Poised Upon Entry Into The Land Of Promise on the east side of the Jordan River, Israel received the law for the second time. And the words of Deuteronomy were timely. The carcasses of an entire generation of men and women fell in the wilderness, smitten with the effects of unbelief of God and disobedience to His law; and now, their children, had Canaan’s formidable inhabitants before them.
Shechem the destination
Israel was commanded, upon crossing Jordan, to build an altar in Mount Ebal. The altar was to be accompanied by a copy of the law that they would vow to follow. Mt. Ebal was one of two mountains on either side of the city of Shechem where Israel was to gather to perform the blessings and cursings of the law.
There was something important about this place to the God of Israel. There were things that He would have Israel understand. Twice in Deuteronomy, God commanded Israel to gather at Shechem. Without knowledge of the city’s history, it may not seem significant why this was the chosen site for such a gathering. But the patriarchs were involved with this city. To trace its history is to begin to understand the significance of God’s explicit command to Israel concerning it.
The patriarchs at Shechem
The city of Shechem (which means ‘shoulder’) first occurs in the word of God in Genesis 12. Shechem was the first place that Abram visited in the land of Canaan. The stay included an appearance from the God who called him out of the land of his nativity. His message was one of promise: “Unto thy seed will I give this land” (Gen. 12:7 AV). After hearing these words, Abram built his first recorded altar, and probably offered his first sacrifice upon it. In the great tree of Moreh, or the oak of Moreh, as the Revised Version renders it, Abraham commemorates the God who made promises to him concerning the land of Canaan.
Abraham’s grandson was Jacob. He and his house identify with Shechem as well, in Genesis 35. Jacob purchased land near Shechem from the children of Hamor, and built an altar there, as his grandfather did. The name of one of Hamor’s sons was Shechem—probably after the city they lived in. Shechem, a Hivite, took Dinah and defiled her. He requested her to be his wife, and Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi agreed under the condition that all the males of his house be circumcised. Shechem agreed to the condition, and while he and the men of the city were still recovering, Simeon and Levi slaughtered them all.
After this iniquity, Israel’s house needed to change its garments and be clean, so Jacob’s company buried the idols and earrings under an oak by Shechem, on the way to Bethel. It is interesting to speculate about the items buried beneath the oak. Where did they come from? Perhaps the most plausible explanation is that when the two sons of Jacob destroyed the men of the city, they also stole of the city’s wealth. This would also explain why Jacob is described as hiding the items under the oak—for fear of the inhabitants of the land.
Joseph buried in Shechem
Jacob would eventually journey to Egypt, where Joseph—being second ruler in the land—sustained him and the rest of his children. Before Joseph died, he expressed his desire to be laid to rest in the land of Canaan, and not in Egypt in Genesis 50:25-26:
And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” And he was eventually buried in Shechem (Josh. 24:32).
The Hebrew word for “coffin” is the same word translated “ark” as in “ark of the covenant.” The coffin of Joseph stood for much more than a memorial of his death. He believed in the resurrection, and so the presence of his coffin in the land of Canaan was a testament to Joseph’s and Israel’s belief that the dead would rise again. The ark of God, and those things that were inside are closely associated with the resurrection and life—especially with him who is the resurrection and the life.
To Shechem for exhortation
The children of Israel were commanded to go to Shechem because they needed to be stirred up by way of remembrance — as we are. Here was the place of Abraham’s altar, and here was the place where Jacob commanded his house to put away the influences of the Amorites, and bury them under the oak. They came to the city given by Jacob to his son Joseph, whose coffin the children of Israel now bore to its resting place — in confirmation of the promise that God would bring them up out of Egypt.
It was fitting that the children of Israel be reminded of God’s love for them in the past, so they would not perish like their fathers did in the wilderness. This theme of remembrance is seen in the language of the entire book of Deuteronomy. The command to remember occurs 14 times in the book — which is very striking, considering that it appears the book was given without intermission. There is a constant plea to take heed to that which they had come to know. God was preparing His people to enter, subdue, and inherit the land promised to their fathers.
A second meeting at Shechem
In Joshua 8:30-35, Israel kept the commandment to journey to Shechem. The blessings and cursings of the law were spoken. But Joshua brought Israel again to Shechem at the end of the book, emphasizing the need to remember their commitment to their God. He reminded Israel of the past that Abraham left behind in Ur, which was not unlike the past they had left behind in Egypt, and not unlike the past we should leave behind when we choose to serve the Lord.
Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! (Josh. 24:14-15).
Joshua challenged the children of Israel at Shechem to choose their master. In Deuteronomy 11:26, God set before Israel a blessing and a curse. They had to choose. Abraham chose. He chose to cross over into a new way of life. Jacob chose. He and his household left the idols in the same city that the children of Israel were now gathered. And now, we must choose.
The law was copied and placed by an oak at Shechem as a memorial of this event. At the end of the book we learn that Joseph was finally laid to rest in the same city.
Gathering at Shechem would point Israel back to their faithful calling from God and their dedication to put away all other false gods and serve the Lord of truth.
Lord willing, next month we will consider how the Lord Jesus Christ is the image of all the shadows of Shechem. The events that we have discussed, and even the landscape of the city speak of our Lord.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One