I never cease to be amazed how ancient history affects modern history. Further, I am amazed how the history of a relatively small ancient clan can impact the whole world.

A single shadowy figure from ancient Mesopotamia named Abraham decided to give wholehearted commitment to a God named Jehovah. According to the Bible, by command of Jehovah, Abraham “went out not knowing where he was going.”  His grandson, Jacob, wrestled with Jehovah. Because he wrestled with God he was given a new name, Israel. According to tradition, Israel had many sons. He became the forbearer of a people with a rambling history that covers the whole world.

In a milestone experience, Jehovah, the God of Abraham, gave a set of 10 laws to an Israelite named Moses. Muslims, Christians and Jews make up about half of the world’s population in 2009. They all struggle to understand and live by those 10 laws. Historians still argue about how the wandering clans of Israelites took over the entire eastern Mediterranean territory that we call Palestine. However, everyone agrees that they dominated the area without a king or a central government for about two centuries. The tribes had one thing in common. They were devoted to Jehovah God.

There were no writers of history to record just how a single man named David was able to turn the clans into a nation. The legends of his childhood, youth and young adulthood abound. Embedded in those legends are pieces of oral tradition around which the story of David is built.

In II Samuel chapter 7 is found the core of the story. Jehovah declares, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.” 

A fact of history is that David arose out of obscurity and molded the tribes of Israel into a very powerful nation.

This core story makes a further declaration.

“I have been with you wherever you went, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you….your house and your kingdom shall be made sure; your throne will be established forever.” 

The endless nature of God’s commitment to the throne of David is essential to the story.

David’s prowess as a warrior was unsurpassed. By the time he was 30 years of age, all the clans of Israelites were under his control. His base of operation was the city of Hebron in southern Palestine. He made a strategic move when he decided to make a city called Jebus his administrative center. Jebus was not controlled by any Israelite clan. It was controlled by Canaanites. (Remember that today’s Palestinians trace their lineage to the Canaanites.) David took the city and it was renamed Jerusalem. Jerusalem became the political, commercial, economic, military and cultural center of David’s empire. It was the perfect location for David’s purposes. It was David’s city, set on a hill.

Another part of the legend of Israel is that Jehovah God lived in a box that the tribes carried from place to place. The box was called the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the box were the 10 laws of Moses engraved in stone. Within the box, Jehovah and the 10 laws lived perfectly joined. David took control of the Ark of the Covenant and gave credit to Jehovah for all of the success of his armies, which were apparently massive by ancient standards. The Ark of the Covenant was kept in Hebron.  

The Israelite tradition says that David decided to move the Ark of the Covenant to his new capital city. He organized a great parade that traveled from Hebron to Jerusalem. The distance was about 20 miles. The all-powerful king of Israel led the parade dancing. He did so bare naked. David was dancing before Jehovah. His wife, Michal did not see it that way. She was so angry with David that she never slept with him again.

With the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, Jehovah had a permanent home of his own. The city became both the City of God and the City of David. The perfect union had taken place. Temporal power and sacred power were made one.

The David-Jerusalem story haunts the modern world. I point to two particulars.

Here in the United States a large portion of Christian Fundamentalists embrace the ideal of the union of temporal and sacred powers. Estimates are that this body of Bible literalists/fundamentalists make up as much as 20 percent of the American population. They are easily identified. They reject the idea of separation of church and state. They repeat over and over again that America was established as a Christian nation. They make a major issue of the public display of the Ten Commandments. Many remove their children from public school and either home school their children or place them in fundamentalist Christian schools. They expect a soon return of Jesus who will set up an ideal kingdom that unites temporal and sacred powers. His throne will be in Jerusalem.

Christian nationalism (or triumphalism) has its roots in the David/Jerusalem story.

The second example is found in the Near East. Palestinians believe that the city of Jerusalem is rightfully theirs. They believe David stole their city. David’s conquering of the ancient city of Jebus took place over 3,000 years ago. The loss of their capital city on a hill is a part of the Palestinian DNA.

I began this essay by saying that I never cease to be amazed how ancient history can affect modern history. And I am still amazed.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister living in retirement in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.