Check This Out! Shechem & the Oak of Mamre

Shechem & the Oak of Mamre

Ok, so I have become somewhat of a typology addict.  Actually it is more of a Jesus addict, but I can't really help it.  Everywhere I go, I see Him.  I have been searching through Genesis and noting all of the references to the gospel as I can possibly see.  I have been doing this for over a year now and only recently made it to Genesis 12 because there is just so much to study and so much to find.  i am certain that I have only found a tiny fraction of what is actually being said.

At any rate, every once in a while something jumps off the page at me where I did not expect to see it.  There are simple ones such as  Noah bringing a new world and his name means Peace and Rest or the animal that covered Adam & Eve's nakedness pointing to Christ's substitutionary atonement.  This is even seen in Noah being covered by a garment by his two eldest sons after he went a little crazy with the wine.  But this one has captivated my heart for the last few days.  Let me share with you the tip o' the iceberg. 
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So Abram Travels to Shechem (sent by God right into the land of the cursed nation of Canaan which means "brought low") and sets up camps at the Oak of Mamre.

Jacob buries a bunch of idols (put away the false gods) under the Oak at Shechem. (Gen 35:4)

Joseph is sent by his father to go find his brothers in Shechem.  Interestingly enough, he did not find them there.  A man told him that he heard them say, "let us go to Dothan" in order to pasture the flock.  (Gen. 37)

Joshua (Ya-Shua) calls the people together at Shechem to make a covenant with them; that they would put away their gods, turn their hearts to God and obey His voice.  He then put a large stone under the Oak at Shechem next to the Tabernacle. (Josh.24)

Joseph's bones were buried at Shechem also. (Josh. 24)

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Shechem means "Shouldered" or to carry the weight of something on your shoulder as a responsible person.  (citation)

The name Shechem comes from the root (shkm) that yields the verb (shakam) meaning rise early, and the noun (shekem) meaning shoulder, back.

Mamre     means "bitterness" and "animal for offering or sacrifice".

Mamre is an oak-owning Amorite and a region associated with him (Genesis 14:13). This region is close to Hebron and Abram lived there for a while (Genesis 13:18).

1) (memer) meaning bitterness, from the root (marar) meaning to be bitter or, peculiar enough (as suggested by HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament ), being strong. Possibly, a bitter taste was referred to as a strong taste. A consequence is that an event or situation that was considered "bitter" was known as a "strong" event.

2) (mr'), the root of the word (meri), meaning fatling (fattened calf or other animal, specifically for offering).  (citation)

Dothan (dotan) means "law" or "edict" (citation)

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So Jesus (Abram, Jacob, Joshua, Joseph) is sent by his Father to find the broken (Canaan), the lost, the cursed. The spiritual leaders of Israel (Joseph's older brothers) turned to the Law (Dothan) to find righteousness and led others (The flock of Jacob/Israel) to do the same.

He comes to shoulder (Shechem) our burdens on the cross (Oak) as a sacrificial offering (Mamre1) and He drinks the bitter (Mamre2)cup on our behalf.

We are beckoned to come to the cross and lay down our burdens and to put way our own false gods and find forgiveness and redemption in Christ.

Also interesting to note that the parcel of land at Shechem where the Oak stood was purchased for silver.

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"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness,"^{[1 Pet. 2:24]}

"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."^{[1 Pet. 3:18]}

Jesus is everywhere for a reason.  He is our only hope.  Does it not stand to reason that God would shape all of history and even the universe to point us to this Man, Jesus, who alone can save us and bring us back home to Him.

David Warren
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"You should see the way He looks at you." -Rev. Jerry Daniels

Broken Greenhouses

I used to have a really neat greenhouse in my back yard.

I made it out of reclaimed windows (some of them were absolutely huge). My sweet wife found them for me in town and I went to pick them up in our van. I had to take all the seats put in order to get these windows home. They sat in my garage for a while because I had to plan out what I was going to do with them. I had all sorts of different ideas about how I was going to put them together.

At the end of winter, I finally started putting it together and by early summer, I had a pretty nice little greenhouse. I even painted it green. It being summer, I really did not have a need for it, so it just sat there in my garden sheltering some weeds that had a very nice time in the greenhouse. We have just entered the season in which actually planting some seeds and seedlings in a greenhouse would work and I had some good plans. However...

Today, we had a strong wind advisory. I took my family to church and as we came home, I looked into my backyard. "Oh no, that is so unfortunate." yes, I actually talk that way. My greenhouse had been assaulted by a gust of wind that had picked it up and dropped it on its head/roof. Strange how my lawn chair was still just sitting in the yard next to it having not moved an inch. I had broken glass all over my garden as it seemed to have exploded on impact. After about an hour long clean up effort, I was left with one really large window that used to be the wall of my greenhouse and the roof frame still had one window in it. Other than that, all I had was a wheelbarrow full of wood and shards of glass.

Tempted too mourn and pout about this unfortunate situation, I simply turned my heart toward heaven and God began to speak.

He simply stated that "the greenhouse is broken. It is time for my garden to grow in the elements.". I understand this to mean that the season we find ourselves in right now is not one that is conducive to spiritual growth (we have been in the season of the greenhouse and we chose not to take advantage of it).

Yet while this environment we are in is not ideal for fruitful living, God has planned this for our blessing. Just like to flower that pushes its way through the concrete in the middle of main street, we have been called to bear fruit in season and out of season. We have been called to be in this world but not of it. We have been called to effect change in our environment, not to be changed by it. What the Lord is doing here in this day is not unprecedented though.

The children of Israel were brought straight to the desert in order to see the most superb growth they have ever known as a nation. Deserts are inhospitable to every kind of growth apart from spiritual growth. It seems that we humans are opposed to growing spiritually when we ate given all of the best an environment can offer.

Think about this, we can go to Walmart and by a bible in just about any version we want. If we can't find it there, we can go to the grocery store. We don't even have to go to the Christian bookstore. If we want to here a specific sermon, we can dial it up by topic on the Internet or on iTunes. If we think it is too offensive, we can just change channels till we find something that tickles our ears better.

In stark contrast, the portions of this world that are seeing the most significant spiritual growth are those places with the least opportunity; those not in a greenhouse, if you will. Africa and Asia are skyrocketing towards Jesus while we are already in boredom with the Jesus we have too much of and are always looking for alternative Messiahs.

God, in His rich mercy and kind intentions is going to help us out.

We are entering into a season of great pruning and adversity. The purpose of this is that we may also see a great surge of righteousness in Christ; that the Kingdom of Heaven would be found in our midsts with such prevalence; that we look more like Jesus than MTV or Hollywood; that our lives would be fantastical signposts that point directly to Jesus rather than pale imitations of what the world system has offered up.

Right now our church meetings tend toward the massive multi-media productions that place more emphasis on curb appeal than on meat. We as a Church are more concerned with getting people in the door than what we actually give them once they are in.

Again, God is the one who us going to come to our rescue. We have spent too much time at the buffet line and gotten spiritually lethargic. We need this. We really do. Thank you God for your unfailing love.

Lord, please give us the wisdom to see the joy in order to endure the suffering. Draw us to you and together as a body. Let us not be forsaken. Let's us put out hope and trust in you alone.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. More so, I welcome your partnership in praying for the season we about to enter. The world needs the Church to stand now more than ever. The Church needs to be able to stand in adversity. Lord, in Your mercy, come quickly.