Lesson 32a: The Lies of the Fathers
32a.1 Have you ever been lied to? Have you ever been lied to when you knew it was a lie, and the lie was coming from someone you would have trusted with your life? Ouch! That really hurt didn't it? But what if you didn't know it was a lie? What if someone you trusted with your life lied to you, and you didn't know it? What if you blindly followed the leader who was lying. And what if you both fell into the ditch because of it? Now that would make me angry. But it could be worse. What if you, and your whole family, your whole clan, your entire tribe, and even your whole nation fell into the ditch and got killed by the fall? That would be an immense tragedy similar to the genocide of a race. But that is the effect the lies of the fathers can have upon us.
32a.2 Consider the Samaritan Woman. Her fathers had told her that the proper worship of God and sacrifices for sin must take place at Mt. Gerizim, and she believed them. She had no reason not to believe them. BUT... here is what the Samaritan woman did not know. Here is some of the history of the Samaritan worship on Mt. Gerizim.
Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cathah, Awa, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities, And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So they spoke to the king of Assyria saying, "The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land."
Then the king of Asyria commanded, saying, "Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land."
Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hammath made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Adammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
So they feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods - according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 2 Kings 17:24-33
32a.3 Here is some more history that the Samaritan woman probably did not know:
The king of Assyria made Sanballat the governor of Samaria. Sanballat was a Horonite from Cuth. His daughter was married to Manneseh, who was the son of Joiada, the son of Eliashib. This is significant because Eliashib was the high priest of the temple in Jerusalem! When Nehemiah found out about this, he drove Manneseh out of Jerusalem.
And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son in law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me. Nehemiah 13:28
Accoding to Josephus, the Jewish historian, Manneseh went directly to Sanballat after Nehemiah had thrown him out of Jerusalem. Sanballat then comforted Manneseh by telling him he could assume the position of high priest at Mt. Gerizim! So that is where Manneseh built a temple for the worship of the God of Israel. But remember that the Samaritans were still worshipping false gods also.
Mt. Gerizim was not the place God had chosen. Manneseh had to invent some lies to convince the people to worship there. Manneseh said God had chosen Mt. Gerizim, but the truth was otherwise. Here is the truth: God told Moses to bless the people from the top of Mt. Gerizim, but He never told anyone to build a temple or an altar there. The altar was built on Mt. Ebal!
Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Deuteronomy 11:29
Therefore, it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. Deuteronomy 27:4
Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the Law of Moses, "an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses which he had written. Joshua 8:30-32
Obviously, the altar was not built on Mt. Gerizim, but on Mt. Ebal. And God had never said anything about building a temple on Mt. Gerizim!
32a.4 The result of all this was tragic for the Samaritan woman. Scholars are quick to point out that she'd had five husbands. Was that not the number of false gods claimed by the Samaritans (see 2 kings 24:30-31) Idolatry is spiritual adultery in the eyes of God. The Samaritans had mixed the worship of these gods with the worship of the God of Israel, and the Samaritan woman paid the price! The worship of false gods will always lead to devastation and ruin.
32a.5 But Jesus had mercy. The Bible says He needed to go through Samaria. (But He needed to go through Samaria. John 4:4) Why did Jesus need to go through Samaria? It was because the Spirit of God was leading Him. And the Spirit of God knew there was a lost and lonely Samaritan woman who needed salvation. This woman had been rejected five times by five men. (In those days it was unusual for a woman to divorce her husband since that would mean poverty. It was the men who divorced the women.) The Samaritan woman needed to know the Father and His love. She was waiting for her Messiah.
32a.6 And so we see divine grace at work. God said He would be found by those who sought Him not. The Samaritan woman did nothing to find Jesus. But He found her, and brought her to saving faith.
32a.7 The disciples were also to learn a lesson. They were not to despise anyone. And they were not to be afraid of heathen temples. God said He would build His Church, and the gates of hell would be unable to prevail against its onslaught.
note: In Jesus' day there was no temple on top of Mt. Gerizim. One of the Maccabes, John Hyrcanus, had destroyed it in 130 BC. (see "Josephus, The Essential Writings" as translated by Paul Maier page 221
32a.8 What lies have you believed? What has been the result in your life? You can find the truth. Jesus said,
If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-312