THE BIBLE: HOMECOMING
Saw the second part to the latest Docudrama on History Channel.
It was intersting to say the least.
This time, maybe because I actually got to watch as the opening credits/intro was playing, I found my objections to the storyline (as portrayed), fading.
Well, not fading exactly.
Just, I don't have as much against this second part.
A few discrepancies still crept in, but again, that could be translation/language issues, as well as cultural connotations.
Okay, let's begin an overview.
Joshua and the destruction of Jericho.
Yes, Rahab was a prostitute, and she probably heard worse slurs than whore, and experienced more than what was shown - 'Not going to nitpick about the red cord on the window/door frame and the time the spies searched, because ... well, it's true.
Jericho was a fortified city that had no physical weaknesses to overcome.
The fear of the Lord was upon the land, in the inhabitants and they KNEW that the Israelite God had power - power that led to all of Egypt and their deities being shown as abysmal failures when it came to protecting their worshipers.
If Egypt, which was a powerful nation, (possibly a world center trading point), and had the most powerful deities and a strong base of worshipers who 'infused' their multiple gods with power, reminding the immortal titans that they still had followers dependent on them, if those gods could be overthrown by the singular god of SLAVES who had no money to offer, couldn't give richly out of their wealth, had nothing by the way of blessings given to them by outside forces, and had NOTHING of their own, if this God of the underlings, could overthrown the gods of the royalty, shake up the ruling class, and destroy a powerful nation in one blow, how long can the gods of the smaller cities that don't have trading allies protect them?
Let's not forget the simple statistics of presence.
At the time of the census before Joshua led the Isrealites into overthrowing, overtaking, and overpowering ALL the inhabitants (the people who'd lived, prospered, and died in the land of their ancestors for over four centuries - there were over Six Hundred THousand fighting men. That's +600,000 warriors. Not including their wives, their children, or their livestock's.
And these people wandered in a barren wilderness for forty years? A generation of kids grew up as nomads, waiting for The Lord to tell them, "Now, Now is the Time to Take Possession of the Land I Promised Your ancestor Abraham (*Father of Many Nations), Isaac (*laughter), and Jacob (*He who deceives). Now is the time for the Descendants of Israel (*He who wrestles with God) to have a Land of their own - a prosperous land, filled with milk and honey"
Talk about power.
No nation in the world, even with all our latest technology and inventions, can feed one point two million people for forty years in the desert. To find and provide enough water for their daily needs so they won't die of thirst and starvation? Nope. Can't do it.
Sure, we might be able to offset some of the lack of water (forget about 'drinkable' and purity), by drilling and digging in the oasis, but this nation, this state of people, they were nomads. They didn't settle down, they weren't waiting for the opportunity to come, they were walking, exploring, and being visible - not the neighbor nobody acknowledges, but the intruder no one is happy to see - even if all they wish to do is walk by your property. Willing to pay for any food, water, or other things they (and their animals) might eat/drink or use as they go from one end of the country to the other.
Let's stop there, and move on.
Joshua dies, "Local heroes called Judges" come on down.
Of all the Judges, why Samson? Is it because he's the second of three .. no one of over five miracle babies promised to barren women?
Or is it because Samson and his immense strength, his ability to be a one-man fighting army, and his tragic death that speaks to us? Some of the judges in Judges get one line, one paragraph. Samson is one of ... two (I think), Judges who unite the tribes of Israel and get several chapters dedicated to him. The other guy, Gideon, he died of old age, after fathering seventy sons, untold daughters, while poor ol' Samson died childless.
Scriptures never tell us when his mother died.
I do wish, however, that THE BIBLE producers had added a blurb of Samson's father - there was only one immaculate conception, and Samson is not that baby.
I kind of also wish they'd started his screentime with him as a young lad and slowly progressed to the age of the actor, then, at the last scene, age him another ten years or so. Cause Samson was the 'hero' and judge for twenty years. Not the short-time (a year, maybe five) as implicated by the lack of physical changes caused by age.
...
I'll stop here tonight and finish my views on HOMECOMING next chance I get. Let's see, I still have Samuel, Saul, and David to cover.
It was intersting to say the least.
This time, maybe because I actually got to watch as the opening credits/intro was playing, I found my objections to the storyline (as portrayed), fading.
Well, not fading exactly.
Just, I don't have as much against this second part.
A few discrepancies still crept in, but again, that could be translation/language issues, as well as cultural connotations.
Okay, let's begin an overview.
Joshua and the destruction of Jericho.
Yes, Rahab was a prostitute, and she probably heard worse slurs than whore, and experienced more than what was shown - 'Not going to nitpick about the red cord on the window/door frame and the time the spies searched, because ... well, it's true.
Jericho was a fortified city that had no physical weaknesses to overcome.
The fear of the Lord was upon the land, in the inhabitants and they KNEW that the Israelite God had power - power that led to all of Egypt and their deities being shown as abysmal failures when it came to protecting their worshipers.
If Egypt, which was a powerful nation, (possibly a world center trading point), and had the most powerful deities and a strong base of worshipers who 'infused' their multiple gods with power, reminding the immortal titans that they still had followers dependent on them, if those gods could be overthrown by the singular god of SLAVES who had no money to offer, couldn't give richly out of their wealth, had nothing by the way of blessings given to them by outside forces, and had NOTHING of their own, if this God of the underlings, could overthrown the gods of the royalty, shake up the ruling class, and destroy a powerful nation in one blow, how long can the gods of the smaller cities that don't have trading allies protect them?
Let's not forget the simple statistics of presence.
At the time of the census before Joshua led the Isrealites into overthrowing, overtaking, and overpowering ALL the inhabitants (the people who'd lived, prospered, and died in the land of their ancestors for over four centuries - there were over Six Hundred THousand fighting men. That's +600,000 warriors. Not including their wives, their children, or their livestock's.
And these people wandered in a barren wilderness for forty years? A generation of kids grew up as nomads, waiting for The Lord to tell them, "Now, Now is the Time to Take Possession of the Land I Promised Your ancestor Abraham (*Father of Many Nations), Isaac (*laughter), and Jacob (*He who deceives). Now is the time for the Descendants of Israel (*He who wrestles with God) to have a Land of their own - a prosperous land, filled with milk and honey"
Talk about power.
No nation in the world, even with all our latest technology and inventions, can feed one point two million people for forty years in the desert. To find and provide enough water for their daily needs so they won't die of thirst and starvation? Nope. Can't do it.
Sure, we might be able to offset some of the lack of water (forget about 'drinkable' and purity), by drilling and digging in the oasis, but this nation, this state of people, they were nomads. They didn't settle down, they weren't waiting for the opportunity to come, they were walking, exploring, and being visible - not the neighbor nobody acknowledges, but the intruder no one is happy to see - even if all they wish to do is walk by your property. Willing to pay for any food, water, or other things they (and their animals) might eat/drink or use as they go from one end of the country to the other.
Let's stop there, and move on.
Joshua dies, "Local heroes called Judges" come on down.
Of all the Judges, why Samson? Is it because he's the second of three .. no one of over five miracle babies promised to barren women?
Or is it because Samson and his immense strength, his ability to be a one-man fighting army, and his tragic death that speaks to us? Some of the judges in Judges get one line, one paragraph. Samson is one of ... two (I think), Judges who unite the tribes of Israel and get several chapters dedicated to him. The other guy, Gideon, he died of old age, after fathering seventy sons, untold daughters, while poor ol' Samson died childless.
Scriptures never tell us when his mother died.
I do wish, however, that THE BIBLE producers had added a blurb of Samson's father - there was only one immaculate conception, and Samson is not that baby.
I kind of also wish they'd started his screentime with him as a young lad and slowly progressed to the age of the actor, then, at the last scene, age him another ten years or so. Cause Samson was the 'hero' and judge for twenty years. Not the short-time (a year, maybe five) as implicated by the lack of physical changes caused by age.
...
I'll stop here tonight and finish my views on HOMECOMING next chance I get. Let's see, I still have Samuel, Saul, and David to cover.