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“Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.“ Joshua 24:15
Finally, the Children of Israel buried the bones of Joseph with his forefathers in the same ground that Abraham had bought for 100 pieces of money over 400 years before. (Joshua 24:1, 14-15, 32)
d) Shechem was destroyed by Abimelech, son of Gideon, was rebuilt in the 10th century BC, and was probably the capital of Ephraim. (1 Kings 4)
e) After Solomon’s death, Shechem was the place appointed for the meeting of the people of Israel and the investiture of Rehoboam; the meeting ended in the secession of the ten northern tribes, and Shechem, fortified by Jeroboam, became the capital of the new kingdom for a while.2 (1 Kings 12:1; 14:17; 2 Chronicles 10:1)
All this history was contained in this place. But one more element remained to influence Jesus’ interview at the well. That is the dispersion of the Northern Kingdom. After years of rebellion against the authority of God, Israel was conquered by the Assyrian Empire and removed from the land. (II Kings 16-18) Some accounts of Assyrian pacification policy say that they removed the leadership of a conquered nation. For example, here is one Internet citation:
“Besides massacring the enemy soldiers, Assyrians made mass deportations of the rulers (nobles, functionaries, craftsmen), so that the remaining people obeyed with humiliation (the most famous is that described in the Bible, of the Israeli to Babylon [this example is a little flawed, since it happened after the fall of the Assyrian Empire]). Enemy kings were beheaded and their heads hanged (sic) in trees, and cities were destroyed. Women were made slaves. This cunning policy, the army, and good administration maintained the empire for centuries. The conquered populations had to pay heavy annual tributes.”3
Some say they transplanted entire populations from one region to another (agreeing with II Kings 18:11). Others reports say they removed all the men from a territory leaving the women to then become the wives of the imported men, thus destroying the social fabric of a defeated people. Whatever the practical reality, the inhabitants of Samaria were no longer the ten tribes of Israel and had not been for centuries when Jesus came to Sychar. With full knowledge of all these historic currents flowing around him, Jesus sits down by Jacob’s well. With all the times God had made and renewed His covenant with His people, Jesus is there once more to make the promises of God manifest. As the prophet Isaiah had said centuries before:
“Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3
The story of the woman at the well is the first time that Jesus intentionally seeks out the gentiles (that would be most of us) for salvation. I am ever grateful for God’s return to Shechem.
Finally, the Children of Israel buried the bones of Joseph with his forefathers in the same ground that Abraham had bought for 100 pieces of money over 400 years before. (Joshua 24:1, 14-15, 32)
d) Shechem was destroyed by Abimelech, son of Gideon, was rebuilt in the 10th century BC, and was probably the capital of Ephraim. (1 Kings 4)
e) After Solomon’s death, Shechem was the place appointed for the meeting of the people of Israel and the investiture of Rehoboam; the meeting ended in the secession of the ten northern tribes, and Shechem, fortified by Jeroboam, became the capital of the new kingdom for a while.2 (1 Kings 12:1; 14:17; 2 Chronicles 10:1)
All this history was contained in this place. But one more element remained to influence Jesus’ interview at the well. That is the dispersion of the Northern Kingdom. After years of rebellion against the authority of God, Israel was conquered by the Assyrian Empire and removed from the land. (II Kings 16-18) Some accounts of Assyrian pacification policy say that they removed the leadership of a conquered nation. For example, here is one Internet citation:
“Besides massacring the enemy soldiers, Assyrians made mass deportations of the rulers (nobles, functionaries, craftsmen), so that the remaining people obeyed with humiliation (the most famous is that described in the Bible, of the Israeli to Babylon [this example is a little flawed, since it happened after the fall of the Assyrian Empire]). Enemy kings were beheaded and their heads hanged (sic) in trees, and cities were destroyed. Women were made slaves. This cunning policy, the army, and good administration maintained the empire for centuries. The conquered populations had to pay heavy annual tributes.”3
Some say they transplanted entire populations from one region to another (agreeing with II Kings 18:11). Others reports say they removed all the men from a territory leaving the women to then become the wives of the imported men, thus destroying the social fabric of a defeated people. Whatever the practical reality, the inhabitants of Samaria were no longer the ten tribes of Israel and had not been for centuries when Jesus came to Sychar. With full knowledge of all these historic currents flowing around him, Jesus sits down by Jacob’s well. With all the times God had made and renewed His covenant with His people, Jesus is there once more to make the promises of God manifest. As the prophet Isaiah had said centuries before:
“Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3
The story of the woman at the well is the first time that Jesus intentionally seeks out the gentiles (that would be most of us) for salvation. I am ever grateful for God’s return to Shechem.