Index

Back

Next

When Jehu seized the throne of Israel after being anointed by a charismatic prophet of YHWH, he believed his 'purge' of every-one connected with the previous dynasty, (Ahab in particular), to meet with the approval of YHWH. He killed the King of Israel, and his cousin, King of Judah, then Jezebel, then 42 relations from Judah coming to visit, and, in Samaria, 70 sons of Ahab, all Ahab's close friends and all the top leaders of the kingdom. Then he announced a Solemn Assembly, and commanded every-one associated with the Temple of Baal to attend, dressed in all their finest liturgical robes. As soon as everything was ready, he sent in his soldiers, and set them all on fire. No-one escaped. The temple ruins were demolished, the remains of the Baal and the Asherah statues were publicly destroyed, and the site used as a public latrine. Jehu's 'zeal' for YHWH was triumphant, ........ but his reign did not prosper!

Jehu had alienated his country's former friends, Jezebel's family in Phoenicia, and the Kingdom of Judah in the South. Now Israel stood alone when trouble arrived, only one year later. The country of the god, Assur, Assyria, was expanding its territories - westwards. Their conquering king, Shalmaneser III led his 5^th and last campaign, and in 841BCE, reached Damascus. The new King of Syria/Aram, Hazael, had not yet organised his defences after his usurpation of the throne, and Damascus soon fell to the Assyrian. Jehu, realising his own vulnerability, hurried to pay tribute to Assyria. There is no mention of this in the OT, but Shalmaneser's 6ft-high, Black Obelisk, now in the British Museum, shows Jehu on his knees, grovelling with his tribute in front of Shalmaneser. Shalmaneser returned to his capital city, Nimrud, leaving Hazael and Jehu alone again. Hazael asserted himself on the friendless Israel, and wreaked havoc, capturing much of its territories, particularly in Transjordan and along the coastal highway.

THE E-CODE, ISRAEL'S STORY The YHWH-faith in Israel did come to the fore again, after Jehu's purge of baalism. It was always 'there' among the Israelite tribespeople, kept alive by the constant storytelling in their communities, and commanding Covenant loyalty from each succeeding generation at religious festivals with Covenant ceremonies, such as that recorded in Joshua 24. Credit for this must be given, in all probability, to the village teaching- priests, throughout the North and the South, - the Levites.

Israel's version of the common story reflected the attitudes of the old Tribal Confederacy, when YHWH alone was their 'King'. It emphasised Moses as the great hero of YHWH, for he had mediated the Covenant and given them YHWH's Law, and in contrast, it under-emphasised Abraham's Covenant which was greatly treasured in Southern Hebron. It did, though, include the story of Abraham's 'obedience' and the near-sacrifice of Isaac. This E-Code theme on the 'Fear' of God, demanding Israel's total obedience, and to worship 'No Other God', was the key issue that prevented their total absorption into Canaan after the Conquest.

Their Story favoured the heroes of the Northern tribes, particularly the 'Joseph tribes' of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, and the charismatic Judges rather than hereditary kings.

Somewhere, in the North, - possibly at Shechem, of 'Covenant' association?, - somehow, someone began to write down Israel's version of the Story. It was full of dreams and visions, and exaggerations of YHWH's mighty acts, and in its early stages can be identified in Genesis by the use of EL for God, for they valued very highly the revelation of the name, YHWH, to Moses at the burning bush of Sinai. Only fragments of this E-Code now remain for us, because it was edited into the Southern J-code, by editors who were themselves, southerners.

Theologically, the E-Code is more mature, written a century after 'J', and emphasising the moral connection between Israel's worship of YHWH and their behaviour towards each other, the theme that the great prophets of the North were to emphasise, without apparently, having to teach it first.

BUT .....

Baalism, also survived in the agricultural communities of the South and the North.

They were too close to the culture of the Fertile Crescent for it ever to disappear altogether.

In Israel, King Jehu survived, reigned and died, to be followed by another four generations of his family. In Syria, Hazael died, and was succeeded by his weaker son, Benhadad III, but in Assyria, King Adad-nirari III began a new phase of westward expansion. Assyria then absorbed all Benhadad's attention, while Israel took quick advantage. In three sharp battles, Israel re-gained its lost territories across the Jordan, thus raising both morale and confidence. Then in a march southwards to quell a challenge from Judah, King Jehoash of Israel attacked Jerusalem, badly damaged its defensive walls, and demanded tribute from the Temple Treasury. Samaria began to revive, richer, and more outward-looking.

King Jeroboam II succeeded to the throne around 786BCE and his 40-year reign was the most glorious that the North was ever to experience, over shadowing even the reputation of Solomon's glory! He continued attacking Syria 'in the back', and acquired control of Hamath again, and then southwards down the coastal plain, round Judah and down to the Gulf of Aqaba to restart seatrade to the east. (Phoenicia, - still not friends with Jehu's descendents, - was by now more concerned with expansion round the Mediterranean, and its new city of Carthage in North Africa). Israel was peaceful, stable, confident, and rich from the wealth of great trade, yet the OT gives six verses only to this great reign - 2 Kgs 14.23-29.

We would know little more of this time were it not for the writings of the prophets, Amos and Hosea, who were both active during Jeroboam's reign. Prosperity was great for the idle rich, those who 'dealt in coinage', but for the farmers who traded their produce, it was a sad story of downward poverty, down to the levels of slavery, - unknown before in Israel. While the rich enjoyed life, in their summer and winter houses, lounging on their day beds 'of ivory', eating the choicest and most tender meats, enjoying sweet wines, they were uncaring of those who were being cheated in the market places - because they were poor; they bribed their friends, the judges, to avoid redress in the courts; they bought up the farms of the bankrupt poor, and made them both redundant and homeless, after importing slavelabour to work the land, - (no wages to pay!).The dispossessed poor then drifted to the towns to beg, and sold their children into slavery, to ensure that at least they would be fed and clothed by their 'owners'. Prices for these children amounted to the price of 'a pair of sandals'.

AMOS came from peasant stock in the town of Tekoa, just south of Jerusalem. He was well-educated, a responsible leader in the community, as all 'shepherds' were, - but, one day, he changed, out of character, and left, to go to the north. His 'call' from YHWH had given him much to think about. Like all the major prophets his 'call' was not a theophany experience. He did not learn more about the nature of YHWH, but his own eyes were opened, by visions and words, to see his own day and age through the eyes of YHWH, Himself. At first, Amos had interrupted his visions, (Amos 7.1-6), but later he began to listen, (7.7-9, 8.1-3, & 9.1-4). When he had come to terms with the call to action, he set off for the north and saw for himself the way YHWH's rich people were treating YHWH's poor people.

Now he could see what was wrong! It was no sin to enjoy the good things of life, but morally wrong to enslave the very people whom YHWH had rescued from slavery in Egypt. This would negate the whole of the Covenant relationship between Israel and YHWH, - and the justice of YHWH would act against His own people. This was NEW in world prophecy! Amos shocked every-one with his preaching, even though his poems, (oracles), are so beautiful and vivid. A key oracle is in 5.24 - 'let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream'.

He preached in Samaria, and in the heart of Israel's establishment, the royal shrine at Bethel, until he was hounded out for his 'treason', by Amaziah, the King's priest at Bethel. No longer a respectable citizen, and accused of being one of the 'professionals' who prophesied to entertain for payment, Amos had now become one of YHWH's uncomfortable 'loners'.

Amos disappeared, presumably back home, but a changed man. Did he write down his own oracles, using odd bits of broken pottery, (sherds)? Or did someone else? More than 200 years later, when his words had been proved only too true, they were collected, sorted, and edited on to parchment - in Babylon!