The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 13 - 31 July 2011
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 13 - 24 July 2011 Isaiah 55:1-5 Psalm 145:8-9, 15-22 Romans 9:1-5 St. Matthew 14:13-21 Shalmaneser III Background: The Northern Kingdom II The position of both Judah (South) and Israel (North) placed them right in the middle of the fortunes and aspirations of the empires that surrounded them. The most dominant power that threatened the situation in Israel was the Assyrian Empire, and its leader Shalmaneser III (858-824). His raids into the territory threatened Damascus, Tyre and Sidon, and even Egypt itself. It is during this period that we meet the prophets Elijah and Elisha who struggle with the incursion of other cults and cultures in Israel. A new king rules in Assyria (Adanirari III) from 810-783, and then Assyria sinks into a period of weakness from 783-745. Israel reestablishes itself under the King Joash (798-783) and the prophetic wor