EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF ANCIENT ISRAEL AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHURCH TODAY

This paper deals with educational activities in ancient Israel. Education is Israel was in line with her level of civilization, occupation and the nature of her society. It was practical and was designed to help Israel preserve her religion. culture and deal with the daily challenges of life. Education was a gradual development based on the needs of the people and the type and methods adopted depended on these. The history and activities of the people of Israel is recorded in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, as such, the evaluation is based on the Old Testament mostly. The importance of considering the educational system of ancient Israel is for the Church and individual Christians to assert themselves of their involvement and attitudes to education today. The Bible is the standard for all Christian activities therefore, understanding the education in the Bible will help the church to evaluateits educational programmes. Due to the nature of this paper, historical and analytical methods will be employed. This paper argues that the educational programme of ancient Israel had a clear focus amidst cultural changes, influences from other nations and took into considering the nature of its society. The types of education and methods Israel adopted depended on what she wanted to achieve and the occupation of her people. It is therefore to be understood that there is a correlation between a type of education, methods and the nature of a society.