Life Of Christ Dr. E. Oakley, Israel, Jews And Jesus Christ

Brian Gusciora GBNT 620 Life of Christ Dr. E. Oakley Israel, Jews and Jesus Christ Jews lived in Israel at the time of Christ. They probably did not feel very safe. Once their country had been very powerful. David and Solomon had been their kings. That was 1000 years ago. Now they were not powerful. The people had done wrong things. They had not obeyed God. God had spoken to Abraham and Moses. He had given them a Covenant (made a special agreement with them). But the people did not obey God s rules. God punished them. He made them leave their country. He had told them that he would do this. In 586 BC, enemies burned down the *Temple of Solomon. This *temple was one of the most wonderful buildings in the world. The enemies took†¦show more content†¦Some Jews began to serve false Greek gods. After Alexander s death, his Generals (important officers) fought against each other. Each one wanted to rule parts of his lands. Some of these battles were in Israel. Then one General spoilt the Temple, which the Jews had rebuilt. This Gene ral did some evil things in the Temple. He killed people who would not serve his false Greek gods. So, some Jews became very angry. The Maccabees were a family. They wanted the Jews to serve the true God only. And they opposed the false Greek gods. The Maccabees encouraged the Jews to fight their enemies. The Maccabees ruled Israel for a short time. The Jews began to argue with each other. Then the Romans came and ruled Israel. They were very strict. The Jews wanted to be free. But the Roman Empire became very strong. The Romans ruled many countries. Their power was very great. It seemed impossible for the Jews to be free. At the time of the birth of Jesus, the Romans had made Herod to be king over Israel. Herod was not a Jew. He was a foreigner. Although he was a Jew by religion, he did not obey the laws of the Jews. He was a strong and cruel man. He became king by a plot. He wanted to control the Jews. So he built the Temple again. He made it much bigger. His workmen began to buil d the Temple in 20 BC. They continued until about AD 64. Herod s Temple was a very beautiful building. But what happened in the Temple was not