ivy press: living water and holy of holies

This past weekend was surely a lovely one! It was warm (most of the time), it included floating, catching a tan, hiking, and fellowship. But since I am behind on posting, you will have to wait for all the sweet details of this weekend for a few more days.

Today I am concentrating on the trip that we took to the land of Manasseh who was the son of Joseph. Joseph being the youngest of Jacob's twelve. Jacob being the youngest of the twin boys of Isaac. Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah in their ripened age. How do you like that for brief history?:) Now on to the day in the land of Manasseh.

I will be honest with you, it was a freezing, cold day. I believe I had close to 7 layers on my torso --close to an onion, right? In fact, at some point my 2 pairs of socks were not enough so I pulled my cashmere gloves over them. My sneakers felt a bit snug, but my feet were toasty. Any who, with all that said, because of my low body temperature my brain 1) had no desire to take many pictures and 2) could not fully comprehend and remember all the verbal information presented that day.

But i got enough to share some info with you all.

In John 4:5 illustrates the story where Jesus come to "Jacob's well" and was talking to a Samaritan woman. Remember that story? It is believed (very highly believed with significant proof) that that well is now in the basement of this church (above 2 and lower 2 photos). I do not have pictures of the well, they don't allow it because they want you to buy a postcard of the well for $5. But we were able to send a bucket down, draw up and drink some of the spring water. Never used a well in my life, it was pretty fun.

Picture above is that of Mount Gerizim where the blessings were to be read (Deut 27:12). Picture below is Mount Ebal, the mountain from which the curses were to be read (Deut 27:13). Shechem is the city between the two. This is where Abraham built an altar for the Lord (Gen 12:6-7). It is also the place where Jacob settled once he left Laban (Gen 33:18). When excavated, it was evident that all type of people groups were found living here. The reason for this is because the city's location was in a prime area; it had routes in every direction and was convenient to have rule over it. However, it was in a valley and could be easily attacked, which it was. So who ever was the strongest, got to rule it. The city is said to be "the uncrowned queen."

When ever Sam sees me taking a picture, he has to strike a pose. He is a funny kid, i would vote him being the class clown.

At the end of the day we moved on to Shiloh. It was the capital of the Northern kingdom. In Joshua 18:1 it says, "Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled themselves at Shiloh..." Shiloh was the center of worship for the Israelites until Jerusalem. The ark was kept here until the Philistines took over Shiloh and took the ark (1st Sam. 4:4). Also, Hannah brought her son Samuel and gave him into the Shiloh community (1 Sam. 1).

Shiloh has beautiful, pink almond trees blooming all over. It is also lined with a carpet of red, blossoming poppies.

There are 3 sites with in Shiloh where the ark of the covenant of God could have been kept while the Israelites were occupying Shiloh. The first possible site is where this church now stands. I believe this church is from the 4th century, but don't quote me on that. Often times churches were built on sites that were considered holy. Therefor, it could be that the ark once stood here.

Second possible site is here where this watch tower stands. The reason that it could be here is because this is the highest point of the mountain. Usually things that were holy were built/put on the highest points. But it can't be proven because there is no 'tel' to excavate since this tower stands on bed rock.