the ancient empires of the bible: the assyrians
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Understanding the People of the Biblical World
One of God’s “Rosetta Stones”
for Understanding God’s Word
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The Assyrian
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d An Oversimplified Timeline of the Bible
(+ or - 100 years)
2000 BC
Abraham
1500 BC
Moses
1000 BC
David
500 BC
Babylonian Captivity
4 BC
Birth of Jesus
The Assyrians
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dRacial Background•The Assyrians are a Semitic people native to Mesopotamia.•They are Mediterranean Caucasians, distinct from both the Jews and the Arabs.
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d Where is Assyria?
Assyria’s traditional
borders span four modern
countries.
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Akka
dian
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Assy
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Relig
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Assyrian Religion•Polytheistic•Astral deities•Shared belief in Marduk.
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d Assyrian ReligionThe Assyrians believed that
Marduk created human beings to
do all the labor so the gods could
live lives of leisure.
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d It’s Good to Be The KingThe Assyrians believed that their kings were extraordinary mortals, chosen by the gods to serve as their representative on earth.
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d The First Assyrian King
Sargon of Akkad Began his reign in 2371
B.C.
Middle Assyrian Empire
Expansion
Turkey
Saudi ArabiaEg
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The Fertile
Crescent
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d The Assyrians were an inventive people!
Locks and Keys
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Paved Roads
The Assyrians were an inventive people!
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First Postal System
The Assyrians were an inventive people!
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Magnifying Glass
The Assyrians were an inventive people!
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Libraries
The Assyrians were an inventive people!
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Electric Batteries
The Assyrians were an inventive people!
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Plumbing and Flush Toilets
The Assyrians were an inventive people!
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Guitars
The Assyrians were an inventive
people!
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Ideas that Shaped
the World
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An awful first
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d Isaiah 525 Therefore the LORD's anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
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d 26 He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily! 27 Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal thong is broken.
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d 28 Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind. 29 Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue.
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d 30 In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds.
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The Assyrian Invasions
•God will execute this judgment in three successive invasions under three, or possibly four, different Assyrian kings.•Two invasions are successful. One is almost successful until God intervenes.
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d The First Assyrian InvasionTiglath-Pileser III
•From 738-734 B.C. Tiglath-Pileser III waged war against his long-time enemies, the Syrians.
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d •The Northern Kingdom of Israel allied itself with the Syrians and became a target of the Assyrians.
•In response the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and eastern half-tribe of Manasseh were carried away into captivity.
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d 1 Chronicles 5:26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.
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d2 Kings 15:29
29 In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria.
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d The Second Assyrian InvasionShalmaneser V (722 B.C.)
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d2 Kings 17
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser's vassal and had paid him tribute.
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d 2 Kings 174 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison.
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5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years.
2 Kings 17
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6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
2 Kings 17
The Purple Lines
represent the routes of the
Assyrian Captivities.
The Red Lines represent the routes of the
Assyrian Captives
relocated to Israel.
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Sargon IIUsurped
Throne from Shalmaneser
In my first year of reign *** the people of Samaria *** to the number of 27,290 ... I carried away. Fifty chariots for my royal equipment I selected. The city I rebuilt. I made it greater than it was before. People of the lands I had conquered I settled therein. My official (Tartan) I placed over them as governor.
Sargon II
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d The Third Assyrian InvasionSennacherib (701 B.C.)
•Sennacherib captured 46 of Judah’s fortified cities. All that was left was Jerusalem.
Isaiah 3618 "Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.' Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand?
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d Isaiah 1012 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks."
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13 For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.
Isaiah 10
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The Rest of the Story
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A Practical LessonEven when evil seems to
have the upper hand, God is absolutely sovereign.
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A Practical LessonWe don’t always see this because there are times
when God uses the truly UGLY to accomplish something
BEAUTIFUL.
Other people we need to know:
•Babylonians
•Persians
•Greeks
• Romans