10 Interesting Facts About The Old Testament

7. Israel's Worship of only One God was for Mockery

According to the Bible Abraham was the father of all the Jews and the first Hebrew. His faith in only one God would be a landmark in history, yet a thing to be mocked by every nation. The Old Testament records that the LORD appeared to Abraham in a distant land near the Persian Gulf known as Ur of the Chaldees. God promised Abraham that if he would leave his homeland and journey to a land that he had never seen before, he would be very blessed. He would be given a beautiful land for his innumerable number of descendants who would dwell there. They would be blessed beyond imagination, and one of their descendants would be the Savior of all mankind. Abraham was to take his family and go to this land, and he would be a pilgrim there but was not allowed to make it his permanent home. It would be his descendants that would inherit the land and live there. We learn in the Old Testament that the land that Abraham journeyed to was the land of Canaan. What is most interesting about this land was its strategic location, it was actually located in the center of the ancient world. To the north were the mighty nations of Greece and Rome, to the east was Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, and to the south was the land of Egypt. These were all the greatest kingdoms of the ancient world and Israel was right in the middle. According to the Old Testament this was God's plan, to place his holy Oracles (Romans 3:2), the Word of God, in the heart of the world to be a light to every nation. The Hebrews became so scorned throughout history that few people were unaware of the Hebrews and their God. Every nation worshiped many deities, yet the Hebrews worshipped one God, something that was unheard of and considered the epitome of foolishness. But the Bible reveals that the foolishness of God is wiser than any man, and it was exactly God's plan to raise up a nation that would be mocked and persecuted, just as their Messiah and Savior would be mocked and persecuted. The irony of it all is that the Jews were chosen by God to be a light to the whole world, a roadmap to the one true God, and yet would be the ones to hate him the most and force the hand of Rome to have him crucified. Yet there was always a remnant who understood the promises of the one true God.

"unto the Jews were committed the oracles of God" (Romans 3:2).

"But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn't believe in him" (John 12:37)

Also see Israel, the Center of the World

Image of a Jewish Man with a Torah Scroll

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