been left lying by the road, in a parable that Jesus will tell a thousand years from now.  We call Jesus' story the parable of  the Good Samaritan.  Of course, it's in the New Testament, rather than the Old Testament.

Latifah:  You're right.  For the Old Testament map, your students should remember Samaria as the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  It's Friday afternoon now, getting close to the Sabbath, which begins at sunset.  I hope we reach some place where we can rest and worship.  At last, here we are at Bethel!  The name of this town indicates a good place to be on the Sabbath.  Beth means "house," and El means "God," so this must be the house of God.  

You:  In Virginia we have churches named Bethel, and there's a Christian camp for children, Camp Bethel, over near Wise.  Why is this place called Bethel?

Latifah:  Let me try to remember ... Oh, there's the shrine that must represent the holiness of this place.  Listen, what is the choir singing?  Can you catch the words?  The song must be based on something that happened here at Bethel.

You:   Is it "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"?

Latifah:  No, you're remembering a picture that you saw at the beginning of a computer review program, and the tune is just running through your mind.  "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is based on Elijah's experience of having a chariot swoop down to take him into God's presence, without passing through death.  That will happen some years from now, not far from here, by the Jordan River.  That's the same river which was split by Joshua when he led the Hebrews across it into the Promised Land, just as Moses had divided the Reed Sea when the Hebrews were fleeing Egypt.  Elijah will strike the river with his mantle; then he and his disciple Elisha will cross the Jordan river bed on dry ground. 

   In Bethel, they're not singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," but another song more appropriate for this particular shrine, about something that happened long before my time and the time of my future husband Solomon.

Dr. Kellogg:  Since you said this is a holy place, maybe they're singing "Holy, Holy, Holy."  That's a favorite song of us Methodists.

Latifah:  Good guess, but that hymn speaks of the holiness of God.  It will be sung by angels in a vision of the prophet Isaiah a couple of centuries from now, while he is worshipping in the Jerusalem Temple.  No, I believe the Bethel Choir is singing, "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder."

Dr. Kellogg:  Oh yes, I remember now!  When Jacob was camping in this unoccupied area, he dreamed that he saw a ziggurat  -- a tower built with steps like a ladder -- reaching to the sky, with angels going up and down on it.  When he woke up, he felt that in some way this place was the house of God.  So he named it Bethel.

Latifah:  Right!  It's not far from Bethel down to Jericho, the City of Palms.  I just reminded you of how the Hebrews crossed the Jordan River miraculously, its waters receding the way the waters of the Reed Sea had done.  Moses was not able to accompany them in that second river crossing, because he had died on Mount Nebo in Moab, after looking out over the Promised Land. 

    Moab is of course the land where my fiancé Solomon's great-great-grandmother Ruth grew up.  She crossed the Jordan River (not miraculously, as far as we know!) with her mother-in-law Naomi, to travel to Naomi's home town of Bethlehem.  Anyway, Moses was buried somewhere on Mount Nebo, and the Hebrews were led into Jericho by Moses' successor.

You:  Was Moses' successor his brother Aaron?

Latifah:  No, Aaron was too old to succeed his brother.  The Hebrews needed a young person who had the strength and vitality to lead them through the next few difficult years, as they settled in the Promised Land.  So the older generation of leaders -- Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Jethro, and others -- died before the invasion.  But Moses chose his right-hand man, Joshua, to be his successor.  In Hebrew, Joshua means "God is Savior."  The later Greek form of his name is Jesus.  Joshua had made battle plans before crossing the Jordan, based on reports by spies whom he sent into Jericho.  The spies found an effective base for their operations:  the house of Rahab.  In both the Old and New Testaments, Rahab is portrayed as a model of trust and courage, for protecting these Hebrews.  

You:  She must have been a prophetess!

Latifah:  No, you may be thinking of Huldah, the prophetess and scholar, who several centuries later would interpret the book of Deuteronomy for the king.

Dr. Kellogg:  Well, then, was Rahab a judge, like Deborah, who was such an outstanding judge and leader of the Hebrews during the Confederacy?

Latifah:  No, surprisingly enough, Rahab was a prostitute!  When the Hebrews invaded Jericho, they spared the lives of Rahab and all her family, who gathered inside the house marked with a red cord in the window -- the symbol of her profession.  The Bible is not condoning prostitution, but recognizing that quite unlikely persons may become examples of faith!

    We need to make one more detour:  we have to go over to Beer-sheba.  No, it didn't get its name because Queen Bathsheba washes her hair in beer!  Beer in Hebrew means "well," and we know that Abraham made a covenant, a peace treaty, with a Canaanite king here.  So the oasis may be named "Well of the Peace Treaty," or "Well of the Oath." 

Dr. Kellogg:  Or it may be like Seven Springs, a resort near Glade Spring which had a spa with healing waters in the 1800's. Abraham gave the king seven female lambs to seal the covenant, so the meaning of the name Beer-sheba may be "Well of Seven." 

Latifah:  Yes, there are different versions of how this oasis got its name.   As we've noted, it forms the southern boundary of Israelite settlement, as Dan forms the northern boundary.  It too has a shrine.  In fact, the greatest of all Hebrew patriarchs, who traveled around this area often with his flocks, worshipped here:  Abraham himself!

You:  Could we go over to the seacoast and take a swim in the ocean?  I know that's the territory of the Philistines, and in the past the Hebrews have had some pretty tough times with them.  I remember a Philistine Arnold Schwarzenegger who was called Goliath.  And I remember a Hebrew Hulk Hogan named Samson.  Maybe we can visit his haunts in Gaza.

Latifah: Yes, let's go to Gaza.  There's a legend of how Samson went to visit a prostitute there, and some Philistines tried to kill him.  But at midnight he simply lifted the doors of the city gate off their doorposts and escaped the plot.  He didn't come back to Gaza for a long time, because he moved in with a woman named Delilah, who lived in a valley over near Jerusalem.  Delilah hatched a hairy plot to deliver Samson into the hands of his Philistine enemies, and she finally succeeded.  Do you remember what happened when they brought him back to Gaza, blind and bald?

Dr. Kellogg:  I believe that they made him work like an animal, grinding grain.  But gradually his hair grew back, so he regained his strength.  The Gaza temple of a Philistine god named Dagon had huge pillars like those on Wiley Hall.  When a lot of Philistines were celebrating a major festival, Samson pushed on those pillars and they fell in, collapsing the whole temple.  Look over there -- you can see where the temple must have been!

Latifah:  If it's OK with you-all, I'd like to get out of Philistine territory and head due east to the capital of the Southern Kingdom during the first part of David's rule, before he established Jerusalem as the capital of a United Kingdom.  This town is rich in tradition; Abraham's family tomb is here, for example.  

You:  I know the name of the capital of the South:  Richmond!

Latifah:  I'm sorry -- Richmond is more closely identified with Davis than with David.  No, that capital is Hebron. 

    Not far away from Hebron is another town that I want to take you to.  It's a very special place:  Bethlehem, the home town of my future husband Solomon's great-great-grandfather's wife's mother-in-law.  Yes, any sociologist will tell you that we take our lines of kinship seriously in the Middle East!  This woman was really something!  She left Bethlehem while she was still a young married woman, full of energy and enthusiasm.  She returned years later as an old, bitter woman, whose husband and children had all died, leaving her alone.  But instead of letting the bad things in life get to her, she kept trying until she turned them into good.  So she was a biblical model of "true grit."  Here's a hint:  we've talked about how she crossed the Jordan River.

You:  Was her name Naomi?

Latifah:  Yes, Solomon's ancestress was Naomi.  Many years in the future, a philosopher, Ben Letson, will give that name to his daughter!  But this Naomi arranged one of the best marriages in history when she brought Boaz and her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth together!  Their child Obed was the grandfather of David and great-grandfather of Solomon.  

Dr. Kellogg:  Yes, and thousands of years later another Naomi, with a brother named Obed, would give birth to me, little Freddie Kellogg, in a town in Texas!

Latifah:  Anyway, here we are in Bethlehem, where Naomi grew up and where she helped Ruth marry Boaz.  O little town of Bethlehem! Back home in Damascus I heard of you, as the town where David also grew up, and where he was anointed as king by Samuel.  You're a small town, but great things are in store for you.

Dr. Kellogg:  You can't even imagine how great, Your Majesty.  One day the prophet Micah will proclaim God's word:  "Bethlehem Ephratha, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel" (5:2).  And even later, in the New Testament period, when King Herod wants to know where the Messiah will be born, the biblical scholars will quote this verse to him.

Latifah:  We're approaching our destination now -- Jerusalem.  How do I look?  Will Solomon like me?  Is he really as wise as people say?  I've composed the perfect love poem for him.  Would you like to hear it?

Dr. Kellogg:  Yes, I always enjoy poetry readings by poets like Felicia Mitchell and Herb Thompson.

Latifah:

    "Your lips cover me with kisses;
        your love is better than wine.
    There is a fragrance about you;
        the sound of your name recalls it.
    Be my king and take me to your room.
    We will be happy together, drink deep,
        and lose ourselves in love.
    No wonder all women love you!"

Dr. Kellogg:  That's a beautiful poem; I hope that it will one day be included in the Song of Solomon!

You:  Oh, yes, that's the novel by Toni Morrison.

Latifah:  No, it's the biblical book on which the novel was based!  The poems in the Song of Solomon describe the beauty of love between a husband and a wife.  You may want to share them with your beloved!  Hebrews consider love as a gift of God, to be enjoyed and expressed fully within the marriage covenant.

    Jerusalem the Golden -- the end of our journey.  Ever since I was a small child, growing up in Damascus, I've wondered what this city would be like.  My future father-in-law David recognized its strategic potential, in a neutral zone between north and south.  He made Jerusalem the political center, like your Washington, D.C.  But it was Solomon who made it the religious center, with the magnificent Temple which he built.  Jerusalem is a beautiful city -- I'll enjoy living here!

Dr. Kellogg:  I find the air fresh and invigorating.  The elevation in Jerusalem is about the same as Emory, around 2400 feet above sea level.  Before I say good-bye to you, let me ask you one final question:  does the harem allow visitors?

Latifah:  Fred, I'm sorry to tell you this, but we won't have interresidence visitation.  Only women and eunuchs are permitted in the harem.

Dr. Kellogg:  Oops!  I surely won't go that far!   I guess I won't see you again, Your Majesty.  But write to me, and tell me what it's like to be married to a king so powerful and wise as Solomon. If you would like, you can send me e-mail (fkellogg@ehc.edu).  Shalom!  Shalom!  Shalom!

To look at one of my other review programs or syllabi, go to my Home Page, or go directly to one of the following:

    Unit 1, Hebrew beginnings
    Unit 2, From Egypt to Israel
    Unit 4, Writings after the Exile

If you prefer, you may return to the Emory & Henry College Home Page.  

Last updated:  November 17, 2009