Nine Commandments
by Eric Engelmann
All content © 2024 Static Force, LLC
When are we?
The sixth century in the Common Era. Jesus has been born, been crucified, risen and ascended more than five hundred years ago. The pieces of the New Testament have been written and largely compiled.
Where are we?
Somewhere in Israel where a Samaritan listing of the ten commandments was engraved. It’s a variation of the listing of commandments a lot of the world recognizes today.
Why are we here now?
There is a 115-pound granite tablet being engraved with a Samaritan version of the ten commandments. We’re going to look at how the Jewish and Samaritan doctrines persisted even after Jesus’ ministry as recorded in the New Testament.
By Way Of Background
Mount Gerezim (gare a zim) was not only a Samaritan holy site, it was an Israeli holy site. Gerezim is the mount of blessing. Ebal (a ball) is the mount of cursing. In the book of Joshua, members of Israel recited curses and blessings at the foot of both of those mountains.
After many civil wars hundreds of years later, Jews and Samaritans had a big disagreement running about how to honor the Most High, and which mountain He had chosen to worship -- was it Mount Gerezim in Northern Israel also known as Samaria – or was it the temple mount in Jerusalem?
There is evidence that the disagreement got so nasty that some people on both sides changed their Scriptures to justify their preference for where to worship the Most High.
But hundreds of years later, the Scriptural meddling didn’t stop Jesus from going to the cross trusting His heavenly Father.
He didn’t have a big faith meltdown where he asked, “What mountain should I be crucified at? What if Jerusalem’s the wrong place? What if I’m losing my life the wrong way?”
Being crucified is very uncomfortable. Jesus went to the cross outside Jerusalem faithfully and purposefully.
Going back in time a little, we can take a look at Jesus’ conversation with a Samaritan woman. It’s important to realize that even though there were disagreements about the law – disagreements that had led to war and violence – there was still faith in Samaria that the Most High would send the Messiah. That faith was shown when the woman at the well in John 4 said,
“I know that Messiah is coming” “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
How did Jesus take the conversation to the point where this Samaritan woman overcame centuries of tradition to tell this to a Jewish man? The answer is Jesus had come up with an important label – “those who worship in Spirit and in Truth.” Here’s a quote from earlier in John chapter 4
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
NOTE: The conversation up to now has included two labels for people: ones who worship at Mount Gerezim (close to where Jacob’s well is) and others who worship at Jerusalem.
Verse 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
NOTE: This is another label. Jesus now has another group of people: Ones who worship in spirit and in truth.
That’s the background. Now the stage is set for us to read about the marble slab with its inscription.
Excerpts from Southeby’s (su thuh beez) Announcement in 2024
This is the 2024 announcement about the piece of granite that is going up for Auction:
“This December, Sotheby’s will auction one of the most widely known and influential texts in history: the oldest inscribed stone tablet of the Ten Commandments. Dating to the Late Byzantine period, this remarkable artifact is approximately 1,500 years old and is the only complete tablet of the Ten Commandments still extant from this early era. It will be offered as a single-lot sale on 18 December.”
“Weighing 115 pounds and measuring approximately two feet in height, the marble tablet inscribed in Paleo-Hebrew script, was unearthed in 1913 during railway excavations along the southern coast of the Land of Israel, near the sites of early synagogues, mosques, and churches. The significance of the discovery went unrecognized for many decades, and for thirty years it served as a paving stone at the entrance to a local home, with the inscription facing upwards and exposed to foot traffic.”
“In 1943, the tablet was sold to a scholar who recognized it as an important Samaritan Decalogue.”
“This tablet contains only nine of the commandments as found in the Book of Exodus, omitting the admonition ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain’ while including a new directive – to worship on Mount Gerizim.”
That’s the end of the excerpt.
In the Future
The tablet will do a good job of carrying its inscriptions for well over a thousand years, even though it will be used as a pavement stone in front of a house for a few decades.
Further in the Future, even though rocks and mountains will continue to wear out and lose some of their meaning, God’s kingdom through Jesus the Messiah will continue and be spiritually renewed.
Jesus’ followers will face disputes and arguments within their ranks and outside.
They may be asked to take sides – to adopt labels – in civil wars. Even while suffering in wars, some will remember how Jesus has sacrificed Himself for people to worship His Father in Spirit and In truth.
All content © 2024 Static Force, LLC
