This is going to be a bullet point study on the nation of Israel from inception to current times. Much of this study comes from the Bible and notes offered by Pastor Brian Donovan along with information for current sources.
Sometime in the late 1,800's BC, God calls a man named Abram and tells him to leave his country and his people and move to a land that He would show to him. And Abram does it. He's like a dreamer following the Lord for a promise that he, in his lifetime, would never see fulfilled.
Gen 12:1- Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Hebrews 11:8- By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
God promised that Abram, whom He called Abraham, would have many children that would become a great nation and that they would inherit the land that God had called him to. Though Abraham only had one son, Isaac, he believed God would do what He said.
Isaac had Jacob and Esau. These twin boys were very different! Out of the two, God chose to bring forth his promise to Abraham through Jacob.
Jacob had four wives, twelve sons, and one daughter. These boys are some mean men! They destroy an entire village because the ruler's son has a one night stand with their sister. Even though this man wanted to marry her and correct his transgression, they wouldn't stand for it. Through deceit they ensured their victory.
They even betray one of their brothers and sell him as a slave. Joseph is taken down into Egypt and goes through many hardships, but in the end he ends up saving the region from a seven-year famine. His father, Jacob (whom the Lord called Israel) moved his entire family down into Egypt for the duration of the famine, and they stay there in the land of Goshen.
Time passes and the Jewish people end up becoming a great nation in Egypt. Then they start to getting persecuted by a foreign occupation- the Assyrians. They cry out to God for help and God send them a deliverer- Moses.
Moses is sent to bring the Jewish people out of Egypt and lead them back to the land that was promised to Abraham. After ten plagues and the decimation of Egypt, he leads them into the Arabian Peninsula where they would have many trials as they attempted to learn to trust God.
The Jewish people had picked up a lot of bad habits in Egypt. So, God used Moses to give the Israelites His Law. The people would be under Moses in the wilderness for a long time while he taught them God's ways.
Exodus 18:13- And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
Moses is noted for loving his people so much that he intercedes to God on their behalf. They make many mistakes during this time, and even anger Moses! Because Moses loses his temper and disobeys God through his fury, he doesn't get to enter the promised land.
Moses' protege gets to lead them in. Joshua, a great general, leads this rag-tag group of slave's children from a 40-year trek in the wilderness into the promised land of Caanan and helps them begin to possess it. He defeats thirty-one different kings in the land and this is the beginning of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.
Now, God starts to give the nation of Israel judges to teach and lead them. The pattern throughout the book of Judges is the Israelites forgetting about God and turning to idols, the Lord God Almighty allowing them to be persecuted by their enemies, and then them crying out to God for deliverance, followed by God sending men to deliver them and judge them to keep them on track. But then they forget about God and His mercy and His Law, and the cycle would start over again.
Let's go through a brief list and description of these judges.
Othniel would be the next judge of the children of Israel. He was the nephew of Caleb, General Joshua's friend, and the only other elder man to survive the wilderness years.
Judges 3:9-11- And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim. And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
After him, Ehud would judge.
Judges 3:15- But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.
This left handed man goes against the King of Moab, Eglon, and surprises him with a sneak attack. Then he runs to gather the Israelites together for a strike against them before they can prepare for battle. He saves the Israelites from the Moabite occupation.
Then there's a curiosity. A man who delivers Israel, but isn't called a judge. In fact, only one verse is used to mention his deliverance.
Judges 3:31- And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.
The fourth judge of Israel is Deborah.
Judges 4:4- And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
This is the only female judge. It was suppose to be Barak, but he wouldn't stand up and do his job, so the Lord uses her as judge and gives the glory to a woman. Deborah goes with the army of Israel against the Canaanites and their captain, Sisera, is killed by a woman names Jael.
The Scofield Bible lists the next two judges as Gideon and Abimelech. But, this is wrong because Gideon says that neither him nor his sons would rule over Israel.
Judges 8:23- And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
This removes them from consideration as Judges of Israel. So, the next man we come to is Tola.
Judges 10:1-2- And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
The Bible doesn't give us any real details about this man or his time as a judge.
Jair is the next judge.
Judges 10:3-5- And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
The Bible mentions that he has thirty sons. To keep the peace, he puts each of these men in a different city. So, there's all these cities set up around the land for his sons. None of his sons are mentioned beyond this little blurb.
Jephthah now comes on the scene.
Judges 12:7- And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
Jephthah is a vain man which the Lord goes into great detail about. He is rash and speaks without thinking. Though he is a valiant warrior, his mouth gets him into trouble. He vows to offer God whatever comes out of his house first if he wins the war, and it turned out to be his only daughter. Instead of repenting and asking God to forgive his erroneous ways, He remains stubborn to his vow and sacrifices her to the Lord.
After that sad story, Ibzan judges the Hebrew children.
Judges 12:8-9- And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
This man has thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sends his daughters out to marry those who aren't Jews, and he takes women who aren't Jews as wives for his sons. This was against the Law of Moses! God didn't want His people intermingling with the heathen around them.
The Bible doesn't have much to say about Elon, who is our next judge.
Judges 12:11-12- And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
Abdon also has little said about him.
Judges 12:13-14- And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.
He has a lot of sons and a lot of nephews that ride around like royalty. His name literally means "to be a servant".
Samson judges Israel in the days of the Philistines. He never fully delivers the Hebrew children because he's too busy living for himself. The Bible goes into his life in great detail.
Judges 15:20- And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Samson was not just known for his strength, but he was known for his impulsive desires. He follows the lust of his flesh. His lust causes him to fall for a woman who cuts his hair, the source of his power, and delivers him to the enemy. His end is to die with the Philistines; he kills himself with a bunch of civilians in the middle of a party in their temple.
Leaving the book of judges, we come to Eli.
I Samuel 4:17-18- And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
Eli is known for not controlling his children. They commit all sorts of wickedness, and God tells Samuel that He is going to kill Eli's sons for their sin. When this news comes, Eli falls backwards and breaks his neck because the ark of the Lord is taken at the same time by the Philistines to Ashdod, a city on the Mediterranean coast East of Jerusalem.
Samuel is the thirteenth and final judge of Israel.
I Samuel 7:15-17- And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.
The Israelites decide that they don't want to be different. Instead of embracing that they are God's peculiar people, the insist on being like the nations around them and they ask for a king.
I Samuel 8:5- And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
All the nations around them were heathen. But, God does what they ask and allows a man to be appointed to that position. Saul is crowned their first king, and this man is a great type of the antichrist.
David is the next king and he wins battle after battle for his country. He is the one who most attribute with completing the promise of the land grant to Israel.
After him is Solomon, who is the wisest man to ever live. He builds the first great temple for the Lord God Almighty in the city of Jerusalem. It is said that he made silver and gold a common place item in the land of Israel, and there was a time of great peace under his reign.
Many kings follow and their roller coaster apostacy continues. Eventually, they go into captivity under Assyria, Babylon, Media Persia, Greece, and then Rome. During this captivity, the first temple was destroyed and a second temple would be built.
Then, while under Roman occupation the Messiah comes. The Lord Jesus Christ shows up and He's rejected by the leaders of Israel. The Sanhedrin had so much Babylonian influence and traditions intermingled with their religion that they didn't recognize their Messiah. They deliver Him to the hand of the Romans to murder.
After His crucifixion and resurrection, the people of Israel are given time to repent of the rejection of their Messiah, but they refuse. And so in 70 AD, God allows the Romans to completely destroy Jerusalem, along with the second temple.
Josephus wrote, "Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done), Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and Temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as they were of the greatest eminence; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison, as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it, Jerusalem, had ever been inhabited."
For the next 1,800 plus years, the Jewish people would live around the world in various countries. Some times they would be persecuted. Sometimes they would thrive. But, they lived without a country and a temple.
In late 1800's AD, a man named Theodor Herzl starts dreaming about the Jewish people having their own nation in the land of Israel. He formed the Zionist Organization and spent his time emphasizing the importance of the Jewish people returning to what was then called Palestine. He said, "Only through a Jewish state could they avoid antisemitism, express their culture freely and practice their religion without hindrance." Although he died without ever seeing this dream become a reality, he is considered the "spiritual father of the Jewish state".
Just before the end of World War I, the Balfour Declaration was issued announcing the support of the British government for the national home for the Jewish people in their ancient land of Israel. This was the first step in the Jews gaining their country back.
However, many Jews had become comfortable in their various countries, wealthy even. To uproot and move to a new, uncultivated place didn't seem like a good plan to them. So, World War II breaks out. The most heinous treatment of the Jewish people by the Nazi regime encouraged the survivors to move to the land that would promise them religious freedom.
The nation of Israel has had many leaders known as Prime Ministers since- Some serve multiple terms that overlap with others, so I'll just name them in the numerical order of when they were first elected to that position.
In 1947, David Ben-Gurion becomes the first Prime Minister of Israel who says, "We will declare ourselves a nation among the nations". Ben-Gurion goes looking for help to establish the nation of Israel. In 1948, President Truman becomes the first leader to acknowledge Israel as a nation for the Jewish people.
There's a general, Moshe Dayan, who is under this Prime Minister, who is noted for his defense of the new state of Israel. His damaged left eye and eye patch are what most people remember him for, however he gets some farmers and teenagers together and these men hold off oncoming forces of Syria, Egypt, and the settlers of Gaza.
Moshe Sharett is the second Prime Minister. He's not a hard nose politician. He only serve about two years between Ben-Gurion's terms.
Levi Eshkol is the third Prime Minister. He's known for being the Prime Minister the 6 Day War, which also starred the General Moshe Dayan. The Israeli Intelligence, Mossad, take a pre-emptive strike against the Egyptians and Syrians and decimate around 90% of their enemy's ability to retaliate on the first day! Within the next few days, the Israeli army is able to stave off the remaining forces and win the war in less than a week. He died of a heart-attack just a few years later.
Now, there's an interim Prime Minister. Yigal Allon only holds the office for about one month, then another election occurs.
Next, is Golda Meir. This is the only female Prime Minister! She was a tough lady who stood up to formidable men; she even told the Pope off! She is also one of the signers of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. She accepted a US peace initiative that ended the fighting with a cease-fire between Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.
Yitzhak Rabin is after her. This former ambassador to the United States has two terms, and is fraught with trouble. His first term ends because of financial scandal, and he is assassinated during his second term. Many believe it's because he helped Yasser Arafat create the Palestinian Authority by signing the Oslo Accords. This has caused a lot of problems for the nation of Israel!
Menachem Begin is the sixth Prime Minister. He isn't known for much politically except the signing of a peace treaty with Egypt, but he did put a lot of emphasis and money into building settlements all over the land, especially in Gaza and the West Bank.
Yitzhak Shamir is after with two terms. He opposed the Camp David Accords by Jimmy Carter, but they were accepted anyway. He tried to negotiate with Egypt and Lebanon to form political relationships, but wasn't very successful. He also opposed refugee visas given by the United States to Jewish people. In his opinion, they had a country in Israel which they were free and encouraged to move to.
Remember Yasser Arafat? During this time, he was changing his strategy from conflict to negotiation. He had moved himself to Tunisia and emerged as an advocate for a two-state Israeli-Palestinian nation.
Shimon Peres, the next Prime Minister, helps to bring Arafat back into the land and allows the Palestine Liberation Organization self rule. He founded the Peres Center for Peace, which focused on tolerance and the advancement of economics and technology. He suffered a stroke with massive brain hemorrhage which left him with irreversible damage. His health continued to decline until his death in 2016.
Benjamin Netanyahu came in after this and was faced with some wishy-washy people. They want him to stand up for them one day and then they want him to give concessions the next so they could have peace. He was the first native born Prime Minister appointed to the position, as well as the youngest man ever elected. He also served as the longest running Prime Minister with a total of 15 years in office.
Ehud Barak was a lieutenant general in the Israeli Defense Force, but as a politician he was more about convenience. During his term as Prime Minister, he gave extreme concessions to the countries around Israel, withdrawing from Lebanon, and attempting negotiations with the PLO. If Yasser Arafat had taken the deal offered for the withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, then Israel would have been completely surrounded by enemy forces; it's a good thing that Arafat denied the deal.
Ariel Sharon was next on the scene. He is known as the "Butcher of Beirut" among the Arabs for going into Lebanon in the 1980's and killed a bunch of civilians because of bad intel. In 2005, he decided he was going to start giving away land and withdrawing from the Gaza strip. He was expected to win another term as Prime Minister, but the Lord gave him a stroke in 2006 that removed the possibility of reelection. He went into a coma and was in a vegetative state until his death in 2014.
Ehud Olmert was a hard liner politician and lawyer. He became acting Prime Minister because of the stroke suffered by Ariel Sharon. Even though he said that he would firmly stand by the rights of the Jewish people to live in the entire land of Israel, he followed in Sharon's footsteps stating that he backed the creation of a Palestinian State and that the Jewish people needed to withdraw from the Gaza strip. What happened in 2006 emboldened the Jews enemies to come against them because the leadership has gotten soft. The fighting between the Palestinians in Gaza and the Jews in Israel has been escalating ever since.
Naftali Bennet is the thirteenth Prime Minister to be elected to the position. He is a software entrepreneur born to American-Jewish immigrants. Bennett was elected on the premise of a rotational government with Yair Lapid. Naftali Bennett would serve as Israel's Prime Minister until 2023, after which Yair Lapid would assume the role until 2025.
The parallels are uncanny!
If history stands to repeat itself, then we should see someone come in as a new form of Political figure next. After 13 judges, the Israelites crowned a king followed by the building of a temple. I believe that after 13 Prime Ministers we will see some of Daniel's prophesy and Revelation's warnings come to pass.
Daniel 11:20-21- Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Watch for someone who raises taxes, the building of the third temple, a new leadership role obtained by flattering lips, and a peace agreement signed between this leader and other nations.
And prepare yourself for what comes next!
