During Hezekiah's rule in Jerusalem and the preparation of rebellion against the Assyrians, writing became an important part of society. Written rules became authoritative and at times more powerful than the king because the king had to submit under a written, unchangeable law. We still see this today with the Constitution and how our government rules based on what the Constitution says. In the same way, written laws became more prevalent and important. Writing literature also became popular during this time period and people were being trained to be literate. This was done to preserve the reputation and history of the kingdom instead of just orally passing things down. It is possible that the biblical book of Proverbs and Songs of Solomon were written down during this time.
Thinking back to the promise to David and how through his line a messiah would come, Jerusalem was in need of a savior while fighting the massive Assyrian army. There was little hope that Jerusalem would be able to fight off such a big empire, but God was on their side. Some believe that Hezekiah is the messiah that God promises because of the context of what was going on then. Hezekiah was the one who was to be the defender of the city and stop Assyria from invading Jerusalem. In the most dire time, Hezekiah goes to the temple to beg God to help them against the Assyrians. God promises that He will deliver Jerusalem from this attack and that the city will never fall or be destroyed. In light of this, the Bible says that God sends an angel to fight the Assyrian army. With the divine on Jerusalem's side, Assyria retreats and is never able to take Jerusalem. After Jerusalem survives the Assyrian attack, Jerusalem is seen as indestructible because God Himself is protecting it. This was the single greatest catalyst for the snowballing legend of an nonviable Jerusalem. Even in Sennacherib's prism where he records his conquest, he never mentions capturing Jerusalem. He says that he traps Hezekiah like a bird in a cage, but never says that he took the city. This started the development of Zion Theology, which is the idea that God will protect Jerusalem and fulfill his promise to David. Hezekiah then embarks on a religious reform that states that the only place to worship God is in the temple at Jerusalem. He makes one way to worship and perhaps it was a tactic to unite everyone under one belief.
After Hezekiah dies, his son, Meanasseh, undoes all the religious reforms and bad things start to happen. The urbanization causes political and religious unrest because there are so many people moving into Jerusalem and mix of political and religious beliefs. Without a charismatic leader like Hezekiah, there needed to be another way to show authority, which becomes a written set of laws. There is a discovery of a scroll known as "The Law", similar to the one Moses received from God. When Josiah comes into power, he starts a religious reform almost identical to Hezekiah's. It was based on reading and obeying the book and there is only worship to the Hebrew God. During this time period, society becomes literate and there are expectations that people should know how to read and write.
No comments:
Post a Comment