Skip to main content

The Importance of Shechem


            After teaching three or four lessons per week for almost 22 years, there are not many things in the Bible that I have not seen.  Imagine my surprise, then, when last week I came across a story that I had never heard before (and I am guessing you have not either). 

            Joshua and the people of God have just crossed into the Promised Land and have successfully conquered the first two towns; Jericho and Ai.  Momentum is on their side.  If I was Joshua, I would continue to attack.  Instead, Joshua marches his people to the centre of the land, to a place called Shechem.

            Shechem sits in a valley between two mountains that are about a mile apart.  When Joshua arrives, he takes half of the people and puts them on one mountain (Mount Gerizim) and he takes the other half and put them on the other mountain (Mount Ebal).  Then, “Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law” (Joshua 8:34).   He read the “curses” (the “If you do not follow God, here is the punishment that you will face” part) to the people standing on Mount Ebal and he read the “Blessings” (the “Here is how God will care for you if you follow him” portion) to the people on Mount Gerizim.  After each line, he had them agree to the terms by saying “Amen” which means “So be it” (See Deuteronomy 27-29).  After renewing their commitment to God, the people go back to conquering the land.

Now, maybe you are thinking, “Ok… so what?”  Well, this was not the first time that God’s people renewed their commitment at Shechem.  In fact, years earlier, God met Abraham at Shechem and assured him of the blessing he had received (Genesis 12:6-7).  Years later, at the end of his life, when Joshua wants to make sure that the people of God are still committed to their faith, he brings them back to Shechem (Joshua 24:1) and challenges them with these words, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Verse 15).

My point:  Times of reassessment and recommitment are important.  Once in a while, we all need to remember and restate what we believe, to whom we belong and where our hope is found. 

In our faith, as with riding a bicycle, if we coast too long, we will eventually stop.  

Have you been to Shechem lately?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Article: Grace Changes Everything

               A young man broke into a business and did $5000 damage. As part of his Restorative Justice sentence, he was required to meet with my friend Garth.   Garth believes in making apologies and restitution.   It took several months, but Garth finally convinced the young man that these were necessary steps, so he tried to arrange a meeting with the business owner.                The business owner wanted nothing to do with this situation.   He was angry and wanted a more severe form of justice.   Eventually, however, he agreed to meet the young man to hear what he had to say.                  The young man looked the business owner in the eye an...

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    

New Article: Think Abundance Not Scarcity

                 “There are no trees in Saskatchewan!”                I have heard that statement many times, mostly from people who moved to Estevan from places like British Columbia or northern Ontario.   Compared to what they expect, Saskatchewan, and Estevan in particular, seems rather barren.   However, that statement is not true.   More than half the province is covered with trees.   Go up north and there are trees everywhere.                A few months ago, I came across an aerial photo of Estevan from the 1950s.   When I showed it to my girls, the first thing they said was, “Wow, there are no trees in that picture!”   The photo looked odd ...