Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

“ The captivity was a weeding-out process, to separate the precious from the vile, the false from the true, the "remnant" from the mass. There had always been two distinct elements in Israel and Judah—the spiritual, God-fearing few, and the worldly, idol-worshiping many. The worldly and irreligious took part in the resistance to the King of Babylon; and the worshipers of Jehovah, led by the prophets, urged submission. As a result, the nobles and the warriors, for the most part, perished; while the better part, the strength and [81] hope of the nation, were carried away captive. ”

“ One was to concentrate its energies upon the divine religion, to study the sacred books, to maintain a chosen people, whose bigotry, narrowness, and intolerance kept them from destruction; the other branch was out in the world, where every Jewish synagogue in a heathen city kept alive the knowledge of God, and disseminated that knowledge, drawing around it the thoughtful, spiritual minds who were looking for something better than heathenism. ”

“ In Egypt the man was nothing, the state was every thing. The Israelite system was an absolute contrast to the Egyptian. For four centuries after the Exodus the Israelites lived with almost no government, each man doing what was right in his own eyes. They were the freest people on earth, far more so than the Greeks or the Romans during their republican epochs. Moses trained them not to look to the government for their care, but to be a self-reliant people, able to take care of themselves. ”

“ There was no strong government to oppress the people, to concentrate all the life of the nation at the court, and to repress individuality. Contrast Persia with Greece; Rome under the emperors with Rome as a republic. As men were needed they were raised up, for there was opportunity for character. Hence it was an age of heroes—Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, Samuel, etc. Free institutions bring strong men to the front. ”

“ Fourth Study.
THE AGE OF THE HEROES.
From the death of Joshua (about B. C. 1426) to the coronation of Saul (B. C. 1095) the twelve tribes of Israel were without a central government, except as from time to time men of ability rose up among them. It was not as some have supposed, "an age of anarchy," for anarchy is confusion; and during most of the three hundred and thirty years there were peace and order in Israel. It was rather an age of heroes, for its rulers were neither hereditary nor elective, but men called forth by the needs of the hour and their own qualities of leadership. ”

“ When the Israelites left Egypt they were twelve unorganized tribes, without a distinct national life. Forty years in the wilderness, meeting adversities together, fighting enemies, marching as one host, made them a nation. They emerged from the wilderness a distinct people, with one hope and aim, with patriotic self-respect, ready to take their place among the nations of the earth. ”

“ After the captivity there was a wonderful transformation. From that time we never read of a Jew bowing his knee before an idol. The entire nation was a unit in the service of Jehovah. Among all the warnings of the later prophets, and the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah, there is no allusion to idolatry. That crime was utterly and forever eradicated; from the captivity until to-day the Jews have been the people of the one, invisible God, and intense in their hatred of idols. ”

“ The work of many scribes prepared the way for the coming of the Lord, and just when revelation was brought up to the highest level, when a race was trained to apprehend and proclaim it, when a language had been created and diffused to express it, when the world was united in one great brotherhood of states, ready to receive it—then, in the fullness of times, the Christ was manifested, who is over all, God blessed forever. ”

“ Preservation of the true religion. A great empire would inevitably have been the spiritual ruin of Israel, for it must have been worldly, secular, and, in the end, idolatrous. The disruption broke off relation with the world, put an end to schemes of secular empire, and placed Israel and Judah once more alone among their mountains. ”

“ When Antiochus, the Syrian king, found that the Jews could not be driven from their faith, he deliberately determined to exterminate the whole nation. Uncounted thousands of Jews were slaughtered, other thousands were sold as slaves, Jerusalem was well nigh destroyed, the temple was dedicated to Jupiter Olympius, and the orgies of the Bacchanalia were substituted for the Feast of Tabernacles. The religion of Jehovah and the race of the Jews seemed on the verge of utter annihilation in their own land. ”

“ We have already noticed another cause of the captivity in the frequent rebellions of the kings of Judah against the authority of Babylon. The old spirit of independence, which had made Judah the leader of the twelve tribes, was still strong, and it was fostered by the hope of universal rule, which had been predicted through centuries, even while the kingdom was declining. The prophets, however, favored submission to Babylon; but the nobles urged rebellion and independence. Their policy was pursued, and the unequal strife was taken up more than once. The rebellions always failed ”

“ It is needless to urge upon the student that the best book [10] for the study of Bible history is the Bible itself. The historical books should be read with great care, even to their details of genealogical tables. The most valuable document in the study of the origin of races is the tenth chapter of Genesis; and a catalogue of names in the opening of Chronicles will give a clew to the chronology of the sojourn in Egypt. The prophetical books will aid the student, and the Psalms will irradiate certain dark periods. ”

“ In most works upon Bible history the purpose of the author seems to be merely to arrange in chronological order a series of events without much regard to their importance or their relations to each other. ”

“ The necessity of making the frontier of the Chaldean Empire safe on the side toward Egypt was the political cause for the deportation of the tribe of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar dared not to leave a people on the soil who would constantly endanger the entrance to his dominions by plotting with the Egyptians. He therefore took up the Jews bodily, placed them in the center of his empire, and turned the land of Judah into a desolation. ”

“ Such a system is still pursued in the East, where the government is according to race as well as according to locality; that is, the different races in one province will each have separate rulers. There was a "prince of Judah" at the close of the captivity (Ezra 1. 8) . This fact of a national organization was a fortunate one for the exiles. If they had been dispersed as slaves [82] throughout the empire, or even had been scattered as individuals, they would soon have been merged among the Gentiles, and would have lost their identity as a people. ”

“ If they had stayed in Canaan the chosen family would have become lost among the heathen. But in Egypt they lived apart, and were kept by the caste system from union with the people (Gen. 46. 34; 43. 32) . It was a necessary element in the divine plan that Israel should dwell apart from other nations (Num. 23. 9) .
4. Civilization. The Egyptians were far in advance of all other nations of that age in intelligence, in the organization of society, and in government. Though the Israelites lived apart from them, they were among them, and learned much of their knowledge. ”

“ Judah had few foreign wars as compared with Israel.
2. The unity of its people. They were not ten tribes loosely connected, but one tribe, with a passionate love of their nation and a pride in their blood.
3. Its concentration at Jerusalem. Through all its history there was but one capital, where the palace of the king and the temple of the Lord were standing together.
4. The reverence for the House of David also kept the people together. There was no change in dynasty, and the loyalty of the people grew stronger through the generations toward the family on the throne. ”

“ What changes in government in the surrounding nations helped to bring on the monarchy in Israel? From what source did external danger lead the Israelites to desire a king? How had Samuel unconsciously helped to prepare the way for a kingdom? What worldly spirit promoted the same result?
What kind of a kingdom did God intend for Israel? What is a theocratic kingdom? Wherein was Israel an exception among Oriental kingdoms? By what institution was the kingdom regulated? Name some instances of prophets rebuking kings.
Into what two parts may Saul's reign be divided? Wherein was Saul a failure? ”

“ In Greece the strongest state claimed the hegemony, or leadership, and oppressed its allies. In Italy the Romans reduced all their neighbors to subjection. In Europe it now requires an army of more than a million men to maintain the "balance of power." So in Israel there was a constant struggle for the [43] leadership between the two great tribes of Judah and Ephraim. During the period of the judges Ephraim was constantly asserting its right to rule the other tribes (Judg. 8. 1-3; 12. 1-6) . We trace this rivalry through all the reign of David ”

“ It was the purpose of Moses to lead the people at once from Kadesh up to Canaan. But their fear of the Canaanite and Amorite inhabitants made them weak; they were defeated and driven back into the desert of Paran, where they wandered thirty-eight years, until the generation of slavish souls should die off, and a new [29] Israel, the young people, trained in the spirit of Moses and Aaron, and fitted for conquest, should arise in their places. ”

“ Third Study.
THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN.
I. Let us notice the CANAANITES before the conquest.
1. They were a varied people. There were from seven to ten different nations in Palestine when the Israelites entered it (Exod. 3. 17; Deut. 7. 1) . Each tribe, often each city, had its own government. There was no unity of government, no combined action to resist the invasion of Israel. This made the conquest easy. If one king had ruled a united people the result might have been different. ”

“ True history records processes, the relation of cause and effect, the formative influences and their result in national life. The true history of England shows not annals of kings and achievements of warriors, but the development of a mighty people. ”

“ Rarely now do we find a Jew who cultivates the ground for his support. They are in the cities, buying and selling. This tendency began with the Babylonian captivity, and has since been strengthened by the varied experiences, especially by the persecutions of the Jews during the centuries.
3. There was a change in character. This was the most radical of all. Before the captivity the crying sin of Judah, as well as of Israel, was its tendency to idolatry. Every prophet had warned against it and rebuked it; reformers had risen up ”

“ The opportunity which idol-worship gives to gratify lust under the guise of religion. As a result of these forces we find idol-worship the crying sin of the Israelites down to the captivity in Babylon.
II. THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. These were the heroes of that age, the men who in turn led the tribes, freed them from their enemies, and restored them to the service of God. ”

“ The prophets after the restoration were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; but the author of most of the latest books was Ezra, who also arranged the Old Testament nearly, perhaps fully, in its present form. Thenceforward no more books were added, and the scribe or interpreter took the place of the prophet.
2. The Greek period. (B. C. 330-166.) In the year 330 B. C. Alexander the Great won the empire of Persia in the great battle of Arbela, by which the sovereignty of the East was transferred from Asia to Europe, and a new chapter in the history of the world was opened. ”

“ Five kingdoms took the place of one; Syria on the north, Israel in the center, Judah west of the Dead Sea, Moab east of the Dead Sea, and Edom on the extreme south. Moab was nominally subject to Israel, and Edom to Judah; but only strong kings, like Ahab in Israel and Jehoshaphat in Judah, could exact the tribute (2 Kings 3. 4; 1 Kings 22. 47) . 2.) With the loss of empire came rivalry, and consequent weakness. For fifty years Israel and Judah were at war, and spent their strength in civil strife, while Syria was growing powerful, [65] and afar in the north-east Assyria was threatening. 3.) ”

“ The only bond which will keep a nation long alive is that of religion.
2. Some remained in Palestine, others returned thither and formed the nucleus of the Samaritan people, a race of mingled origin (2 Kings 17. 24-29) .
3. Some of those who remained in the East retained their religion, or were revived in it, and later became a part of the Jews of the dispersion; though "the dispersion" was mainly Jewish, and not Israelite.
4. A few families united with the Jews returned with them to Palestine after the exile, yet retained their tribal relationship; for example, Anna (Luke 2. 36) . ”

“ Language gives a certain proof; for example, showing that the ancestors of the English, Greeks, Romans, Medes, and Hindus—races now widely dispersed—once slept under the same roof. At an early period streams [20] of migration poured forth from the highlands of Asia in every direction and to great distances.
III. THE RISE OF THE EMPIRES. In the Bible world three centers of national life arose, not far apart in time, each of which became a powerful kingdom, and in turn ruled all the Oriental lands. ”

“ Therefore, when Egypt had given to Israel all that it could, the wrath of man was made to praise God; and by suffering the Israelites were made willing to leave the land of their sojourn and seek the land of promise. The nest was stirred up, and the young eaglet was compelled to fly (Deut. 32. 11, 12) .
2. The Training of Moses. (Born B. C. 1571.) There was another element of preparation. No common man could have wrought the great work of liberation, of legislation, and of training which Israel needed. ”