History of the Nation of Israel

Modern Day Israeli Flag at the Wailing Wall

Approximately 4,000 years ago, the one true God made promise to a righteous man that he would found a nation that would be a blessing to all mankind (Genesis 12:1-3). This man was named Abram from the land of Ur. The irony of this promise was that his wife, Sarai, was barren and they were long past child-bearing age. This was such a preposterous promise, that Sarai laughed when she heard the news (Genesis 18:12-15). Later, God would change their names to Abraham and Sarah.

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Abraham's Promise

Through much trial and challenge, God fulfilled this promise and the nation of Israel was born through the impossible promise of a son named Isaac.

God made three promises to Abraham if he would choose to blindly leave his homeland in pursuit of these promises.

1. A special land flowing with prosperity.
2. A great nation of people to represent the One true God.
3. That his descendants would be a blessing to all the other nations of the Earth.

Abraham obeyed the command of the One true God and left his homeland in search of the land God promised he'd find.

The Promised Land

Abraham left his homeland along with his family, livestock, and possessions and eventually entered into the land of Canaan where he set up his tents. From Canaan God began to fulfill his promises by giving him offspring that became the patriarchs of the Jewish faith and Israelite people. Abraham, along with his son Isaac and grandson Jacob (later known as Israel) became the patriarchs of this new people.

The Famine

As time passed, eventually there was a great famine among the Israelite nation. Around 1650 B.C. the Israelites were forced to move to Egypt where they were rescued by Jacob's youngest son, Isaac, who had been sold into Egyptian slavery by his 11 brothers who later became the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. After being sold into slavery, Joseph had risen through the ranks of the Egyptian political hierarchy by remaining faithful to the One true God.

As the Israelites were forced to leave their homeland and find solace under Joseph on a plot of land set aside for their protection, they grew in number and were rich in livestock.

Slavery in Egypt

Eventually a Pharaoh who did not remember the importance of Joseph's contribution came into power and placed the Israelites in bondage and slave labor for 400 years until God raised up a deliverer named Moses. Finding themselves oppressed and helpless, the Israelites submitted to the forced labor of brick making and lived as a helpless controlled people under the power of mighty Egyptian Pharaoh.

Exodus from Slavery

Moses became the deliverer of the Israelites from their Egyptian slavery. God delivered them by sending a series of plagues to the Egyptian people ending in a tragic loss of life of every first born Egyptian son while protecting the Israelites by instructing them to paint the blood of a sacrificed lamb on the doorposts of their home. When the death angel came, he passed over the houses with the blood. Thus instituting the ceremony of the "passover lamb." This dramatic event was the final blow to Pharaoh, who finally released the Israelites. However, after a short trip to the Red Sea, Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued the Israelites to the edge of the sea as God parted the waters and allowed safe passage to the Israelites just before releasing the waters to drown the Egyptian army as they pursued the Israelites through the Sea.

The Desert Journey

Following this dramatic escape from Pharaoh, the Israelites doubted God and Moses' leadership. Their punishment was a couple of generations of wandering lost in the desert lands on their way to the Promised Land. During this time, Moses received the commandments from God to rule the people and a sort of governance system was developed for the nation. Although Moses was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land, just before he died, he reiterated the covenant agreement that God made with Abraham (Deuteronomy 30:1-10) before turning his leadership over to the new leader - Joshua.

Under Joshua's Leadership

A season of conquering territory and dividing the nation into 12 tribal territories took place under the leadership of Joshua. Judges, appointed by God, traveled throughout the land making legal and spiritual rulings. The period of the judges was a tumultuous period of God's grace being shown to the Israelites as they cycled through seasons of sinfulness of the people to God's judgement, to repentance of the nation to renewals of the covenant relationship of the people to God. God continually cared for and protected His chosen nation.

Under the Leadership of Kings

Dissatisfied with the system of governance God provided for them, the Israelites demanded that a king be appointed over them so they could be like other nations. Although God gave them a warning for desiring a King other than Himself, He acquiesced and anointed King Saul who united the entire nation under one rule. Saul was a disobedient and unruly King, so God raised up another King for Israel named David, whose lineage would rule the nation forever. After two generations of David's succession, the Kingdom fell into a civil war that caused it to split into two nations (922 B.C.) - Judah and Israel. David's city of Jerusalem remained the capital of the Southern Kingdom (Judah), while the Northern Kingdom (Israel) migrated north to build a new capital in Samaria.

Destruction for the Northern Kingdom

Continued disobedience of Israel led to judgment and the Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. The cities were destroyed and the remaining Israelites fell into captivity and exile to foreign lands. The Assyrians opened the land to foreigners and eventually the Israelites left in the land intermarried and became a mixed race called the Samaritan's. So the Israelites who left the Promised Land to live in a rebellious Kingdom were integrated into foreign cultures. These people were the predecessor's to the woman at the well in John 4:1-26. Their place of worship had moved from Jerusalem to Mt. Gerazim.

Exile and Return for the Southern Kingdom

About 150 years later, the Southern Kingdom of Israel experienced a similar fate under the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar. In 586 B.C., He destroyed the Temple that had been built by David's son, Solomon, and exiled Judah's most bright and gifted leaders to Babylon. Soon Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Babylonians and allowed a remnant of the Israelites, now called Jews, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and re-institute Temple worship and sacrifices. This effort was led by Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra led the spiritual revival while Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the city.

The rebuilding of the Temple was completed in 538 B.C.

Under Foreign Rule

From the time of the Babylonian exile on Jerusalem was under the control of foreign empires - from the Greeks to the Babylonians to the Persians to the Greeks and then to the Romans. From 530 BC to 70 AD the Israelites were in a season referred to as the "Second Temple Period." A foreign leader with the backing of Rome took charge. Herod the Great married into the Jewish people and as part of his reign in and around Jerusalem, he greatly expanded the Temple and the city of Jerusalem in order to show his great power as the King of the region. This rebuilding project lasted from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

In 70 A.D. the Jews revolted against the Romans infuriating the Roman leader, Titus Vespasian, and he completely destroyed Jerusalem and toppled the majestic Herod's temple putting an end to Israel's occupation of Jerusalem. In the 1800 years following, this unique and valuable strip of land previously referred to as the Promised Land was fought over by many empires including the Byzantines, Arab Muslims, the Crusaders, the Turkish Ottoman, and the British Empire. It has been the theater of more military battles than any other piece of land on planet Earth.

Modern Israel

It wasn't until May 14, 1948 that Israel reclaimed their sovereignty over this historic small region on the Mediterranean Sea. Since then "the Promised Land" has once again been the home of God's chosen nation. Although, Israel is now back in control of the area, there are continual dsiputes between the Israeli and Palestine people over land boundaries and control.

Coming Spiritual Restoration

Although Israel has currently regained most of it's original homeland, it has yet experienced the spiritual restoration promised by the prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 12:10-14:21. when Jesus will return to Israel and establish His reign in "New Jerusalem" in the "age to come."