Bible Basic Destruction of the First Temple During the Destruction of the First Temple, the Babylonians invaded and sacked Jerusalem. The city was destroyed, its walls were pulled down, and First Temple was destroyed by fire. The holy items and decorations of the Temple were stripped and taken to Babylon. The Destruction was a highly traumatic event for the People of Israel and is commemorated on Tisha B’Av, the Jewish national day of mourning. The prophet Jeremiah had prophesied (29:10) that the People of Israel would return to Israel from the Exile after 70 years, which indeed came to pass. Read More
Bible Basic Exodus from Egypt As he was suffering during the final plague of the Death of the Firstborn, Pharaoh finally told the Israelites to leave Egypt as God had predicted. With that, Moses and Aaron declared that it was finally time to depart. The next day, with unleavened bread, silver, gold, and much more, approximately 3 million Israelites physically walked out of Egypt. The Exodus from Egypt is a core event for the People of Israel, mentioned multiple times in daily prayers, on Shabbat, and the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Read More
Bible Basic Golden Calf While Moses was receiving the Torah from God on Mount Sinai, the mixed multitude of Egyptians who left Egypt with the Israelites became impatient. They forced Aaron to make a Golden Calf as an idol to worship. Aaron tried hard to delay the mixed multitude but was not successful. When the calf was complete, the mixed mulitude began to worship it. Some of the spiritually weaker Israelites joined the mixed multitude in this sin. As these events were unfolding, God informed Moses what was happening down in the camp, and told him to descend from the mountain. When Moses descended, he stopped the “celebration” and punished the evildoers. Moses then asked God to pardon Aaron and the rest of the Israelite nation, and his request was granted. Read More
Bible Basic Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah and the Fiery Furnace Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were the three young Hebrew men renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. They were ordered by King Nebuchadnezzar to publicly bow down in worship of the idol he had made; however, they refused to do so out of their loyalty to God. As a penalty, they were cast into an intensely hot oven but were miraculously saved by an angel sent from God. Nebuchadnezzar then proclaimed that anyone who blasphemes God’s name will be put to death, and he praised God. Read More
Bible Basic Slavery in Egypt The Slavery in Egypt was the physical and spiritual enslavement of the Israelites by Pharoah and the Egyptian people. The 210-year experience is recorded in the Book of Exodus, which describes how the slavery started, the oppression suffered by the Israelites, the Ten Plagues, and finally the liberation of the Israelites. Read More
Bible Basic Ten Plagues The Ten Plagues were inflicted by God on Egypt as punishment for their enslavement of the Israelites. The plagues are recorded in the Book of Exodus and include: Water turned to blood Frogs Lice or gnats Wild animals or flies Livestock disease Boils Hailstorms Locusts Darkness Death of the firstborn The final plague was particularly devastating, as it resulted in the death of every firstborn male in Egypt, including Pharaoh’s own son. This led Pharaoh to finally release the Israelites from slavery and allow them to leave Egypt under Moses’ leadership. The Ten Plagues demonstrated God’s power over nature and the fulfillment of His promise to redeem His people. They remain an important part of Jewish tradition, commemorated during Passover (Pesach) each year as a reminder of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. Read More
Bible Basic The Battle Between David and Goliath Goliath was a giant champion Philistine warrior who had been taunting King Saul’s Israelite army and profaning God’s name. When none of the Israelites stepped forward to fight Goliath, the young shepherd David boldly volunteered to fight. With faith in God, he used only a sling and stone to strike Goliath in the forehead, killing him instantly. As the Philistine army fled in fear, David picked up Goliath’s massive sword and beheaded the dead giant. Read More
Bible Basic The Fall of Jericho The Fall of Jericho happened when God commanded Joshua and the Israelites to march around the city walls of Jericho for seven days. They marched around once a day for six days. On the seventh day, they marched around seven times, then blew shofarot (ram’s horns) and shouted, causing the walls to collapse. The Israelites then entered the city, killing all people and animals except for Rahab, the prostitute, and her family. Afterwards, Joshua cursed anyone who would rebuild the city of Jericho. Read More
Bible Basic The Flood Ten generations after the creation of Adam, God saw that the earth had become corrupt; filled with violence and deserving of destruction. God instructed one righteous man, Noah, to build an ark. He was to enter the ark with his family and all species of animals, in order to survive a planetary flood. After 150 days, the water receded until the Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat in modern-day Turkey. After the flood, God made a covenant with Noah allowing his descendants (all of humanity) to eat living creatures, not just vegetation. God also promised never again to destroy all life on Earth by a flood. Read More
Bible Basic The Purim Story The Purim story is found in the Biblical Book of Esther, which recounts the Jewish people’s miraculous salvation from destruction in the Persian Empire. Under the influence of his minister Haman, King Ahaseurus decreed that all Jews should be killed on one day, the 14th day of the month of Adar. Through God’s hidden hand, Mordecai and his adopted daughter, Queen Esther, stopped Haman’s evil plot. Haman and tens of thousands of the Jews’ enemies were killed in the process. To celebrate this victory, Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Purim every year with a festive meal, gifts, charity to the poor, and reading the Book of Esther. Read More