Lesson 4: Events of Salvation History

LEARNING TARGETS

At the end of the lessons, the students can;

Doctrine: Explain the events of salvation history
Moral: Demonstrate fidelity to God like the Israelites
Worship: make a summary of the events of salvation in prayer form

THE HISTORY OF SALVATION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. THE MIGRATION TO CANAAN (2000-1700 BC)

With the call of Abram, later named Abraham, God began a people whose descendants
are living in ethnic purity to this very day and the entrance of Abram into Canaan initiated a new
era in God's purpose for the human race. Abraham's call was a call to salvation, to service, to
eternal life, and to a new life that began when he by faith trusted God's Word to him.

In Genesis 12:1-4, Abraham received the promise from God that He would; give the land
of Canaan to his descendants, make him the father of many nations and kings and bless the
nations of the world through his offspring.

The Unconditional Covenant of God with Abraham was to; make Abraham's descendants
a great nation, bless Abraham materially and make his name great. Protect Abraham by blessing
those that blessed him and cursing those that opposed Abraham, and bless all the families of the
earth through Abraham.

THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM (Genesis 15:6)

Abraham was considered to be one of the greatest men in history because he was
looked up as the spiritual forerunner of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Christians in
particular viewed him as the “father of all believers” (Rom 4:11).

The stories of the patriarchs tell how God begins to form a special relationship
with a chosen race of people. Most of humanity does not recognize the one true God. So
he makes a special promise, called a Covenant, with a man named Abraham and his wife,
Sarah. God promises that their descendants will be numerous and that they will inherit a
Promised Land. Abraham and Sarah have several crises in which it appears that God’s
 Covenant will go unfulfilled: famine, war, Sarah’s barrenness, even an attempt to
sacrifice their own son, Isaac. But each time God steps in to ensure that things turn out
okay.

2. SOJOURN IN EGYPT (1700 BC)

The stories of Abraham and Sarah’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren

repeat a pattern of crisis and God’s faithfulness. Their son Isaac has difficulty finding a suitable
wife. There is sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau that nearly leads to violence. Jacob’s older
sons sell their youngest brother, Joseph, into slavery. But God leads Joseph to become Pharaoh’s
right-hand man. In an amazing story of reconciliation and forgiveness, Joseph welcomes back his
father and brothers, providing them food and a place to live during another famine. Jacob’s sons
become the patriarchs—the founding fathers—of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

a. The 12 sons of Israel

As the story continues, Abraham’s grandson Jacob,(son of Isaac), later named as Israel
lived north of Canaan with his kinsfolk called, Hebrews. From him came the colorful
story of the 12 tribes of Israel originating from his 12 sons. One of his 12 sons was
Joseph who was sold into slavery in Egypt at 17 years of age. At age 30, he became the
viceroy of Egypt (Gen. 41:46) to prepare for the famine.

b. The Journey to Egypt

The “sojourn” began when the family of Jacob went to Egypt backed up by Joseph to
save themselves from the famine that hit the land during those times.

c. Growing in numbers

The Hebrew stayed there in Egypt and as years went by, they increased in numbers. They
composed the working class. They were the ones making Egypt more prosperous,
abundant and a wealthy nation. As they grew in numbers, the Egyptians thought that they
were a threat to them. So the Egyptians persecuted them, confiscated their lands, recalled
their privileges as foreigners, forced to control their population – killing infant boys upon
birth and forced to labor.

3. ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY IN EGYPT (1280 BC)

The third period of salvation history concerns the liberation of Jacob’s descendants—now
called Israelites—from slavery in Egypt. At the beginning of the Book of Exodus, we discover
that the Israelites are in slavery in Egypt. God hears their cries and calls Moses to lead the people
out of slavery. But Pharaoh, the Egyptian leader who is also seen by his people as a god, has a
hard heart. In a contest of wills between “gods,” Yahweh proves his might over Pharaoh by
sending terrible plagues upon the Egyptians. The Israelites’ escape from Egypt and journey to
the Holy Land is called the Exodus.

On the way to the Promised Land, the Israelites stop at Mount Sinai. There the key event
in Jewish salvation history occurs. In a dramatic theophany (appearance of God), God extends
the Covenant he made with Abraham to all the Israelites. He gives Moses the Law, summarized
in the Ten Commandments, which the people must obey as a sign of their commitment to the
Covenant.

During the Exodus the people frequently complain and lose their faith in God. As a
consequence, they must wander in the desert for forty years, and only their children will be able
to enter the Promised Land (with two exceptions, Joshua and Caleb).

4. ISRAEL CONFEDERATION AT SINAI (1250 BC)

The 12 tribes of Israel turned to be one community believing in one God. They became
now the Qahal Yahweh. It was from this event that they were now called, the Israelites, as the
covenanted people.

They camped at Mt. Sinai where God had appeared to Moses in the burning bush. God
called Moses up into the mountain. Moses was alone with God for forty days. God revealed His
Law for the people of Israel to Moses during this time. The heart of this Law is the Ten
Commandments. The first four commandments concern man’s responsibility to God. The last six
concern man’s responsibility to his fellow man. These commandments are found in Exodus 20:1-
17. The Law given at Sinai was God’s Law for Israel.

The commandments exemplify God’s continuing LOVE, GUIDANCE and

INSTRUCTION for His chosen people. It is also called as THE DECALOGUE (Gr. deka, ten,
and logos, a word). Originally given in the book of Exodus (20) and Deuteronomy (5), their full
meaning is revealed in Jesus. God’s moral commands on how the Israelites were to live as God’s
people. (God wanted to free the Israelites not physical slavery and oppression but also from
every evil)

The commandment is the core of the covenant relationship between God and His people.
They set forth the conditions on how the Israelites were to act as the chosen people of God.
(Note: For the Israelites, obeying the commandments meant living a moral life and respecting all
the built in rights that God had bestowed on humans. This applies even to us today.)
 The Ten Commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor.
The first three concern love of God, and the other seven love of neighbor. (CCC, 2067). Since
they express man's fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbor, the Ten
Commandments reveal, in their primordial content, grave obligations. They are fundamentally
immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere. No one can dispense from them. The Ten
Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart. (CCC, 2072)

5. SETTLING THE PROMISED LAND

The fifth period of salvation history concerns the Israelites’ conquest of the Promised
Land. Moses dies before the Israelites enter the Promised Land. God calls Moses’ right-hand
man, Joshua (“Jesus” is another form of his name), to lead the people into the land, much of
which is inhabited by other people. The Israelites must fight to gain control of the land. When
they trust God, they are successful in their battles; when they do not trust God, they fail.
Eventually they gain control of the land, and Joshua divides the land between the twelve tribes.

New invaders try to capture the land. At this time the Israelites have no king, because
God is their ruler. A pattern develops: (1) the Israelites forget about God and are unfaithful to the
Covenant; (2) they suffer at the hands of invaders; (3) they cry out to God for help; (4) God calls
special leaders and warriors, called judges, to help deliver justice and defend the land against the
invaders; (5) life is good for a while until the Israelites lapse into unfaithfulness and the cycle
begins again. Deborah, Gideon, and Samson are some of the more famous judges. Unfortunately,
with each cycle the violence gets worse and the judges are less holy. The Book of Judges ends
with a horrible rape that leads to a civil war in which the whole tribe of Benjamin is slaughtered
except for six hundred men.

Proceeding events

a. Creation of Monarchy.

This is one of the strongest features of the establishment of a nation when they
occupied the land. They were unified into a kingdom under the leadership of
Kings Saul, David and Solomon. Israel became rich, strong and famous.

b. The Division of the Kingdom of Israel.

 With the building of the temple during king Solomon’s reign, the people felt
oppression through the imposition of taxes and forced labor to maintain powerful
infrastructure. After Solomon’s death, conflicts confused the leadership and the
political power of Israelites started to weaken. The Kingdom was divided. The
northern kingdom was called Israel (the larger group) and the southern kingdom
was called Juda, the land around Jerusalem.

The divided nations now became weaken compared to the arising superpowers of
those days, Assyria and Babylon. As a result; the northern kingdom fell to the
Assyrians (722 B.C.) while the southern kingdom fell to Babylon, during the
reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Most of the people were held captives and deported to
Babylon. Furthermore, Jerusalem was burned, the temple was destroyed and
books of laws and artifacts were lost.

c. The return, rebuilding of the temple and renewal

During the rise of the Persians gaining control over Babylon under the leadership
of Cyrus, the Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland. Restoration
started, book of the law was discovered in the ruins and started the restoration of
Jewish worship (rebuilding of the temple). Many have returned as they expressed
their love and fidelity for their homeland. They were called the “rest of Israel”.
However, a large number probably remained and settled the area near Tigris and
Euphrates because of the fertility of the land. They were called the “diaspora” of
the “wandering Jews”. There was relative peace in Palestine under the rule of the
Persians.

d. Tribulations under the influence of the Greeks. (332-175 BC)

Greece became superpower and captured Palestine. Alexander the Great as well
as his successors brought to Palestine Greek culture and thought. The Jews
experienced oppression and cruelties under this foreign nation, like forbidding the
Jews to observe the Sabbath, ordered to worship Greek gods and goddesses and
copies of the Hebrew scripture were destroyed.

e. The Maccabean Revolt

Israelites rebelled against the Greeks under the leadership of the Maccabean
family. The revolt brought relative peace and independence.
f. The Roman conquest (63 BC)

Roman General Pompey captured Jerusalem. Many Jewish leaders were happy as
they were freed from the oppression of the Greeks. So that they welcomed the
Romans and tried to get as many privileges as possible by collaborating with
them. However, many Jews-the common masses suffered much because of the
high imposition of taxes by the Romans and the corrupt Jewish collaborators. It
was during this socio-political situation that Jesus was born.
LET US LEARN MORE:

Activity 1

Make a concept map on what you have learned in the history of salvation of the Israelites. Be
ready to explain those important events during the session.

Activity 2

Watch this 10-minute video on YouTube about the Catholic Salvation History:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaPXFOlNEY8

Give your comment on the topic.

Activity 3
 A. Reflection/Journal Writing: “I become like an Israelite when…”

I become like an Israelite when I offer my life to Lord. Being an Israelite doesn’t mean only that
we are from the descendants of Abraham. Doesn’t mean about us born in Israel or we have a
blood of Israelite. In fact, it is being determine how we faith to the Lord. How we act as a person.
How we follow His Ten Commandments. In the biblical account, the Israelites were the people
chosen by God as the people of a special covenant, or agreement, according to which God would
bless them and their descendants in exchange for their obedience to certain laws, customs, and
attitudes. That they have been chosen by God as his special people. Which implies that the
Jewish people have been chosen by God to worship only him and to fulfill the mission of
proclaiming his truth among all the nations of the world. We can be an Israelite by heart, doing
all things in His rules. Worshipping Him and always have faith with Him. As a human in this
world, we may face hardships or happiness. The thing that matter is how we live our lives. Do
we have God? Are we doing what God wanted us to do? Did we think about the things we got
because of Him? Living in this timeline, I can say that salvation do not determine of who are and
what you are. It is about how we does. Becoming an Israelite is not through papers or laws. It is
by how we connect to Him. How we act as a people of God. It is not hard to become an Israelite.
It is to those people who don’t want to become one.

B. Prayer Writing: Make a summary of the events of salvation in prayer form

Dear God,

We couldn’t be here without Abraham. You make him the father of many nations and
kings and bless the nations of the world through his offspring. Abraham's call was a call to
salvation, to service, to eternal life, and to a new life that began oh Lord. However, Abraham and
Sarah’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren repeat a pattern of crisis and God’s
faithfulness. But still You are there to make things well. And it relates to us people in current
time. Despite of rivalry and chaos with my family. We are able to reconcile in Your ways. You
also extend the Covenant You made with Abraham to all the Israelites. You gave Moses the
Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, which the people must obey as a sign of their
commitment to the Covenant. Without these laws you give, we may be not aware on our
mistakes. The world may end up to chaos. The commandments exemplify that You continue
love, guide and instruct us.

Amen.

REFERENCES:

Living in Christ Series. (2010). The Salvation History. Retrieved June 17, 2020 from
https://www.smp.org/dynamicmedia/files/8c33067588be15811bfc4731c6f41e23/TX001027_1-
Content_-_Salvation_History.pdf.

Scott, J. (2020). The Salvation History. Retrieved June 20, 2020 from https://www.
smmcc.org/media/1/19/Catholicism%20-%20Salvation%20History%20v2.pdf

The Catechism of the Catholic Church – Retrieved June 20, 2020 from http:// www. vatican. va/
archive/ ccc_ css/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p4.htm