A less common look at the Samaritan peoples described in the Scriptures.

It will help if you take some time now to study these few Scripture passages below concerning the Samaritans:

2 Kings 17:24-41, The settling of the Samaritans into the land of Israel
Luke 10:25-37, The parable of the good Samaritan
John 4:7-44, The Samaritan woman at the well
Luke 9:51-56, The Samaritans reject the Savior before He must go to Jerusalem

2 Kings 17:24-41 MKJV
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. (25) And it happened at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear Jehovah. And Jehovah sent lions among them, who killed them. (26) And they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the manner of the God of the land. And He has sent lions among them, and, behold, they kill them because they do not know the way of the God of the land. (27) And the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Cause one of the priests whom you removed from there to go there. And they shall go and live there, and he shall teach them the way of the God of the land. (28) And one of the priests whom they had removed from Samaria came and lived in Bethel. And he taught them how they should fear Jehovah. (29) And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. (30) And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, (31) and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their sons with fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim. (32) So they feared Jehovah, and made to themselves, of the lowest of them, priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. (33) They feared Jehovah and served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations whom they removed from there. (34) Until this day they do according to their former ways. They do not fear Jehovah, neither do they do according to their statutes, or according to their ordinances, or according to the Law and commandment which Jehovah commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel. (35) And Jehovah had made a covenant and charged them, saying, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them, (36) but Jehovah, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched-out arm, you shall fear Him, and you shall worship Him, and you shall do sacrifice to Him. (37) And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the Law, and the commandment, which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to do forever. And you shall not fear other gods. (38) And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, and you shall not fear other gods. (39) And you shall fear Jehovah your God. And He shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. (40) But they did not listen, but they followed after their former way. (41) And it happened, these nations feared Jehovah, and they served their graven images, both their sons and their sons’ sons, as their fathers did, they do until this day.

Luke 10:25-37 MKJV
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? (26) He said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it? (27) And answering, he said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. (28) And He said to him, You have answered right; do this and you shall live. (29) But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? (30) And answering, Jesus said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothing and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. (31) And by coincidence a certain priest came down that way and seeing him, he passed by on the opposite side. (32) And in the same way a Levite, also being at the place, coming and seeing him, he passed on the opposite side. (33) But a certain traveling Samaritan came upon him, and seeing him, he was filled with pity. (34) And coming near, he bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (35) And going on the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, Take care of him. And whatever more you spend, when I come again I will repay you. (36) Then which of these three, do you think, was neighbor to him who fell among the robbers? (37) And he said, The one doing the deed of mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.

John 4:7-44 MKJV
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give me to drink. (8) (For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) (9) Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, How do you, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews do not associate with Samaritans. (10) Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give Me to drink, you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water. (11) The woman said to Him, Sir, you have no vessel, and the well is deep. From where then do you have that living water? (12) Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his children and his cattle? (13) Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (15) The woman said to Him, Sir, give me this water, so that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. (16) Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband and come here. (17) The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have well said, I have no husband (18) for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband. In that you spoke truly. (19) The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. (20) Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. (21) Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither worship the Father in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem. (22) You worship what you do not know, we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. (23) But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. (24) God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. (25) The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When He has come, He will tell us all things. (26) Jesus said to her, I AM, the One speaking to you. (27) And upon this His disciples came and marveled that He talked with the woman. However, no one said, What do You seek, or why do You talk with her? (28) The woman then left her waterpot and went into the city and said to the men, (29) Come see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Is this One not the Christ? (30) And they went out of the city and came to Him. (31) In the meantime His disciples were asking Him, saying, Master, eat. (32) But He said to them, I have food to eat which you do not know. (33) Therefore the disciples said to one another, No one brought Him anything to eat? (34) Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. (35) Do you not say, It is yet four months, and the harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white to harvest already. (36) And he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit to life eternal, so that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. (37) And in this is the saying true, One sows and another reaps. (38) I sent you to reap that on which you bestowed no labor. Other men labored, and you have entered into their labor. (39) And many of the Samaritans of that city believed upon Him because of the saying of the woman, who testified, He told me all that I ever did. (40) Then as the Samaritans had come to Him, they begged Him that He would stay with them. And He stayed there two days. (41) And many more believed because of His own word. (42) And they said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of your saying, for we have heard Him ourselves and know that this is truly the Christ, the Savior of the world. (43) And after two days He departed from there and went into Galilee. (44) For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own native-place.

Luke 9:51-56 MKJV
And it happened in the fulfilling of the days of His taking up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. (52) And He sent messengers before His face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. (53) And they did not receive Him, because His face was going toward Jerusalem. (54) And seeing, His disciples James and John said, Lord, do You desire that we command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did? (55) But He turned and rebuked them and said, You do not know of what spirit you are. (56) For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save. And they went to another village.

Why a good “Samaritan”?

In Luke 10:25-37, Yeshua tells the parable of the good Samaritan as an example of loving one’s neighbor. It is a good parable, a very familiar parable, and a lesson to us all.
Why did Yeshua choose a “Samaritan” to be the protagonist of the parable?
This paper will explore the actual experiences Yeshua had with the Samaritans and where the Samaritans came from.

The Samaritans were despised by the Jews in that day because the Samaritans mixed blatantly incorrect teachings in with the Scriptures. Yeshua was making a point that actions were stronger than words. One might consider also that he may have also been prophesying.

However, imagine if the Samaritans were like incredibly patriot immigrants who knew the history of the land and practiced the Torah (which teaches our Heavenly Father’s commands, statutes and ordinances) even better than the Jews? The Jews would have been provoked to Jealousy, rather than despising the Samaritans because of their incorrect beliefs. I believe that this could be part of what Paul was alluding to in Romans Chapter 11.

The Samaritan Woman at the Well

She was a Samaritan, and the Jews avoided the Samaritans.

John 4:9 MKJV
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, How do you, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews do not associate with Samaritans.When the woman does not understand His words, the following is spoken:

John 4:15-18 MKJV
The woman said to Him, Sir, give me this water, so that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. (16) Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband and come here. (17) The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have well said, I have no husband (18) for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband. In that you spoke truly.

Often the word “Samaritan” is left out… folks often speak of just “The woman at the well” when speaking of the events written about in John chapter 4.

Yeshua asks a Samaritan Woman for water (note that the Jews avoided the Samaritans).

Yeshua’s response is that He then speaks of living water – which she does not understand, so he then asks her to recollect her husband.

She immediately calls him a prophet (verse 19) and then asks about an error in Samaritan understanding about not worshiping in Jerusalem (verse 20). The Samaritans had a personal belief that caused them separation.

Contemplate, why did he ask her to recollect her “five” husbands and say that he whom she now has is not her husband? We’ll return to this in a moment.

The Samaritans no longer knew what they worshiped

John 4:22 MKJV
You worship what you do not know, we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

They that worship the Father MUST worship him in spirit and in truth

John 4:23-24 MKJV
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. (24) God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

The Samaritans may have thought themselves to be in the correct “spirit”, but they were definitely not worshiping in truth.

The Samaritans forgot the truth that is in the five books of the Torah. For example:

1 Samuel 17:40 MKJV
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones out of the brook for himself, and put them in a shepherd’s vessel which he had, even in a bag. And his sling was in his hand. And he drew near the Philistine.

After refusing Saul’s armor, when David went to confront Goliath, he chose to take five stones.

What 5 things did David have that the Samaritan Woman no longer had?

Observe some of the symbolism:

When David went to confront Goliath, he chose to take five stones.
The Samaritan Woman at the well had lost five husbands and had replaced them with another.
God gave the Five Books of the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

More of Yeshua’s words

As an aside, as we speak of stones and rocks, here are a few more of Yeshua’s words to consider:

Matthew 7:20-29 MKJV
Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. (21) Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! Lord! shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. (22) Many will say to Me in that day, Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many wonderful works? (23) And then I will say to them I never knew you! Depart from Me, those working lawlessness! (24) Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. (25) And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock. (26) And everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them shall be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. (27) And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house. And it fell, and great was its fall. (28) And it happened, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His doctrine. (29) For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Peter is referred to as a rock:

Matthew 16:18 MKJV
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Is it no surprise that in 1 Peter 2:4-6, Peter refers to Yeshua as the cornerstone?

1 Peter 2:4-6 MKJV
For having been drawn to Him, a living Stone, indeed rejected by men, but elect, precious with God; (5) you also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6) Therefore also it is contained in the Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner Stone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him shall never be ashamed.”

Yeshua, our Salvation, is the key to understanding the Torah.

As many know, Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Christos, Greek) is a title and simply means “Annointed one”. His name is Yeshua which means, “Yehovah is Salvation”. Yehovah came in the flesh as our Salvation. His Torah is how we grow close to him.

The Settling of the Samaritans

Let’s go back in time to discover who were the Samaritans and discover when did the Samaritans have the 5 husbands of the Torah, and how did they leave them?

They were settled by Babylon into northern Israel (Samaria is the capital of Northern Israel). The account of this can be found in 2 Kings 17:24-41. Highlights are listed below:

A vast mixture of people were settled into Samaria (2 Kings 17:24)

2 Kings 17:24 MKJV
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities.

A priest was sent to teach them the manner of the God of the land:

2 Kings 17:27 MKJV
And the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Cause one of the priests whom you removed from there to go there. And they shall go and live there, and he shall teach them the way of the God of the land.

And that priest did teach them how they should fear the LORD:

2 Kings 17:28 MKJV
And one of the priests whom they had removed from Samaria came and lived in Bethel. And he taught them how they should fear Jehovah.

However, this mixture of people also made gods of their own:

2 Kings 17:29-31 MKJV
And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. (30) And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, (31) and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their sons with fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim.

Then they did both good and bad:

2 Kings 17:33 MKJV
They feared Jehovah and served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations whom they removed from there.

In time, they no longer feared the LORD or kept his statutes, ordinances, laws and commandments:

2 Kings 17:34-35 MKJV
Until this day they do according to their former ways. They do not fear Jehovah, neither do they do according to their statutes, or according to their ordinances, or according to the Law and commandment which Jehovah commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel. (35) And Jehovah had made a covenant and charged them, saying, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them,

The Samaritans were taught the truth, but they mixed it with non-truths.

A wick is the thread in a candle. It is made from twisting threads together. From this we get the word wicked.

Mixing truth and lies is wicked indeed.

Back to the story of the Samaritan Woman at the well…

Yeshua reveals himself as the Messiah

John 4:25-26 MKJV
The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When He has come, He will tell us all things. (26) Jesus said to her, I AM, the One speaking to you.

Our Messiah spends two days with the Samaritans.

John 4:40 MKJV
Then as the Samaritans had come to Him, they begged Him that He would stay with them. And He stayed there two days.

Personally, I believe that there is a prophecy in those two days. Consider the following two verses:

2 Peter 3:8 MKJV
But, beloved, let not this one thing be hidden from you, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Psalms 90:4 MKJV
For a thousand years in Your sight are as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

These two days (or millennia) remind me of Luke 21:24 and the phrase…until the times of the Nations (Gentiles) be fulfilled.

Luke 21:24 MKJV
And they shall fall by the sword’s edge. And shall be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations until the times of the nations is fulfilled.

As you know, it has been nearly two millennia since these words were spoken.

Samaritans of today?

2 Kings 17:34-35 MKJV
Until this day they do according to their former ways. They do not fear Jehovah, neither do they do according to their statutes, or according to their ordinances, or according to the Law and commandment which Jehovah commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel. (35) And Jehovah had made a covenant and charged them, saying, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them,

This was how the Samaritans eventually ended up. And this was why they were dispised.

May I be provocative, bold even, to make a parallel to the state of Christianity today?

Many Christians (and I quote from the verse above) “do not fear Jehovah, neither do they do according to their statutes, or according to their ordinances, or according to the Law and commandment which Jehovah commanded”

If you have not guessed this already, the Samaritans may very well represent modern-day Christians.

Have you ever heard a Christian say, (and I paraphrase here) that “The Law” (The Torah) is not what’s important, but rather being a “Good Samaritan” is what it’s all about?

Indeed, being a good neighbor like the Good Samaritan in the story is half of what Yeshua spoke about when He said to love Yehovah and your neighbor.

Chrisians have in fact done a wonderful job of loving their neighbor. You need only to consider the many Christian based hospitals, organisations, and various benevolent charities to see that.

But, they have forgotten what “The Law” (The Torah) teaches on how to love their God.

It is much more than just loving your neighbor.

Being a good neighbor is one half of what is spoken of when Yeshua summarized the 10 commandments in the following verse:

Mark 12:30-31 MKJV
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment. (31) And the second is like this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

Note: For further study, this verse above is also repeated in Matthew 22:37-40 and Luke 10:25. The 10 Commandments can be found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. Additional teachings on how to treat (and how not to treat) one’s neighbors can be found in, but not limited to, Leviticus 19:9-17, Proverbs 1:10-19, Proverbs 6:16-28.

I could continue on and explain that there is great reward in treating one’s neighbor well, and much disdain in murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, and coveting (nobody wants a neighbour like that!). But, that is a study in and of itself.

I will say, however, that in Exodus Chapter 20, the first eleven verses also include commandments regarding:

Do not have other gods before יהוה (the LORD, Yehovah)
Do not have graven images [as part of religious practice]
Do not take the name of יהוה (the LORD) your God in vain
Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy

With the half of the commandments in regard to our Heavenly Father, there’s just not that same visible and immediate reward (we serve an unseen god, and our reward comes at the end of the age).

So, ask yourself this honest question, Have these commandments been guarded as closely by modern Christianity?

I am convinced that the 10 virgins in the parable in Matthew 25 all knew how to treat their neighbour… but, I believe half of them did not know how to love their intended bridegroom.

Matthew 25:1-13 MKJV
Then shall the kingdom of Heaven be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (2) And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. (3) The foolish ones took their lamps, but took no oil with them. (4) But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. (5) While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. (6) And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes! Go out to meet him. (7) Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. (8) And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out. (9) But the wise answered, saying, No, lest there be not enough for us and you. But rather go to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. (10) And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. And they who were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. (11) Afterwards the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. (12) But he answered and said, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. (13) Therefore watch, for you do not know either the day or the hour in which the Son of Man comes.

Learn not the way of the heathen¹.

Like the Samaritans, Western Gentile Christians have also mixed in various beliefs of the cultures of the lands in which they have been settled.

Western Gentile Christians are often referred to as the Lost Tribes of Northern Israel (of which the symbolism can be found in many places) – Samaria was the capital city of Northern Israel.

Also on the flip side, there is symbolism in the diversity of the mix of peoples that were settled into Northern Israel that became known as “the Samaritans” could hence possibly be a parallel to the mixture of backgrounds of Christians all over the world today.

H1471 גּי גּוי gôy gôy (go’ee, go’-ee) Apparently from the same root as H1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts: – Gentile, heathen, nation, people.

Concerning heathen ways and similar issues that Christians may have, that mirror the issues that the Samaritans had, the Scriptures tell us the following:

Jeremiah 10:2 MKJV
So says Jehovah, Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are terrified at them.

Spiritual Mixing of Seed

Here is a question that rings louder now than it did when it was written.

Luke 18:8 MKJV
I say to you that He will avenge them speedily. Yet when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?

In the times we find ourselves today, what did Timothy have to say.

2 Timothy 3:1-9 MKJV
Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand. (2) For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) without natural affection, unyielding, false accusers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good, (4) traitors, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these. (6) For of these are those who creep into houses and lead captive silly women loaded with sins, led away with different kinds of lusts, (7) ever learning and never able to come to the full knowledge of the truth. (8) But as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so these also resist the truth, men of corrupt mind, reprobate concerning the faith. (9) But they shall proceed no further. For their foolishness shall be plain to all, as theirs also became.

And here in Timothy again;

2 Timothy 4:1-3 MKJV
Therefore I solemnly witness before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to judge the living and the dead according to His appearance and His kingdom, (2) preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. (3) For a time will be when they will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap up teachers to themselves according to their own lusts, tickling the ear.

Satan is deceiving the whole world and drawing people subtly away from God and Scripture. Tickling ears. The truth of Yehovah is mixed with these teachings from Satan and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. Mixture of truth and lies.

A Spiritual Mixing of Seed.

Here is another verse from Daniel about these last days, warning each of us that lies or deceit will be prominent in our time.

Daniel 8:25 MKJV
And also through his understanding, he shall cause deceit to succeed in his hand. And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many. He also shall stand up against the Ruler of rulers. But he shall be broken without a hand.

The world is going into labour pains and truth is being silenced by those spreading the mixed message in worldly teachings. Satan does not want people to know what he already knows. Time is up. So send them confusion and keep the people from hearing the truth. Keep the People from hearing the message of repentance which could save those who actually do repent. Preoccupy the people with rabbit holes for them to go down and when they come up send them down another one. Just keep them from reading their bibles and being obedient to Yehovah.

Let them blend in with their society and revel in Pagan festivals. Disguised as Christian Events yet are counterfeit festivals. Anything to hide God’s Holy, set apart festivals that clearly presents His Plan of Salvation and prophetic preparations for each of the significant events yet to be fulfilled. Mask the lies with parties and fun for the children so that makes it all the harder to not participate. Tie up their time, money and energy on the counterfeit. Causes them to reject the truth when spoken about and keep them from diving into their Bibles and discovering your plans for them.

When Abraham met Melchizedek, why did he not accept the gift from Sodom?

Genesis 14:19-20 MKJV
And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of Heaven and earth. (20) And blessed be the most high God, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

But when Abraham replied to the King of Sodom he did not reply by saying the Most High God. Abraham said something different.

Genesis 14:22 MKJV
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the most high God, the possessor of Heaven and earth,

Abraham stated exactly who this Most High God was because the Sodomites also believed in a most High God and His name was Baal. Abraham was making a clear and distinct difference. Abraham already knew who Melchizedek believed in. Abraham made sure the King of Sodom knew he was speaking about Yehovah and not Baal.

Everyone may think they are worshiping the true God, but not everyone is.

We have another example, 800 years after Abraham, when King David wins a battle and names the place after a false god.

2 Samuel 5:19-21 MKJV
And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand? And Jehovah said to David, Go up! For I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hand. (20) And David came to Baal-perazim, and David struck them there, and said, Jehovah has broken forth on my enemies before me, like the breaking forth of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place The Breaking of Baal. (21) And they left their images there, and David and his men took them away.

The English does not translate this as it is written in the Hebrew. David attacked the Philistines at Baal-Peratzim. Peratzim is likened to the flash flooding that comes suddenly after a rain storm. David was saying that his victory was like a flash flood over the Philistines. Yehovah has paratz (broken forth), but instead of saying Yehovah, or El or Adonai, David says that Baal Peratzim. David credited the chief Canaanite god with the victory.

David was a man after Yehovah’s own heart. He was anointed by Samuel. He was filled with the Spirit of Yehovah. Yet, David still gave credit to the Baal of the Canaanites.

1 Samuel 19:13 MKJV
And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with a cloth.

You must understand what exactly is going on here.

(ASV)  And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes.

(CEV)  Michal put a statue in his bed. She put goat hair on its head and dressed it in some of David’s clothes.

(ERV)  Michal took the household god, put clothes on it, and put goats’ hair on its head. Then she put the statue in the bed.

(GNB)  Then she took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a pillow made of goats’ hair at its head, and put a cover over it.

In David’s house was this idol. David’s wife Michal took the idol and laid it in the bed pretending it was David. Why did David have this idol in his house? Notice it was not just a statute of anyone, it was a teraphiym.

H8655 – Original: תּרפים – Transliteration: Teraphiym – Phonetic: ter-aw-feme’ – Definition: 1. idolatry, idols, image(s), teraphim, family idol a. a kind of idol used in household shrine or worship. – Strong’s: Plural perhaps from H7495; a healer; Teraphim (singular or plural) a family idol: – idols (-atry) images teraphim.

The exact same teraphiym that Rachel stole from Laban in Genesis 31:34.

We also have David naming one of his sons after Baal too. Beeliada is Baal Yada and means Baal Knows.

1 Chronicles 14:7 MKJV
and Elishama, and Beeliada, and Eliphalet.

We also have Saul naming one of his children after Baal also.

2 Samuel 2:10 MKJV
Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

Ishbosheth is translated as “Man of Shame” but when we read in 1 Chronicles what Saul really called him, the truth comes out.

1 Chronicles 8:33 MKJV
And Ner fathered Kish, and Kish fathered Saul. And Saul fathered Jonathan, and Malchishua and Abinadab, and Eshbaal.

Esh Baal means “man of Baal”.

We are seeing a pattern here in the book of Samuel as he changes the name of Baal to Boshet, which means “shame”.

We also have this same thing in the story of Gideon after he destroyed the altar of Baal being changed in Samuel, from Yerubaal, which means “Let Baal Strive” to Yerubeshet which means “Let Shame Strive”.

What is going on here?

What are these greats of the Bible doing? Are they worshiping Baal or Yehovah?

What they did was much more subtle and far more insidious.

They were mixing the true worship of Yehovah with the false worship of Canaanite gods. No different when one mixes the true worship of Yehovah with the false worship of the counterfeit pagan festivals.

Some Christian churches are also promoting these pagan festivals as Christian Festivals, believing they are talking about biblical things. They are not. God has His Festivals – are they teaching about His Festivals? Are they promoting, participating and engaging in them?

Leviticus 19:19 MKJV
You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with different kinds. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed. And you shall not allow clothing mixed of linen and wool to come on you.

David, Saul, Gideon and some today are engaging in the spiritual mixing of seed. David Saul and Gideon were calling Yehovah, Baal and thinking it was equal. Some today think they are celebrating godly Christian Festivals and ignore God’s Holy Festivals. Even now, many will still not get it.

700 years after David, the Israelites were still mixing Yehovah with Baal.

Hosea 2:16 MKJV
And it shall be at that day, says Jehovah, you shall call Me, My Husband, and shall no more call Me, My Baal.

Yehovah tells us, in the next verse, that this will, one day, be corrected.

Hosea 2:17 MKJV
For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and they will no more be remembered by their name.

Today many are mixing scripture with the pagan festivals of the day under the guise of making Christianity more accessible to non-Christians or to commemorate important Christian events on their own timetable and not God’s timetable.

In this case, Christians are dictating their own terms to God instead of being obedient to God.

What is created is an unholy hybrid religion, which the unwise worship and cannot stay away from.

Remember the ways of our God.

Have you been taught to forget the Torah and the teachings within? Have you been told, “Oh, that was a long time ago” or some another excuse to forget those teachings?

The Prophets tell us to remember these “old things”!

Isaiah 43:26 MKJV
Cause Me to remember; let us enter into judgment; declare yourself, that you may be justified.

Isaiah 46:9 MKJV
Remember former things from forever; for I am God, and no other is God, even none like Me,

An example of learning the way of the heathen

We just read together Jeremiah 10:2 about not learning the way of the heathen.

Jeremiah 10:2 MKJV
So says Jehovah, Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are terrified at them.

A modern day Christian may not think that they have ANYTHING to do with other gods or heathen paganism in any way, but let’s keep on reading a few more verses in Jeremiah chapter 10:

Jeremiah 10:3-4 MKJV
For the customs of the people are vain; for one cuts a tree out of the forest with the axe, the work of the hands of the workman. (4) They adorn it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers, so that it will not wobble.

One has to be in complete utter denial not to recognise the Christmas Tree in this example of a heathen belief presented by the Scriptures themselves.

Please know that this paper is not a specific attack on Christmas, The Winter Solstice (what many celebrate as Christmas or Hanukkah), or Halloween, Easter, and other various holidays that have pagan/heathen roots. Indeed, they are about other gods, from other Cultures… just like the Samaritans dealt with. Carry-overs from their father’s culture before them.

If you have not studied the Torah (if you have not remembered the former things of old about our God)… well, then, it’s hard to remember what you have never learned… especially if you are a later generation that may have grown up a heathen or inherited heathen beliefs.

This paper is meant to be a wake-up call to set oneself apart and be “holy” (qâdash/Kadosh).

H6942 קָדַשׁ qâdash (kaw-dash’) A primitive root; to be (causatively make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally): – appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy (-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify (-ied one, self), X wholly.

Once again, this paper is not an attack on Christmas or other gentile holidays – Western Gentile Protestant Christianity is based on Catholicism which is a system that mixed Sun Worship and other paganism in with beliefs associated with the Holy One of Israel (see section below).

The process was pretty much the same as we read about with the Samaritans in 2 Kings Chapter 17. But, that topic is well beyond the scope of this post (and easily researched elsewhere).

However, I will just state that Idolatry does exist in our Christian culture.

Idolatry IDOL’ATRY, n. [L. idololatria. Gr. idol, and to worship or serve.] 1. The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God. Idolatry is of two kinds; the worship of images, statues, pictures, &c. made by hands; and the worship of the heavenly bodies,the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels, men and animals. 2. Excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration.

Idolatry is not about how one spends their time on favorite hobbies and such, as is often taught in the churches, but rather the integration of pagan beliefs into one’s life.

This may be hard for some to admit. However…

In the coming days, at some point in time, Gentiles will admit that they have inherited lies.

Jeremiah 16:19 MKJV
O Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations shall come to You from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and there is no profit in them.

Zechariah 8:23 MKJV
So says Jehovah of Hosts: In those days ten men, out of all languages of the nations, shall take hold, and will seize the skirt of a man, a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.

Remember Yeshua’s words to the Samaritan woman at the well…

John 4:23-24 MKJV
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. (24) God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

This post should remind you of what your mothers and fathers before have forgotten and that is truths are in the Torah. Rather than focus on the new pagan “husband” that they have taken up instead of being the Bride of Christ, with Yeshua as her intended husband.

Many have forgotten truth, and that they have inherited lies in their place.

Pagan Holidays that Christianity Usurped

Just so that you know, throughout history, Christianity has adopted and adapted many pagan traditions and holidays. These pagan holidays were often repurposed by the church in order to make Christianity more accessible to non-Christians or to commemorate important Christian events. Here are just seven pagan holidays that Christians in different countries still celebrate today:

Christmas: Perhaps the most well-known example of a pagan holiday adopted by Christianity is Christmas. The date of December 25th was originally the festival of Saturnalia in ancient Rome, a time of feasting and gift-giving in honor of the god Saturn. The early Christians repurposed this holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Easter: Easter is another holiday with pagan roots. The name “Easter” comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, who was associated with spring and fertility. The Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, coincides with the pagan festival of Ostara, which celebrates the spring equinox.
Halloween: Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve, has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The early Christians repurposed this holiday to honor the saints and martyrs, hence the name “All Hallows’ Eve”.
Valentine’s Day: Valentine’s Day has its origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was a celebration of fertility and the coming of spring. The Christian church repurposed this holiday to honor Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr who was believed to have performed marriages in secret.
May Day: May Day, also known as Beltane, was a Celtic festival that marked the beginning of summer and the coming of the growing season. The Christian church repurposed this holiday as a celebration of the Virgin Mary.
Groundhog Day: Groundhog Day is a modern American holiday that has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc, which marked the beginning of spring. The Christian church repurposed this holiday as Candlemas, which commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple.
Thanksgiving: While Thanksgiving is not traditionally seen as a pagan holiday, it does have its roots in pre-Christian harvest festivals. The early settlers in America adopted this holiday from the Native Americans, who had been celebrating the harvest for centuries.

Christianity has a long history of adopting and adapting pagan traditions and holidays. By repurposing these holidays, the church was attempting to make Christianity more accessible to non-Christians and to commemorate important Christian events.

The Samaritans reject Yeshua, the Messiah

Remember the Samaritan woman at the well bringing up that outside belief that the Samaritans had? Bringing it into modern terms, it was a bit like arguing over keeping Easter Ham versus Passover Lamb.

The Samaritan woman at the well explained that the Samaritans had their own set of beliefs:

John 4:20 MKJV
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Because the Samaritans held on to their own set of beliefs, they later rejected Yeshua, even after having spent two days with him previously accepting him as their Messiah.

Luke 9:51-56 MKJV
And it happened in the fulfilling of the days of His taking up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. (52) And He sent messengers before His face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. (53) And they did not receive Him, because His face was going toward Jerusalem. (54) And seeing, His disciples James and John said, Lord, do You desire that we command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did? (55) But He turned and rebuked them and said, You do not know of what spirit you are. (56) For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save. And they went to another village.

Sadly, their predisposed beliefs and disagreements literally separated the Samaritans from their Messiah.

I don’t think that anyone would deny that the Crucifixion was a major event, if not the major event, in the Scriptures. Yeshua went to them on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified, and they rejected him because they had learned errors/lies from their fathers.

Nonetheless, Yeshua reminds us that he did not “come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”

Likewise, remember:

Exodus 20:6 MKJV
and showing mercy to thousands of those that love Me and keep My commandments.

If you are reading this and have strayed away from keeping his commandments, or did not know what they were to begin with… know that Yehovah our Salvation did not come in the flesh as Yeshua to destroy men’s lives, but to show mercy to those that love him by keeping His commandments:

Psalms 136:1-9 MKJV
Oh give thanks to Jehovah; for He is good; for His mercy endures forever. (2) Oh give thanks to the God of gods; for His mercy endures forever. (3) Oh give thanks to the Lord of lords; for His mercy endures forever. (4) To Him who alone does great wonders; for His mercy endures forever. (5) To Him who by wisdom made the heavens; for His mercy endures forever. (6) To Him who stretched out the earth above the waters; for His mercy endures forever. (7) To Him who made great lights; for His mercy endures forever. (8) The sun to rule by day; for His mercy endures forever. (9) the moon and stars to rule by night; for His mercy endures forever.

Sadly though, returning to the account of the New Testament Samaritans above, Yeshua and his disciples “went to another village.”

I sometimes think of the Parable of the Wedding Feast (see Matthew 22) and consider, how much of this is prophetic to the state of Christianity today?

As a side note, for those of us reading this that have the knowledge of the Torah and have for the most part rooted paganism out of our lives, but still have minor disagreements with Yehovah on this or that, this “Going to another village” does remind me of Mordecai’s warning to Esther:

Esther 4:14 MKJV
For if you are completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise to the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house shall be destroyed. And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for a time like this?

Accept Our Messiah for who He is

Matthew 11:6 MKJV
And blessed is he, whoever shall not be offended in Me.

Don’t like that Yeshua was Jewish? Well, salvation is of the Jews; accept it.

Don’t like those odd-sounding “Holy Days”? Leviticus 23 explains the proper holy days. Accept it.

Don’t like those things “of old” written about in the first five books of the Bible – or even think the word “Torah” sounds funny? Accept it.

We should obey the Commandments. Accept it.

Our Messiah, Yeshua, practiced these things!

The Disciples, practiced these things.

Do not be offended by Him because of things taught to you by your fathers before you.

Do not make the same mistake as the Samaritans because you think the bible sounds “Jewish” or Hebraic – your “bible” was written mostly by Jews and other Hebraic people.

Did you get offended, and maybe are you offended that I mentioned a holiday outside of the Torah that you enjoy and I called it “pagan”?

Consider this… who created and began the practice of keeping so called Holy Days that are not in the Scriptures as “Holidays” rather than the true Holy Days that are in the Scriptures? Heathens did. Do not learn the way of the Heathen.

And once again, do not be offended by our Messiah. Or also, I might humbly add, His servants that suffer quite a bit of rejection for delivering the truth.

So, why remember what the Samaritans forgot?

Well, here’s a few good reasons:

1 Peter 1:16 MKJV
because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Leviticus 19:2 MKJV
Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I, Jehovah your God, am holy.

Leviticus 20:7-8 MKJV
And you shall sanctify yourselves, and be holy. For I am Jehovah your God. (8) And you shall keep My statutes and do them. I, Jehovah, sanctify you.

Leviticus 20:26 MKJV
And you shall be holy to Me. For I, Jehovah, am holy, and have severed you from the nations, so that you should be Mine.

Recommended Follow-up Study:

If you have learned from this post, I recommend a follow-up study of the life of King Hezekiah. Listed below are a few places in the Scriptures where his account can be found.

The Scriptural account of the life of King Hezekiah in the historical writings:

2 Kings 18 through 20
2 Chronicles 29 through 32

In 2 Kings, King Hezekiah’s account is told immediately after the account of the Samaritans. The telling is quite a contrast. He is a contemporary of Isaiah (see also Isaiah chapters 38 & 39).

In short, King Hezekiah becomes king at the early age of 25 (an age much like one in our modern day age of beginning life and career for ourselves) and he decides to do things right, EVEN THOUGH HIS FATHER DID NOT.

He removes pagan nonsense and abominations from the land and:

2 Kings 18:5 MKJV
He trusted in Jehovah, the God of Israel, and after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.

He does many things right and overcomes adversity, and his life is even extended.

When he reads the Torah, he decides to DO what’s in the Torah as best as he can. At one point, he just could not get Passover together as fast as needed, but kept it faithfully in the 2^nd month as the scriptures allow as an exception.

And God accepts his efforts. He prospers and is remembered well.

A study of Hezekiah’s life is a study that maybe I may someday make into a future teaching, however I wanted to make mention of Hezekiah in this paper, as not only is his story recorded in the very next chapter of Scripture after the settling of the Samaritans, but Hezekiah’s life is the example of the way to do it RIGHT.

And if you want to know more about God’s Festivals, read Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16.

Let’s now let’s return to: A Menu of Important Things.

1
H1471 גּי גּוי gôy gôy (go’ee, go’-ee) Apparently from the same root as H1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts: – Gentile, heathen, nation, people.