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Lesson OneGetting Ready19 Activities4 Assessments
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Lesson TwoGeography and Religion11 Activities3 Assessments
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Lesson ThreeGeopolitical History15 Activities2 Assessments
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Lesson FourAncient Near Eastern Sources11 Activities
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Lesson FiveImpact of the Old Testament11 Activities
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 96
Lesson 4, Activity 10
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In Front | Workbook: Modern and Ancient Near East Sensibilities
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Look at the chart below and consider the differences between Western and ancient Near Eastern societies.
| Modern West | Ancient Near East |
| Egocentric identity | Group-centric identity |
| Strong desire to be personally satisfied | Strong desire to be interpersonally satisfying or satisfactory |
| See the parts | See the whole |
| Urge uniqueness | Urge conformity |
| Seek autonomy from social solidarity | Seek integration into social reality |
| Primary responsibility to self and individual potential | Primary obligation to others and the development of the group |
| Group membership results from a renewable contract | Group membership results from one’s inherited social and familiar place in society |
| Individual worth is based on individual achievements or individual possessions | Individual worth is rooted in familial status, social position, course or caste |
| Assert one’s own rights | Submit personal rights to the group |
| Equality is a key value | Hierarchy is the key value |
| Private autonomy | Corporate solidarity |
| Strong desire to be personally satisfied | Strong desire to be interpersonally satisfying or satisfactory |
Source: John H. Walton, The NIV Application Commentary, 2001, pp. 25-26.
Now that you have looked at some distinctions between our contemporary world and that of the ancient Near East, read 1 Kings 2:13-27 and Jeremiah 1:1-2.
Grab your Workbook Journal!
[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]
- Consider Jeremiah’s lineage and ponder how his social status may have impacted his reception among the Judean court and populace.