Need of Messiah

This wandering community was not living in isolation. The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites and many other kinds of tribes n clans. Customs, rituals beliefs of all these tribes were thoroughly different from Israelites. Israelites used to marry the daughters of these clan and men from these clan used to marry Israeli daughters. (Judges 3:6)
Clashes between amongst these communities were obvious and every time some or other individual has always acted as a saviour for Israelites. Moses, Joshua, Judges…these were all a kind of Messiah for Israelites. Rather I can say that every period of this community’s existence had its own messiah. Having a messiah must be a kind of tradition at that time.
Jesus was just one of them.

The ark of covenant & Idol worship

Does the idea of the ark of covenant defies the age old notion that Christianity is against idol worship?

Judges3

Judges 3 says “These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD's commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses”.
Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians and Hivites were not eliminated completely. They were left by God to test the Israelites.
They were left by God or they themselves survived?

Judges: in Marathi its 'Shaste'

the book of Judges is named in Marathi as 'Shaste'. What does 'shasta' mean?

Minorities are Chameleons

The communities with whom Jews had a fight in Old Testament were polytheistic. Judaism which is the root of Christianity proclaims monotheism. Christianity also in practical life propagates that its essence is monotheistic.
All the Indian communities who got converted to Christianity were definitely polytheistic in nature. So the conversion of Marathi Protestant Christians was the conversion from Polytheism to Monotheism.
Officially one may get converted or one may be forced to get converted but on subtle levels the process of conversion doesn’t take place at once. It’s a continuous process…probably the process goes on over for more than a generation. I think in a society where Marathi Protestant Christians is a minority, slowly, silently, a day by day but never completely a person keeps on converting. Thorough conversion is never possible for minority.
Minority is like a chameleon in a jungle who keeps on changing and matching his colors to the surroundings. Its nothing but his survival. Constant change which matches to the surroundings is the way of living of minorities.

Mesopotamia

In Judges 3 God makes Jews to serve the King of Mesopotamia for 8 years because they commit the sin of serving the other Gods.
About Mesopotamia: (reference from Wikipedia)
Mesopotamia is the region now occupied by modern Iraq, and parts of eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwest Iran. The name Mesopotamia here means "between" and "river", referring to the basins of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers and the area in between. The geographical area watered by these two rivers is often referred to as the "Cradle of Civilization", since it was here that the first literate societies developed in the late 4th millennium BC, using a highly sophisticated writing system in the context of the emergence of the first cities and complex state bureaucracies.
The region was as one of the famous four river-based civilizations where writing was first invented, along with the Nile valley in Egypt, the Indus Valley in the Indian Subcontinent and Yellow River valley in China.
The earliest language written in Mesopotamia was Sumerian. Scholars agree that other languages were also spoken in early Mesopotamia along with Sumerian. Later a Semitic language, Akkadian, came to be the dominant language, although Sumerian was retained for administration, religious, literary, and scientific purposes. Different varieties of Akkadian were used until the end of the Neo-Babylonian period. Then Aramaic, which had already become common in Mesopotamia, became the official provincial administration language of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
Mesopotamian people developed many technologies, among them metalworking, glassmaking, textile weaving, flood control, water storage, as well as irrigation. They were also one of the first Bronze age people in the world. Early on they used copper, bronze and gold, and later they used iron. Palaces were decorated with hundreds of kilograms of these very expensive metals. Also, copper, bronze, and iron were used for armor as well as for different weapons such as swords, daggers & spears.
The Mesopotamians used a sexagesimal (base 60) numeral system. This is the source of the current 60-minute hours and 24-hour days, as well as the 360 degree circle. The Sumerian calendar also measured weeks of seven days each. This mathematical knowledge was used in mapmaking.
The Babylonian astronomers were very interested in studying the stars and sky, and most could already predict eclipses and solstices. People thought that everything had some purpose in astronomy. Most of these related to religion and omens. Mesopotamian astronomers worked out a 12 month calendar based on the cycles of the moon. They divided the year into two seasons: summer and winter. The origins of astrology probably date from this time.
The religion of the people was polytheistic which is completely contrary to the Jews ideology.
Mesopotamian settlers were some of the first people to make beer and wine.

Baal & Ashtaroth

In Judges second chapter it is mentioned that once Israel ‘forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth’.
Astaroth is depicted as a nude man with dragon-like wings, hands and feet, a second pair of feathered wings after the main, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a wolf or dog. Holding a serpent in one hand is an important depiction. This serpent could have had been the same one who deceived Eve in Eden. He is definitely the rival of Lord.
Overall the Jew’s history also denotes a strong abhorrence for any representation of ‘serpent’ (except Moses’ rod gets transformed into a serpent by God’s order). But overall serpent is taboo.
Contrary in Indian culture serpent is worshipped. How the converted communities of India would have had accepted (or still accepting) these age old symbols of Christianity is crucial aspect that should be studied

Joshua 19 - a reference of Bethlehem

Joshua 19 - a reference of Bethlehem

Total Destruction=?

Total regions destroyed by Sons of Israel are around 35. It includes around 31 kings defeated by Joshua and rest of the kings by Moses. Its not just 35 kings who were defeated....it means families living there were killed, 35 cultures, 35 civilizations, 35 ways of life.
Certainly globalization is much older than we think...
The only city made peace with the Israel was the Hivites living in Gibeon.

Kings defeated by Moses:
1. Sihon king of the Amorites,
2. Og king of Bashan

Kings Defeated by Joshua:
1. the king of Jericho
2. king of Ai,
3. the king of Jerusalem
4. the king of Hebron
5. the king of Jarmuth
6. the king of Lachish
7. the king of Eglon
8. the king of Gezer
9. the king of Debir
10. the king of Geder
11. the king of Hormah
12. the king of Arad
13. the king of Libnah
14. the king of Adullam
15. the king of Makkedah
16. the king of Bethel
17. the king of Tappuah
18. the king of Hepher
19. the king of Aphek
20. the king of Lasharon
21. the king of Madon
22. the king of Hazor
23. the king of Shimron-meron
24. the king of Achshaph
25. the king of Taanach
26. the king of Megiddo
27. the king of Kedesh
28. the king of Jokneam in Carmel
29. the king of Dor in the heights of Dor
30. the king of Goiim in Gilgal
31. the king of Tirzah

Besides these region, there were many other regions which are refered in Joshua 13 which were ordered by the God to be triumphed.

monologue 11

And who were these Cannanites? ....weren,t they our relatives only?

Monologue 9 : Am I the Chosen One?

• Jewish heritage (Was Jesus a Jew?) Deuteronomy 17:15
• A member of the tribe of Judah tribe (Was Jesus a member?) Genesis 49:10
• A direct male descendant of King David and King Solomon (was Jesus a direct male descendent?) 2Samuel 7:12-13
• He must rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (Did Jesus rebuild the temple?) Ezekiel 37:26-27
• He must bring all of the Jews in the world to Israel (Did Jesus bring all the Jews to Israel?)

Siege if Jericho

Siege of Jericho in Joshua 6 is believed tohad been taken place around 1500 century BC. Archeologist have found out that the city have been inhabited up to now by around 20 settlements. The oldest dates back to around 9000 BC.

Torah & Tanakh

The first 5 books of the Bible are called Torah in Judaism. It is the premiere scrpture of the Judaism as it was revealed to Moses by God. Some believe that Torah was given to Moses at onece, some believe that it was revealed to Moses intermittently and some believe that other people like Joshua might have written some part of it after Moses' death.
And the complete old Testament is called Tanakh in Judaism.

Monologue 8

As a child I used to feel that I should have been at the place of Joshua…listening to the word of God, leading all the sons of Israel… crossing the Jordan and entering into the new Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. But I used to shudder when I used to think of war. It used to send shivers to my bones when I used to imagine the destruction of Jericho...the masccare of Ai. It used to distress me to think about the 12000 people who were killed. The people of Jerusalem, the people of Hebron, the people of Jarmuth, the people of Arad……so many of them…… I think as a child this destruction just used to depress me but when I entered in my youth…I think I started thinking about it explicitly that what exactly was lost in this destruction…..after all there was not just 31 kings whom Joshua and Moses defeated….there were many and manifold families who were just slewed….no one was spared … there were 31 WAYS OF LIFE that were exterminated….. It used to exhaust me to imagine the land flowing with blood and cries instead of milk and honey...

Monologue 7

As a child I used to think I should have been a Moses…taking care of thousands of people in the wilderness, guiding them, directing them but I used to get shuddered when I used to think of war…

Monologue 6

Since, I always had been very much inquisitive about everything. As a child when I came to know that God himself had buried Moses, I used to feel passionately that I should go to the top of Pisgah, to plains of Moab, to mount Nebo and search the place where God might have had buried the Moses, and come down again to my people and tell them that “See! I have found the secret of God!”

Death of Moses

Deuteronomy 34: Moses dies (should I use the word kill?) himself upon the word of the God, and God buries Moses.
If the person is recognized as ‘prophet’ i.e. God’s man, the tendency is to blur his pre-birth and post-death connections.
The tendency in Indian context can also be figured out as the concept of being 'swayambhu'.

Deuteronomy 30: Restoration Promised

Read somewhere that the restoration promised here was fulfilled somewhere in Ezra. The restoration which it is said that it should take place in 20th Century is predicted somewhere ahead after the Deuteronomy.
The restoration promised here denotes one more fact that the organism of this faith viz. “Judaism” is very unique and community specific. Independently at ideological level it does not have a strong universal appeal. The question is how this community specific faith is being interpreted and was interpreted by Marathi Protestant Christians.

Deuteronomy 22

Deteuronomy 22 Laws of morality

Monologue 5

Many years after … many thousand years after I know there will be some prophet like…like Moses whom people would love …whom people would look upon as an inspiration…whom people would consider as the essence of finest human elements ….that prophet will be like a…like a conscience of all the people who would guide them through all the adversities of their life…but that would be many many years after. Right now there is no one …there is only a Lord with me. He only talks to me and guides me. Sometimes I feel that He stops talking to me then I feel very helpless. I just brood over that why he has suddenly stopped talking to me? Is He not there? Is there no more anything which I can understand about Him? He seems almost finished for me and then all of a sudden I understand that its not He who is finished its me who has finished! Its me who has finished and that’s why I am not able to understand him. Its because of my inefficiency that I am not able to understand his sufficiency. He is infinite I am finite! He is the perfect and I am imperfect! He is the absolute and I am impotent!
At the time when I used to realize this I used to feel completely exhausted and tired! Then I used to feel too much tired. I used to feel tired of knowing that I am potent. I really tell you I used to feel very much tired. And I used to feel more tired as I used to realize that this journey of understanding Him can not be stopped. I have to walk. I used to just realize that the quest of understanding Him is not yet quenched. It has to go on…and I used to start again to walk…