e. The Torah portion of the Bible (the
“Penteuch” or “Five Pieces”) ends with
the death of Moses. The books follow-
ing this from Joshua down to the end
of Chronicles carry through the history
of the Israelites from their occupation
of the land of Canaan to their con-
quest at the hands of the Babylonians
in 597 BCE.
D. A Kingdom for Israel
1.David and Solomon
a. The original loose confederation of
the Twelve Tribes yielded to a reluc-
tantly God-granted monarchy
bestowed first upon Saul, then on
David, the “anointed one” (mashiah
in Hebrew), and guaranteed to his
descendants forever (2 Sam. 7:16).
b. God did not promise the Israelites
Jerusalem. That was a later idea of
David’s, according to the book of
Kings. His conquest of the Jebusite
stronghold of Jerusalem is tradition-
ally dated to 996 BCE and may be
his most important accomplishment.
c. David then made the city the political
center of the unified Israelites. Once
David brought the portable ark-
throne of the once nomadic tribes
into the city, it became the spiritual
center as well.
d. David’s son, Solomon, enshrined the
ark permanently in the grandiose
temple he built atop Mount Moriah.
Thus, the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, and of course, of Jesus
and Muhammad, established His
presence in that city, and He was
worshiped there.The Black Stone of the Ka'baSACRED STONESBelieved to embody the presence
and spirit of God, the setting of
Sacred Stones has been a practice
throughout the Middle East for cen-
turies. Even before the resurrection
of Christ, the sacred stone played
an important role in religion.
Sacred stones come in all
shapes, sizes and consistency.
From Jacob’s Pillar to the Black
Stone of the Ka’ba, stones have
been set as pillars into the earth or
portioned as part of a building.
Abraham constructed an altar of
unhewn stone in the wilderness to
afford the locals a place to worship
for example. Standing stones were
also used to mark holy or sacred
places, or places that were believed
to hold the essence of God.
The Holy Land is dotted with such
places and are visited by thousands
of believers every year. Many claim
the power of the stones continues to
exude strength to anyone who con-
tacts the stone.LECTURE TWO
© F.E. Peters