My favourite scripture isMatthew 13:44
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field."
I based the name of my company, Right There on this scripture and designed the logo accordingly. I could tell you my life story using that logo but perhaps we best leave that for another day 😊
Last week we looked at the history of the Middle East because we needed to prepare the groundwork for this weeks message which takes us back to Shechem, the place where the Lord first appeared to Abraham in Canaan and where Abraham built his first altar.
In fact this week I made 6 more exciting discoveries about Shechem which I simply must add before we move onto the main message.
- The first is that Shechem is where Abraham's grandson Jacob bought a field
After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.
- The second is that Shechem is the place where Jacob sent Joseph to when his brothers threw him into the well (probably the same field that Jacob had purchased)
Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied.
When he got to Shechem a man told him; “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
Notice it was a dry well.
- The third is that Joseph is buried there based on a prophecy given to Abraham.
Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
Because of this, Joseph joined the list of men and women of faith in Hebrews 11
Hebrews 11:22
By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
Joseph was like a Prince in Egypt and could have had a royal burial but in an act of faith he wanted to be buried at the prophesied time of the 4th generation back in the Promised Land of Canaan. The Israelites faithfully kept Joseph's bones through 400 years of captivity, 40 years in the wilderness, and another 50 years to Joshua's death. And then they buried him at Shechem, the very place he himself had first gone into captivity, where Abraham had built the altar, where his father Jacob had bought the field in the portion of land which was finally allocated to Joseph's son Manasseh.
Joshua 24:32
And Joseph’s bones which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.
- The fourth is that Shechem is the place where not long after entering the Promised Land and gaining victories at Jericho and Ai, Joshua renewed Israel's covenant with the Lord and gave instruction about what the Israelites had to do to receive the blessings or cursing of God as per Moses' instructions.
That same day Moses also gave this charge to the people: “When you cross the Jordan River, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin must stand on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people. And the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali must stand on Mount Ebal to proclaim a curse.
Joshua 8:30-35
Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.
Even though they had had success in conquering and moving into the Promised Land, it came with a warning, that they had to obey the Lord to receive the blessings. Joshua gave them the choice of blessings represented by Mt Gerizim or curses represented by Mt Ebal.
- The fifth is that Shechem is geographically at a Crossroads. At the end of his life, Joshua gave one final challenge to the Israelites to decide who will they serve.
Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.
Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.
Shechem represents a Crossroads. There comes a point in life when we have to make a decision, will we follow the Lord or not? We cannot sit on the fence. Following the Lord leads to a life of blessing. Following our own way brings the curse of sin.
God always brings us to a Crossroads before Judgment comes.
- The sixth is that Stephen referred to this history in his lengthy speech to the Council in Jerusalem in Acts 7 just before they stoned him to death.
So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors. Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor’s sons in Shechem.
I'm not sure if Stephen mixed up Abraham buying the field with Jacob but nevertheless the point is that Joseph's burial at Shechem was the fulfilment of a centuries old prophecy given to Abraham.
And now with all that background, let's read John 4.
John 4:1-26, 39-42
Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did. So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!” Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”
When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Who were the Samaritans? In Jesus day, these were the people that the Jews despised. This is true to this day as Samaria has now become the West Bank.
Samaria comprised the territory given to Joseph's 2 sons - Manasseh and Ephraim. The Samaritans live in the West Bank to this day and are the 4th religion after the Muslims (83%), Jewish (13%) and Christians (2%). The West Bank Territory today includes Bethlehem and Eastern Jerusalem but is mostly ancient Samaria.
- The Samaritans claim descent from the tribes of Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim) and the Levites and are therefore Israelites
- Part of the group that split away from the House of David at the time of Jeroboam
- Governed by the Palestinian National Authority (PLO/Israel Government) Think Yasser Arafat
The Samaritans were a mix from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim who had inter-married with the pagan nations. In 1 Kings 11, when Jeroboam rebelled against the House of David and set up the Northern Kingdom, he created a base at Shechem and designated nearby Mt Gerazim as the place to worship.
But thanks to Jeroboam, the Northern Kingdom continued worshiping false gods alongside the true God and the 2 won't mix.
Because of this in Jesus' time, the Samaritans believed the correct place of worship and indeed Isaac's sacrifice was at Shechem at Mt Gerazim. Mt Gerazim is in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank about 50km north of Jerusalem.
The Gospel of John describes Jesus' journey to the point where he met the woman at the well; He'd been down in Jerusalem, then baptising people alongside John (John 3:26) and was heading back to Galilee, passing through Samaria.
Sychar and Jacobs Well : Note that Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal are about 4 times the height of Mt Mauganui.
Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.
This pinpoints an exact location the woman met Jesus.
This woman was at a Crossroads in her life when she met Jesus there at the Crossroads at Shechem.
Our response to Jesus is so crucial. Was she going to continue on her life of sin or would she follow Jesus?
The woman, in her 6th relationship at least, could have got angry with Jesus - "Who are you to judge?"
Or she got have embarrassed and lied. "We're going to get married soon".
But she tried instead to change the subject. She didn't want to talk about it!
First she tried small talk asking him about his job - "You must be a prophet".
Then she moved on to a subject that everyone liked talking about in her day - religion. In our day we might move it quickly on to Donald Trump.
But Jesus was not going to let her off the hook. He used the topic she brought up to make a point about worship not being about the right place but about how we worship, whether we have the Holy Spirit it or not. She knew she didn't have the Holy Spirit, that was her need. She didn't know who the Messiah was, she was lost. But Jesus was there for her. He told he Woman "I am the Messiah, I'm the one you've been looking for". It was checkmate.
It's not about the right religion, it's not about the place being Jerusalem, Mecca, Mt Gerazim or anywhere else for that matter and it's not about the well. It's about Jesus.
But you've got to decide! Sychar is beneath the Mountain of Ebal but Jacobs Well is beneath Mt Gerizim. Are you going to go back to Sychar to live under a curse or are you going to come to Jacob's well to live under under God's blessing?
Satan picked you up and threw you down a dry well to die. But Jesus arrives at the well to rescue you and give you living water 😊
Come to the living water, come to the blessing, come to Jesus!
Do you remember exactly where you were when you first met Jesus? Maybe you haven't met him yet!
Right There at that well in Shechem was a reconciliation and peace. It's about Jesus. The Crossroads is where we meet him.
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