The Old Testament Hebrew Bible raises questions of interpretation for a Christian. To what extent am I, as a Christian, projecting Christian views and values on the children of Israel, the people of Israel, the Israelites? There are various terms that translators have used to describe the slowing forming group of Yahweh believers over three thousand years ago. Yahweh was their God and intervened in their lives. They had a special relationship or covenant with him. The Hebrew sacred writings were incorporated into Christianity because all the early Christians were Jewish. However, the writings were not originally meant for Christians, but for the Hebrew people. Can I really fully understand the Semitic thought process of three thousand years ago? Will I be able to appreciate how important the promised land of Israel was to Jewish people? What role did the exodus from Egypt, the Temple, the exile, and the various codes play in their lives? I can try, but I doubt if I will be fully successful.
The Promised Land
The evil in Gilgal (Hos 9:15-9:15)
“Every evil
Of theirs
Began at Gilgal.
There I began
To hate them.
Because of the wickedness
Of their deeds,
I will drive them
Out of my house.
I will love them
No more.
All their officials
Are rebels.”
Gilgal was the original west bank camping grounds, east of Jericho, in Joshua, chapters 4-5. There Saul was also anointed king in 1 Samuel, chapter 11, despite the fact that Samuel was opposed to him. Gilgal was, nevertheless, the home of the prophets Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings, chapter 2. Yahweh, via Hosea, said that all the evil things began here at Gilgal, as they entered the promised land. Yahweh began to hate the Israelites there, because of their wicked deeds. Yahweh was going to drive them out of his house, because he was not going to love them anymore. All their officials were rebels against Yahweh.
The response of Yahweh (Ezek 33:25-33:26)
“Therefore,
Say to them!
Thus says Yahweh God!
‘You eat flesh
With the blood!
You lift up
Your eyes
To your idols!
You shed blood!
Shall you then
Possess the land?
You depend
On your swords.
You commit
Abominations.
Each of you
Defiles
His neighbor’s wife.
Shall you then
Possess the land?’”
Yahweh, their God, as usual, did not take kindly to anyone questioning him. He told Ezekiel to tell the Israelites that they had not behaved well. They had been eating flesh or meat with the blood still in it. They had lifted up their eyes to their own idols. They had shed blood by killing others. How would they then deserve to possess the promised land of Abraham? They had depended on their swords and committed many abominations. Many of them had defiled their neighbor’s wife. How then could they expect to possess the land of Abraham?
The return from exile (Jer 32:37-32:39)
“See!
I am going to gather them
From all the lands
To which I drove them
In my anger,
In my wrath,
With great indignation.
I will bring them back
To this place.
I will settle them
In safety.
They shall be my people.
I will be their God.
I will give them one heart
With one way.
Thus they may fear me
For all time,
For their own good,
As well as the good
Of their children after them.”
Yahweh was going to restore the Israelites back in their land. He was going to gather them from all the countries that they had been scattered to, when he was angry, wrathful, and indignant over their behavior. They would be settled in the Promised Land to live safely. They would be his people. He would be their God. This phrase shows the strong love of God for his people. They would have one heart and one way of doing things. They would fear him all the time, for their own good as well as the good of their children to come. Happy days were ahead.
Which is worse death or captivity? (Jer 22:10-22:10)
“Do not weep for him
Who is dead!
Do not bemoan him!
Rather weep for him
Who goes away!
He shall return no more
To see his native land.”
Jeremiah poses the problem. Which is worse? Was it better to die or to be sent into captivity? In fact, Jeremiah says that they should not weep or bemoan the dead. Instead they should weep for those who are going away, never to see their native land. Jeremiah maintains that captivity was worse than death. Was that a common thought? That is a strange way to look at it, but it does denote the great importance of the Promised Land to the Israelites.
Yahweh killed many kings (Ps 135:10-135:12)
“Yahweh struck down many nations.
He killed mighty kings.
He killed Sihon,
King of the Amorites.
He killed Og,
King of Bashan.
He killed all in the kingdoms of Canaan.
He gave their land as a heritage.
This was a heritage to his people Israel.”
Yahweh was their protector as they entered the Promised Land. In order to take the Promised Land, they had to defeat a number of nations and countries. Yahweh helped them to kill their fellow humans. They and Yahweh killed many kings. The two most prominent as found in Numbers, chapter 21, was King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan, on the borders of Canaan. They also killed the kings and people in Canaan as found in Joshua, chapters 5-12. Thus Yahweh gave Israel the land of Canaan as a heritage.
Waters of Meribah (Ps 106:32-106:33)
“The Israelites angered Yahweh at the waters of Meribah.
It went ill with Moses on their account.
They made his spirit bitter.
He spoke words that were rash.”
Then there was another incident from Numbers, chapter 20. Once again, the Israelites were angry with Moses and Aaron since they had no water. This was when Moses struck the rock at Meribah, where water came pouring out. This is similar to Exodus, chapter 12 that was mentioned in the previous psalm. However, there was a twist here in the story of Numbers. Moses and Aaron were punished for not believing that water could come from a rock. Their punishment was that they too would die before they reached the Promised Land. Moses was rash in his hesitation to strike the rock.
The plague among the Israelites (Ps 106:28-106:31)
“Then the Israelites attached themselves to the Baal of Peor.
They ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
They provoked Yahweh to anger with their doings.
A plague broke out among them.
Then Phinehas stood up.
He interceded.
Then the plague was stopped.
That has been reckoned to him as righteousness
From generation to generation forever.”
Once again Yahweh was angry with the Israelites as they sacrificed to the pagan god Baal at Mount Peor in Numbers, chapter 25. They had sex with the local women and began to worship the local gods of Baal on their way into the Promised Land. This proved Yahweh to anger again, so that a plague broke out among the Israelites. Phinehas, who was the grandson of Aaron, stood up and killed an Israelite who brought a local Midian woman into his family. He also killed her with a sword in front of everybody. With that, the plague that had killed 24,000 Israelites stopped. Thus his name, Phinehas, is still honored for generations. This killing was considered righteousness because of the wicked Israelites.
Dislike of the Promised Land (Ps 106:24-106:27)
“Then they despised the pleasant land.
They had no faith in his promise.
They grumbled in their tents.
They did not obey the voice of Yahweh.
Therefore he raised his hand.
He swore to them.
He would make them fall in the wilderness.
He would disperse their descendants among the nations.
He would scatter them over the lands.”
Based on Numbers, chapter 14, the Israelites were reluctant to enter the Promised Land. In fact, some wanted to return to Egypt. They had no faith in the promise of Yahweh. They grumbled. They said that they would not obey the voice of Yahweh. This made Yahweh angry. Once again, Moses intervened. This time Yahweh said that the grumblers would not see the Promised Land. Instead they would die in the wilderness before they got there. On top of that, their descendents would be scattered among many nations and various lands. This seems to be a justification for the later Exile.
The test of Yahweh (Ps 95:7-95:11)
“O that today you would listen to his voice!
Do not harden your hearts,
As at Meribah,
As on the day at Massah
In the wilderness.
Your ancestors tested me.
They put me to the proof,
Even though they had seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation.
I said.
‘They are a people whose hearts go astray.
They do not regard my ways.’
Therefore in my anger
I swore.
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”
This psalm concludes with an oracle from God, via the Temple prophet. Yahweh warns them against disobedience. The example of disobedience is from the time in the wilderness at Meribah and Massah in Exodus, chapter 17, when they complained about no water in the desert. The same story can be found in Numbers, chapter 20. Their ancestors had tested him even though they had seen his work in Egypt. Yahweh then said to them that their hearts had gone astray. Therefore they would not enter into the place of rest, the Promised Land.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 