290: Ryan King - Shechem The Place of Decision

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:13

   Welcome to Good Chris Elfion Talks. I’m Levi. And I’m Chris. And I’m Brian. Thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed. We post a new episode at the start of each week with the short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you’re about to listen to. And now, let’s talk more about this week’s talk. Hi, everyone.

2. 0:51

   It’s Jason Hensley. And this week we are going to be listening to a class by brother Ryan King called Shechem, the place of Decision. And there’s a lot of things I really like about this class. One of my favorite things about it is that it’s about something we don’t talk about very much.

3. 1:09

   When was the last time you heard a class about a place maybe for you? That’s something you hear about a lot just for me and my experience. We don’t talk about places that often. You know, we’ll do book studies, character studies, thematic studies, but a place. So I think that’s kind of neat to be able to trace Shechem throughout the Bible.

4. 1:31

   This is actually class 2IN an entire set that Brother Ryan did called Geography of the Holy Land. And so the whole set is about various things that we learn from the land of Israel and places that it shows up in the Bible. So I think the whole set is great. If you get the chance, I highly recommend listening to it. The only thing is, you might want to also have a map. Now I recognize a lot of you listen to this while you’re driving, so I’m not please don’t look at a map while you’re driving, but you might just find it helpful to spend a little bit of time just looking online at a map of Israel. Not saying you need to be looking at it while you’re listening to the classes, but just spend some time to get it in your mind.

5. 2:21

   Now in addition to that, I want to also note that this series of classes was given at the Terra Nova Bible School in Newfoundland. Now I think that’s just kind of cool because you know, that’s like exotic. And in addition to that, I say that because when you hear Brother Ryan mention new fees, he’s talking about people from Newfoundland. Maybe you know that already.

6. 2:50

   Maybe you don’t need me to tell you that. But I feel like that’s just an important thing because he’s going to mention new fees in the class. And if you’re just listening to it and you’re like, what? What is that? I just wanted to, you know, let you know. That’s what he’s talking about.

7. 3:05

   He’s referring to people from Newfoundland. So I hope you enjoy this class. It’s Brother Ryan, King Shechem, the place of decision. In our study yesterday, we endeavored to just give you a nice layout of the Land of Israel with its various sections. And we saw that the Land of Israel is divided up into a hump with two planes on either side. It sort of follows a a hump like shape across the breadth of its territory.

8. 3:39

   You may have remembered that there are three ranges of hills along this hump. There are the Galilee hills in the north. There are the Samaritan hills in the center. That’s where we’ll be this morning at Shechem and the Judean hills in the South and on the other side of these plains. This is known as the Hill Country. Jerusalem happens to be right about here. This morning will be at Shechem, which is about here along these hills.

9. 4:12

   They range about 3 to 3 1/2 thousand feet high. And then when you go on either side, you drop down to the floor. So on either end of the hump there are two famous plains. There is the Plain of Sharon, which is on the western side, and then there is what’s known as the Arabah. It’s on the eastern side, which is the term that the scripture uses for the depression of the Jordan Valley as it slopes down towards the Dead Sea.

10. 4:39

    The Dead Sea in certain parts of scripture is called the Sea of the Arabah. It appears in the AV as the Sea of the plain. So it’s very, very easy to remember. You’ve got 3 ranges of hills down the center and then plains on either side. This morning we want to look at a very famous place which is right in the center of the land at Shekel.

11. 5:05

    Another fact that we pointed out yesterday, brothers and sisters, was, is that the land reinforces the principles of Scripture that we know to be true. It serves as a confirmation, if you like, of what we know to be true in the faith. Both our doctrinal principles as well as our moral principles are verified by the Land of Israel. And one of the principles that we have to come to grips with when we come to a knowledge of the truth is this, that every day is a struggle.

12. 5:38

    Every day we have to make a choice. The Lord Jesus Christ says that if you’re going to follow after me, you must take up your cross daily. And it just so happens that there is a place in the land of Israel that reminds us of that very important principle. This morning I’d like to take you.

13. 5:57

    The place is known as Shechem. Now check em. Just looking at that map, what do you notice about it straight away? Well, it’s the physical center of the land. It’s right in the very heart of the Hill Country, and it’s about the same distance to either end either to the Plain of Sharon or down to the Arabah.

14. 6:24

    It’s right in the middle. It’s the physical centre of the land which thereby highlights it’s important. So it’s obvious that if there’s going to be anything significant about this place, it must be very, very important because God put it right in the centre. Now I’d like to open our studies in First Kings Chapter 12. Very, very quickly we’re going to see a principle established with Shechem that you and I have to make every day. You know in the truth we’re never able to be content with ourselves.

15. 6:57

    Every day has to be a struggle. First Kings chapter 12. We read something peculiar that what they did with the new king Rehoboam. Now we’re told in first Kings chapter 12 and Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel will come to Shechem to make him king. Now Rehoboam was going to be the king over the Kingdom of Judah.

16. 7:22

    The Kingdom of Judah, of course, its capital was Jerusalem, and he was going to go back to Jerusalem, and he was going to sit on David’s throne. But that wasn’t where they anointed. In order that they might make rehoboam king over all Israel, they took him to Shechem. Now, why would they take him to Shechem when he’s going to go down to Jerusalem and sit on David’s throne?

17. 7:47

    Well, establishes here once again a very important principle for which Shechem stand, and we’d like to look at that principle right now. The first person to ever come to this place, quite appropriately, was Abraham. He’s the father of the faith. He’s the one that we’re supposed to, So he is the first that comes to Shechem.

18. 8:09

    And in Genesis chapter 12, we see an important principle set down when Abraham comes to this place. And we’ll figure out from this why it was that they took Rehoboam to Shechem, of all places, to be anointed king over Israel. If we come back to Genesis Chapter 12, the first stop by Abraham in the land, and he must have come to many different places as he went, came down from Haran, way up in the north, and he was removed, as Stephen says in Acts Chapter 7, into the land.

19. 8:41

    Now there must have been many places that he would have come to. He came from, from way up here in Haran, down into the land of Israel. He might have had many stops along that journey, but the Bible only points out one It was Abraham’s first stop when he entered the Promised Land. He came to Shechem.

20. 9:04

    Now, as we’ve said before, good Bible study is based upon good Bible reading. Very few of us will ever become experts at Greek or Hebrew. But we can be good contextual students of the Bible, and we can be careful readers. And sometimes the Bible says so much by just reading. Notice how Genesis chapter 12 and verse five reads it says there in Genesis 12 verse 5. And Abram took Suraya, his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered and the souls that they had gotten in Hereun.

21. 9:41

    And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan and into the land of Canaan. They came. So you notice how the end of verse five is almost redundant. They went to go into the land of Canaan. OK, I would expect that they went into the land of Canaan then. But the rest of the verse says, And into the land of Canaan they came.

22. 10:04

    And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moray. And the Canaanite was then in the land. Well, wouldn’t you expect that if they went into the land of Canaan verse five, that it’s logical that the people that you would find would be Canaanite? Yeah, I arrived here on Friday night in the land of Newfoundland. I expected that when I got to Newfoundland I would find newfies.

23. 10:33

    Of course, when he’s going into the land of Canaan, he’s going to find Canaanites. Why is the record emphasizing this? Well, it says at the end of verse 6. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And then verse 7, Yahweh appeared unto Abram and said unto Thy seed, will I give this land? But it’s absolutely swarming Canaan. So what are you going to do, Abram? Are you going to believe God, who’s told you that he will give you this land as a possession?

24. 11:09

    Or you can look around you and see all the Canaanites. You’re going to look around and see all the people in the world and everything seemingly so permanent. Are you going to mingle yourselves with the Canaanites, or are you going to believe God and the promise that he has made, and he made that particular choice at Shechem.

25. 11:30

    What did Abraham decide? Well, it says there at the end of verse 7. And there Bill did he an altar unto Yahweh who appeared unto him. He had a choice. He could either separate from the Canaanites, or he could assimilate with the Canaanite. And there Abram made that decision. Keep separate. He builded an altar unto Yahweh.

26. 11:56

    And so enshrined in this place of Shechem is the principle of decision. God created this place on to teach this important lesson and ever after, Whenever anybody came to Shechem in the record of Scripture, we find that they had an important decision to make, either to choose life or to choose death. Abraham comes here in Genesis chapter 12. He’s got a choice.

27. 12:28

    The Canaanite is then in the land. We believe God. Or do we mingle with the Canaanites? In Genesis chapter 34 and 35, Jacob and his family came. They were coming back from Paden Arum after he had served in his uncle Laban’s house for 40 years, and he said to his family at Shechem, put away the strange gods that are among you. Do it here at Shechem.

28. 12:56

    Of course they were coming back with some Lucky Charms that they had gotten in the land of Pedenarim. And Jacob said to his family, We’re going up to the House of God, We’re going up to Bethel, Put him away right here at Shechem. It was, of course, at Shechem where Dinah made her decision to go out and see the daughters of the lamb. In Genesis Chapter 37, Joseph went to keep his father’s flock at Shechem, the record set.

29. 13:22

    And he goes to find his brothers. And. And they’ve disappeared. They had gone to Dothan, a word which means two wells. You see, they wanted it both way. That took place in Genesis chapter 37 at Shechem. He came to seek his brethren, and he didn’t find them. When the children of Israel came into the land, Moses gave Joshua a very clear instructions. He says The day you crossover into the land, you take the people to Shechem and there you chant the blessings and the cursings and you tell Israel that they’ve got to make up their mind. 6 Tribes on Evil 6 on Gerizim Make up your mind. Who is it that you are going to serve? We’re not done yet.

30. 14:12

    Joshua Chapter 24. When Joshua was giving his famous farewell speech to the people, he took the people back to Shechem. And there he said, choose you this day whom ye will serve. Put away the strange gods that your father served on the other side of the flood, Choose you this day. And he told them that here at Shechel in Judges Chapter 9, we’re going to read about a man named Jotham, whose name means Yahweh is upright.

31. 14:46

    This Bramble King Abimelech had made himself king after the death of Gideon. He’d slain the 69 sons of Gideon, proclaimed himself a king, and Jotham escaped. And he ran up on top of Mount Gerizim, and he gave the men of Shechem a charge. Who do you want? Do you want to follow in the ways of my father, or do you want this Bramble king Abemola? And in order to do that, he called out from the top of Mount Gerizim at Shechem, and the men of Shechem there had to make up their mind.

32. 15:20

    Is it any wonder then why when Rehoboam was crowned king, they took him to Shechem? Even though he was going to go down to Jerusalem and sit on David’s throne, they took him to that place, to Shechem, that there he might be made king. That was where Jesus met the woman of Samaria.

33. 15:43

    And she said to him, our father said, it was in that mountain that you ought to worship. What do you say? And he said, salvation is of the Jew. You need to make up your mind who it is that you’re going to worship, whether it’s the plethora of the gods of the Samaritans or the one true God of Israel.

34. 16:04

    She had to make up her mind in that place. So in both Old and New Testaments, we see that this principle is made very, very clear at this one little place right in the middle of the land called shekel. And it reminds us, brothers and sisters, that each day we also have to come to Shekel. We have to make up our minds who it is that we are going to follow, whether we’re going to follow our own instincts, the gods that we served before we were baptized, or whether we’re going to pitch our tent and build an altar unto Yahweh as Abram did.

35. 16:45

    And you know, you’ll find that in all of these events, there are connection. It’s not just that they happened in the same place, but there are word connections. There are thematic connections between all of these events. You’ll find that Jacob in Genesis chapter 35 draws on the incident of Genesis chapter 12. You’ll find that Joshua and Joshua 24 quotes from Jacob in Genesis chapter 35.

36. 17:14

    We’ll find that Abimelech in Judges Chapter 9. When he wanted to make himself king, he went back to Genesis 12 in order to give his New Kingdom quote, UN quote, some legitimacy. And so they’re all connected. So God took this one place in the land right in the very center, and memorialized this principle.

37. 17:39

    It’s something that we all understand, but God gave us all of these events at Shechem to remind us of what we must do each and every day. Let’s just look at some of the parallels that we find in these incidents come firstly to that one there in the center in Joshua, Chapter 24.

38. 17:58

    You know the Tabernacle during the time of Joshua and Judges was at Shiloh. Shiloh is maybe about 20 miles South of Shechem. Since that was where the Tabernacle was. You would think that Joshua would have gathered all the people together to Shiloh.

39. 18:16

    But Joshua chapter 24 and verse one tells us. And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers. And they presented themselves before God. Joshua said unto all the people. Thus saith Yahweh Elohim of Israel, your father’s dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, the father of Nahor.

40. 18:47

    And they served other gods. So he takes them back here to the initial call of Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. And where was the 1st place that Abram came to in Genesis chapter 12? It was Shechem. Look down at verse 14. He now gives them a charge, having recounted some of their history to them in verses 2 to 14. Verse 14 says Now, therefore, fear Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood in Egypt, and serve ye Yahweh.

41. 19:26

    It’s very similar to the choice that Abraham had to make in Genesis chapter 12. Isn’t it either the Canaanite or Yahweh? And if it seemed evil unto you to serve Yahweh choose you this day whom ye will serve? And he said that here, Shechem, this Shechem’s all about having to make a choice, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh. So we told the people there in verse 14 to serve God in sincerity and in truth.

42. 20:04

    Now those two were very often come up in the history of Shechem, serve him in sincerity. The the word actually means to be without whack, to be completely crystal clear. And in truth, the word means to be straight up and down. It’s where you’ve got to make a firm choice. What you want to do now? Just come over a few pages to Judges Chapter 9. Let’s come to the next event that took place there at Shechel.

43. 20:36

    Gideon has died and one of his sons, Abimelech, now makes himself a king. You know, we want to to learn in Sunday school and and we teach our, our Sunday school students that Saul was the first king of Israel. And of course he was. He was the first divinely appointed king of Israel. But you know, there was a king in the land of Israel long before Saul.

44. 21:01

    He was an impostor, a self appointed king. His name was Abimelech. In the the cycle of the judges he happens to be the 6th judge because he represents the man of Sid. He stands up and he proclaims himself a king. And he says in verse two of Judges Chapter 9, Speak, I pray you in the ears of all the men of Shechem, whether it’s better for you either that all the sons of Jared Bell, which are 70, reign over you, or that one reign over you. Remember that also that I am your bone and your flesh. You know, do we really need 70 people to to lead us? Why can’t we just have one?

45. 21:39

    So he stands up and he makes himself a king. And in order to give some sort of legitimacy to this new quote, UN quote Kingdom that Abimelech was establishing, look where he go verse 6. And all the men of Shechem gathered together and all the House of Millow and wint, and made Abimelech king by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. Now if you have a margin for that phrase by the plain of the pillar, you’ll see that the margin has #5 or by the oak of the pillar.

46. 22:22

    So he was made king by the oak of the pillar. Now where have we read in scripture about an oak at Shechem? Well, it was back in Genesis chapter 12 and verse 6 where it says Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem unto the oak of Moray. The word plain as it is in the AV really should be rendered as oak. So it was likely that same oath that Abimelech now comes and he makes himself king over the land. He wanted to give some sort of legitimacy to his Kingdom. So he goes back to the very place where Abraham was first called and 1st brought that he might say. Now I am king, will the men of Shechem have to make up their mind?

47. 23:15

    Who is it are you going to serve? Is it this new Bramble king Abimelech? Or is it going to be Yahweh who our father Gideon stood with? Gideon said, I’m not going to rule over you, Yahweh shall rule over you. And so when Jotham who’s the one son left, the other 69 are dead, Jotham, whose name means Yahweh, is upright. He stands up in verse 7 And he goes to the top of Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. Verse 17.

48. 23:53

    My father fought for you, and hazarded his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian verse 18 And you are risen up against my father’s house. To say, see, Abimelech was rebelling against the House of Gideon, and have slain his sons, 3 score and 10 persons upon one stone, and have made Abimelech the son of his maidservant king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother. If then Now where do these words come from? If then ye have done truly and sincerely with Jeroboel and with his house this day, then rejoice ye with Abimelech. If that’s who you want to serve, serve him. But if not, verse 20 Let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem.

49. 24:36

    And Jotham ran away in verse 21, and he flees. So he left the men of Shechem before he went away with that choice. Do you want to serve this Bramble King Abimelech? Or do you want to serve God in sincerity? And in truth? He was quoting from Joshua’s speech in Joshua chapter 24.

50. 24:57

    So not only is there the principle of choice here at Shechem, but you’ve also got to do it in sincerity and in truth. Not in malice or in wickedness, but in sincerity and in truth. And as we’ll see in a moment, there are consequences to that decision, as there are consequences to all of the decision that we make. And we need to take those in mind when we make the decisions that we do.

51. 25:25

    John Chapter 4. If the Lord Jesus Christ said with all of this history in mind, I must needs go through Samaria, you know that wasn’t the normal route that you would take to go back home to Galilee. You would go over it to Perea, to the land across, and then go up the eastern side of the Jordan. But he said, I must needs go through Samaria. I’ve got to go through Shechem John, chapter 4 and verse three. He left Judea and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria, Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Cycar. But that should be rendered Shechem. And we know that it’s Shechem, because it says it’s near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. And of course, the the parcel of ground that Jacob bought where Joseph was buried, according to Genesis, chapter 33 was up there at Shechem.

52. 26:31

    Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, SAT thus on that well, look. Look at how that’s put. He sat thus on that well, knowing that this place was saturated with history. He comes there and he sits down, and he contemplates the history of that place, knowing all that we’ve said this morning and a whole lot more. And then a woman comes out, a woman of Samaria, whose life was an absolute mess, and he starts speaking to her about water. After all, he’s sitting upon Jacob’s well, and he’s going to put before her the choice that she has to make. He says in verse 13.

53. 27:27

    Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman said unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not neither come, hit her to draw. You see, she wants the water of life, so that she won’t thirst again, and that she won’t have to keep coming back here and drawing water.

54. 28:00

    See she? She’s trying to come to grips with just what the Lord is saying here. What is he talking about? The water that I shall give, if you drink it, you will never thirst again. What does he mean by that? So she says, I I want the water.

55. 28:16

    But we don’t get something for nothing. In the truth, everything come with a price. Everything come with probation and testing. So Jesus gives her a test. And he says go get your husband.

56. 28:35

    My husband? Yes, go get your husband. Verse 16 And and come hit her. So what’s she going to do? She’s got quite a checkered history.

57. 28:48

    Well, she decided to tell the truth. Verse 17. The woman answered, and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. And he whom thou now hastest not thy husband, in that thou saidest. Now notice this word truly in that said, St. thou truly? She had a choice.

58. 29:24

    She could either tell the truth, or she could spin a lie. She decided to tell the truth. I have, he said, You’ve said true. And of course the great issue of the day was, where is the true place of worship? Is it in Samaria here, or is it in Jerusalem? He says to in verse 22, Woman, ye worship.

59. 29:51

    Ye know not what we know. What we worship for salvation is out of the Jew. Not that it’s restricted only to Jews, but that it’s only available to Gentiles through the Jewish Channel, and you need to come to grips with that Salvation is out of the Jew. But the hour cometh in. Now is when the notice this true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Joshua and Jotham said in sincerity and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him God is spirit. They that worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth, and they had to.

60. 30:37

    He said that she had to make up her mind here in Shechem, in this place serve him in sincerity and truth. So it should come as no surprise to you, brothers and sisters, that the word Shechem literally means burden bearer. If you were to sort of boil it down to its actual Hebrew, it means between the shoulders. And if you look at Shechem here, see, it looks like 2 shoulders. There’s evil, there’s Gerizim, there’s Shechem in the middle. It looks like 2 shoulder.

61. 31:13

    Where you’ve got to make up your mind, you’ve got to bear responsibility. Life is not about avoiding our responsibilities. Life is about accepting our responsibility. And Shechem reminds us of that. The word is only used a handful of times in Scripture. It’s first used of Shem and Japheth who who put a garment upon their shoulder and covered the the nakedness of their father. And it’s a word that speaks brothers and sisters about accepting responsibility.

62. 31:47

    But saying yes, here am I send me the way might be difficult, but I’m going to accept my responsibilities. That’s the principle of Shechem, and perhaps its most famous occurrence is in Isaiah Chapter 9 in a passage that I think we all know, Isaiah Chapter 9, speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ and his Kingdom, where he will faithfully accept the responsibilities that his father has committed into his hand.

63. 32:20

    And the word that Isaiah chooses here, spirit through Isaiah chooses fittingly, is Shekel. Firstly, he’s going to have to deal, as we know, with the Assyrian the Russian Isaiah, Chapter 9 and verse four. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his Shechem the word shoulder there. And verse four is Shechem the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian verse 6. For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given, and the government the government of the Kingdom Age will be upon his shechem, his shoulder.

64. 33:04

    He will faithfully bear the responsibilities of the Kingdom of the millennial age. He will be the father of the millennial age, as the phrase everlasting Father there means the Father of the age, and the Lord Jesus Christ will deal faithfully. He will bear on his Shechem the responsibility that his Father has given to it until the end of the thousand years, when he will hand that back over to the Father, that the Father might be all and in all.

65. 33:40

    So I think we see that principle, brothers and sisters, very clearly before us. We have to make up our mind who it is that we’re going Sir. The land reinforces all of the principles of our daily life. Whenever I’m in difficulty, you can almost think about a place in the land that reminds you of the decision that you have to make or the position that you’re in. God has given us the land to remind us of our lesson. Now with every choice as we know, they are constant. We don’t just make decisions and then nothing happens. God is going to judge us based upon the decisions that we make. Well, in order that we might be reminded of that, There are two Mount at Shechem, you’ll see here, this is Mount Ebel and this is Mount Gerizim.

66. 34:36

    And Mount Ebel is the hill of cursing. Mount Gerizim, here is the hill of blessing. You know in Genesis chapter 12, when Abraham comes to Shechem, he comes to Shechem right after he’s told I will bless them, that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee. And there we find those two mountains.

67. 34:58

    So the Israelites, when they came into the land, put 6 tribes on evil, 6 on Gerizim, and in the middle they were able to hear each other and echo the blessings and the cursings of the law. Let’s look at Mount Evil

68. 35:17

    appropriately. Evil means to be bald. So if we make the wrong decisions in our lives, if we don’t produce fruit, we’re like this mountain. Here evil means to be bald, and you can see that most of it is dry and airy. When you go there today, it looks exactly the same as it would have in the days when Joshua took the tribes. No life, no vegetation.

69. 35:49

    It’s the hill of cursing. We can either have a blessing or a curse. You know, when Joshua, following the instructions of Moses, took the tribes there, he put the altar here. On Garrison. I mean, I’m sorry. On evil, not on Garrison, because he knew the choice that the people would make, You know, Moses said after my departing. I know that you’ll corrupt yourselves until he put the altar here on the hill of cursing. Knowing, of course, prophetically what choice the people would make, And evil is taller, slightly taller, maybe a few 100 feet taller than gerizy, because as we know many are called, few are chosen more choose cursing than blessing. Many there be that go the Broadway of destruction. Few that there be that find the narrow way to life. So Ebel is higher than Garrison.

70. 36:53

    Now I wanted to show you something interesting about Mount Ebel. Here is a map and as you can see here we’ve got Mount Ebel. We find Mount Gerizim. Nablus, which is the modern name for Shechem, is right here in the middle. Nablus was meant to be the equivalent of Naples in Italy. Now, because the Arabs can’t say PAH, they can only say Bah Nablus.

71. 37:23

    The Naples became Nablus. It’s a it’s an Arab town today. Now you’ll notice that just not far from Shechem is this place called Samaria. So you can be here in Samaria and look right down the valley to the town of Shechem. Now Samaria, as we know, became the northern, the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel, and it was where a very famous king lived. I’d like you to come to 1st Kings, chapter 22 and just show you something about the the topography of the land, which was almost as an indictment to this evil king. His name was Ahab here in Samaria. Of course, Ahab had many of these palaces. He had one up here in Jezreel by Naboth, and he had one here in Samaria.

72. 38:16

    Amos refers to them in his prophecy as the Winter House and the Summer House. When First Kings chapter 22 and verse 39 we’re told about this palace that Ahab built. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the Ivory house which he made and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel? Now the interesting thing about that palace is, is they’ve actually found it, the one in Samaria, Ahab’s ivory palace. They’ve actually discovered this is the walls of Ahab’s palace in Samaria.

73. 39:00

    That is Ahab’s palace. Archaeologists have proven that beyond all dispute. And you know when you stand here at Ahab’s palace in Samaria and you look down that valley as we just did on our map, you look down towards Shechem and you look for the two mountains, Ebel and Garazy. Guess which mountain is glaring right at Ahab’s palace?

74. 39:24

    Guess which mountain you cannot see from Ahab’s pal. You can’t see Garazy. The Hill of Cursing is just glaring right at him, looking right at him as an indictment to that evil king who, who brought in all this ivory from Africa, had taxed the people heavily so that he, he and his wife could live. Lavish.

75. 39:49

    When you look down the valley from Ahab’s palace, you can see evil. Can’t see Gary, almost as an indictment to that King was the land staring right at him. So we can have cursing. We all know that sin brings suffering. If we serve the flesh, it will only make us miserable. In the end, our lives will be a mess. We’ll be torment.

76. 40:18

    Or we can have peace. And that comes through gerizy. And the word gerizy means to be Sep. It’s used of sort of of hedging off something, of separating one thing from another, which is really the choice that Abram had to make, separate or assimilate. It’s the choice that Jacob gave his family. Put away the strange God and you can go through all of the events at Shechem and you’ll see that it’s blessing that comes through separation.

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    It’s greener than Mount Evil. This is actually a a drawing of Garrison. If you go there today, there’s more greenery on Gerizim than there is on evil. It’s very easy to detect evil because it’s just bald as can be, but Gerizim is a little bit more lush, a little bit more vegetation on it. It’s the Hill of Blessing, and we’ll have a little bit to say about the hill of Blessing here in a moment. Jotham went to the top of Gerizim, not Evil, to invite the men of Shechem to share in blessing. You know he didn’t call out from evil, he called out from Gerizim because he wanted the men of Shechem to separate themselves from that Bramble king, that they might not be consumed. And it’s shorter than evil because fewer people choose life.

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    More people choose cursing than blessing. And so this hill is just a little bit shorter, although it’s right next to it. It’s a little bit shorter. So we have the consequences of our decisions. We can either have blessing or we can have cursing. Now, of course, we would all say to ourselves, we don’t want to be. We all want life.

79. 42:12

    We all want to be in God’s Kingdom. We all want to receive blessing. Well, Shechem reminds us of something else that helps us to choose life, that helps us to choose blessing and not cursing. If you come back to Deuteronomy, chapter 27 and the readings that we had were given, the list of tribes that were to be on Mount Gerizim, the six tribes on Gerizim, and the six tribes that were to be upon Mount Eve.

80. 42:50

    Verse 12 of Deuteronomy, Chapter 27. These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless people when they are come over Simeon and Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these shall stand upon Mount Evil to curse Reuben, and Gad, and Asher and Zebulun, Dan and Naphtala. Now, have you ever wondered, brothers and sisters, why certain tribes are on the hill of Blessing and certain tribes are on the Hill of Cursing?

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    I mean, why were those tribes picked in verse 13 to be on the Hill of Cursing? And why was it that, you know, Simeon that had such a rotten history? Why is Simeon on the hill of Blessing? I mean a few pages over in Deuteronomy chapter 33, when the blessings are given upon the tribes, Simeon’s not even mentioned. Why is it that Simeon is placed in verse 12 with those tribes that are on the Hill of Blessing? Well, I think that there’s there’s an important principle here in these tribes.

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    I’d like to do a little exercise now if I got to have a volunteer pass out some maps, what we’re going to do is just going to have a look at these tribes and see if we can find why certain tribes are on the Hill of Blessing and certain tribes are on the Hill of Cursing. If everyone could just take a map and if you had a colored pencil.

83. 44:25

    If you have a colored pencil or a marker or something like that, we’ll just do a little exercise with these tribes. Most of you will recognize that this is a map of the 12 tribes in the land in their various portion. Thanks for doing that. Now let’s just note Buzz and Sisters verse 13. Let’s note the tribes that are on the hill of Cursing. The first tribe on the hill of Cursing is Reuben. Now where was Reuben located?

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    We know they were one of the tribes that were on the other side. Reuben is located right here. So with a coloring in pencil or any sort of marker, just mark Reuben. The next tribe is Gad. Now Gad is just north of Reuben. Also on the other side of the Jordan Mark GED. Next tribe is Asher.

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    Now Asher is on the northwestern side. Longmount, Carmel all the way up to tire right here. Far north is Asher color in Ash. The next tribe is Zebulon. Zebulon next to Asher right here. Color in Zebulon. Dan is next. Now, Dan is an interesting tribe because remember, their inheritance initially was down here in the northern part of the Shephilah, right where Jabba is. But what did the tribe of Dan end up doing? Well, they abandoned the inheritance that God had given them, and they went all the way up here in the north to laish to a people that were weak and easy to fight and overcome. The tribe of the Danites abandoned this area here and they ended up all the way up here. So this little part up here, which the map I believe actually highlights this Dan color in that little area up there, you’ll recall that that’s the great conflict of Samson’s light.

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    This tribe of the Danites had failed to take their inheritance down here, and they went way up in the north of the land where the pickings were easy. The coloring Dan right up there at the very, very top. And then lastly, the tribe of Naftalai, Naftalai is right next to Dan here in the very, very north in the Galilee hills. All right.

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    Now look at your map. Where are the tribes that are on the Hill of Cursing? They’re all on the perimeter. They’re all on the outside or they’re on the other side of the Jordan. Where are the tribes that are on the hill of blessing? They’re right in the very centre. Even Simeon really belongs to Judah because they were put in the inside, the tribe of of Judah. As punishment, divide them in Jacob, scatter them in Israel. So Simeon, even though it had a very checkered past, is on the hill of Blessing, of course, because it belongs to Judah, which is right in the very heart of the land. So if you look at the tribes, the borders of the tribes on the hill of Blessing Gerizim, their borders all converge around the center around Shechem.

88. 48:02

    Where are the tribes that are on the Hill of Cursing? They’re all on the perimeter on the outskirts. Now, Shechem is all about choosing life, and the best way that we can find blessing in our lives is to be active at the center of our ecclesias, with God as the basis of our lives.

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    That’s the principle of why these tribes, I believe, are on the Hill of Blessing and why other tribes are on the Hill of Cursing, because geographically, they teach us a lesson. The tribes that are on the Hill of Cursing are all on the outskirts. They’re all on the perimeter. The tribes that are on the Hill of Blessing are right in the middle. And so the best way to choose life is to be active at the center of our Ecclesia.

90. 48:56

    When the Ecclesia needs a job done. You don’t say, well, I’ve got to walk the dog. I’m not qualified. You put your hand up and you say I will do it. Active at the heart of the Ecclesia. We have these two references up here which for lack of time we won’t look at.

91. 49:16

    But Numbers Chapter 11 verse one and Deuteronomy chapter 25, verses 17 to 19. Where were the complainers in the camp of Israel in Numbers Chapter 11, Tabara? Well, it says they were in the outside parts of the camp, in the uttermost parts of the camp. That was where complaining originated, and it’s very often where complaining in the Ecclesia originates from the fringes.

92. 49:43

    Deuteronomy chapter 25 is speaking about Amalek. And who did Amalek attack? It was those that were on the outside, the stragglers at the back. They didn’t go after Aaron and her and Moses and the people at the front, the fighting men, they didn’t go after those that were active in the center, they went after the weakling.

93. 50:06

    And the tribes that are on the outside are the tribes that are on the hill of curse. The tribes that are on the inside are on the hill of blessing. So where are you in in your cliche outside? Just show up on Sunday morning and then don’t see your brothers and sisters again for another week?

94. 50:29

    Or are we active at the heart of our cliche shouldn’t come as any surprise. You know that Shechem city of refuge, because refuge is found only to those that choose light, and there are steadfast, unmovable and always abounding the work of their God. I’d like to close brothers and sisters with some words from Zephaniah chapter 3.

95. 51:00

    Shechem has some wonderful things to teach us. We have to choose light, We have to accept our responsibilities. And you know one day all the world will come to appreciate the importance and the significance of this term and this place and the history of these things that we revel in. Now this is the last occurrence of the word Shechem in our Old Testament. It’s in Zephaniah chapter 3, a very unique verses we know in the Hebrew language Zephaniah chapter 3 and verse 9. For then, Speaking of the Kingdom age, I will turn to the people a pure language.

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    They’ll all know the truth that they may all call upon the name of Yahweh. Remember Abraham? He pitched his tent and he called upon the name of Yahweh. He built an altar to serve him with one consent. Now the word consent there, as the margin indicates, is the word shoulder or shekel. All the earth will one day call upon the name of Yahweh and serve him with one Shechem.

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    They will accept their responsibilities, which the Lord Jesus Christ and the Saints will put upon them, and they will learn the importance of the place that we have considered this morning. Brothers and sisters, let us choose life. Thank you for listening to the good Crystal Adelphian Talks Podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk and brightened your day. If you would like to hear more, please subscribe for new episodes.

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100. 53:40

     God bless and talk to you next week.