History of the Jews in Hebron.

Descriptive Geography and Brief Historical Sketch of Palestine

By Rabbi Joseph Schwarz, 1850

History of the Jews in Hebron.

Hebron is called in Arabic בית אל חליל Beth al Chalil, "The House of the Beloved," because Isaac, the beloved son of Abraham, was born and educated here, and, as appears from Genesis 22:1, resided also here a long time. It is situated in the portion of Judah, 20 English miles south from Jerusalem, in a valley (Gen. 37:14). The mountains which surround it are the highest points of the mountains of Judah, and are 2664 feet above the surface of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a small town, or, more correctly speaking, a very large village, which consists of several divisions, each, so to say, constituting a village by itself. It contains several thousand Arabic inhabitants. On its eastern end is the cave of Machpelach מערת המכפלה, Arabic, Al Magr, i. e. the cave. It is also called the Fort of David, and is a very handsome and most ancient structure, built of immense stones, and surrounded with strong and high walls. It forms, in a measure, a fortress. Beneath the surface of the earth is the celebrated cave where the patriarchs lie buried. It is covered over with masonry, having a small opening on the top, through which the Mahomedans constantly lower burning lamps, and maintain there a perpetual light. Above this cavern is a mosque, built at a later date. Hebron is mentioned but little in history after the destruction of Jerusalem, and I will therefore merely relate the few traces which I was able to find. When Benjamin of Tudela travelled through Palestine in 4930 (1170), Hebron was entirely destroyed, probably through the wars of the Christians with the Saladdinian kings. He says, "Here is a large church, called St. Abraham; and it was, when the country was still in possession of the Ishmaelites, a Jewish Synagogue." This proves that, during the rule of the Mahomedans, before the Christians came, Jews must have lived there. About seventy years later, when Rabbi Pethachiah of Ratisbonne ר׳ פתחי׳ מריגנסבורג travelled through Palestine, it was already in a measure rebuilt; but no Jews were living in it. At the time of the Nachmonides in 5027 (1267), some Jews were found here, as he wrote to his son* that he was on the point of going to Hebron to select for himself a spot to be buried in. It appears, however, that they afterwards quitted it again, as Astori, in the year 5082 (1322), says nothing of any Jewish families in Hebron. In 5283 (1523), there lived here but ten Jewish families. When, in 5300 (1540), the celebrated Rabbi Jechiel Ashkenazi went to Hebron, he found in it many Caraites. He founded there a Jewish congregation; and it appears that he purchased a Synagogue, which exists to this day, and belongs to the Sephardin (Portuguese), from the Caraites. About twenty-five years ago there came several messengers from the Caraite congregation at Constantinople, to lay claim to the said Synagogue, alleging that it was originally their property; but they were easily and soon confuted, for they could not establish their allegation. Since the time of R. Jechiel to our own day, Hebron was uninterruptedly inhabited by Jews. * See above, Period III., year 5027. In 5594 (1834), Hebron met with a heavy calamity, since it was taken by storm on the 28th day of Tamuz (July), by Abraim Pacha, and given up to his soldiers for several days. One can better imagine than describe the scenes which were then enacted. Nearly all the Mahomedan inhabitants fled into the depth of the mountain range, but the Jews could not do this; besides which, they entertained but little fear, since they could not be viewed as rebels and enemies by Abraim, wherefore they fell an easy prey into the hands of the assailants. When the Pacha marched out to take Hebron, a petition was presented to him by the officers of the Jewish congregation in Jerusalem to take these unfortunate people under his protection, which he faithfully promised to do; but, notwithstanding this, they were not spared at the taking of the town, so that five Jews were purposely murdered, and all their property which had not. been buried under ground was either stolen or destroyed in the most wanton and cruel manner. Abraim did then indeed place a guard around their quarter of the town, but it was too late; and he said, "Whatever is already in the hands of the conquerors, the soldiers, cannot be demanded back again of them;" wherefore the whole Jewish community was sunk into poverty. One of the leaders of the Hebron rebels was the Sheich Abd al Rachman, who had his seat not far from the town Al Dura (see p. 113, Art. Adoraim). He had been for several years previously the principal personage of the environs, as far as the Dead Sea and the Djebl (Mount Seir). When Abraim Pacha had conquered the country, he fled, and the Pacha appointed in his place the Mutzelim, Abu Suwat, who had been even before this time an enemy of Abd al Rachman, and he therefore acted inimically towards those of his family who had been left behind. But when the government of Abraim came to an end, in 5601 (1841), the banished chief again appeared, greatly respected and with increased power. He also acquired anew a strong party, and became again the Sheich of the whole district. He thereupon caused Abu Suwat to be publicly executed in Hebron, and acquired gradually such authority that the Pacha of Jerusalem did not think it prudent to venture putting a check on his proceedings and actions; and the name of Abd al Rachman sounded more fearful and was more respected than that of the Sultan. The whole vicinity was at that time quite secure, and one could, with the greatest safety, travel among the Arabs and Bedouins; because they were strictly prohibited to rob or to make their usual exactions, since this right belonged to the Sheich alone. He was exceedingly cuning, and never missed making the capture of those he pursued in a witty and ludicrous manner, and he was particularly fortunate in his expeditions. So it happened that on his flight he was caught by the soldiers of Abraim in such a way that they had got hold of his red terbush:* he nevertheless succeeded in eluding their grasp, merely leaving the empty terbush in their hands. Towards the Jews he permits no ill-treatment; but he is a most insatiable leech, as scarcely a day passes on which some demand is not made, which, though not presented as an extortion, comes in a worse shape yet--in that of a request or petition, with an understanding that a threat may be added to enforce compliance. And, as his whole family, from little to big, imitate, each for his own benefit, the magnanimous head of the house, it is almost impossible to live among such leeches; and actually the greater part of the Israelites of Hebron have left it and settled in Jerusalem. * A peculiar long cap which the Turks wear, though it is not much used among the Arabs, who adhere to the turban. In the year 5605 (1845), Abd al Rachman's two brothers rebelled against him, and laid claim to his government, that is, they wanted the right to plunder: they procured adherents, and a regular partisan warfare ensued; in consequence of which, Abd al Rachman was driven out. He next collected some Arabs, and had several bloody fights with his brothers; and it appeared that his good luck had forsaken him. But at length his star again became in the ascendant, through which, or rather through his heavy gold, he succeeded to induce the Pacha of Jerusalem to take his part, who then marched against Hebron with a large force, in the month of Sivan, 5606 (June, 1846). He took the town after several skirmishes, and reinstated Abd al Rachman in his government. On this occasion the Jews suffered severely, many were dangerously wounded at the taking of the town, and deprived of all their property. The two rebel brothers took to flight, and have not been heard of up to the time of writing this, in 5609 (1849). Abd al Rachman governs therefore unopposed, and is very industriously engaged in filling up the great deficiency in his heap of gold, which had become diminished through the war with his brothers, by his usual exactions from those subject to his rule. Hebron has two congregations; first the Sephardim, containing about 60 families, who have a very ancient Synagogue, as I have stated already; and secondly the Ashkenazim, consisting solely of about 50 families, since many of them have left and moved to Jerusalem. This congregation, however, has been in existence only about thirty years. Still, they have two Synagogues, one built thirty years, and one fifteen years ago.

Jewish History in a Nutshell: Hebron - The Jewish Connection to Judea & Samaria

Jewish History in a Nutshell: Hebron

Hebron hosts the oldest Jewish community in the world and is the second holiest city in the Jewish religion after Jerusalem.

Hebron is the second holiest city in the Jewish religion. In Hebrew, the name Hebron comes from the Hebrew word Haver meaning friend, while in Arabic the city is referred to as Beit al Chalil, which translates into House of the Beloved. This name is fitting for the city, for Hebron is the resting place of all of Israel’s beloved patriarchs, as well as most of Israel’s matriarchs, and Avraham, the first Jewish patriarch, is considered a friend of G-d, the creator of the universe.

Hebron in Antiquity

Hebron is mentioned 87 times in the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible. Genesis 23 speaks about how Avraham purchased a burial tomb within Hebron for his wife Sarah. Known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzhak, Rivka, Ya’akov and Leah are all buried there. Rachel the wife of Ya’akov is buried in Bethlehem. Jewish tradition also maintains that Adam and Eve are buried in the same location. Hebron was also one of the first places that Israel’s patriarchs resided upon arrival in Canaan. This implies that Hebron hosts the oldest Jewish community on the planet.

Upon the conquest of Canaan, Joshua assigned Hebron to the tribe of Judah. After the death of King Saul, King David ascended to Hebron, from where he was anointed king and ruled Israel for seven years, until he succeeded to conquer Jerusalem and proclaim the holy city to be the eternal capital of the Jewish people. During Second Temple times (around 20 BCE), King Herod built a structure over the Tomb of the Patriarchs which is partially still standing to date. During the Jewish revolt against Rome (around 130 BCE), Hebron was the scene of extensive fighting between the Jewish people and the Roman authorities. However, Jews continued to live in Hebron continuously during the Byzantine and Arab periods. There is even archaeological evidence for the existence of Byzantine-era synagogues in Hebron and travelers’ reports testify to the existence of a Hebron Jewish community under Arab rule.

Hebron in the Medieval Period

However, when the Crusaders invaded the Holy Land, the ancient Jewish community of Hebron was expelled from their homes. According to Benjamin of Tuleda, who traveled to Israel in 1170, Hebron was completely destroyed due to the fighting that occurred between the Crusaders and the forces of Saladin. He describes in his book
The Travels of Benjamin, “Here is a large church, called St. Abraham; and it was, when the country was still in possession of the Ishmaelites, a Jewish Synagogue.” However, by the time of Nachmanides, 1267, some Jews were reported to have returned to Hebron. Yet in 1517, Hebron’s Jews would suffer significantly from a violent pogrom which included mass murder, rape, and the plundering of Jewish homes.

Nevertheless, by 1540, when Rabbi Jechiel Ashkenazi visited Hebron, there was a sizable community of Karaite Jews, who had their own synagogue. That same year, Sephardic Jewish exiles from Spain would immigrate to Hebron and establish the famous Avraham Avinu Synagogue, which still exists in Hebron to date. The synagogue was given this name because a legend reports that once when a minyan was lacking within the synagogue, the patriarch Avraham appeared inside the synagogue in person in order to make up for it.

Hebron in the Modern Era

In 1775, the Hebron Jewish community would suffer from a blood libel accusation, where local Jews were falsely accused of murdering a local sheikh and were forced to pay significant blood money as a result, which adversely affected the economic situation of the Hebron Jewish community. Nevertheless, throughout the Ottoman Turkish period, Jews from throughout the Diaspora and other parts of the Land of Israel would relocate to Hebron, which was one of the main centers of Jewish scholarship in Israel prior to the rise of Zionism. This ancient Jewish community would continue to exist in Hebron up until the 1929 massacre, during which sixty-seven people were murdered and the rest were forcefully expelled from the city. Jews would not be able to return to Hebron until after the 1967 war.

Presently Hebron is home to a strong Jewish community centered around the Tomb of the Patriarchs and during the time of the weekly Torah portion of Hayai Sarah, thousands of Jews make the yearly pilgrimage to Hebron in order to the be close to the resting place of Sarah the great Jewish matriarch .

Featured in: http://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/united-with-israel/jewish-history-in-a-nutshell-hebron/2013/06/03/

The Jewish Connection to Judea & Samaria

According to the Israeli historian Benny Morris, in ancient times, “The core of the Jewish state was the hill country of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.” Areas in mainland Israel such as Caesarea, Jaffa, and Ashkelon were centers of paganism in the Hellenistic and Roman periods and did not make up the heart of biblical Israel. Yet despite these historical facts, too many people support relinquishing Israeli control over Judea & Samaria, even though the area is richer in Jewish history than Arab history.

Yoram Ettinger, a consultant at the Ariel Center for Policy Research, asserted, “Many world-renowned travelers, historians and archeologists of earlier centuries refer to “Judea and Samaria,” while the term “West Bank” was coined only 60 years ago. Jordan gave the region this name when it occupied it after Israel’s War of Independence. No nation on earth other than Britain and Pakistan recognized Jordan’s claim to Judea and Samaria. […] Even the Encyclopedia Britannica, as well as official British and Ottoman records until 1950, used the term Judea and Samaria, and not the West Bank.”

Ettinger claims that most Palestinian Arabs only came to live in the land of Israel within the last 150 years. He asserted, “Most Palestinian Arabs are descendants of the Muslim migrants who came to the area between 1845 to 1947. Arab migrant workers were imported by the Ottoman Empire and by the British Mandate (which defeated the Ottomans in 1917) for infrastructure projects. […] Illegal Arab laborers were also attracted by the relative economic boom in British Mandate Palestine, stimulated by Jewish immigration.” In addition, Egyptians came to the Holy Land following Muhammed Ali’s invasion of Israel between 1831 and 1840; and Algerians also arrived in Israel in order to escape the French conquest of their homeland in 1830.

To the contrary, Jews have a history in Judea & Samaria dating back from time immemorial. For instance, Shechem, otherwise known as Nablus, has Jewish history dating back to Abraham. Shechem was the first place that Abraham set foot in when he arrived in Israel. Shechem is also the city where Jacob and his family settled after returning from Paddam Aram. Some historians such as Robert Wolfe and Paul Johnson, after studying archeological evidence coming out of Egypt, believe that there was a Jewish kingdom based in the area of Shechem while most Jews were slaves in Egypt. Regardless whether one believes them or not, Shechem is the resting place of Joseph, King David wrote about Shechem in the Book of Psalms, and King Rehoboam, who ruled the ten northern tribes of Israel following King Solomon’s death, initially made Shechem his capital city.

Bethlehem is the city where the Jewish matriarch Rachel is buried, where the famous convert to Judaism Ruth married Boaz, and was the birthplace of King David. It is mentioned 44 times in the Tanakh. Hebron, which until the 1929 massacre briefly interrupted the Jewish presence in the city, had an ancient Jewish community. It is one of the four holiest cities in the Jewish religion. It is the place where the Cave of the Patriarchs is located, which contain the remains of Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. Jews also believe that Adam and Eve are buried there. Hebron is also the city where King David was anointed king and ruled for seven years prior to the conquest of Jerusalem.

These are but a few of the many examples of Jewish history in Judea & Samaria. Furthermore, almost all of the Arab localities in Judea & Samaria have retained biblical Jewish names, thus betraying the true Jewish roots in the area. Given all of these facts, to deny the Jewish connection to Judea & Samaria is to deny the historic reality.

The Geographical, Historical, & Spiritual Significance of Shechem

The Geographical, Historical, & Spiritual Significance of Shechem

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Introduction

In the place where water gushes from the ground, there also a man drives his tent stake—and so lays the foundation of a city. Where the easiest ground to travel lies, there also a wayfarer walks—and so a highway begins. The rains run through immovable ravines, and beside that river people cultivate their fields and water their livestock.

Geography affects history. Trace any civilization back to its origin, and geography takes center stage. Be it a strategic military position, an abundant water supply, or a convenient traveling location, geography determines, by in large, where historical events occur.

This study will discuss the significance of Shechem, a city in central Israel. Shechem’s geography paves the way for a discussion of its historical, and ultimately, its spiritual significance even still today.

The Geographical Significance of Shechem

Located in the Hill Country of Ephraim, the city of Shechem played a vital role in the history of Israel. This location, in the middle of the nation, provided the most important crossroads in central Israel. The city lay along the northern end of “The Way of the Patriarchs.” This road, also called the “Ridge Route” (because it followed a key mountain ridge stretching 50 miles south), traveled from Shechem through Shiloh, Bethel/Ai, Ramah, Gibeah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron. This route appears continuously in the Biblical text.

The crossroads Shechem offered led in three directions. In addition to the Ridge Route leading south, the road also passed directly through Shechem, which lay on the northeastern side of Mount Gerizim and just south of Mount Ebal. The road was thus forced to pass through the city located in the valley between these two mountains. From there the road descended to the Sharon Plain, reaching the “International Highway” (the Via Maris) at Socoh. The third road from Shechem led northeast along the Wadi Beidan to Tirzah, where it descended east to the Jordan Valley via the Wadi Faria. Ultimately, as the road passed through the Jabbok Valley, it reached the Transjordanian Highway.

Because of its central location and vital crossroads, Shechem saw a lot of traffic in its history. Thus Shechem often found itself in major events in the Biblical narrative.

The Historical Significance of Shechem

Shechem first steps on the pages of Scripture as Abram enters the land of Canaan. From Ur, across the Fertile Crescent and down into Canaan, the Bible mentions Shechem as the first city to which Abram came (Gen. 12:6). Here Abram built an altar to the Lord, and here God confirmed His promise to give the land to Abram. The old man could have easily seen much of the Promised Land if he scaled Mount Ebal and scanned the horizon.

The areas in Canaan which Abram spent most of his life were along the Route of the Patriarchs, namely in Shechem (Gen 12:6), Bethel and Ai (12:8; 13:2), Hebron (13:18; 14:13), and in the Negev (13:1; 20:1, notably Gerar).

Abram’s grandson, Jacob, came to Shechem after he returned from Padan-Aram, undoubtedly tracing the traditional same steps of his grandfather. He and his family traveled through the Jabbok Valley, crossed the Jordan, camped at Succoth, and ascended through the Wadis Faria and Beidan to Shechem.

Here Jacob (re-named “Israel”) built an altar and named it “El-elohe-israel,” meaning “God, the God of Israel” (Gen. 33:17-20). Here also Jacob dug a well for his many herds. This well is still there today.

While Jacob’s family lived in Shechem, Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, was raped by a man named Shechem, the son of the ruler, Hamor. Jacob’s two sons, Levi and Simeon, made a deceptive pact with the males of the city and slaughtered them all in revenge of Dinah.

Years later, Jacob sent his 17 year-old son, Joseph, from Hebron to check on his brothers as they kept the flocks in Shechem (Gen 37:12-14). After Joseph arrived, having undoubtedly traveled up the Ridge Route, he discovered his brothers had moved on to the lush area of Dothan; so he went to find them (Gen 37:15-17). His brothers, filled with hatred, sold Joseph to some Ishmaelite traders who, coming through the Dothan pass, were headed for Egypt along the Via Maris. God used this sad turn of events to eventually take the entire family of Israel to Egypt, protecting and multiplying them. Joseph’s last memories of Israel, before his brothers sold him, was of Shechem and Dothan. He believed that God would one day return the nation to Canaan, and so he gave the command for his bones to be carried back with them and buried there (Gen 50:25).

After Moses brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt, God commanded Israel to enter the Promised land and go to Shechem to pronounce the blessings and the curses of the Mosaic Covenant on the nation (Deut. 27:4). Joshua did this, and dividing the nation, “Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal” (Josh. 8:33). From Mount Ebal, they shouted the curses if they disobeyed the law, and from Mount Gerizim, they shouted the blessings if they obeyed. And there on Mount Ebal, Joshua built an altar to God, and on a pillar of stones he wrote a copy of the law (Josh. 8:30-35).

At the end of the conquest Joshua gathered the whole nation to Shechem again, reminding them of their previous pledge and the blessings and curses they themselves pronounced. He then set up another stone in Shechem, saying: “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God” (Josh. 24:27).

Joseph was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, and so Joshua “buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor . . . and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons” (Josh. 24:32).

Joshua also designated Shechem as a city of refuge. Probably because of its ease of access in a time of possible flight, a manslayer could take refuge from his avenger in Shechem, one of the three cities of refuge on the west side of the Jordan (Josh. 20:7; 21:21; 1 Chr. 6:67).

During the time of the judges, Abimelech, a son of Gideon, conspired with his maternal family to kill all other sons of Gideon and have himself proclaimed king of Shechem (Judges 9:6). But Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, escaped by hiding. And at Abimelech’s coronation, Jotham climbed Mount Gerizim and shouted a curse on Shechem for Abimelech’s sin. This curse proved true, for the citizens of Shechem formed a conspiracy against Abimelech, and he completely destroyed the city. But when Abimelech went to Thebez and stormed the tower, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull (Judges 9:53).

After the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, “went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king” (1 Kings 12:1). But because Rehoboam followed the foolish and harsh advice of the youths with whom he grew up, the nation divided at Shechem. Jeroboam shouted: “To your tents, O Israel” and separated the ten northern tribes from the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 12:1,16).

Because Jerusalem was the only appointed place God allowed for worship, and since Jerusalem lay in Judah, Jeroboam set up a rival sanctuary in Bethel, complete with a golden bull image. This rival center would enable the northern tribes to worship without crossing the border into Judah. Ironically, this idolatrous center was just south of Shechem, where their forefathers and Joshua made the covenant to worship God alone (1 Kings 12:25-33).

Jeroboam chose Shechem as the capital for the Northern Kingdom, perhaps because of the significant history there for Ephraim. Shechem had great spiritual significance for Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Joshua. Also Shechem was situated on the essential crossroads along the Way of the Patriarchs. As discussed earlier, in addition to this crucial north-south road, another road also went northwest to the International Highway, and still another went east towards the Transjordanian Highway. It made a good choice for a capital.

A later king of Israel, Omri, chose Samaria as his capital because it was easy to defend. It had steep slopes all around the high hill on which the city sat. It also provided room for many people to live—perhaps 40,000—as the city covered 20 acres. It required cisterns for water supply, which was a major drawback in times of siege. It lay somewhat off the beaten path—about 5 or 6 miles off the International Highway—another asset in times of siege. It also conveniently lay along a major road to Shechem. Samaria enjoyed much produce since the valleys and nearby Dothan Plain were very fertile. All this combined made Samaria an ideal place for a capital. In fact, the trade was better in Samaria than in any other previous 3 capitals (Shechem, Penuel, Tirzah) chosen by Israel’s kings.

Samaria became significant in Shechem’s history because the people who later worshipped on Mount Gerizim came to be known as “Samaritans” (named after the capital Omri had chosen). After the Assyrians dragged the Northern Kingdom into exile in 722 BC, the Assyrians repopulated the area with a mixed breed—partly Jewish, partly Assyrian. These people did not know the Lord (2 Kings 17:24-41) and thus they continually struggled with idolatry.

When Judah returned from exile to the southern portion of the nation, the Samaritans requested to help rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. However Zerubbabel refused, and the Samaritans developed almost a cult—devoted only to the Pentateuch. They built their own temple on Mount Gerizim, which was immediately by Shechem. In 107 BC, John Hyrcanus further widened the rift between the Jews and Samaritans by destroying the Samaritan’s temple on Mount Gerizim.

By the time Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, near Shechem, the racial hatred between Jews and Samaritans was paramount. And the ensuing argument about the true place of worship—Gerizim or Jerusalem—was in full force (John 4:20).

The Spiritual Significance of Shechem: 
Joshua’s Challenge

For a spiritual lesson from Shechem’s history, we look back at Joshua’s challenge to the nation in Joshua 24. “Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God” (Josh. 24:1).

Joshua called the nation to Shechem because significant things occurred there before. As mentioned before, it was here that Abram, the father of the Jewish nation, first came when he came to the land. And here God promised him the land was to be his. It was also here that Abram’s grandson, Jacob, settled, and here he buried all his idols—which will be significant we will see later. Moreover, Joshua called all Israel to Shechem at the end of the conquest, because Joshua and the same group came to Shechem at the beginning of the conquest to shout the blessings and curses.

Joshua called them together again to this historically significant site, because what he had to tell them preached louder in Shechem that it could anywhere else: “And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, from ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods’“ (v 2). He starts to review their history by reminding them that Abram, the father of the Jewish nation, was an idolater prior to becoming the father of the Jewish nation. That is a pretty humble beginning.

It is often easy for us as believers to get proud at what marvelous people we have become. Joshua gives us all a good reminder: Remember where you’ve come from. God would later tell King David: “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over My people Israel” (2 Sam. 7:8). In the New Testament Paul writes: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (1 Cor. 1:26). What made the difference? God’s grace. God’s grace shows that none of that matters if you put your faith in Him.

Joshua goes on to note, whatever good there is in us now, remember whose doing it is. Not ours, but God’s. Joshua does not just remind them of Israel’s history but also of God’s grace in Israel’s history. Notice all the capital I’s the Lord mentions:

Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. But when they cried out to the LORD, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness for a long time. Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand. And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand. Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow. And I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant (vv. 3-13).

Joshua demonstrates not only the grace of God in calling them out of a pagan past, but also the faithfulness of God in taking care of them after their redemption.

It is at this point Joshua stops speaking for the Lord and begins speaking for himself, giving the implications and applications from looking at the past. “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD” (v 14).

Twice in this verse Joshua gives the command: “serve the LORD.” In fact it is the main command of the whole chapter. “Therefore,” he says, in light of the fact that every inch of success has been God’s grace to you, “fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity.” The Hebrew word for sincerity suggests “fullness or completeness;” it is the idea that one is on the inside what he is on the outside. Joshua says to serve the Lord in sincerity, not in hypocrisy. Joshua also says to serve the Lord in “truth;” the Hebrew word for truth is`Emet, which refers to a truth that has proven itself reliable. You could translate it “faithfulness” or even “reliability.” `Emet is a word that describes God; He is a God of truth, so our relationship to God must be according to truth.

Interestingly, Jesus said the same thing in this same spot when He told the woman at Jacob’s well that the worshippers God seeks are those who worship Him in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24)—worship with one’s inside, the spirit, not just the outside. Jesus said: “in spirit and in truth;” Joshua said: “in sincerity and truth.” I cannot help but wonder if Jesus had Joshua’s words in mind as Jesus sat near Shechem where Joshua spoke.

Joshua also tells them to “put away the gods which your fathers served.” He calls them together at Shechem as if to say: “Remember how Abram put away his idols and came here, and remember God’s promise to Abram in this spot? Remember how Jacob put away his idols in this spot? Remember how you yourselves shouted the blessings and the curses in this spot? Do you want God’s blessing in the land? Then you too put away your idols in this spot.” We should put away what is wrong and embrace what is right—or better, who is right, because Joshua says again at the end of v 14: “serve the LORD.”

Then comes the most famous verse in the whole book of Joshua: “And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (24:15). Almost every plaque I have seen which quotes this verse says: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” It always leaves off the part about: “whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living.” I think omitting the lines lessens the punch and the point of the statement.

First Joshua says: “the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River.” You can choose to follow the perhaps bad example of your parents and make the same mistakes they have made by being loyal to the things they were loyal to. Then he says: “or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living.” You can choose to follow the culture you live in and be loyal to their priorities.

But Joshua’s point is choose for yourselves; in fact, those are his very words. Do not do something just because mommy and daddy did it; mommy and daddy could have been wrong. Do not take as your own the values of our entertainers or actors just because they are good performers; think for yourself. Choose for yourself.

And I think the principle should also apply even to those who grew up under parents who did a good job—parents who taught about Jesus and how He died for our sins. We still need to choose for ourselves. We still need to come to a place where Jesus is our God, not just the God of our parents. The Bible speaks of the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ, not a surrogate relationship through our parents, peers, or pastor. God wants to know us personally. We have to take a personal ownership and responsibility with our relationship with God.

We should not think that because Joshua speaks of idols, and because we do not have wooden statues in our culture, that this text does not apply. I think that is the mistake made when the plaques quote this verse. Augustine once said: “Idolatry is worshipping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that is meant to be worshiped.”

Jonathan Edwards resolved: “that all men should live for the glory of God. Resolved second: That whether others do or not, I will.” Joshua says that regardless of what they chose, “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Look at the people’s response:

And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. And the LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God” (vv. 16-18).

The people say that not only will Joshua and his house serve the Lord but “we also will serve the LORD.” Not because He was the God of their parents, but because He is, they say, “our God.”

“So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem... Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance” (vv. 25, 28).

As they left Shechem they were to remember the past and live in light of it. We too, as we live the lives God has given us, should remember from where God, in His grace, took us—from a down-hill slide to destruction into a relationship with His Son. We should remember how God, in His grace, has taken care of us since then in spite of our continued disobedience. And in light of God’s faithful past in our own lives, we should personally renew a whole-hearted commitment to the Lord today. That was Joshua’s challenge to Israel at Shechem, and it is a good one for us to heed as well.

Bibliography

Aharoni, Yohanan, and Micheal Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. New York: Macmillan. 1977.

Andersen, H. G. “Shechem,” The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 5. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975-1976. 381-385.

Bimson, John J., ed. Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Places. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1995.

Cleave, Richard. The Holy Land Satellite Atlas, Vol. 1. Nicosia: Rohr Productions, 1999.

DeVries, LaMoine F. Cities of the Biblical World. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.

Douglas, J. D., and Merrill C. Tenney, eds. The New International Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.

Frank, Harry Thomas, Ed. Hammond’s Atlas of the Bible Lands. New Jersey: Hammond, Inc., 1984.

Rasmussem, Carl G. Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989.

Rousseau, John J. and Rami Arav. Jesus and His World: An Archaeological and Cultural Dictionary. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995.

Related Topics: Archaeology