Problem places

Problem places Samaria: tactics used against truth

David Viles, Hayes, England

“Aren’t we right in saying you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” 1 The debate was becoming heated, and the Jews surrounding Jesus felt free to abuse Him with what amounted to a vicious racial and religious slur. Although Jerusalem, where this exchange occurred, is less than 70 km south of the city of Samaria, a huge cultural and religious gulf divided the two. John’s comment that Jews do not associate with Samaritans 2 puts it mildly; the antipathy ran deep, reflecting, like many such divisions, a long and bitter history.

The divided kingdom

Samaria was not an ancient city. King Omri of the northern part of the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah bought the hilltop site in around 880 BC and had Israel’s capital built there, doubtless attracted by its strategic position and defensive potential – a Mount Samaria 3 in opposition to Mount Zion. Although a notable military leader, in spiritual terms Omri followed completely the ways of Jeroboam and sinned more than all those before him. 4 Jeroboam, the first king of a separatist Israel, some 50 years earlier had enticed his people away from Jerusalem, their true focus of devotion, by establishing substitute worship centres – “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 These were problem places indeed for God’s chosen people – man-made religion based on lies and served up ‘on a plate’ to the populace, worshiping golden calves in place of God in His holy temple. Omri’s son Ahab outdid even his father in provoking God, erecting an altar to Baal on Samaria’s hilltop, 6 resulting in the inexorable descent of Israel from spiritual rebellion through disastrous foreign alliances and perversion of the people’s moral and social values, to rank oppression of the poor. 7 Despite God’s clear warnings through prophets like Amos and Hosea and His repeated protection of Israel from the warlike Syrians, 8 neither Ahab nor his successors listened; final downfall came with the army of Sargon of Assyria in 722 BC –“Your calf is rejected, O Samaria … [it] shall be broken to pieces.” 9

Cultural confusion

The Assyrians had a simple, but effective, policy of divide and rule to break the resistance of conquered peoples – mass deportation to far-flung parts of their empire, and repopulation of the land by other ethnic groups sharing no common culture. Peoples of many nationalities with their own religious traditions 10 were settled in what had been the northern kingdom. The new inhabitants requested help from a Samaritan priest to teach the people what the god of the land required, but the teaching went only skin-deep: each national group made its own gods. 11 So when some of the exiles returned from captivity to Judah they again found the province of Samaria to be a problem place, offering entrenched political and religious opposition to a resurgent Jerusalem. The tactics used are familiar from all eras where the advancement of the truth of God is opposed: when outright bullying and mockery failed, as it did in the days of the Medo-Persian kings, 12 compromise was attempted to deflect the people from obedience to God. 13 By far the most insidious tactic however – ultimately countered successfully by the efforts of Ezra the scribe – was the undermining of the people’s faith in God and their internal cohesion through intermarriage with the ‘new’ Samaritan peoples. 14

Destroying the barriers

Jesus had to go through Samaria, with all its problematical religious traditions. Why, when He would forbid His disciples to do so? 15 Although the region of Samaria offered the shortest route between Jerusalem and Galilee, we discern the real reason for His decision in that precious appointment at Sychar’s well which had such startling and momentous consequences; through a woman’s testimony many… Samaritans… believed in Him. 16 Thereafter, Samaria had a specific focus in the spread of the Gospel message, with Acts 8 describing how Philip pioneered the work of evangelism there. Our Lord is still at work resolving the problem areas of human relationships whether national, racial or cultural, breaking down the ‘middle walls of partition’ erected by humanity as He builds His church – to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth! 17 What a privilege to be joined with Him in forwarding this great endeavour.

References: (1) John 8:48 (2) John 4:9 (3) Amos 6:1 (4) 1 Kings 16:25-26 (5) 1 Kings 12:28 (6) 1 Kings 16:32-33 (7) 2 Kings 1:1-4; Amos 2:6-8; 4:1-3; 6:1-2; 8:4-6 (8) 1 Kings 20:1-30; 2 Kings 6:24 - 7:20 (9) Hosea 8:5-6 NKJV; Micah 1:6-7 (10) 2 Kings 17:24- 33; Ezra 4:9-10 (11) 2 Kings 17:28-29 (12) Ezra 4:6-24; 5:3-6:12; Neh. 4:1-11 (13) Ezra 4:1-5; Neh. 6:1-14 (14) Ezra 9:1-10:16. It is notable that the daughter of Sanballat, a high official under Artaxerxes in the

province of Samaria, was married to a grandson of the High Priest, Neh. 13:28 (15) John 4:4; Matt. 10:5 (16) John 4:39 (17) Acts 1:8

Bible quotations from NIV unless otherwise stated