Yesterday we traveled around the land of Samaria. This included Mt. Gerezim, where Joshua followed through on Moses' commandment to read the blessings of the nation of Israel again on top of the mountain. This is found in Deuteronomy and we, as a class, had the privilege of shouting the blessings of the Nation of Israel from Mt. Gerezim facing Mt. Ebal. It was pretty incredible to be looking over the vast expanse of the land that the nation was given while shouting these blessings....very cool. We also spent some time with a Jewish man from New Jersey (he had an amazing Jersey accent) where he shared
the history of this particular region, including parts of how the Jordanians tried to capture the land but Israel was able to hold their ground and sustain occupation. We stood on Elon Moreh during our time with him and were standing near Shechem....where Abraham received the promise of God for him the first time. The man's name was Pinchas. He was short with bright white hair, with his orthodox tassels hanging at his sides and a small hand gun tucked into his pants. He was very passionate about the state of Israel and he did not seem to have great affection towards the Palestinians and Arabs in Israel. However, he was very nice and assured us this was not a political tour but a view of the geography of the land ;).
Next was the trip up Mt. Gerezim I mentioned. Up on this mountain were some remains of a Byzantine age temple where it is said that the temple mentioned in John 4, as Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman, was located. This temple would have been destroyed by the time the conversation between Jesus and the woman took place in John 4 but it was still significant for the explination of the rocky relationship between the Samaritans and the Jewish in Jerusalem. The Samaritans had built their own temple back in earlier days so that they would not have to travel to the temple in Jerusalem among the other Jews. This emphasizes the cultural issues of Samaritans being outcast. It also gives more depth to Jesus' words to the woman at the well that a temple is no longer needed to worship God. Jesus came to fulfill that law and she could now worship in spirit and in truth.
On our way back down the mountain we stopped and talked to one of the remaining Samaritan priests in the community. Apparently there are only 700 Samaritans in the world and most of them are on Mt. Gerezim, while the remaining are in Tel Aviv. The Samaritans only use the first five book of the Bible, the Pentateuch, and still practice animal sacrifices on Passover. They practice these sacrifices for the sack of remembering the tradition however, they also believe the sacrifices were supposed to take place inside the temple and the temple no longer exsists. So, they sacrifice only on Passover since those sacrifices are to take place outside. It was very interesting to speak with him and he was kind enough to sell us some ice cream and sodas from his little shop after talking with us. :)
The day ended at Shiloh where we looked at three different locations the Tabernacle, which the Israelites traveled with in the desert for 40 years, may have resided after the wandering. This means we may have walked around where the Ark of the Covenant was located for a time. The region has some great views of the agriculture in the area. Also, when we were up on Mt. Gerezim we could see the church where Jacob's well is...which is also the well found in the John 4 story of the Samaritan woman. We couldn't get to the church due to the political situation...the road was barricaded. However, we also got a view of a Palestinian refugee camp where much of Hamas and their activity comes out from. It was a very politically interesting day. Here's some photos:
This is a shot of Mt. Gerezim and Mt. Ebal
This is a view of the Palestinian Refugee camp from the top of Mt. Gerezim
Some of the graduate girls on top of Mt. Gerezim
Ruins of a Byzantine temple built where it is thought the Samaritan temple may have been
This is the altar where the Samaritans offer their animal sacrifices during Passover. They hang the sheep on top of the blue racks, kill them, and then put them on top of the rack to offer them as a sacrifice. Sorry for the gross details!
Yes...it is true friends...I have developed a watch tan....don't be alarmed, it's sure to be gone by the time Christmas rolls around!
the history of this particular region, including parts of how the Jordanians tried to capture the land but Israel was able to hold their ground and sustain occupation. We stood on Elon Moreh during our time with him and were standing near Shechem....where Abraham received the promise of God for him the first time. The man's name was Pinchas. He was short with bright white hair, with his orthodox tassels hanging at his sides and a small hand gun tucked into his pants. He was very passionate about the state of Israel and he did not seem to have great affection towards the Palestinians and Arabs in Israel. However, he was very nice and assured us this was not a political tour but a view of the geography of the land ;).
Next was the trip up Mt. Gerezim I mentioned. Up on this mountain were some remains of a Byzantine age temple where it is said that the temple mentioned in John 4, as Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman, was located. This temple would have been destroyed by the time the conversation between Jesus and the woman took place in John 4 but it was still significant for the explination of the rocky relationship between the Samaritans and the Jewish in Jerusalem. The Samaritans had built their own temple back in earlier days so that they would not have to travel to the temple in Jerusalem among the other Jews. This emphasizes the cultural issues of Samaritans being outcast. It also gives more depth to Jesus' words to the woman at the well that a temple is no longer needed to worship God. Jesus came to fulfill that law and she could now worship in spirit and in truth.
On our way back down the mountain we stopped and talked to one of the remaining Samaritan priests in the community. Apparently there are only 700 Samaritans in the world and most of them are on Mt. Gerezim, while the remaining are in Tel Aviv. The Samaritans only use the first five book of the Bible, the Pentateuch, and still practice animal sacrifices on Passover. They practice these sacrifices for the sack of remembering the tradition however, they also believe the sacrifices were supposed to take place inside the temple and the temple no longer exsists. So, they sacrifice only on Passover since those sacrifices are to take place outside. It was very interesting to speak with him and he was kind enough to sell us some ice cream and sodas from his little shop after talking with us. :)
The day ended at Shiloh where we looked at three different locations the Tabernacle, which the Israelites traveled with in the desert for 40 years, may have resided after the wandering. This means we may have walked around where the Ark of the Covenant was located for a time. The region has some great views of the agriculture in the area. Also, when we were up on Mt. Gerezim we could see the church where Jacob's well is...which is also the well found in the John 4 story of the Samaritan woman. We couldn't get to the church due to the political situation...the road was barricaded. However, we also got a view of a Palestinian refugee camp where much of Hamas and their activity comes out from. It was a very politically interesting day. Here's some photos:
This is a shot of Mt. Gerezim and Mt. Ebal
This is a view of the Palestinian Refugee camp from the top of Mt. Gerezim
Some of the graduate girls on top of Mt. Gerezim
Ruins of a Byzantine temple built where it is thought the Samaritan temple may have been
This is the altar where the Samaritans offer their animal sacrifices during Passover. They hang the sheep on top of the blue racks, kill them, and then put them on top of the rack to offer them as a sacrifice. Sorry for the gross details!
Yes...it is true friends...I have developed a watch tan....don't be alarmed, it's sure to be gone by the time Christmas rolls around!
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