Tag: land of Moriah

Mount Moriah – the Connection

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Mount Moriah – the Connection

 

Mount Moriah is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis going back to the days of Abraham when it first gained importance as a sacred site.[1] Set-up by way of the place, the mount has a direct connection to the Messiah.

By birth a Chaldean, Abraham followed God’s instruction to leave for an unknown land with a blessing that his name would be great, the father of a great nation in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed.[2] Abraham eventually settled in Canaan at Hebron about 20 miles south of the mounts of Moriah and Salem, the city one day to be called Jerusalem.[3]

God tested Abraham’s faith by telling him to offer Isaac, his only son with his wife Sarah, as a sacrifice in “the land of Moriah…on one of the mountains that I shall show you.”[4] Human sacrifices were not uncommon in that era, such as to the pagan gods Baal and Moloch.[5]

Faithfully Abraham built an altar on God’s chosen Moriah mount and was in the act of offering Isaac as a sacrifice when an “angel of the Lord” stopped him. A ram stuck in a thicket became a substitute sacrifice. Known as “The Binding of Isaac” in Jewish tradition, the story in Genesis is read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.[6]

Moriah means “chosen by Jehovah” albeit Abraham was so moved by the experience with his only son, he called this particular Mount of Moriah, hwhy har or Y@hovah ra’ah meaning “the LORD will Provide.”[7] Some Bibles translate the Hebrew name it as Jehovahjireh.

“The Lord will choose and see for Himself this place, to cause His Divine Presence to rest therein and for offering sacrifices here…that [future] generations will say about it, ‘On this mountain, the Holy One, blessed be He, appears to His people.’” – Rabbi Rashi [8]

Several hundred years later, soon after the Exodus from Egypt, the Hebrew nation encamped at Mount Sinai. God handed down the Law to Moses which included prophetic promises about the place hinting that the land of Moriah was part of God’s future master plan.

One promise was that God would lead Israel to the land He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In two promises, God promised He would provide a permanent place for His Name to dwell and to observe the Passover.[9]

In the land of Abraham, King David established his throne in the city of Jerusalem encompassing Mount Moriah. A most unusual set of circumstances brought the Mount to center stage.[10]

King David angered God due to his lack of faith by conducting a census leading to a severe judgement on his kingdom of Israel. Taking responsibility, David pleaded with God to stop the judgement on the people because it was his own sin, not theirs. The angel executing and halting the judgment because visible to the King.

Through the prophet Gad, God instructed David to offer an atonement sacrifice for the people of Israel.[11] Preparing for the sacrifice, David bought the threshing floor of Araunah (Ornan) located on Mount Moriah.[12] David personally purchased the entire threshing floor, its oxen and its equipment.[13]

On Mount Moriah David built the altar, slew the oxen for the offering and used the wood from the threshing floor implements as fuel for the altar’s fire. Then something miraculous happened – fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice.[14] Deeply affected, David proclaimed:

I Ch. 22:1 “This is the place where the temple of the Lord God will be, along with the altar for burnt sacrifices for Israel.”(NET)

God informed David that his son would build the House of God, not him.[15] After David’s death, in the fourth year of King Solomon’s reign, the building of the Temple commenced on Mount Moriah:

2 CH 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (NASB)

Seven years later the Temple was completed under Solomon’s reign.[16] To commemorate the occasion, the King held a public consecration and blessing acknowledging the fulfillment of God’s promises:

2 CH 6:2, 4 “I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever.” …  “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying,

2 CH 6:5-6 “‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there; and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’(NKJV)

In spectacular fashion, that day on Mount Moriah God once again sent fire down from heaven to consume the first sacrifices offered at the new Temple. The celebration continued for seven days and with the completion of the Temple, it became the place to permanently offer the Passover sacrifices:[17]

DT 16:2 “You shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to establish His name…”

DT 16:5-6 …You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns which the LORD your God is giving you; but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover…”(NASB)

A thousand years later on the sacred Mount Moriah in the holy city of Jerusalem, Jesus of Nazareth stood on trial before the Priests and Scribes of the Temple, the House of God, and declared himself to be the Son of God. Perceived as a blasphemy, it triggered a string of events in the following hours leading to the crucifixion of Jesus on the first day of the Passover.

United States Federal legal definition of the Doctrine of Chances is the premise for the obvious question: What is the probability of chance that the location, the timing, and the circumstances of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth were all an accident?

 

Updated December 21, 2023.

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REFERENCES:

[1] “Abraham.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2018. <https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/abraham>
[2] Genesis 12.
[3] Genesis 11-15. “Hebron.” Bible-History.com. 2017. <http://www.bible-history.com/geography/ancient-israel/hebron.html>
[4] NRSV.
[5] Genesis 22. Quote – all mainstream Christian and Jewish Bible translations. Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book I, Chapter XIII.  The Complete Works of Josephus. Trans. and commentary. William Whitson. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[6] Genesis 22. “The Binding of Isaac.” My Jewish Learning. 2018. <https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-binding-of-isaac> “The Great Test: The Binding of Isaac.” Chabad.org. 2018. <https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/246616/jewish/The-Great-Test-The-Binding-of-Isaac.htm> “Human Sacrifices.” Bible-history.com. n.d. <http://www.bible-history.com/backd2/human_sacrifice.html>  Hefner, Alan G. “Baal.” Encyclopedia Mythica. 2004. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/baal.html>  “Sacrifice.” Jewish Encyclopedia.
[7] Net.bible.org. Genesis 22:2, Hebrew text Mowriyah <04179>; Genesis 22:14, Hebrew text “ra’ah <07200>;” Y@hovah <03068>;” “Y@hovah yireh <03070>”
[8] Rashi, Shlomo Yitzchaki. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary. Bereishit – Genesis 22:14 commentary. <https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8217#showrashi=true>
[9] I Chronicles 17.
[10] I Chronicles 17; 2 Samuel 5, 7. Josephus. Antiquities. Book VII, Chapter III.
[11] II Chronicles 3.
[12] I Chronicles 21; 2 Chronicles 3; 2 Samuel 24. Josephus. Antiquities. Book VII, Chapter III. “Herod’s Temple.”  Bible-History.com. 2017. <http://www.bible-history.com/jewishtemple/JEWISH_TEMPLEThe_Site.htm>
[13] I Chronicles 21; 2 Samuel 24.
[14] 2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21.
[15] I Chronicles 22, 28.
[16] 1 Kings 6; 2 Chronicles 3.  Wiemers, Galyn. Generation Word. “Chapter 21 – Solomon’s Temple Mount.” image. 2018. <https://www.generationword.com/devotions/photos-diagrams/diagrams/oct-digrams/29a-solomons-temple-mount-retaining-wall-2500-jpg.jpg>
[17] CR Leviticus 9.

The Place – Promises at Mt. Sinai

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

 

The Place – Promises at Mt. Sinai 

 

Promises about the place were made at Mt. Sinai when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments. Building blocks for the Messiah and a key foundation for the Hebrews, these promises could actually be considered as prophecies.

Four new promises built upon upon the previous promise made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the place for their descendants to possess. Additionally, God promised to establish a kingdom; the permanent place for His Name to dwell; the exclusive place for Israel to observe the Passover; and the Judgement Seat of Israel.[1]

Hebrews did not fully understand what it all meant and God didn’t give a lot of details for the place except it would be in the land promised to Abraham. None of these promises and expectations seemed like the remotest reality to the Hebrews who, after 400 years, had just fled the harsh rule of Pharaoh in Egypt, the only life they had ever known.

Starting from scratch, great faith in these promises was required from the fledgling nation of people. It seemed like an impossibility, especially for a ragtag nation of tens of thousands of former slaves without an army.

Doubts and lack of faith by the Exodus generation would cost them from seeing God’s promised land.[2] Yet, against all odds over the coming centuries, these promises became a reality.

Israel conquered its enemies in the land and each of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel were allotted their own regions.[3] Formidable and now-experienced, the army of Hebrew warriors protected them even before the establishment of a kingdom.

A king, the most famous in Hebrew history, was born in Bethlehem in the lineage of Judah. It stemmed from the prophetic blessing of royalty from Jacob to his son.

David, the giant-slayer, ruled without a Seat of the Throne until he conquered and occupied the fortified city of Jebus or Salem. Soon thereafter, the city came to be called Jerusalem, also known as Zion.

A permanent place for the Name of God to dwell required a temple. Fundamental to a theocracy, this temple needed to be located near the king’s throne in the nation’s capital to be protected against heathen enemies.

King Solomon, son of David, built the Temple on Mt. Moriah as his father had decided. Known as Solomon’s Temple, the remnants one wall of the Temple is known as the Western Wall, a most holy place in Israel today.[4]

Consecrated and blessed by King Solomon, the first sacrifice was offered at the new Temple on its permanent alter. Miraculously, the sacrifices were ignited by fire sent down from heaven.[5]

According to God’s Law, the Passover was to be celebrated at its appointed time requiring sacrifices to be offered by the priests of God at a central permanent place of worship, in this case, it would at the Temple. Passover was then observed at its appointed time and the sacrifices were offered there by the priests of God.[6]

For a theocratic government, the Judgement Seat also needed to be located in close proximity to both the Throne and its Temple.[7] The most important and most complicated cases of the nation were to be judged in the place God chose.

Jerusalem became the Judgement Seat of Israel under the reign of Solomon where both major civil and criminal cases were decided. In a theocratic government, God’s Law served both as the criminal code and the basis for civil laws.

Civil cases were decided by King Solomon on the porch of his palace, then on the east side of the Temple in the Hall of Judgement.[8] Criminal cases involving the highest level of offenses, including capital death cases, were tried in the Temple Court accessed through the Chamber of Hewn Stone.[9] Built into the northern wall of the Temple, the chamber served as the meeting place for the 70 elders of Israel, eventually known as the Great Sanhedrin.[10]

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed and ransacked Jerusalem and the Temple as punishment because the Hebrews did not honor their Covenant with God as the people had agreed to do at Mt. Sinai. During the Persian Empire, the Temple was rebuilt under decrees by Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes; its gold contents returned, and observance of the annual Passover resumed until Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD.[11]

God’s promises from Mount Sinai laid the ground work for Israel’s future in the place and the foundation of various future Messiah prophecies. Over the coming centuries prophets Isaiah, Zechariah, Jeremiah, Micah and other prophets would give details and expectations about the coming Messiah who would come from the House of David.[12]

All the promises made by God at Mt. Sinai about “the place” came to pass. What are the odds it was all just an extraordinary coincidence?

 

Updated June 11, 2024.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:
[1] Deuteronomy 1:6-8, 39; 17:8-10, 14. CR Genesis 17, 22, 35, 49; Exodus 19:6; 23:20; Deuteronomy 1:8, 12:11, 16:2, 17:20.
[2] Deuteronomy 1:34-40; Numbers 13, 14:26-35.  Wood, Bryant G. BibleArchaeol0gy.org. 2009. “The Number of Israelites in the Exodus.” <https://biblearchaeology.org/research/chronological-categories/exodus-era/3943-the-number-of-israelites-in-the-exodus> “How Many Israelites Really Left Egypt?” JewishBelief.com. n.d. <https://jewishbelief.com/how-many-israelites-left-egypt/>
[3] Deuteronomy 3:12-17.  “The Twelve Tribes in Canaan.” Maps Database Source. map. 2020. <https://mapdatabaseinfo.blogspot.com/2018/05/32-map-of-promised-land-joshua.html#
[4] 1 Kings 6; 2 Chronicles 3.
[5] I Chronicles 6; Leviticus 9; Nehemiah 11.
[6] Exodus 12:14-15; Leviticus 23:4-8,; II Chronicles chapters 8, 29, 34-35:19; Ezra 6:16-22. Coulter, Fred R. cbcg.org. The Christian Passover. Chapters 12-13, Part 1. n.d. <https://www.cbcg.org/booklets/the-christian-passover/chapter-twelve-when-and-why-the-temple-sacrifice-of-the-passover-was-instituted-part-one.html>&nbsp
[7] Deuteronomy 17:8-10. CR Exodus 18.
[8] 1 Kings 3, 4, 7:7.  “Solomon’s Porch.” Encyclopedia of the Bible. n.d. <https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Solomons-Porch>  “Solomon’s Porch.” BibleVerseStudy.com. n.d. <https://www.bibleversestudy.com/acts/acts5-solomons-porch.htm>  “Temple of Herod.” JewishEncyclopedia.com. 2011. <https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14304-temple-of-herod> “Solomon’s Porch.” Bible-History.com. n.d. <https://bible-history.com/backdrops/solomons-porch>
[9] Schoenberg, Shira. “Ancient Jewish History: The Sanhedrin.” 2017. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-sanhedrin>   Shachter, J. and Freedman, H. Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Isidore Epstein Introduction. <https://www.halakhah.com/sanhedrin/>
[10] Exodus 18; Deuteronomy 1, 17; II Chronicles 19:8:4-11.  Shachter and Freedman.  “Introduction to Sanhedrin.”  Soncino Babylonian Talmud. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/sanhedrin/index.html>  Ariel, Yisrael. “The Chamber of the Hewn Stone.” The Temple Institute. 2014. <https://www.templeinstitute.org/illustrated/hewn_stone_description.htm>  Ariel, Yisrael. “Blueprints for the Holy Temple.”  <http://www.templeinstitute.org/blueprints-for-the-holy-temple.htm>
[11] Isaiah 52-53. Sanhedrin 16a, 17a. Shachter, J. and Freedman, H.  “Sanhedrin.” Josephus.  Antiquities. Book IV, Chapter VIII.14; Book XX, Chapter IX.4. “Ancient Jewish History: The Beit Din.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2017.http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-beit-din>
[12] Isaiah 7, 9; 11; Jeremiah 23, 33; Zechariah 3, 6, 12.