Page 35 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

Israel – The Center of the World

The great kingdoms of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Persia, Greece and Rome
governed the known world. What is incredible is that the small country of
Israel was located right in the center of all of them. In fact, almost every
time they collided it was in the land of Israel. The geography of the Near
East forced people who traveled from Egypt to Greece to Pass through
Israel. When Alexander the Great entered Jerusalem, he gave great respect
to Jerusalem and to the temple.

Why is this so important? It is because Israel is a specially chosen people of God, and God specially
placed Israel in the middle of the nations to reveal to the nations who He IS! He promised Abraham that
through his seed ALL THE NATIONS WOULD BE BLESSED. From Genesis 3, God promised to send a
redeemer to Israel who would bear the sins of the entire world. The Lord chose this small insignificant
place to teach the whole world of His great redemptive plan to save the world through Jesus, the
Messiah of Israel and the Word of God clothed in human flesh. Jesus came to the land of Israel and this
was the plan which was foretold by the mouth of the prophets and written in the Scriptures for all the
nations to read (Romans 3:2)

5.4 Let’s Practice…

1. How many years was Israel enslaved in Egypt?

2. Moses led ___________________ people out of Egypt to the Promised Land.

3. What three criteria did Joshua use to divide the land after Israel’s conquest of Canaan?

4. Why is the location of Israel so significant when it comes to world powers and travel in historic days?

5. How did God use the Assyrians to accomplish His will for Israel?

6. How did God use Alexander’s conquests to prepare the world for the coming Messiah?

7. Why did God put Israel in the “center of the world?”

5.5 Let’s Personalize this Lesson…

Activity: God promised Israel that through them, He would bless all the nations of the world.
And of course He did. He sent a Messiah who paid the penalty for all men’s sins. What bigger
blessing could there be? As a follower of Christ, we are called to be a blessing to others just like
Israel’s calling to bless the world. Describe ways you are a blessing to others:

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