Book Description

Excerpt from Israel's Historical and Biographical Narratives, From the Establishment of the Hebrew Kingdom to the End of the Maccabean Struggle It is a significant fact that nearly half of the entire Old Testament consists of historical and biographical narratives. These represent the oldest, the simplest, and the most concrete record of God's revelation of Himself "through life to life." That revelation is real and intelligible, and the faith that grew up about it possesses a permanent and universal value, because its foundations were the actual experiences of men who lived and struggled, amid trying circumstances, with the ever-recurring problems of human existence. In a very true sense Israel's unique faith was the substance of things seen and felt. Not in the garden of Eden but in the fiery furnace of adversity were the rude, primitive Hebrew tribes trained and given that divine message which made them Jehovah's chosen people - his witnesses, called to conquer the world, not by the sword but by unselfish service and the compelling power of truth. Their later historians were inclined to invest the earlier periods and characters with a halo and to ignore the evidence of their elemental barbarity; but embedded in Judges, Samuel, and Kings are found extracts from older narratives that faithfully reflect those conditions which are the true background, and which make clear by contrast the real nature and significance of that marvellous development and revelation, the consummation of which is recorded in the later chapters. Israel's faith and ethical standards gradually unfolded under the divine teaching in the school of national experience, as did its political and social institutions. It is because they were constantly developing that they are significant. Along the same paths each individual must proceed from the comparative ignorance and barbarism of childhood to the maturity and strength of manhood. The Old Testament histories are unique, not merely because they record important events, but because the causes, the meaning, and the consequences of these are constantly interpreted by Israel's inspired historians. Hence the narratives, which begin with Samuel and end with I Maccabees, are the natural gateway through which to enter the broad fields represented by the Bible. Because of their vividness and concreteness the stories of Samuel, of Saul, and of David at once attract and hold the attention of young and old alike. Studied in their logical order - which is the order of events - the historical narratives introduce the student in succession and in their true relations to the significant characters and factors in Israel's remarkable history. Thus a definite, systematic basis is established for all subsequent study. In the light of this knowledge, the noble work and messages of Israel's teachers at once become real and possessed of a vital, personal interest and value. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.