Week 1: Judith

Objective:

Historical Context of the Story of Judith
Fasting and Prayer Conquers

Resources:

Body:

Historical Context: The Assyrian Captivity

2 Kings 17
- Shalmaneser, King of Assyria wanted to take conquest over Israel. Coming in from the north, he defeats the Kingdom of Israel, who had had only evil kings; and at present time had an evil king (Hoshea)
2 Kings 19
- Sennacherib, successor of Shalmaneser attempts to take Judah (Southern Kingdom) captive, but he fails
- Judah had a righteous king, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah. They prayed that the Lord deliver them from Sennacherib and the Assyrians and the Lord swiftly answered, sending an angel to protect them. The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 of the Assyrian armies in one night.
- So Sennacherib went home to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and stayed there the rest of his life.
- Two of his sons killed him while he was praying to his idols. His third son, Esarhaddon reigned in his place as king of Assyria
2 Chronicles 33
- Esarhaddon, wanting to avenge his father, sends troops to Judah to attempt to take it into captivity again.
- This time, Judah has an evil king - Manasseh
  - Manasseh restored the high places of the idols
  - Manasseh practiced witchcraft, soothsaying, sorcery and consulting mediums
  - Manasseh raised up altars for Baal
  - Manasseh performed child sacrifices
- Will God defend them with an angel now? Certainly not.
- Manasseh is taken into captivity and taken as a slave
- It is worth noting that Manasseh will repent during his captivity and the Lord will bring him back
- But during the time before he repents, while he is in captivity, Judah is left without a king, and is surrounded by the Assyrian army. And this is where the story of Judith takes place

Holofernes' Conquest

Judith 1
- Arphaxad, king of the Medes built a very powerful city called Ecbatana - this is the early days of the Persian empire.
- Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, who reigned in Nineveh the great city, fought against Arphaxad and prevailed over him
  - Nebuchadnezzar is not a name, but is a title - and it was used in the Assyrian kingdoms, as well as the Babylonian kingdoms. This is not the same Nebuchadnezzar from the days of Daniel, as that is the Babylonian captivity. But this is Esarhaddon, the son of Sennacherib. He is the one who moved the Assyrian capital to Nineveh.
- Nebuchadnezzar was exalted by this victory and decided to continue his conquest. So he pursued Cilicia, Damascus, Lebanon, Carmel, Kedar, Samaria, Galilee and Jerusalem, and even down to Ethiopia
  - The darker green is the Assyrian kingdom after Shalmanesser and Sennacherib
  - the lighter green is what Esarhaddon was aiming to conquer
  - You can see that Judah is yellow because the Assyrians never captured Judah, although they captured everyone else
- Nebuchadnezzar sent a letter to all of those places, but they all responded with rejection. So he gathered his army.
Judith 2-3
- Nebuchadnezzar sends Holofernes to the nations of the west and he takes most of them, including Idumea (Edom) south of Judah
- They say "it is better for us to live in service to Nebuchadnezzar, the great king, and to become subject to you, rather than to die, even though we may have to suffer our condemnation into the annihilation of slavery." (3:2)
Judith 4
- You will notice that it is the priest who is managing the resistance and the army here - because there is no king! Manasseh has been taken away
- Judah plans resists the Holofernes and his army
Judith 5-6
- Holofernes finds out that Judah plans to resist, so he requests the leaders of Moab and Ammon to tell him who this nation of Judah is and what is their history
- Achior, commander of Ammon, gives Holofernes the full history of Israel and Judah.
  - "And there was no one who could attack this people, except when they withdrew from the worship of the Lord their God. But as often as they worshipped any other, except their own God, they were delivered to plunder, and to the sword, and into reproach. But as often as they were repentant for having withdrawn from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them the power to resist."
- Holofernes responds that there is no god on earth except for Nebuchadnezzar.
- Holofernes tells Achior that he will perish with those children of Israel, as a testament to the "falsehoods" he spoke

Still in progress

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