Essay About Religion and theology
Essay About Religion and theology

Essay About Religion and theology

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  • Pages: 8 (2102 words)
  • Published: October 2, 2021
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In accordance with the Bible, the Israelites are commonly acknowledged as Jacob's descendants. Their origins can be traced back to Abraham, who was given a promise by God of having numerous offspring due to his faithfulness and compliance. Isaac, Abraham's son, inherited these blessings and transferred them to his own son Jacob. In a meeting with an angel, Jacob suffered a dislocated hip and was given the name Israel by God.

Jacob had 12 sons who formed the twelve tribes of Israel: Judah, Reuben, Dan, Levi, Naphtali, Issachar, Asher, Simeon, Joseph, Benjamin, Gad and Zebulun. However, Joseph was excluded from this as his adopted sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, became tribal eponyms (Genesis 48). Later on, we see the Israelites being sold to the Egyptians as Joseph's brothers were envious of his ability to foresee the future. Joseph was blessed

...

by God.

Despite being Jacob's favorite son, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers who sold him as a slave and deceived their father into believing he had been killed by a wild animal. However, Joseph's life turned around when he rose to high ranks in Egypt through God's favor, becoming responsible for the country's food supply. This promotion came after successfully predicting a great drought and convincing the Egyptians to store enough food. Meanwhile, back in Israel, the Israelites suffered greatly from the drought and had no choice but to seek assistance in Egypt. It was during this time that they encountered Joseph, who invited the entire tribe to relocate and find refuge in Egypt until the drought ended.

According to historical accounts, while residing in Egypt, the Israelites experienced exponential growth and prosperity, which caused concern and animosit

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among the Egyptians. Viewing this development as a potential threat, the Egyptians responded by subjecting the Israelites to oppression and enslavement due to perceiving them as an inferior group. As a result, the Israelites were forced to undertake all laborious tasks and endure abysmal living conditions.

The Israelites, despite their increasing numbers, became a growing danger to the Egyptians. Their beliefs that God had abandoned them persisted for over four hundred years. To counter the rapid population growth of the Israelites, Pharaoh, the Egyptian leader at that time, gave permission to kill all firstborn male infants among them as a measure to halt their growth. In this critical period, Moses, an infant, was placed in a river by his mother in a desperate bid to save him from these mass killings.

Moses was found by Pharaoh's daughter when she discovered him bathing in the River Nile, which was seen as a sign of God's intervention. Observing everything, Moses's sister Miriam offered to care for the child and witnessed him being brought back to the palace by Pharaoh's daughter. As a result, Moses grew up as Pharaoh's daughter's adopted son in the palace.

In adopting the Egyptian culture, Moses became immersed in their way of life and was perceived as an Egyptian. However, his true identity as an Israelite was revealed to him through his sister Miriam. Witnessing the mistreatment of his fellow Israelites at the hands of the Egyptians deeply unsettled Moses. It was during one of his explorations of the Egyptian kingdom that he observed an Egyptian man reprimanding another for perceived laziness. This act of injustice ignited a fiery anger within Moses, leading him to engage

in a physical altercation with the Egyptian. Tragically, the altercation resulted in the death of the Egyptian. Fearing the consequences of his actions, Moses hastily buried the deceased and fled in order to evade any punishment.

During his escape, Moses met a girl named Zipporah and married her after returning to her father's home. It was while he was living in a foreign land that Moses experienced a divine encounter with God through a burning bush. God commanded him to go to Egypt and rescue the Israelites from slavery ("God’s Work of Redemption for Israel (Exodus 5:1-6:28) - Bible Commentary - Theology of Work." N.p). Despite his fear of being recognized for his past mistake, Moses returned to Egypt as the savior of the Israelites.

According to legend, Moses asked the Pharaoh to free the Israelites. It is believed that God purposely hardened Pharaoh's heart in order to demonstrate his power and strength to both the Egyptians and the Israelites (Exodus 5:1–9). To persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelites, Moses performed extraordinary acts. One of these acts involved transforming a rod into a snake that consumed all other rods owned by Egyptian sorcerers. Despite this incredible display, it took ten plagues in Egypt before Pharaoh finally agreed to let the Israelites go. The final plague resulted in the death of every firstborn Egyptian, including Pharaoh's son, ultimately leading to the liberation of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt.

The Passover festival, which is a traditional celebration of the Israelites (Exodus 12:21-40), took place during their departure from Egypt towards Canaan, their promised land. Moses led the Israelites on this journey filled with uncertainty, as they were pursued

by a thousand Egyptian soldiers.

Moreover, the Israelites reached the Red Sea and found themselves with no escape route. Their only recourse was to cry out to Moses and hold him responsible for leading them to their demise. God commanded Moses to strike the water with his rod, resulting in the splitting of the sea and creating a path for the Israelites. As they safely passed through, the water engulfed the Egyptians who were attempting to follow them.

This event demonstrated yet another miracle, revealing the strength and power of God to the Israelites (Exodus 14:5–31). Led by Moses, they continued on their path to Canaan, guided by a white cloud during the day and a fire at night. Despite facing various challenges during their forty years in the wilderness, God remained with them, ensuring their provision of food and water through heavenly manna.

Despite their dissatisfaction and frequent complaints to Moses for leading them into the wilderness instead of remaining in Egypt where they had enjoyed good meals, the Israelites continued their journey from Egypt to Canaan known as Exodus, as documented in the book of Exodus in the Bible. During their time in the wilderness, the Israelites encountered numerous hardships and witnessed miracles. At one point, they had strayed from God and voiced their grievances to Moses, expressing a preference for staying in Egypt rather than facing potential death in the wilderness. As a consequence of their behavior, God sent snakes that killed many Israelites. However, after Moses interceded on their behalf, a bronze snake was erected to save them (Numbers 21:6).

God took the opportunity to teach the Israelites a lesson about their sin of complaining,

but despite their complaints, they continued their journey to Canaan with Moses as their leader and Aaron assisting him. During this time, Moses went up mount Sinai to communicate with God and receive the Ten Commandments. He was away for so long that the Israelites became afraid he had abandoned them or would not return. This led them to turn to Aaron, who was their chief priest, and request that he make an idol for them to worship. To fulfill their request, Aaron gathered their gold earrings and other wearable items and used them to create a golden calf.

God's anger was provoked by the Israelites' disobedience and idol worship, prompting Moses to plead for their lives. In response, God bestowed upon Moses the Ten Commandments. One of these commandments explicitly prohibited worshipping false deities. Moses assumed leadership over the Israelites until his eventual death on the mountain. Subsequently, Joshua assumed leadership, having previously been among the men sent to Canaan to scout and examine the promised land.

Following their expedition, they came back with a mix of positive and negative updates. As per accounts, certain individuals reported encountering giants, while others spoke of the plentiful milk and honey in the promised land. It was at this time that God made a solemn pledge that only a chosen few from the Israelites, including Joshua, would have the privilege to witness the promised land. Joshua took charge as leader and led the Israelites towards their intended destination. On their journey, they faced adversarial tribes; however, with God's assistance and favor, they managed to defeat them and proceed on their way.

In Jericho, miraculous events took place that resulted in

the city being conquered. They were commanded to encircle the walls of Jericho seven times while singing and shouting. Despite seeming like a bizarre action, they followed through due to their unwavering faith in God. Ultimately, on the seventh and final round, the wall collapsed, granting them access to the once heavily fortified city.

The Israelites demonstrated their power through God's intervention, enabling them to successfully settle in the promised land. Following this settlement, the rule of judges began after Joshua's death. These judges, considered as warrior heroes, fought to protect the rights of the Israelites when they were threatened or treated unjustly. This contrasted with the previous leadership roles of Moses and Joshua, who served as tribe leaders for a longer duration. The judges primarily served as military leaders, differing from the earlier leaders like Moses and Joshua.

During the period when the Israelites were ruled by six judges, namely Samson, Othniel, Gideon, Ehud, Jephthah, and Deborah, there was a prevailing sense of disobedience and failure among these leaders ("“After Joshua Died” — An Introduction to Judges: Judges 1:1-3:6." N.p). One notable example is Samson who possessed extraordinary physical strength while serving as a judge for the Israelites.

Samson's main role was to rescue the Israelites from the oppression of the philistines, who posed a significant threat to the tribes of Israel. His strength lay in his hair, which he was warned not to shave. However, there were times when he disobeyed and failed. Despite being forbidden from marrying someone from a foreign tribe, he did so anyway. His desire for women led to him neglecting his duty to save the Israelites from the philistines. This period

of judges witnessed the Israelites following their own desires instead of doing what was right (Judges 17:6).

Following the era of Judges, Kings emerged with Saul as the first monarch of the Israelites. Saul hailed from the tribe of Benjamin and was the son of Kish. Samuel, an esteemed prophet among the Israelites, anointed Saul as their King in accordance with God's instructions (Samuel 9:1-17).

According to "7. The Making of Israel’s First King (1 Samuel 9:1-11:13)." N.p, it was after Saul that David came. It was during the reign of the Kings that Israel achieved success and triumph over its enemies. The anointing of Saul as King resulted in great victory, which was a stark contrast to the era of the Judges, which was regarded as the lowest period for the Israelites. Similarly, after David was anointed as King, he experienced abundant favor from God in terms of warfare and prosperity.

An instance is the defeat of goliath by David that came after his anointing only a small age. This saw to it that the Philistines were greatly defeated. Later on, came the rule of Solomon who was David’s son. Solomon brought great fame to the Israelites through his great wisdom given to him by God. It was during the rule of Solomon that there was the construction of the temple of God which never existed before in Israel.

The arch of covenant was permanently placed in the temple after being moved around Israel and captured by the Philistines. It resided in the tabernacle, which was built during the time of Moses and Aaron. Solomon gained fame and wealth as a result.

During his reign, the king had a

significant amount of wives and concubines - specifically, 700 wives and 300 concubines. Throughout the kings' rule, the Israelites encountered many wonders, defeats, and setbacks. Eventually, Israel was conquered by Babylonians who captured its people. It is important to acknowledge that these Babylonians were polytheistic pagans who worshipped untrue gods.

In this time, notable individuals such as Daniel, Shadrack, Abednego, and Meshach emerged to display God's incredible power to the Babylonians. They observed remarkable occurrences like walking through fire unharmed and Daniel surviving untouched in a den of lions. Afterward, with Nehemiah's aid (Nehemiah 1:1-7:73), the Israelites effectively reconstructed Jerusalem's walls and regained their former splendor.

The activities recorded from the book of Nehemiah to the start of the New Testament provide evidence that Israel was selected by God for worship, as stated in the Bible.

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