April 6, 2013

From Gary V. Womack... WORSHIP - In Spirit and Truth



WORSHIP - In Spirit & Truth


Jn. 4:1-24 JESUS MEETS THE SAMARITAN 
                 WOMAN AT JACOB'S WELL.

Place: Sychar in the land of Ephraim, in Samaria
Near Shechem, Jacob's well, near where Joseph's bones were buried after being brought from Egyptian bondage.

vs. 20 "Our fathers..." THE 10 TRIBES OF ISRAEL

           "...this mountain..." MT. GERIZIM, the 
            Samaritans' place of worship.

           "...you Jews say..." AS OPPOSED TO THE 
            SAMARITANS

           "...Jerusalem is the place where one ought to 
            worship."

A DISTINCTION - OPINION OR GOD'S LAW

LOOKING BACK IN HISTORY

"Our fathers..." THE 10 TRIBES OF NORTHERN 
                          KINGDOM OF ISRAEL

1 Kgs. 11:1-13, 26-40 SOLOMON TURNED FROM 
                                   GOD:

He married foreign women against God's instructions.

He allowed them to turn his heart from God.

He worshiped foreign gods (idols)

He built high places (of worship) for foreign gods.

vs. 33 KINGDOM DIVIDED BECAUSE OF IDOL 
          WORSHIP

1 Kgs. 12:25-33 JEROBOAM'S SIN OF 
                          CHANGING GOD'S WORSHIP.

He built Shechem in Ephraim (where Jesus met the
Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.)

vs. 28 He instituted idol worship of golden calves
           A matter of convenience - "too much to go 
           up..." Ascribed their exodus from Egypt to 
                    the idols.

vs. 29 He set up 2 places of worship at Dan & 
           Bethel

vs. 31 He made priests from those not of the tribe of 
           Levi.

vs. 32 He ordained a feast similar to the feast of 
          tabernacles (Neh. 8:13-18)

1 Kgs. 12:19 JUDAH & ISRAEL NEVER LOOKED 
                     AT EACH OTHER THE SAME 
                     AGAIN.

                   "...you Jews say..." AS OPPOSED 
                    TO THE SAMARITANS



254 YEARS LATER (721 BC)

2 Kgs. 17:5-12 JUDAH WAS BESIEGED 3 YEARS, 
                        THEN SCATTERED TO ASSYRIA 
                        AND BEYOND.

vss. 24-33 THE BEGINNING OF THE 
                 SAMARITANS.

Note: It appears that the city of Samaria was the primary target & primarily the people of the city that was deported to Assyria. On the walls of the royal palace at Dur-Sarraku, Sargon of Assyria had
recorded these words: "In my first year of reign...the people of Samaria ...to the number of 27,290 I carried away...The city I rebuilt - I made it greater than it was before. People of lands which I had
conquered I settled therein. My tartan I placed over them as governor."



123 YEARS LATER (about 598 BC)

WE KNOW THERE WERE STILL JEWS WHO REMAINED IN SAMARIA AFTER THE ASSYRIAN DEPORTATION.

Jer. 41:5 "...certain men came from Shechem, from 
                Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men 
                with their beards shaved and their clothes 
                torn, having cut themselves, with 
                offerings and incense in their hand, to 
                bring them to the house of the Lord."

THIS WOULD CAUSE US TO CONCLUDE THAT THERE WAS THE PROBABILITY THAT IN THOSE 123 YEARS, JEWS WOULD HAVE INTERMARRIED WITH THE ASSYRIAN CAPTIVES WHO HAD BEEN PLACED IN SAMARIA.



63 YEARS LATER (535 BC)

Ezra 4:1-6 THE SAMARITANS, SEEKING TO 
                 HELP REBUILD THE TEMPLE, ARE 
                 REJECTED BY ZERUBBABEL & ALL 
                 OF JUDAH.




91 YEARS LATER (444 BC)

WHEN THE WALLS ARE BEING REBUILT, SANBALLAT HARASSES . WE LEARN THAT HE WAS OF THE SAMARITANS.

Neh. 2:19-20 "But when Sanballat the Horonite, 
                      Tobiah the Ammonite official, and
                      Geshem the Arab heard of it, they 
                      laughed us to scorn and despised
                      us, and said, 'What is this thing that 
                      you are doing? Will you rebel against 
                      the king?' [20] So I answered them, 
                      and said to them, 'The God of heaven 
                      Himself will prosper us; therefore we 
                      His servants will arise and build, but 
                      you have no heritage or right or 
                      memorial in Jerusalem.'"

Neh. 4:1-2 "But it so happened, when Sanballat 
                  heard that we were rebuilding the wall, 
                  that he was furious and very indignant, 
                  and mocked the Jews. [2] And he spoke 
                  before his brethren and the army of 
                  Samaria, and said, 'What are these 
                  feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify 
                  themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? 
                  Will they complete it in a day? Will they 
                  revive the stones from the heaps of 
                  rubbish - stones that are burned?'"


"...this mountain..." MT. GERIZIM, SAMARITANS' 
                                PLACE OF WORSHIP THE 
                                PLACE WERE JESUS SPOKE 
                                TO THE SAMARITAN 
                                WOMAN AT JACOB'S WELL 
                                WAS IN THE SHADOW OF 
                                MT. GERIZIM. HISTORY 
                                TELLS US THAT SANBALLAT 
                                BUILT A TEMPLE ON THE
                                TOP OF THIS MOUNTAIN. IT 
                                WAS DESTROYED BY 
                                HYRCANUS IN 109 BC. THEN 
                                HEROD BUILT ANOTHER 
                                TEMPLE THERE IN 25 BC.
                                IT IS SAID THAT THE 
                                SAMARITANS REFUSED TO 
                                USE THE NEW TEMPLE, BUT 
                                CONTINUED TO WORSHIP 
                                OUT IN THE OPEN ON TOP 
                                OF THE MOUNTAIN.

"Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."

A DISTINCTION - OPINION OR GOD'S LAW?

THE JEWS HAD CONTINUOUSLY CHARGED THE SAMARITANS WITH FORSAKING GOD - FOR MAKING GOLDEN CALVES TO WORSHIP AT BETHEL - AND THEN AT MT GERIZIM.

Deut. 12:1-14 GOD'S LAW REGARDING THE 
                      PLACE THEY WOULD WORSHIP - 
                      THE PLACE WHERE HE WOULD 
                      PUT HIS NAME.

1 Kgs. 9:1-9 GOD'S PROMISE TO SOLOMON OF 
                    THE BLESSING OF HIS PERPETUAL 
                    PRESENCE THERE ON THE 
                    CONDITION OF FAITHFULNESS, 
                    OBEDIENCE, & WORSHIP OF HIM 
                    ONLY.




WHAT LESSONS DO WE LEARN FROM HISTORY?

GOD IS SERIOUS ABOUT MAN'S WORSHIP.

FAILURE TO HONOR HIS WILL RESULTS IN GOD'S REJECTION OF US.

Heb. 10:19-31 CONSIDERING HISTORY'S 
                       LESSONS, THE SERIOUSNESS
                       OF WORSHIP, & GOD'S WRATH - 
                       WHAT DO THESE VERSES SAY 
                       TO US?

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