What Is The Connection Between Two Mountains The Ark Of The Covenant And Messiah Being Thirsty? Part 3

The ancient Hebrew understanding of these 2 words-

blessings and curses is

the keeping or breaking

of the commandments of God

is not about mechanical obedience and disobedience of His commands but rather our attitude towards them.

 If you love me, keep my commandments. John 14:21-24
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
continued from:
https://www.minimannamoments.com/what-is-the-connection-between-2-mountains-the-ark-of-the-covenant-and-messiah-being-thirsty-part-2/

Will we cherish His commands or will we throw them on the ground and walk on them?

Heavenly Father/Avinu in Jesus/Yeshuas’ Name

may we have

a heart to know,

eyes to see,

and ears to hear.

Truth itself lies on neither mountain but in the valley between.

Here flow the living waters of Jacobs’ well.

Photo above from 1934 – the well is now enclosed.

 

The 12 tribes were present

and also the High Priest

together with the priesthood

who stood in the valley

with the container of that covenant agreement

– the marriage vows – the ark of the covenant.

Joshua stood beside the ark.

Joshua was a type and shadow of Mashiach/Messiah,

taking Gods people into the promised land;

just as Yeshua/Jesus has made the Way into the promised land/presence of our Heavenly Father.

The ark was representative of God’s throne on earth

containing the presence of God with them

Jesus/Yeshua was the living ark

containing the presence of God with us – Emmanuel.

See links below for more on the ark

https://www.minimannamoments.com/are-we-boxed-in/

and

https://www.minimannamoments.com/thinking-outside-the-box-on-the-lighter-side-of-life/

and for Emmanuel.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/is-el-eem-anu/

The Tabernacle of Ancient Israel

was a sanctuary

which was given in a vision to Moses

as a pattern

and constructed by the children of Israel.

God’s promise was that He would dwell within the Holy of Holies above the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among (in) them – Exodus 25:8

 

Sacrifices continued to be brought once the Jews arrived in the Land of Israel,

first in the Mishkan

which stood in Gilgal for 14 years, until 1259 BCE,

then in the Tabernacle at Shiloh

for the 369 years of its existence—1259–891 BCE,

and then in the First and Second Holy Temples in Jerusalem 

which stood for 410 and 420 years respectively:

833–423 BCE; 353 BCE–69 CE.

In this imagery, the relationship of Moses to Messiah on earth, parallels that of Jesus/Yeshua and the Father/Av/Avinu in heaven:

Ex.25:22: “there . . . I [Jesus representing the Father] will meet with you [Moses a type of Christ; cf. Deut.18:18; Heb.3:1-6];

there are many points of typological symbolism between Moses and Messiah in scripture.

The ark was representative of the real ark in heaven.

And Joshua stood beside the Ark

The Tabernacle and the Ark are also a type of Messiah:

just as was Noahs ark… we are to get into the ark/into Jesus/Yeshua and we are to live and abide IN HIM.

In Him we live and move and have our being.

We are to remember what the Word says,

All scripture is given by inspiration of God,

 (God-breathed)

and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: … 2Tim.3:16

When we look at the scriptures we must remember that. 

When it came to the Scriptures,

that was the view of Jesus/Yeshua and

that was the view of the apostles, and mustn’t that also be our view?

The Scriptures don’t just contain the Word of God, or just point to religious experience, they are the Words of God. 

No surprise that each and every detail and Word about the tabernacle has spiritual significance?

As we look to the tabernacle structure itself and its unique pieces of redemptive furniture; there is great symbolism and typology found in them.

Remember, everything was a finger pointing to the Messiah.

The tabernacle, as a type, designed specifically and in detail by God, would point to the character and aspects of the ministry of Messiah.

1 – The altar – Gods willingness to accept Jesus/Yeshuas’ sacrifice Heb. 13:10

1 – On Atonement Day the High Priest offered a sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Lev 16:15, 29-31

1 On Nisan 14   33CE Yeshua/Jesus sacrificed His life on our behalf.

Heb. 10;5-10; 1John 2:1,2

 

2 The Holy place – Yeshua/Jesus’s spirit – begotten condition.

Matt. 3:16, 17; Romans 8:14-17; Heb. 5:4-6.

2 The High Priest Jesus/Yeshua. Heb. 9:11

The curtain – Yeshua/Jesus’ fleshly body – the barrier that separated earthly life from heavenly life. 1Cor 15:44, 50; Heb 6:19, 20; 10:19,20

After His resurrection Messiah passed to the other side of the curtain’ by ascending to heaven to appear before the person of God for us. Heb. 9:24-28

The Most Holy – Heaven. Heb. 9:24

3 Once inside the Most Holy the high priest sprinkled some of the blood of the sacrifice before the ark of the covenant. Lev. 16:12-14.

3 By presenting the value of His shed blood Jesus provided genuine atonement for our sins. Heb. 9:12-24; 1Peter 3:21,22.

The more we become familiar with the Tabernacle/Mishkan, the more we become familiar with Messiah and all that He means to us.

Messiah in the Mishkan:

A copy of reality – what the tabernacle pictured

The veil taken away in Messiah revealing.

The holy of holies – the lifechaim.

The altar of incensepraise and worship.

The Holy place – the truthemet.

The golden candlestick/menorahHis Holy Spirit.

The brazen/bronze laversanctification.

The ark of the covenant – the Fathers presence.

The outer court – the way/derech – the door/dalet

The brazen/bronze altar – the cross and the blood.

The table of showbread – the Word of God/Yeshua/Jesus the word made flesh.

Heb. 10:20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 

Col. 2:17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 

Jn. 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

It is a Representation of the True Tabernacle in Heaven:

The Lord wants us to be aware of His nature and character. Even the angels don’t fully understand the nature and character of God but they learn from watching His dealings with His church (Eph 3).

In reality things are happening in the heavenly dimension and the Lord wants to reveal to us what took place in heaven after the resurrection of Jesus/Yeshua.

There is a real tabernacle in the heavenlies and Messiah really appeared before the throne of heaven as the Lamb of God (Rev 5).

There is no doubt that some of these things are a mystery but the more we draw close to God and His Word the more He draws close to us. 

Heb. 9:11. But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 

The Presence Within the Holy of Holies Dwells Within the Believer in Jesus/Yeshua:

Jesus/Yeshua said: I am the temple (Mishkan) of God.

When the glory (Hebrew: Sh’chinah) would come swirling down like a funnel or tornado right through the roof of the Holy of Holies and His Presence would manifest on the mercy seat between the cherubim after the blood was sprinkled, that was the Mishkan.

That Presence was what Jesus/Yeshua said dwelt within Him.

Paul said about the church, Know ye not that you are the temple/sanctuary/ Mishkan of God?

The Tabernacle or Mishkan means tent of meeting. It represents the Shekhina or indwelling presence of God.

Gods Glory filled the tabernacle.

A cloud covered it by day and a fire by night Ex.40:34, 38; Num. 9:15.

The tabernacle was also a place of protection or hiding place Ps.27:5

Jesus/Yeshua is the Gate/Door. John 10:7

and the Narrow WAY. Matt.7:13

Exodus 26

We, as the body of Christ, have the same Presence dwelling within us.

Today, God doesn’t dwell in buildings – now He dwells within His people. 

1 Cor. 6:19. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

The Ark of the Covenant was a picture of the Messiah: Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach. It speaks not only speaks of Messiah’s work in atonement, but of who He really is, i.e. His Personhood. 

The Ark was a box made of Acacia wood, (just as the cross was), overlaid with gold. Acacia wood speaks of the indestructible humanity of Jesus/Yeshua. As the wood represents His humanity then the gold both inside and outside the ark represent His deity. 

In the case of Noahs Ark –

The pitch protected the people inside, making a water-tight seal,

and Messiahs’ blood covers our sins and protects us

from the wrath of God. 

God Himself became flesh and suffered the agonies of the human experience. He was tempted, He was weary, He got hungry and thirsty; He had to learn the Scriptures, obedience and to hear God’s voice; and then to be led by His Fathers Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh as a man.

Does the Acacia wood seem to tell us that He was 100% man and the pure gold that overlaid the wood teach us that He was 100% God?

Jesus/Yeshua said:

unless you believe that I AM you will die in your sins.

He used the same words (Hebrew: eheyay asher aheyay) as at the time when the Lord spoke to Moses at the burning bush!

Stone found on Mt.Gerizim.

The Jewish Messiah was none other than JeHoVah/YHVH Himself visiting His people and becoming their savior by dying for the sins of the world and that is the etymology of the name Jesus/Yeshua.

Hebrew. Y’shua = ‘Yaweh has become salvation’.

Jesus/Yeshua condemned the religious leaders for not recognizing the day of their visitation. 

The crown of gold around the top of the ark speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus/Yeshua overcame the onslaught of opposition that was set against Him His whole life by the religious leaders, the wealthy Jewish aristocracy, Rome itself, and even all the power of the enemy. He overcame even death itself and rose triumphantly and was given a crown, and glory, and honor, because He is the King. According to John it was Jesus/Yeshua who Isaiah saw seated on the throne of glory with the angels crying ‘holy, holy, holy.’

The unbroken tables of stone set forth Messiah as the One who perfectly kept the Law and never broke God’s Commandments. The Bible says that Hecommitted no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. In Him dwelt the law of God perfectly (stone tables).

Jesus/Yeshua felt the pressure of temptation at its full intensity yet He never sinned.

Aaron’s rod that budded also speaks of Jesus/Yeshua, the priesthood of God fully; something that had died and supernaturally came to life again.

Jesus/Yeshua said,

I am the resurrection and the life.

The golden pot of manna speaks of Jesus/Yeshua as the bread of God in abundance, who came down from heaven to bring food,

(the bread of life, the Word of God,)

to a world in darkness and dying of hunger.

The Ark of the Covenant was where Gods justice and judgement toward sin was satisfied. It is referred to almost 200 times in the Old Testament.

 

Covenant

The Biblical definition for covenant is a binding agreement between two parties.

The Greek word Diatheke (Testament).

The Hebrew word for covenant is b’rit and actually means:

to cut the covenant.

It was cut by the shedding of blood and the walking between the two pieces of flesh (Gen. 15).

A b’rit could not be broken.

When you enter into a covenant you make a solemn promise of love and protection to one another and the promise is made everything that is mine is therefore yours.

There were some traditional steps in cutting the ancient covenant:

The robe (life) was removed.

The belt (strength) was removed

A sacrifice was cut in two pieces.

Each would walk between the pieces

Intermingle the blood of the right hand. (scar)

Receive the others name.

Sit at a table together

Plant a memorial

Scripture mentions several covenants made between man and man, such as Jacob and Laban, and David and Jonathan.

It all points to Jesus/Yeshua.

Even the golden poles speak of the

ever living and ever present Savior

who is with us in all our journeying and

will never leave us nor forsake us.

In the history of the ark there are striking resemblances to the ministry of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua our Lord: 

The ark went before the people – Jesus/Yeshua went before them:

John 10:4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

The ark was in the middle of God’s people – Jesus is in His people:

John 14:20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

The people were to follow the ark – We are to follow Jesus:

Luke 5:27-28 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

The ark was always first to lead them.

It was death to those that were enemies of God.

The ark brought blessings and curses. 

Isa 53:2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Matt 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 

1 Pet 2:22 “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 

Jn 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 

Jn 6:32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Jn 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 When Jesus/Yeshua spoke to the woman

at the very same location

He Himself was the container and carrier of the covenant –

the renewed covenant that would be cut with His Blood.

He was standing/sitting in the valley between the 2 mountains and offering the choice.

He was also representative of the priesthood and our High Priest; the coming Mashiach to them and to us:

the ark of His presence

the carrier of the gift of Gods promise of salvation.

It could also refer to the multitudes in Ezekiels valley of decision!

Which will people choose?

Shamar – keep obey and receive blessing

or

Parar – break …disobey and be cursed

trampling underfoot the offer of living water in Jesus/Yeshua?

 

How shall we escape from these curses and receive God’s blessings when we can never perfectly obey God’s law?

We are to march from the Ebal, the Mount of Cursing to Gerizim, the Mount of Blessing,

through

the perfect obedience of another Man.

Above: Mount Ebal and Mt. Gerizim looking west.

We stand daily between the mountains and

daily choose Gerizim life and blessing abiding in Him.

We like Joshua have the ark beside us it is Jesus/Yeshua.

Yehoshua and Yeshua from the same root word – Savior and Redeemer.

Like Old Covenant Israel, we the holy nation of the New Covenant only have a foretaste of God’s blessings.

We enjoy these blessings now, spiritually and even materially.

Unlike the Samaritans and the Jews, we do not have to go to Gerizim or Jerusalem to worship and receive blessings from God, because Christ has been sacrificed on his Mount Ebal, the altar of Calvary.

This is why after His sacrifice for all the elect from the whole world, Jesus/Yeshua commanded His disciples to go and teach all nations… because salvation has expanded from Jerusalem, to Judea and all Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Through Messiah’s sacrifice, God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:3).

But the perfect blessings of Mount Gerizim would only come when we finally dwell in the new heaven and new earth, where we will dwell with God forever.

All of us still dwell between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.

We look back to Mount Ebal when we remember His sacrifice to remove God’s curse on us when we were still lost sinners; but then we also remember Mount Gerizim as we enjoy our blessings in this life while waiting for the fullness of our blessings in the life to come.

 

Another parallel is found in Matt 25:32-46 The day is coming when Messiah will be in the midst of two companies, those on the right, the sheep, and those on the left, the goats.

One group receives Gerizim/ blessings and the other Ebal/cursing!

Shechem is on the tribal border of Ephraim in the south and Manasseh in the north Mt Ebal was in Manasseh and Mt Gerazim in Ephraim. This is interesting from the standpoint that Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph with his Egyptian wife and therefore half Egyptian, representing the heathen world being embraced by the tribes of Israel! As Jacob accepted/adopted Josephs 2 sons as his own.

Messiah is now our High Priest

Jesus the Great High Priest. 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace …Hebrews 4:14-16

 

and the priesthood that stood with Joshua is now declared in 1Peter 2:9

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Truth itself

lies on neither mountain

but in

the valley between.

Here flow the living waters of Jacobs well.

Jesus/Yeshua

is the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE

The Source of LIVING WATER!

The Hebrew word for truth is `Emet, which refers to a truth that has proven itself reliable. You could translate it “faithfulness” or even “reliability.” `Emet is a word that describes God; He is a God of truth, so our relationship to God must be according to truth.

Interestingly, Jesus/Yeshua said the same thing in this same spot when He told the woman at Jacob’s well that the worshippers God seeks are those who worship Him in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24)—worship with one’s inside, the spirit, not just the outside. Jesus/Yeshua said: “in spirit and in truth;”

Joshua/Yehoshua said: “in sincerity and truth.”

Did Jesus/Yeshua had Joshua’s words in mind as He sat near Shechem where Joshua spoke?

Joshua also tells them to:

put away the gods which your fathers served.

He calls them together at Shechem as if to say:

“Remember how Abram put away his idols and came here, and remember God’s promise to Abram in this spot? Remember how Jacob put away his idols in this spot? Remember how you yourselves shouted the blessings and the curses in this spot? Do you want God’s blessing in the land? Then you too put away your idols in this spot.”

We should put away what is wrong and embrace what is right—or better, who is right, because Joshua says again at the end of v 14: “serve the LORD.”

Then comes the most famous verse in the whole book of Joshua: “And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (24:15).

“So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem… Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance” (vv. 25, 28).

As they left Shechem they were to remember the past and live in light of it. We too, as we live the lives God has given us, should remember from where God, in His grace, took us—from a down-hill slide to destruction into a relationship with His Son. We should remember how God, in His grace, has taken care of us since then in spite of our continued disobedience.  In light of God’s faithful past in our own lives, we should personally renew a whole-hearted commitment to the Lord today. As that was Joshua’s challenge to Israel at Shechem, and it is a good one for us to heed too.

The well was between the borders of Manasseh and Ephrain Josephs 2 sons who were born to Joseph and his Egyptian wife symbolic of the in grafting of sheep from other as they were accepted into the tribes of the children of Israel.

The ark in the valley of decision was symbolic of future Messiah bridging the gap and making the WAY back to the Father…restoring broken fellowship/relationship and removing the need for any further sacrifice for sin/disobedience and the curse which was a result of that choice.

Messiah was the flow of living waters that He offered to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob situated at the base of Mt Ebal… that would wash away all the result of sin after repentant hearts turned from ebal/curse to Gerizim/blessing.

His Truth – The Truth was in the valley between –along with the High Priest, the mercy seat of the ark where He became our blood sacrifice, our High Priest and the full manifestation of all that the Mishkan represented symbolically, and included the rejected Samaritans.

His love and offer of eternal life is all encompassing He was rejected so that we could be included.

 

He is the truth and that is like Joshua and the ark between the 2 mountains…

He is the Ark and He is the living waters that He offered to the Samarian woman;

and when we are thirsty like He was,

we are to drink deeply of Him and choose the blessing of Gerizim through our obedience to His commands;

while we guard, protect, preserve and cherish His covenant with us sealed in Messiah’s blood.

As the Samaritan woman was looking for Messiah the first time He came, we are to be keeping watch for His soon return!

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ‎;

Let us give our response

barukh shem kevod malkhuto le’olam va’ed.

 Jesus/Yeshua IS THE TRUTH THAT LAY IN THE VALLEY

and why when we walk through the valley PS 23

we are to fear no evil for

He is already there…

put your trust in Messiah, whose sacrifice was the once for all fulfillment of the animal sacrifices on the altar of Mount Ebal, then we can march upward to the heavenly Mount Zion, the mountain of God’s blessings.

Shalom shalom mishpochah/family and cheverim/friends!

Sundown tonight is…

click link for more:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/at-one-ment-with-the-one-you-love/

Time is running out please don’t leave this page…until you

Know for certain you are His…

You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily – and remember once our armor is on, let’s NOT take it off again – merely check daily that it is still in place!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the posts. If they have been a blessing and if you haven’t already, please sign up for free email notification, like, share and subscribe, it all helps to freely spread the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth and reaches others with His Truths.

Meanwhile let’s remember to stay alert and ready, be in prayer and in His Word for in an hour we think not He is coming… and…

it’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen

What Is The Connection Between 2 Mountains The Ark Of The Covenant And Messiah Being Thirsty? Part 2

In Part 1, we left off reminding ourselves that:

the location was so significant for the reason that it was where Joshua, a type of Mashiach/Messiah, had brought the children of Israel to reaffirm their covenant now they had entered into the promised land; the same covenant that Moses originally made with God for the Israelites on Sinai.

Joshua separated the tribes onto the mountains of blessing and curses.

These blessings and curses would follow their obedience or disobedience to the statutes and requirements of that covenant.

Mount Ebal and Mt. Gerizim looking west.

According to tradition the Mountains represented Good and Evil, Mount Gerizim was lush and fertile, while Mount Ebal was rocky and barren, clearly portraying the ramifications of our choices. We may choose the good path, cleaving to God and following in His ways, leading to a rich, fruitful life. Alternatively, we can embrace evil and negativity, which leads to an empty and barren life, devoid of all things good.

The higher portions of Mount Ebal are barren rock—the name means: bald stone, where only thistles and shrubs grow.

Gerizim’s lower slopes are abundant in fountains and are beautifully cultivated with much olive and fig trees. 

So here we step back in time…

to the days following the children of Israels arrival in the promised land – they had crossed over the Jordan River and had had their first victory at Ai. 

Then, Joshua took the people to Ebal and Gerizim.

He placed the Ark of the Covenant between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. The people then divided themselves on the two mountains and listened to Joshua.

After Joshua gathered the people together he read the Book of the Law to them.

Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them. – Joshua 8:30-35

Mt. Ebal

It is often easy for us as believers to get proud at what marvelous people we have become. Joshua gives us all a good reminder: Remember where you’ve come from. God would later tell King David:

“I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over My people Israel” (2 Sam. 7:8).

In the New Testament Paul writes:

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (1 Cor. 1:26).

What made the difference?

God’s grace.

Joshua goes on to say, whatever good there is in us now, remember who is doing it. It is not ours, but God working in and through us. Joshua does not just remind them of Israel’s history but also of God’s grace in Israel’s history.

As the 6 tribes were on Mt. Gerazim and the other 6 tribes were on Mt. Ebal – standing in the valley between the 2 mountains were the elders, the kohanites/priests, the priests assistants.

He placed the Ark of the Covenant between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.

The people then divided themselves on the two mountains and listened to Joshua.

Hebrew: אָרוֹן הַבְּרִית ‎, Modern: Arōn Ha’brēt, 

Joshua stood beside the ark.

The 12 tribes were present and also the High Priest and the priesthood, who stood in the valley with the container of that marriage agreement – ark of the covenant.

Located between Mt. Gerizim (left) and Mt. Ebal (right), Shechem

Given the history that the Israelites had with this area, as well as the geographical features that allowed for a large group of people to be gathered… 

with this in mind..it is no wonder that Joshua chose this location to remind the people of the Law with God had given to them.

The 6 tribes on Mount Ebal 

listened to God’s curses for disobedience;

the remaining 6 tribes on Mount Gerizim 

listened to God’s blessings for obedience.

In the hearing of all the people, together with all sojourners, Joshua and the Levites read the whole Book of the Covenant “with a loud voice” (Deut 27:14), and the people responded with their vows.

Mt. Gerizim, the modern Jebel et-Tur, stands on the South, Mt. Ebal on the North, of the narrow pass which cuts through the mountain range, opening a way from the sea to the Jordan.  In the throat of this pass to the West, on the South of the vale, and close to the foot of Gerizim, lies the town of Nablus, the ancient Shechem.

Mt. Gerizim was the other mountain on the south and its top was 1 2/3 miles distant from that of Ebal. Ebal is 3077 ft. and Gerizim 2849 ft. above the sea. The valley between them is about 1900 ft. above the sea and in this valley is the town of Shechem which is 5/8 of a mile in length.

Mt. Gerizim – Jebel et-Tur. Deut. 11. 29; 27. 12; Josh. 8. 33; Judg. 9. 7. See also Ebal, Mt. Gerizim was later the holy mountain of the Samaritans, John 4. 20)

Deuteronomy 11:29 – And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.
Deuteronomy 27:12 – These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:

Joshua 8:33 – And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal;

This ceremony was like a second Mattan Torah ( a second giving and acceptance of Torah). Before these two mountains, they are to renew their vows to God, because now they were physically in the promised land and because they, as a generation, had not known anything but the wilderness and had not experienced Sinai as had the previous generation.

Now they had become IVRI the ones who had crossed over the Jordan, recall this as the meaning of Hebrew and according to:

Deut. 27:12. These will stand upon Mt Gerazim to bless the people when YOU CROSS OVER THE JORDAN. Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph=(Ephraim + Manasseh) and Benjamin

Mt. Ebal to speak out the curses Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebukun, Dan, Naphtali and the Levites will speak and say to all Israel.

The list of tribes is in Deuteronomy 27:12-13 

Those on Mount Ebal, the mount of cursing, are the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali, sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, slave women of Jacob’s two lawful wives.

Those on Mount Gerizim are Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

Those on Gerizim, the mount of blessing, are children of Jacob’s lawful wives, Leah and Rachel (Gen 35:23-26). Reuben is the exception—though he was one of Leah’s legitimate sons, he was cursed because he had forbidden relations with Bilhah, his father’s concubine 
(Gen 35:22; 1 Chron 5:1).

In Deuteronomy 11, God gives His people the choice to obey or disobey his commands. To obey brings about the blessing while disobedience brings on the curse.

The two mountain peaks of Gerizim and Ebal represent the fundamental consequence of fallen human nature; the struggle between what we should do and what we should not do.

Nablus, which is the site of ancient Shechem, lies in the valley between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. These two peaks represent our moral dilemmas. God commanded Joshua upon taking possession of the Promised Land to set the blessing on Mt. Gerizim and the curse on Mt. Ebal  (Deut. 11:29). After conquering Ai, Joshua built an altar on Mt. Ebal; the mountain of the curse (Josh. 8:30).

Located in the Hill Country of Ephraim, the city of Shechem played a vital role in the history of Israel. This location, in the middle of the nation, provided the most important crossroads in central Israel. The city lay along the northern end of “The Way of the Patriarchs.” This road, also called the “Ridge Route” (because it followed a key mountain ridge stretching 50 miles south), traveled from Shechem through Shiloh, Bethel/Ai, Ramah, Gibeah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. This route appears continuously in the Biblical text.

After they arrive at Mount Ebal, Joshua was to build an altar for burnt and peace offerings to the Lord to atone for their sins and to thank God for his blessings. But God added a command about the building of the altar,

“You shall wield no iron tool on them; you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut stones” (Deut 27:5-6).

Why uncut stones?

God is saying that the Israelites should not think that they could make the worship of God better by making an elaborate altar and even one mark of a cutting tool would corrupt the worship of God. Further meaning to the stone the builders would reject would become the cornerstone and that His promise that His gospel shall be as the stone cut out of the mountains without hands; the Rock of our salvation.

In the history and drama of redemption, these places and the ceremony itself are significant in their symbolism. Shechem is the place where God first repeated His promises to Abraham when he arrived in Canaan (Gen 12:6-7). Under the leadership of Moses and Joshua, God again makes His promises of blessing to Israel, Abraham’s descendants.

Gerizim is also the site of the temple that the Samaritans built as their counterpart to the Jerusalem temple. They believed that Joshua built the altar on Gerizim and not on Ebal.

When the Samaritan woman mentioned that her people worshiped on this mountain, she was probably including Abraham and Jacob who built altars in the same region.

But Jesus/Yeshua countered by declaring that:

the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. (John 4:21-24).

But what does Mt. Ebal represent?

It represents our disobedience.

Obedience to the commands of the Lord, then, is to give up our disobedience; for it is the disobedient heart that brings on the curse.  

But the terror and misery of the curses on Israel as a result of God’s wrath for their disobedience was just a foretaste of the terror and anguish of hell that our Lord Jesus Christ/Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach suffered in His life and death on the cross.

On Mount Ebal, Israel sacrificed burnt offerings for their sins, a foreshadow of the final sacrifice that God Himself in Messiah has offered for our sins: Christ/Mashiachs’ death on the cross.

We are an accursed people because of our disobedience. Like the tribes on Mount Ebal, we are children of slaves, and we ourselves are slaves of sin. The altar of good works that we build is not a sacrifice that rises as a pleasing aroma to God, because without faith in God’s final sacrifice of His only-begotten Son, our good works are filthy rags, a bad taste, and a repulsive stench before God.

BUT

Yeshua HaMashiach/Jesus Christ’s

sacrifice removes the curse from us:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal 3:13), a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph 5:2).

Our own Mount Ebal is the hill of Calvary in Jerusalem where our sacrifice was offered once for all, hanged on the cross for our disobedience.

So how shall we escape from these curses and receive God’s blessings when we can never perfectly obey God’s law?

We are to -(spiritually)- walk the narrow WAY

through the valley from Ebal, the Mount of Cursing

to Gerizim, the Mount of Blessing,

through the perfect obedience of another Man-

through Jesus/Yeshua – the Dalet/the door –

the mediator of the renewed covenant and our ark of salvation;

paid for in His Blood.

We pass through the valley

Shechem

-(Ps. 23 of the shadow of death-the wages of sin) –

through His Blood on the Mercy seat of the ark/Messiah –

and to the Mount of Blessing

where the children become His stewards/servants/priests –

now a royal nation – 1Pet.2:9 – called out of darkness into His marvelous Light. 

At Mount Gerizim, the blessings are introduced in Deuteronomy 28:1-2:

And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Obedience is really the nature with which God has created us. This is our true state and thus what we truly desire. True spiritual healing is not so much to cultivate a life of striving to follow God’s commands, but to put to death our disobedient nature.

Jesus/Yeshua preached repentance not morality:

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matt 4:17”

Thus to repent –

to turn from disobedience –

is to come naturally into obedience.

It is in a WAY, to build an altar of sacrifice on Mt. Ebal.

Ariel view of Joshuas Altar.

In the new Mount Gerizim where Jesus/Yeshua preached a long sermon on another Mount – in Matthew 5-7, Jesus/Yeshua pronounced His blessings on kingdom citizens as long as they were:

poor in spirit,

mourn over sins,

meek, righteous,

merciful, pure in heart,

had peace with God, and

persevere in persecution for righteousness’ sake.

Our reward is not earthly, but heavenly (Matt 5:2-12).

These are commands that even the holiest of believers can only begin to obey as they are very difficult words.

But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus/Yeshua challenges us with practical ethics to live by in our life in this imperfect world; while we await the perfect one that He will give us when He returns.

Without the Law, they will not comprehend their sin and misery and their absolute need for a Savior.

And without Christ/Mashiach being sacrificed on the Mount of Calvary to remove the curse from us, we can never receive any blessing from God…

Why?

Because in ourselves, we can never obey God’s law perfectly and be righteous before God, our only hope for blessing is through Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, who gives His perfect obedience to us- obedience all the way to an accursed death.

Only by trusting Christ/Messiah can we be redeemed from the curse of the Law and then receive blessings from God.

At Shechem in the valley between the two mountains,

Joshua brought the Ark of the Covenant,

which represented the Presence of the Lord Himself.

Here also after the conquest of Canaan Joshua took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord (Josh. 24:24).

While the altar on Mt. Ebal represented a sacrifice – a relinquishing – of their disobedience,

the altar at Shechem was a witness to their obedience to the commands of the Lord.

Shechem means shoulder probably because the city was built mainly on the slope or shoulder, of Mt. Ebal. Some scholars say it means saddleback.

A saddleback is curved in 2 directions – indicating a place of decision.

(Think multitudes in the valley of decision עֵ֖מֶק הֶֽחָר֑וּץ, valley of strict decision or judgment, in Joel 3:14 )

Understanding Hebrew Language:

OBEY OR DISOBEY

The words KEEP and BREAK are usually interpreted as:

OBEDIENCE and DISOBEDIENCE

The Hebrew word for KEEP is: SHAMAR

רמש

ש מ ר

RESH MEM SHEEN

R – MA – SHA

Literally means: GUARD, PROTECT/PRESERVE and CHERISH

Strong’s Hebrew: 8104. שָׁמַר (shamar) — to keep, watch .

 It’s the same verb that described Adam in Eden: to cultivate it and keep it.

KJV: of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 

Genesis 3:24

Malachi 2:7 Guard – The Hebrew verb šāmar means to watch over, to guard, to keep, to preserve and to care for.

It is from the word SHEMA

שְׁמַע

A Hebrew word meaning:

To listen intently with willing anticipation and readiness to DO what is heard.

It is used in the most important statement of the Hebraic faith…

Shema Inscription on the Knesset Menorah Jerusalem, Israel.

SHEMA YISRAEL

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל

Strongs #8086 shema: to hear

Original Word: שְׁמַע
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: shema
Phonetic Spelling: (shem-ah’)
Definition: to hear

Here in Deut. 27:9 is the one line prayer called:

the SHEMA – Listen/Hear O Israel and obey!

It is the directive for them to Keep the words of the covenant and do them.

Shema Israel or Sh’ma Yisrael

Hebrew: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ‎;

Hear, O Israel

 Shema (hear/listen) is the Hebrew word that begins the most important prayer in Judaism.

It is found in Deuteronomy 6:4, which begins with the command to Hear.

The whole Shema prayer, which includes verses 4-9, is spoken daily in the Jewish tradition: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

The Complete Shema – Hear O Israel, the LORD our God is One LORD.

Shema: the First Passage.

In the recitation of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, special emphasis is given to the first six Hebrew words of this passage:

Shema Yisrael, Adonai eloheinu, Adonai echad

and a six-word response is said in an undertone

barukh shem kevod malkhuto le’olam va’ed.

and focus is on the meaning:

HEAR – LISTEN and DO

It was the answer Jesus /Yeshua gave in Mark 12:29-30 to the question as to which of the commandments is the most important of all….

“The most important one,”

answered Jesus, “is this:

‘Hear, O Israel:

The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 

Further reiterated by Jesus/Yeshua many times, when He spoke with the Hebrew understanding of 

HEAR – LISTEN also means to DO

James 1:22 reminds us to:

פָּרַר PARAR

 

The Hebrew verb here is פררparar,

Strong’s #6565 and means:

to trample underfoot.

Literally means: TO TRAMPLE UNDERFOOT

Hence the meaning behind Hebrews 10:29 trample underfoot is break and disobedience

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath

trodden underfoot 

the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing

κοινὸν, a word commonly denoting things unclean; Mark 7:2; Acts 10:14, 28; Acts 11:8; Romans 14:14; and Hebrews 9:13

 

How much worse (sterner and heavier) punishment do you suppose he will be judged to deserve who has spurned and [thus] trampled underfoot the Son of God, and who has considered the covenant blood by which he was consecrated common and unhallowed, thus profaning it and insulting and outraging the [Holy] Spirit [Who imparts] grace (the unmerited favor and blessing of God)?

verse 29: they have trampled under foot the Son of God. The Son of God laid his life down for them to receive as their substitute, and instead of receiving him as their life and hope, they paused, got some religion, and then stepped on him and went on to other things. Verse 29b: they regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant.

The ancient Hebrew understanding of these words:

The keeping or breaking of the commandments of God…

is not about mechanical obedience and disobedience of His commands

but rather

our attitude towards them.

Will we cherish His commands or will we throw them on the ground and walk on them?

Heavenly Father/Avinu in Jesus/Yeshuas’ Name may we have a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear.

Conclusion coming in part 3..

Shalom shalom mishpachah/family and cheverim/friends!

Time is running out please don’t leave this page…until you

Know for certain you are His…

You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the posts. If they have been a blessing and if you haven’t already, please sign up for free email notification, like, share and subscribe, it all helps to freely spread the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth and reaches others with His Truths.

Meanwhile let’s remember to stay alert and ready, be in prayer and in His Word for in an hour we think not He is coming… and…

it’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen

What Is The Connection Between 2 Mountains, The Ark Of The Covenant and Messiah Being Thirsty?

This question takes us back to a location we visited in a previous post:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/well-well-now-eye-see/

When Jesus/Yeshua was tired and thirsty and asked for a drink from a specific well.

John 4:5-6 tells us this well was named after

Jacob

יַעֲקֹב

Ya‘aqōv 

(aka bir/beer Ya’qub),

and located in a city in Samaria called:

Shechem – שכם – shekem, or Sychar.

Suchar soo-khar’ of Hebrew origin (7941); Sychar

 In Israeli, the name Sychar means -. End

Strong’s Hebrew: 7927. שְׁכֶם (Shekem) — “ridge,” a district …

Strong’s Greek: 4965. Συχάρ (Suchar) — Sychar, a city in Samaria

Sychar. (ssi’ kahr) Place name intended to note drunkard or falsehood, though perhaps originally derived from Shechem.

So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6. and Jacob’s well was there. 

Sychar liar or drunkard (see Isaiah 28:1 Isaiah 28:7 ), has been from the time of the Crusaders usually identified with Sychem or Shechem ( John 4:5 ). It has now, however, as the result of recent explorations, been identified with ‘Askar, a small Samaritan town on the southern base of Ebal, about a mile to the north of Jacob’s well.

Jacob’s well at the foot of Mt. Ebal and it is Samaria. John 4:20

The name Shechem is identical to the noun שכם ( shekem ), meaning back or shoulder: Excerpted from: Abarim Publications’ Biblical Dictionary. שכם. The important noun שכם ( shekem) means shoulder, and a person’s shoulder was considered:

the seat of their burdens,

whether physical or metaphorical.

(This is probably the root of our idiom of: shouldering the burden or, the burden is on our shoulders?)

Shechem /ˈʃɛkəm/, also spelled Sichem, was a Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel!

According to Joshua 21:20-21 it was located in the tribal territory given to the tribe of Ephraim.

Traditionally associated with Nablus, it is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in Balata al-Balad in the West Bank.

The Significance of Shechem.

As just mentioned, in Hebrew shechem means shoulder, an apt description of the town’s location in the narrow valley between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, approximately 40 miles (65 km.) north of Jerusalem.

Today it is known as Nablus.

This location is significant because Shechem’s first steps on the pages of Scripture was when Abram enters the land of Canaan from Ur, across the Fertile Crescent; Shechem was the first city to which Abram came. Genesis 12:6–8, says that Abram reached the great tree of Moreh, at Shechem and offered sacrifice nearby. Genesis, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges hallow Shechem over all other cities of the land of Israel.

The historical background is key to answering our initial question because Shekem /Shechem/ Sychar was the very same location that other notable events took place:

In Genesis 12, Abraham offered a sacrifice to God in this area. Later, Jacob built a well nearby that is mentioned a number of times in the Bible.

Shortly after the nation divided, 1 Kings 12:1 tells us that capital city of the northern nation was briefly set up at Shechem. 

And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. – 1 Kings 12:1

Joshua 24:32: And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Shechem was:

Dwelt in by Abraham and Jacob.

Abraham was promised the land.

 Jacob buys a plot of land and settles here with his family.

Jacob’s sons are tending the sheep here before Joseph finds them in Dothan.

Genesis 37:12 – And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

The covenant is confirmed during the Conquest.

The city is set aside as a levitical city and a city of refuge.

Joseph is buried here.

The ten tribes reject Rehoboam.

Genesis 12:6 – And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in the land.
Genesis 33:18 – And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which [is] in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.

Here also Jacob dug a well for his many herds. This well is still there today. 

While Jacob’s family lived in Shechem, Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, was raped by a man named Shechem, the son of the ruler, Hamor. Jacob’s two sons, Levi and Simeon, made a deceptive pact with the males of the city and slaughtered them all in revenge of Dinah.

Years later, Jacob sent his 17 year-old son, Joseph, from Hebron to check on his brothers as they kept the flocks in Shechem. (Gen 37:12-14).

After Joseph arrived, having undoubtedly traveled up the Ridge Route, he discovered his brothers had moved on to the lush area of Dothan; so he went to find them (Gen 37:15-17). His brothers, filled with hatred, sold Joseph to some Ishmaelite traders who, coming through the Dothan pass, were headed for Egypt along the Via Maris. God used this sad turn of events to eventually take the entire family of Israel to Egypt, protecting and multiplying them.

Joseph’s last memories of Israel, before his brothers sold him, was of Shechem and Dothan.

He believed that God would one day return the nation to Canaan, and so he gave the command for his bones to be carried back with them and buried there (Gen 50:25).

It was a city of refuge:
Joshua 20:7 – And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which [is] Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

A Levitical city
Joshua 21:21 – For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs, And there on Mount Ebal, Joshua built an altar to God, and on a pillar of stones he wrote a copy of the law (Josh. 8:30-35).

Middle Bronze Gate

Part of the city’s fortifications throughout the second millennium, this gate is typical for the Middle Bronze period with three piers and two chambers.  Only the stone foundations remain.

This gate most likely was in use in the time of Jacob and certainly was the main gate of the city in the days of Abimelech (Judg 9).

Middle Bronze Wall

Vulnerable by location, Shechem was strongly fortified from its earliest history.  This wall was built of Cyclopean stones and continued in use through the Late Bronze Age without significant changes.

In the background, Mount Gerizim was the location of the Samaritan temple in the 4th–2nd centuries BC.

For a moment lets focus on Samaria which is where the Samaritans lived,

Shomronim/səˈmærɪtənz  – שַמֶרִים‎, in Hebrew.

It is a region north of Jerusalem. In Jesus’ day, the Jewish people of Galilee and Judea shunned the Samaritans, viewing them as a mixed race who practiced an impure, half-pagan religion. Samaritans, as a people distinct from the Jews, are first mentioned in the Bible during the time of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity ( Ezra 4:17; Nehemiah 2:10 ).

Shamerim: 

שַמֶרִים‎,

Guardians/Keepers/Watchers (of the Torah)

Ancestrally, Samaritans claim descent from the tribe of Ephraim and tribe of Manasseh (two sons of Joseph) as well as from the Levites who have links to ancient Samaria (now constituting the majority of the territory known as the West Bank) from the period of their entry into Canaan.

The Samaritans believe that Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of Israel from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan. The major issue between Jews and Samaritans has always been the location of the Chosen Place to worship God: The Temple Mount of Moriah in Jerusalem according to Judaism or Mount Gerizim according to Samaritanism.

According to Josephus and 2 Kings 17 Samaritans are descendants of the Israelites who mixed with people deported to their country by Assyria. This fits with the Assyrian pattern of conquest. The Samaritans also claim to be descendants of Israelites who remained in the Northern Kingdom, that is Israel, during the Babylonian Captivity. Their exact history is still disputed, but modern DNA testing in 2004 does support they are descended from Israelites with Assyrians and other nationalities as well.

They survived through the time of Jesus/Yeshua, and even, in limited numbers, to the present day. The Bible mentions plenty of stories about Samaritans, and the hatred between Jews and Samaritans features prominently in the Gospels. By the time Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, near Shechem, the racial hatred between Jews and Samaritans was paramount. . And the ensuing argument about the true place of worship—Gerizim or Jerusalem—was in full force (John 4:20).

Here it is pertinent to remind ourselves that in John 8:48 it is recorded that they call Yeshua/Jesus a Samaritan, and say He has a demon. He has been accused of having a demon before, but being called a Samaritan is a new charge…

Calling a Jew, Samaritan, was a racist insult ( 2 Kings 17).

However the more serious sin the Jews committed against Jesus/Yeshua was blasphemously telling the Holy God that He has a demon. (John 8:48).

Jesus/Yeshua has made clear He is the Son of God – that He is God. Jesus/Yeshua has so thoroughly answered their arguments the only tools left to them are name calling and violence.

The Jews of Yeshua/Jesus’ day were well crafted to attack Him with malicious hypocrisy to justify their envy of His popularity and to answer the undeniable proof of His miracles.

The Jews replied to Yeshua/Jesus, “Aren’t we right when we say that you’re a Samaritan and that you’re possessed by a demon?” New American Standard 1977

The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” KJV. 

It was an expression of insolence, contempt and scorn, a critical accusation, showing their disapproval of Him.

He denies the latter accusation, but does not deny the former that seems to be meant to accuse him of not having Jewish beliefs.

Although Yeshua/Jesus forbade the Twelve to go into any city of the Samaritans ( Matthew 10:5 ), the parable of the Good Samaritan shows that His love overleaped the boundaries of national hatred ( Luke 10:30 ; compare Luke 17:16 ; John 4:9 )

Jesus/Yeshua had a different attitude toward Samaritans than most Jews. He didn’t hold them in contempt; instead, he reached out to them.

Recall the account when Jesus/Yeshua healed ten lepers, of whom only ONE returned to praise God, and he was a SAMARITAN. 

When a Samaritan village refused to welcome Him, He didn’t allow His disciples to order its destruction. Messiah also told His apostles that they would receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit would come upon them and that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. – John 4:5-6

In the Gospel of John, Jesus asks a Samaritan woman of Sychar for water from Jacob’s Well, and after spending two days telling her townsfolk/Samaritans all things as the woman expected the Messiah to do, and presumably repeating the Good News that He was the Messiah, many Samaritans became followers of Yeshua/Jesus.

He accepts without comment the woman’s assertion that she and her people are Israelites, descendants of Jacob. During this encounter she says that the mountain was the center of their worship. This is why the woman says our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you say Jerusalem is where men should worship. 

John 4:20 – Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

She poses the question to Yeshua/Jesus when she realizes that He is the Messiah and He affirms the Jewish position, saying “You (that is, the Samaritans) worship what you do not know” Jesus/Yeshua then tells her a time is coming when people will worship in spirit and truth rather in some particular place and this is the manner people should worship God. He also said, “You worship you know not what; we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews.”

Highlighting the physical location (see various photos and maps included), the city lay between 2 mountains and Jacobs well was at the base of one of them.

The 2 mountains named Gerizim and Ebal and Sychar/Shechem lay between them in the valley below:

גְּרִזִים

Mt. Gerizim Hebrew Har Gerizim,

Heb. הַר גְּרִזִּים), 

Strong’s Hebrew: 1630. גְּרִזִים (Gerizim) 

Plural of an unused noun from garaz(compare Gizriy), cut up (i.e. Rocky); Gerizim, a mountain of Palestine 

Arabic Jabal Al-Ṭūr,

Mt. Gerizim, the modern Jebel et-Tur,

עֵיבָל

Mt. Ebal har `ebhal;

Hebrew: הר עיבל ‎ Har ‘Eival)

Strong’s Hebrew: 5858. עֵיבָל (Eybal) — Ebal

Perhaps from an unused root probably meaning to be bald; bare; Ebal, a mountain of Palestine — Ebal.

Arabic el-Iclamiyeh

modern Jebel Eslamiyeh

These 2 mountains, located about 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Jerusalem, face each other with the modern city of Nablus on a very narrow piece of land between them.

Shechem is the ancient name with which we are familiar in the Bible. Nablus is approximately 550 meters (~1800 feet) above sea level and the mountains each rise over 300 meters (1000 feet) on either side. As the Israelites sat on these mountains to listen to Joshua, it would have been very easy for them to look across the valley at their fellow family members on the other side. 

This same area is the same location as the Biblical city of Shechem. Jewish tradition holds that the original meaning of the word is saddle, which gives an indication of what it looks like.

Between Gerazim and Ebal are streams of living water which flowed out of Jacobs well located at the foot of Mt Ebal.

Here we need to remember the underlying significance of this conversation because there is an act of intolerance here, which may not be immediately obvious.

It is not altogether in the question, “How can you a Jew ask me a Samaritan for a drink”, even though we are informed that Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

It is in the statement, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get living water?”

It helps to picture the scene because she must have been eyeing this strange man carefully.

First, she probably hadn’t expected or wanted to meet anybody when she came to the well; and certainly didn’t expect to find a Jewish man – nor did she expect him to speak to her.

Generally Jews would not enter Samaria and even if a Jew did, he would avoid as much contact with the people there as possible. Speaking to a lone woman would be suspect and might even be dangerous, yet this Jewish man not only has the audacity to speak to this woman, he asks her for a drink when he has no vessel to get the water or to drink from.

It may seem a simple request and a simple act of kindness to hand a thirsty person your vessel, but it would NOT have been for this woman. It would actually have been intolerable to consider it.

Why?

Because if a Jew touched her vessel, it would have been considered unclean and she would have to destroy it. (Probably if a Samaritan touched anything belonging to a Jew it would have suffered the same fate.)

This Jewish man had to know that, and certainly if the roles had been reversed would have viewed it the same way. She must have been surprised he would not only ask her for a drink, but also then offer one to her.

What was she thinking?

If He could give her a drink, why was He asking her for one? And where would He get it, did He know of another well nearby. Perhaps He thought He could draw it somehow from Jacob’s Well?

The well is about 130 feet deep: 

The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? John 4:11-12

His term

living water

would NOT have seemed unusual to her.

Why?

Wells had two water supply sources. (Collecting rainwater would have been done with a cistern.) Well water would come from an underground spring or an underground stream.

A stream fed Jacob’s Well.

Wells of this nature,

because the stream is moving,

were referred to as

living water.

Because of this, the woman did not see anything unusual in the use of this term, so she asks Him to give her this water not just because she won’t get physically thirsty again, but so she doesn’t have to trudge to the well and carry the water home again. She doesn’t understand He is talking about something beyond physical water until later in the conversation.

She asks for this living water and He tells her to go get her husband, imagine the shock she must have felt when He answered that she was living with a man who she wasn’t married to and had had 5 husbands. Little wonder she thought He was a prophet.

Her responses were perhaps rather defensive, yet she knows a Messiah is to come and He will explain all things.

We should take note of Jesus/Yeshua’s whole approach to this woman. He asked her for something yet when she declined, He did not get angry or upset with her, but in such a way to raise her curiosity He offered her something in its place.

Instead of addressing her question about His offer directly He asked her to do something, which caused her to face her own sin. However in this conversation He did not accuse or berate her about what she had done. He didn’t engage in attacking her religious belief or get into any argument, but gave her new information further raising her curiosity which led her to continue the conversation. Then after she admits to believing in a coming Messiah, she says this ONE will tell us all things.

Jesus/Yeshua says, I am He, and it probably hit her at that moment that He had indeed told her things He could not have known about her. Jesus/Yeshua had found this woman and having drawn her to Himself, finally revealed who He was and she believed.

Just after the disciples arrive at the Well, the woman quickly leaves. She had come to get water, but she forgets her water jar. Now she isn’t concerned with physical water because she has found  THE Living Water and can’t wait to tell others.

The disciples never ask what this was all about. They had gone to fetch food and now their only concern is eating. They urge Jesus/Yeshua to join them and eat.

He gives them another one of those strange answers:

I have meat to eat that you know not of.

What did He mean? In the following verse John 4:34 He qualifies His statement..

This is our meat also… to do the will of our Heavenly Father, so as we follow Yeshua/Jesus pattern, this is the meat and drink that means we will never again be hungry or thirsty – (spiritually). As food is pleasant, and delightful, and refreshing to our bodies, so doing the will of God was as delightful and refreshing to the soul of Messiah: He took as much pleasure in it, as someone hungry does in eating and drinking.

Was He also saying.. do you see? Are you looking for the harvest somewhere else in familiar fields which is not yet ready?

Or do you see the harvest is ready and ripe, right in front of you?

Do you see this woman, who you looked right past with contempt, she had been sown with seeds of hope and was ready for the reaping? Someone had sowed HOPE/TIKVEH, in these people, but it wasn’t you, however, here is the opportunity to reap what has been sowed and you should rejoice in it.

Open your eyes and see what is before you, not what is far away.

Now is the time to gather fruit to salvation. 

click link below for more on Tikveh/Hope:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-secret-of-the-ogehn-of-tiqvah/

The woman had believed and ran back to town to tell everyone. She urged them to come to Messiah and to see and experience what she had seen and experienced.

The people listened to her and they went out to the well to see Yeshua/Jesus. This is the first act of witnessing by a new believer recorded in the gospels.

The local people knew this woman and they knew her past. They sensed something had changed about her and as a result many came to believe in Yeshua/Jesus as the Messiah even asking Him to remain with them. Recall, these are Samaritans and Yeshua/Jesus and His Disciples are Jewish men so in a sense they are enemies. 

He stayed 2 days talking with them and they accepted Him as the Messiah they were looking for. Notice what they said:

Now we believe, not because of your saying for we have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. 

The woman did not save these Samaritans, she simply brought them the message; she became the sower and Yeshua/Jesus reaped the harvest. Again He was setting His Disciples an example, to make haste and sow the word. Do not concern yourself with the reaping, Holy Spirit will take care of that. We are to remember what is in John 4 and said in Romans 10:11-15. because as His Disciples this example is for us also.

In reality, springs of spiritual truth lie deep within us, not on the high grounds of morality.

The kingdom of The Heavens is within you.

Truth lies not so much in our many doctrines but rather in the

Living Waters

of Messiah.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father (John 4:21-22).

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24-25).”  

Our walk towards Yeshua/Jesus, takes us to the well…the ONE springing up to eternal life. 

One must enter in to Messiah to reach the well ….but it is in the depths of the well itself where the actual Living Water is found… for Messiah is the deep which calls unto deep.

“Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me”  Psalm 42:7,

believers often use this phrase most often to refer to a deep, personal experience of the Lord ministering to them — from the depths of God’s heart to the depths of their own.

and Psalm 130:1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. This phrase “deep calls unto deep”

consists of communication through prayer, from deep within the heart/mind of a man appealing to the deep recesses (a secluded or secret place) of the heart/mind of his God in a time of dire need and possibly suffering at the hands of enemies. 

We looked at this in the post 

and this is the very same location where John 4 took place and brings into perspective verses 7 and 10. The well of Jacob that gave life giving water to all the inhabitants of the land and it was why she referred to it in v 20 as being the place where our fathers worshipped on this mountain.

This is Mt Ebal – the place they understood where it was necessary to worship v.20 and then Yeshua/Jesus says

the time is coming verse 23 AND NOW IS when neither Mt. Ebal nor Jerusalem would be the location to worship the father.

He revealed Himself plainly to her and she knew Mashiach was to come then from her sharing her good news – many believed 4:39

Jesus/Yeshua used the parable of the good Samaritan and we may now have a little more insight and understanding of who the Samaritan was and what he believed.

Jesus/Yeshua was offering Himself as the living water and revealing His connection to the well. – This was why it was so significant to her and why she abandoned her container and ran to the town.  Shechem had a rich history with the Father, the scriptures say that many believed after her testimony because they were also looking for Messiah.

The location was so significant for the reason that it was where Joshua, a type of Mashiach, had brought the children of Israel to reaffirm their covenant in the promised land that Moses made with God for the Israelites on Sinai…….

Continued in part 2… meanwhile..

The story of The Samaritan woman should serve to remind us of one of the most important truths that even though the Lord can reach us in the most ordinary places – there is nothing ordinary about a life changing encounter with Jesus/Yeshua. We seldom see the kind of response shown by the Samaritan woman when finally she realized she had met the Messiah, the One who was to come.

Sadly many fail to be amazed by Him anymore and Messiah’s miraculous ways have become just every day events.. Is that because we’re still questioning whether this is the Messiah when we hear of miracle testimonies? Maybe it is because we’re not asking with the same convincing hope/tikvah that she had.

Perhaps in some way we have a doubting heart. Is it because we have not yet had that life changing experience ourselves?

This woman of Samaria was transformed because she met the man who told her everything she did.

Jesus/Yeshua was able to reach her in a way no one else could. Seeing in her, things no one else could see.

The message for us today as His disciples is that we need to eagerly get hold of our water jars and head for the well.

That well of living water springing up to eternal life, which can only be found in Messiah.

As we do,

we need to be expectant

that our containers will be too small to hold what will be waiting for us when we get there…

we must run to the well but not with the hope that we will drink… but that we will be filled and will never be thirsty again..

Mishpachah, if this bears witness with our hearts pray this prayer today:

Father I am running to the well today.. I have been waiting for you to come and I’m thirsty. Heavenly father remove all doubt and fear from my heart that I may know the one who knows me and all I have done. I praise you Father for from you alone flow those wellsprings of eternal life.. please fill me once and for all, that I maybe return from the well of Your presence with so much more than my jar could ever hold… in Jesus/Yeshuas Name..

Shalom, Shalom to all Mishpachah – family.

Please don’t leave this page until you have the assurance that you are filled with His Living Water and are sealed to the day of redemption by the Blood of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua.
Not sure ..you can be…
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.