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?