Samaria

It wasn't that long ago, specifically on June 11th in 1 Kings 13:32 that we were introduced to the word Samaria for the first time. When we reach the New Testament (and just like the Second Coming, each day brings us one day closer to it), we'll see plenty of examples of the animus that existed between Judah and the Samaritans. The message of the parable of the Good Samaritan was that help came from the least expected source. Today, we read just how that came to be.

My NIV Study Bible suggests that the term "Samaria," while referencing the Northern Kingdom, or Israel, wasn't a true political entity at the time of the events described. A narrative that describes the time span that 1 and 2 Kings covers had to be written after the events took place, probably centuries after the fact, so the use of "Samaria" in 1 Kings (the Study Bible suggests) was a reference that the readers of that time would understand.

And today's reading gives us insight as to the state of relations between the people of Israel and the Samaritans. 2 Kings 17:24-42 (p820) describes how the Assyrian king sent people from other region to settle the land. Verse 34 goes so far as to state:

To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the LORD nor adhere to the decrees and ordinances, the laws and commands that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 

When I present this Sunday, I'll have some pictures of the gods mentioned in 29-33, and really, whether the pictures are accurate or not is so completely irrelevant since THEY WEREN'T REAL in the first place, but it will give some background as to what these first Samaritans practiced. We'll read how these same Samaritans will inhabit Judah when they go into Babylonian captivity in another 150 years, but we're not there yet. When we reach the New Testament, 700 years of distrust and malice will have built up over who the rightful owners of the Promised Land are. Luckily that's been cleared up in the modern era...

This is yet another example that helps illustrate the cohesiveness of the Bible. New Testament Israelites didn't hate Samaritans just because they were xenophobic, but due to events that had occurred over 700 years in the past. It would be interesting to number the prayers for peace in the Middle East that we have made (it has to number in the billions), and I seriously ask WHY??? In an area of the world that has been in almost constant unrest and chaos for the last 3500 YEARS, what makes us think this will stop anytime soon? The Bible tells the story of God's redemption and eventual victory over sin, death and the power of the devil. It is inerrant and internally consistent. This is just one more small example of how that works.

Scott