Reactions to Chapter 1-4

I really enjoyed the explanation of the religion of this land in ancient times.  Each city praised its founding god and for Jerusalem this was Shalem but then the Hurrians brought the new god, Baal.  Then Baal was replaced by Yahweh.  According to Armstrong, once the temple was built for Yahweh, “Yahweh was now the ruler of Jerusalem and because Israel was his people, the land became theirs” (53).  I find it interesting that the temple was the requirement for the city to belong to that god.  The reason I enjoyed this part of Armstrong’s history is because, rather than just give a documentation of events that happened, we get an idea of their culture and how their lives were shaped.  People needed a god for their city but it’s interesting to me that this god changed with different rulers.  The temple becomes the central focus when Isaiah came to power.  He strives to make the temple the center of the world where all creatures would live in harmony.  The idea of harmony revolved around this one temple for Yahweh.  Also, showing the importance of the temple, when the Babylonians destroyed the temple, it was seen as proof that the kingdom of Judah was gone.  “In the ancient world, the destruction of a royal temple was tantamount to the destruction of the state, which could not survive without a “center” linking it to heaven” (77).  I find the extent of how the city relied on the temple quite remarkable.

Another aspect of their lives I thought was interesting was their idea of holy places.  According to Armstrong, cities were considered holy places and human beings could never decide where to build a city, temple, or any kind of shrine.  The area had to be chosen somehow, by a god.  Although Armstrong explains that almost any incidence or unusual feature could be seen as holy: “the unknown, the alien. Or even the perfect seemed to the men and women of archaic societies to point to something other than themselves” (9).  Thus mountains were often seen as a holy center because it brought one closer to heaven.  Thus, these peoples’ lives revolved around what they saw as holy.  Also, David’s first attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem failed because a man had died by touching it.  To the people, this meant that Yahweh did not approve of this move.  As Armstrong put it, “It was not up to human beings to establish a holy place on their own initiative: the sanctity of a site had to be revealed” (41).  To me, this shows the piety and of the people at this time.  Even though much of the history has to deal with battles and new kingdoms taking over other kingdoms, the reader still gets the sense that these people are humble.  The picture is of the Ark of the Covenant.  I decided to include the picture because it was so important to the people and I wanted to get an idea of how ornate this object was.