Blessing and Judgement: the Land Called Samaria

The Land of Samaria is full of rich agriculture for growing various kinds of crops.

It was a cloudy day. The gray skies made the brown soil and green olive trees pop from the scenery. If it wasn’t for the cold, it would be the perfect day. I looked out from the bus window and saw sheep along the low hills. They grazed among stone terraces and low shrubbery. They weren’t the fluffy white creatures I’d seen in shows, they were all kinds of colors, mostly a dirty grey. They seemed to blend in with the hillside.

Samaria is an expansive land. Immediately north of Benjamin, where Jerusalem is, it comprises the large tribal allotments that were given to Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph. In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses his 12 sons. Verses 22-26 enumerate his prophetic blessings on Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. He starts by calling Joseph a fruitful bough. In many ways, the land of these tribes has the most bountiful soil in Israel. Its geography and ecology make it ideal for raising crops like vines and wheat and olives. The various valleys in the area also make travel easy. Samaria is certainly a privileged land.

Just as Joseph was distinguished above his brothers, so his children inherited a distinguished land above the other tribes. But the land that began with blessing ended in revolt and exile. As our group started our tour through the area, our guide emphasized one of his central teaching points for the day. “A blessed life today doesn’t secure your tomorrows,” he said.

We made our first stop at the ancient site of Tell Shiloh. The word “tell” literally means hill. It is usually a raised mound with the remains of buildings from multiple periods. The deeper archeologists dig, the older remains they will find. This tell had some walls from the Judean period (Iron age), as well as older Canaanite defense walls (Middle Bronze age) called a glacis. We saw some replicas of large clay jars that were found buried in the walls.

Shiloh is probably most well-known as the location of the tabernacle Joshua set up to house the ark of the covenant. It holds the ark for over 300 years. Near the end of that time, Eli presides as priest over the tabernacle. He serves faithfully but neglects to punish his sons who practice immorality. One day, the long-lasting service at Shiloh abruptly ends. 1 Samuel 4 recounts how the children of Israel battle their arch-enemies the Philistines in Aphek and Ebenezer. These cities lie about 26 miles to the west near the coastal plains where the Philistines lived. After losing four thousand men in their first encounter, the Israelites rally again, bringing the ark of the covenant down from Shiloh. Mistaking this symbol of God’s presence for His actual power, they fail again. The Philistines utterly defeat them and capture the ark.

After the defeat, a man from Benjamin runs from the battle to tell Eli the priest at Shiloh. Upon hearing of the defeat, the death of his sons, and the stolen ark, Eli falls over, breaks his neck, and dies. Today, athletes run the same route as the Benjaminite every year. The Aphek to Shiloh course is called the Bible Marathon.

Although not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, some people think that the Philistines came to Shiloh after defeating the Israelites and destroyed the city. Much later, Jeremiah warns Judah about the consequences of rejecting God. He points to the example of Shiloh’s destruction (Jer 7:12, 26:6). The place where God made His name to dwell at first, ended as a heap of ruins. Although buildings and churches were later made around the sight, it remains a pile of stones and dirt, a reminder of Israel’s false worship and its result.

Shiloh today. The Canaanite wall is against the hill and Israelite walls jut towards the foreground. Examples of pottery found here are raised on posts.

The region Samaria gets its name from the city of Samaria which is the capital of the Northern kingdom of Israel. King Omri moved the capital here after violently taking the kingdom from Zimri (1 Kings 16). Here, the children of Israel acted in many evil ways and continued to run away from the Lord. They forgot his goodness amidst their worldly possessions.

Our bus ride to Samaria led us through several groves of olive trees. I thought about the promise of fertility to this land. Even today, people are reaping benefits from the lush land. Looking through the window, I started seeing stone pillars pass by like streetlamps. They were dark with age and uneven. Our guide said they came from the roman period.

When we came to the tell, some locals approached us trying to sell olive oil and roman coins. I wondered how authentic those coins were that they held out with worn dark hands. Skeptical, I said “lo” (no in Hebrew) and moved on. We found ruins from the Herodian period, including a theater and the steps to a temple dedicated to the emperor. The temple was built over the remains of a palace built by Ahab the son of Omri. We also saw some Hellenistic towers and more Roman pillars. Everything was jumbled together. When Herod took control of the city, he renamed it Sebaste. To this day, some locals still call it by its Herodian name. A rain cloud was quickly approaching as we examined these ancient ruins so we moved back towards the bus.

The prophet Amos speaks out against the idolatry of Samaria. In Amos 6:4 he says, “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat the lambs from the flock and the calves from the midst of the stall.” Because Samaria lay on a trade route called the international coastal highway, they would have had easy access to exotic goods like ivory. One of the houses they found in the ruins is called the ivory house because there were remains of ivory goods there.

God promises judgment on them because of their wicked revelry. “I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds, and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” In 722 BC the city indeed did fall to the Assyrians. God fulfilled his judgment.

We drove west for our final location: the top of mount Gerizim. This is one of the two famous mountains, along with Ebal, on which the people of Israel would shout out the blessings and curses of the Lord (Deut 11).

From this mountain, we took in the stunning view of the modern Nablus, an Arab town built around the ancient tell of Shechem. Boxy tan and white buildings rose and fell with the topography. Minarets from Muslim mosques speckled the dense streets. When we were leaving from the overlook, the call to prayer echoed through the valley. Each minaret emitted a whining voice through loudspeakers. It gave me a strange feeling to hear this curious cacophony of voices.

Shechem looked like a brown city park amidst the high-rises of Nablus. This is where the first capital of Israel stood when Jeroboam I lead the ten northern tribes to split from the southern kingdom of Judah. Relative to Samaria, the city is about five miles southeast. The modern city spreads out into the valley and up the feet of the mountains.

We also saw a place called Jacob’s well and further away, the location of Sychar. John 4 records how Jesus met a woman from Sychar at this well and offered her living water. Looking down on the maroon domes of the church built above the well, we read the passage together. As we read, I gazed over the city. After years of conflict and corrupted religion, Jesus brought a life-giving stream to parch their thirst. He provided an example for his followers of what it means today to bring living water to thirsty people. Jesus stayed in Sychar for two days and preached to them. Although the land of Samaria underwent severe punishment because of their rebellion, the Lord still brought His good news to these people. Thus, our day ended with a gleam of hope for this land. In many ways, the Bible seems to portray this place as hopelessly lost. In the New Testament time, Jewish people often despised Samaritans. Jesus, however, loves them. A cursed life today doesn’t eliminate God’s saving work on those who repent tomorrow.

Modern Nablus from Mt. Gerizim: tell Shechem is the brown clearing in
the center-left