Israel has never been big by any measure. Even though the existence of Israel has played a major impact on the history of the world, Israel never was a major “world” power in Bible times. Even today, as in its entire past, Israel’s geographical size is very small in relation to all but one of its neighbors (look on a world map and notice that it is actually very difficult to spot without first knowing its exact location). Its population as well, is tiny compared to its neighbors. So also it was in Bible times that Israel’s neighbors were almost always more powerful militarily, and sophisticated technologically (yes, “technologically” – archaeologists marvel at the ingenuity and skill of builders and crafters in ancient times) than was tiny Israel.
The Bible never made the mistake of confusing Israel’s small
size with its estimate of the “size” of the God
of Israel. And that is the fundamental point
of everything that is important in the Bible.
It is an inescapable fact that the placement of tiny Israel at the
crossroads of the three continents of Africa (Egypt), Asia, and Europe, as we
now call it, has powerfully changed the world as a whole. The reason for the weight of that influence
on its neighbors rested not on Israel’s own ingenuity and power, but on the
power and wisdom of the God who called them (and the entire world), into
existence. I repeat, world influence was
not sourced in Israel, but in Israel’s God.
Neither Israel’s exit (“exodus”) from Egypt, their
successful passage through Edom and endurance intact in the wilderness for 40
years, nor their entrance into the “Promised land” occupied by the powerful
Philistines, Canaanites, and Phoenicians, is explainable on worldly terms. Those three people groups were each long-established
in their respective homelands and therefore far more secure than the Israelites
who were sojourners in tents on their journey through the wilderness.To be continued...
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