John 4: The People
This is part 2 of a series of posts on John 4:1-42, as mentioned in the sermon on Sunday, June 27 called “Inside-out, Upside-down.”
Listen now:
The People
Now that we know WHERE this is happening and some of the historical significance of the places that are mentioned in this story, let’s take a look at WHO is involved… The Samaritans are mentioned many times in the Bible. Who are they? Where did they come from? Why don’t they get along with the Jews?
After the death of King Solomon, there was a political scramble that led to the nation breaking into two (see 1 Kings 12). Jeroboam ascended to the throne of Israel, the northern kingdom, while Solomon’s son Rehoboam maintained the throne of Judah, the southern kingdom.
Jeroboam recognized that his power (and even his life) was at risk as long as his subjects had to travel to Judah to worship at Jerusalem. So he declared that it was too far and too much of a burden to go to Jerusalem for worship. He exiled the priestly Levites, installed his own priests, and set up two places of worship in the northern kingdom at Bethel and Dan to replace Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 12:25-33). This was the foundation of the Samaritans making Mt. Gerizim as their holy mountain 200 years later.
Eventually the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians, and the southern kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians. A small population of the northern kingdom was deported to Assyria in 722 BC. Those who remained, and any who returned intermarried with the Gentiles.
In 516 BC, Judah returned from Babylonian captivity and started the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritans told them that they also worshiped God and offered to help with the construction, but they were sharply rejected (see Ezra 4). As a result, the Samaritans became increasingly antagonistic to the construction process (see Ezra 4:4-6 and Nehemiah 4:2-3).
The hybrid religion of the Samaritans and enmity with the Jews is summarized in 2 Kings 17:21-41. Jeroboam drove the northern kingdom away from the Lord and lead them into great sin. This lead to the Assyrian exile and foreigners living in Samaria. To avoid calamity, the king of Assyria sent back a priest to teach the fear of the LORD, and the people blended his teachings with the pagan religions:
“So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children–as their fathers did, so they do to this day.” (2 Kings 17:41)
So, after 516 BC, Mt Gerizim became the Samaritans’ holy mountain and was used as the center of their worship. They expounded on the significant history of the place, and began teaching that it was the scene of Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrifice. They even revised the ten commandments to include a commandment revering Mount Gerizim as sacred. And the Jews hated them all the more for it… and the feeling was mutual.
Samaritans still occupy Mount Gerizim today, and carry out their traditions of worship there.
Links about Samaritans:
In Deuteronomy 12:1-14, God gave his people instructions for worship before they crossed the Jordan river and entered the land that He had promised as their inheritance. God was very specific about choosing a special place for their worship. He tells them that they must stop worshiping however and wherever they want, but instead must go to “the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you…” (Deuteronomy 12:11).
There are many reasons why the Samaritans and the Jews have different interpretations about the place that God was talking about in this passage. Ultimately, God Himself settles the debate through His actions recorded in scripture. However the Samaritans only accept Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and they reject the rest of the Old Testament…
Nearly 400 years after God’s instructions in Deuteronomy 12, Solomon constructed the temple in Jerusalem, and hosted a special dedication ceremony. Check out his prayer of dedication in 1 Chronicles 6 and 1 Kings 8, and pay close attention to 1 Chronicles 6:20 and 1 Kings 8:29. He specifically quotes Deuteronomy 12 in his prayer, that God would regard this as the place that He had chosen to put His name.
God’s response is a supernatural display of his approval of the temple at Jerusalem:
“1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)
Later on, God shows up to tell Solomon that He heard the prayer and had “chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever” (2 Chronicles 7:16).
Here are some other scriptures about God choosing Jerusalem:
The Take Away
The historical interplay between the Jews and the Samaritans provides a unique outside-looking-in perspective on how people treat those of different religions.
How do you treat people who believe differently than you? What presuppositions do you believe about the woman in the grocery store wearing a burqa? Or the businessman with a tilaka on his forehead?
Closer to home here in the Bible Belt… What about people who claim to be “Christian” but have corrupted and manipulated the faith you hold dear? How do you treat the people who you think are giving true Christianity a bad name? What about the TV preacher in the purple suit? Or the neighbor from another denomination?
What can we learn from Jesus’ approach to love and reach out to the woman at the well, and subsequently, her entire town?
Leave your response!