THE ISRAELITE RELIGION A Paper Presented to Professor Ott of College of Biblical Studies

Transcription

1 THE ISRAELITE RELIGION A Paper Presented to Professor Ott of College of Biblical Studies In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Final Grade BIBL 1312 Historical Literature by Durward Gray Lance Circle Houston, TX August 1, 2011 GW Ministries (Gray) Page 1

2 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to briefly review what has been learned from research about the religion of the Israelites and to do this we must explore fully the religion of the Canaanites. Then I will attempt to give explanations as to why this religion became so tempting to the Israelites upon entering the land of Canaan. A Study of Canaanite religion is necessary for the proper understanding of the Popular Deviant state of the Israelites. It Appears according to the scripture that the Israelite lost the ability to conquer the land and soon deviated away from the commandments of God given to Moses. We will look a little more in depth to see the reason for this unexplained element of disobedience. One of the basic themes threaded throughout the Old Testament narrative centers around the clash between the Canaanite and Israelite religions. From the very beginning, the religion of Israel was in direct opposition to that of the Canaanites. Embedded in the Mosaic laws given from Mt. Sinai and during the wanderings are several warning statements directing the children of Israel not to bow down to the gods of the Canaanites nor serve them, nor do after their works after they had crossed the Jordan and entered into the land of Canaan but the children of Israel were to utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images (Ex. 23:23,24; 34:11-17;Lev. 18:2-5; Num. 33:51-56; Deut. 7:1-5). The opposition to the Canaanites and their religion was not merely confined to a total rejection and destruction of the Canaanite people. Nor was this opposition confined to the era of Moses but polemical statements and actions were made both before as well as long after the Mosaic tradition began. The central issue of this on-running theme lies in Israel s negligence to obey the Lord s commands regarding the Canaanites and their religion. Not only did the Israelites fail to destroy the Canaanites as a whole but there was to a large extent a wholesale adoption GW Ministries (Gray) Page 2

3 among the Israelites of the Canaanite ways and practices including their religion. The story of Gideon and the breaking down of the altar to Baal well illustrates this (see Judges 6).Though the Old Testament prophets and historians from Abraham to Jeremiah continually reviled against the Canaanite influence upon the Israelites, nowhere in the Old Testament narrative can the Biblical reader get a clear idea of how, what and why the Canaanites worshipped the way they did or why that type of worship attracted the Israelites 1. There were many Gods that the Canaanites worshipped, They were cut off to prevent Israel and the rest of the world from being corrupted (Deut. 20:16-18). When a people starts to burn their children in honor of their gods (Lev. 18:21), practice sodomy, bestiality, and all sorts of loathsome vice (Lev. 18:23, 24, 20:3), the land itself begins to "vomit" them out as the body heaves under the load of internal poisons objecting to the fate of these nations... is really an objection to the highest manifestation of the grace of God."This was why God wanted to have them ran out of the land with force and violence. There was a larger picture than giving the Children of Israel the Land that was promised but also a prophetic doom. Now there was a drastic turn of events that took place after the death of Joshua one of the main ones is the inability to conquer certain territories 2. Joshua leads the Israelites into the land of Canaan. The goal was to obtain land and divide it among the twelve tribes, this proved to be more difficult than expected. Archaeology proves that the Israelite immigrants lived side by side for a long period of time. With this in mind the Israelites must have blended in culture as well as other ways. The next big event that unfolds is the division of the twelve tribes. While in Canaan the Israelites was due for a social and religious clash. The Canaanites were farmers and their religion was fertility cults among 1 Bruce Satterfield Struggles of Israelite and Canaanite Religion Dept of Religious Education, Idaho 2 Ibid GW Ministries (Gray) Page 3

4 others which was appropriate for the needs of an agricultural civilization. In contrast the immigrating Israelites were from a pastoral and religious civilization which would appear to no way satisfy the demands of an agricultural setting- being from the dessert. The inevitable result was syncretism: the Israelites adapted not only to the land but also the religious practices and Ideas of the Canaanites. Their instincts must have gained a voice that day and decided that that particular way of life was appropriate for the life that was before them. The was where the elements of a popular deviate religion was born. I not only believe that this was inevitable, I believe that it was all a part of God s divine plan. The religion of the Canaanites was discovered in the texts of the Ras Shamra and other material, these tools have shed light on the Canaanite religion. At the head of their religion stood the god El which is called king father or the Bull. This god became popular in Jerusalem among the Phoenicians. Next in line is the young go Baal, the god of fertility who appears as a dragon slayer. I believe that in this culture he was somehow united to El. Next the god of death Mot who is said to have killed Baal but Baal comes back to life after he was avenged by his sister the goddess Anath. Next is the Goddess Asherah the consort of El the Goddess of Love and war or the Great Mother. Beth-shemesh the sun goddess and many others but one the reasons that I illustrate the names and titles of these God is to portray the importance of them in Israelite culture 3. There was drama that unfolded behind the falling and rising of the fertility God Baal. Sacral prostitution was prominent because it was felt important to promote fertility. This among other things lie parallel to Israelite beliefs of a sacred marriage. This was the cultic drama the I believe that God used to teach the Israelites about disobedience. In the past, the question of Israelite polytheism has been approached by looking for evidence of 3 Helmer Ringgren, Israelite Religion W. Kohl hammer Verlag Publisher 1963 Philadelphia GW Ministries (Gray) Page 4

5 specific deities worshipped by Israelites in addition to Yahweh. These would include biblical criticisms of the worship of other deities, such as the goddess Asherah in 2 Kings 21 and 23, as well as apparent references to this goddess or at least her symbol in the inscriptions from Kuntillet 'Ajrud and Khirbet el-qom in the eighth century. In the Kuntillet 'Ajrud inscriptions, the symbol is treated respectfully as part of the worship of Yahweh. The gods Resheph and Debera appears in Habakkuk 3:5 as part of the military retinue of Yahweh. Other deities who gain some mention in the Bible include the "hosts of heaven" criticized in 2 Kings 21:5, but mentioned without such criticism in 1 Kings 22:19 and Zephaniah 1:5. Scholars have also noted that the god El is identified with Yahweh in the Bible, again with no criticism. The criticisms of Yahweh's archenemy, the storm god, Baal, also seem to reflect Israelite worship of this god. While many of these deities are not well known from the Bible, they are described sometimes at considerable length in the Ugaritic texts, discovered first in 1928 at the site of Ras Shamra (located on the coast of Syria about 100 miles north of Beirut). As a result of comparing biblical and inscriptional evidence with the Ugaritic texts, we can see how the worship of other deities lasted for quite a long time in Israel down to the Exile in ca We also find that that God used the inhabitants of the land to control the Israelites any time the committed an act of disobedience. I believe that it was punishment for the deviant mentality if the Israelites. After the death of Joshua there was a certain in ability to conquer the land the God had promise the Israelites but there is not a detailed reason why this happened. So throughout this paper we will study the Israelite religion in depth as they entered the land of Canaan. It would seem as though from the death of Joshua the Israelites deviated from God will therefore was not able to accomplish that which the Lord had 4 Smith Mike Early History of God: Introduction to the Early History of Israel New York University 2002 GW Ministries (Gray) Page 5

6 intended. The state of the Israelite religion begins to quickly diminish upon entering into inhabited land. There seems to be a desire that arose from the children of Israel to have a King, some that is tangible something that they could see with their physical eyes. I believe that after the death of Joshua a government was formed The Judges and the permitted any one man from being responsible for their actions. In the past God dealt with one man but now because of the deviating will of the Israelites the punishment for disobedience falls upon the entire people, culture, and land. Helmer Ringgren says Yahwism and the Canaanite religion stood independently side by side then a gradual amalgamation took place 5. Since the religions coexisted the Israelite worshipped Yahweh in the sanctuaries of the Canaanites this probably when the traits of other Gods surfaced in the lives of the Israelites. We know very little about the syncretism that took place, we only know the end result. This why it was so important to do this a complete study of the archaeology of this land. The archaeology suggest things that the scripture doesn t speak of but brings clarity to the scripture. Since the Israelites were in a predominantly agricultural element it was probably easy for them to worship Baal for the simple fact that this is what was taught by the locals. I believe that the human being is a creature of habit and the where ever man is he will adapt. Unfortunately they adapted to some of the thing that opposed the will of God for their lives. Yehezkel Kauffmann says that from the debris of the pagan mythology a new kind of saga emerged. The world was domain of its one supreme God, yet within it s domain there was still tension and great struggle. A new dimension was called into being: the historicalmoral, expressed in the saga of mans defiance to God s will. The consequence of freedom gave man the right and ability to choose to directly sin against the will of God. This drama 5 Ibid GW Ministries (Gray) Page 6

7 was considered to be the clash of divine forces 6. There became known among the Israelites the Idolatrous period. There were two instances in the history were the Israelites did not deviate and these were the days of Moses and Joshua. During the period of the Judges was where the popular deviant elements began to surface in the Israelites community and continued all the way up until David and Saul. I would suggest that this was a part of God s divine plan for the Israelites to not be able to conquer certain parts of that region. History shows that the idolatry came from surrounding areas like that of the Philistines and Egypt, Assyria. There is not much said about the Canaanite influence over the Israelite religion but archaeology suggest that it must have been a great influence. Canaanite slaves must have played their role as well in the deviant element that surfaces in the Israelite religion. The Israelite were suppose to cause the inhabitants to flee from the territory and this what took place before the death of Joshua. Many elements may have encouraged slavery, one being the agricultural civilization and two being the northern conquest containing the iron chariots. Israel may have considered that were from priestly line and need Canaanite mentors but however they were not need. It is God that makes the provision for his people. The Iron chariots was considered by Israel that they never had they training since they had previously been dessert dwellers and only had the skills of the sword. This was only an excuse, because Israel had disobeyed the Lord they were not able to defeat and conquer any more of God s promise. God destroyed most of the entire Egyptian army it is not impossible for him to do so in this case. The mixing of the culture is responsible this polytheistic outcome of the Israelite religion. John W. Reed says that the Israelite faith became weak and they demonstrated 6 Kaufmann, Yehezkel. The Religion of Israel; The university of Chicago press. Chicago Illinois 1960 pg242 GW Ministries (Gray) Page 7

8 irresponsible conduct.. The degree of permissiveness in Israel was a theme repeated often in the book of Judges and restated in the books last verse that had no king so they did as they saw fit 7. Seems as though the Israelite became more deviant during the time when there was no king. You would think that two heads are better than one but in this case it was a disaster. When it came time for the Israelites to lead themselves in the time of the Judges their religion contained the elements of a popular deviant religion. The background of the Israelite religion is a depressing one. The nation s fortunes follow a monotonous, repetitive cycle. They continue to dessert God for the heathen Gods in the land of Canaan and as a result of their disobedience God allows the Israelites to suffer at the hands of the Canaanites. This is the most depressing view of a nation of God s people but there is a good side to this. The wonder is God s constant love and concern in the face of all this. Despite their past unfaithfulness and what He knows will happen again, as soon as Israel returns to God He answers them. This part of biblical history seems to be more of a love affair than a disappointment demonstrating God s love and faithfulness to His people. God has used some of the most unpromising people who has broken every sacred law like Jael, Ehud, Sampson. The bible does not hide or whitewash the sins of these individuals. God s simply used them because of their faith despite their moral. These are one of the elements that best describe the character and love of God 8. The book of Judges records the tyranny of the Israelite religion basically illustrating that those who keep Gods commandments are blessed and those who do not will be disciplined. It seems to portray a dark glimpse of humanity contrasted with its bright vision of 7 Reed W. John The Bible Knowledge Commentary Colorado Springs David C Cook pg 416; Eerdmans B. William Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible Eerdmans Publications Grand rapids Michigan 1992 GW Ministries (Gray) Page 8

9 God. It show that the Israelites were warped and twisted and though disciplined when needed they were also loved when repented. Their worship of the true living God became contaminated with open Idolatry. God would continue to discipline the Israelites using the hand of the enemy until they returned to Him 9. It seems that the major problem with the Israelite was that they proved it difficult to serve one God. It is as though their mind cause them to search out the possibilities of other God s. I could not imagine the circumstances even with historical and archaeological evidence, of what it must have been like. The world may never know, but what I do know is that through history of God s faithfulness to those that loved Him. No matter how many times the Israelites turned their backs on the almighty God he answered them. I believe that this part of History totally reflected the intimate character of the lord our God. It kind of makes me wonder If Israel has not yet totally returned to God because the promise has yet to be fulfilled. Maybe God being in infinite wisdom who truly knows the heart of man will be sure to use what he knows to bring His will into fusion. Forgive us lord for we know not what we do but in spite of me, love me, protect me, nurture me. I need you Lord! 9 Richards O. Lawrence Richards complete Bible Dictionary World Bible Publishers, Iowa 2002 GW Ministries (Gray) Page 9