To all of you who love Biblical allegory and symbolism, PLEASE HELP!!
For years I have been trying to clarify the significance of SHECHEM, but I can't quite get all the way there. So I would appreciate any thoughts from you all....... I will provide below all related scriptures and thoughts I have collected thus far. If it seems dis-jointed, thats because IT IS!! I'll make a lot of LARGE detours, because somehow, these things also seem to fit into the mystery. So don't try to see where I'm going, because I'm not sure either!! OK here goes:
SHECHEM is also called Sichem (Ge 12:6) and Sychem (Ac 7:16) It stood in the narrow sheltered valley between Ebal on the north and Gerizim on the south, these mountains at their base being only some 500 yards apart. Here Abraham pitched his tent and built his first altar in the Promised Land, and received the first divine promise #Ge 12:6,7. Shechem was one of the three cities of refuge on the west side of the Jordan and also a Levitical city (Josh 20:7; 21:21; 1 Chr 6:67).
The word shechem means SHOULDER. One of the reasons I find it to be of great interest, besides all the numerous significant events that happened there, is because it is the place given to Ephraim as his extra PORTION, the double portion allotted to the FIRSTBORN.
First of many side tracks on the subject of the FIRSTBORN:
Christ is called the FIRSTBORN of many brethren, and thus we are called the CHURCH of the FIRSTBORN.
Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn....
The FIRSTBORN (also called the BIRTHRIGHT) rights include:
1. the family NAME
2. the priesthood of the family
3. the rulership
4. a DOUBLE portion of property
Jacob (Israel), had the right as a father, to give these rights to OTHER than the actual firstborn son if he saw fit to do so......and he did just that.
First he took his two grandsons, Ephraim and Menasseh, and adopted them as sons:
Gen 48:5 "Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
He completely skipped over his first TWO sons, Rueben and Simeon, and gave only the priesthood to Levi for the following reasons:
1Ch 5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his fathers bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel:
Gen 49:5-7 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. . for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. {digged : or, houghed oxen}....... Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
He then split up the rights of the firstborn and gave the rulership to JUDAH, the preisthood to Levi, and the family name (Israel) and the double portion of property to Ephraim:
I Chron 5:1-2...the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Josephs (Ephraim)
Ge 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Nu 8:18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
Jer 31:9 ..for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Genesis 48:14-22 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraims head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manassehs head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my NAME be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. {grow: Heb. as fishes do increase} And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his fathers hand, to remove it from Ephraims head unto Manassehs head. {displeased : was evil in his eyes} And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. {multitude: Heb. fulness} And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
What is translated here as "one portion" is in the Hebrew SHECHEM ACHAD. Most commentators I have read agree that the city of Shechem is meant, but none have an opinion as to the significance of the "achad" (one or unity). This is the same word used in the sh'ma "the Lord our God is ONE", and has the idea of unity, not just oneness.
Only one other place in scripture is the phrase "shechem achad" used:
Zep 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. {language: Heb. lip} {consent: Heb. shoulder...SHECHEM ACHAD}.....19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. {get : Heb. set them for a praise} {where : Heb. of their shame}20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.
Obviously this is speaking of the time after Christ returns.
the phrase SHECHEM ACHAD has a gematria of 373, the same as "logos" (WORD) and the same as "I will swear" "asheva", as God did to confirm the eternal covenant.
Other significant references are made to the "shoulder", even though sometimes the word for shoulder is "kataph".Here are a few:
Isa 22:22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder (SHECHEM); so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Re 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Is 9:6.. "the government shall be upon his shoulders (kataph).
The holy objects they carried on the shoulder (Numbers 7:9)
The ARK of God was carried on the shoulder (I Chron 15:15)
Aaron carries the names of the tribes on his shoulders (Ex 28:7,12,25,27, 39:4, 7, 18, 20)
The water coming out from the throne in Ezekiel's temple comes out of the "shoulder" (kataph) of the temple.
The side posts of the Tabernacle are shoulders....(Ex 27:14-15, the word here translated as "sides" is kataph, shoulder) they were supported by pillars.
ANOTHER SIDE TRACK:
The veil of the temple that divided the holy of holies from the rest of the temple was supported by FOUR pillars (Ex 26:31-33). The new testament tells us the veil was symbolic of the flesh of Christ (Heb 10:20). Some commentators see the four pillars as a type of the four gospels, the four living creatures (man, ox, lion, eagle), who are the four insigns of the four tribes on the four sides of the encampment in the wilderness, representing then, all Israel. In other words, God's message or WORD to man. There is also a similar image in the four rivers of Eden that went into all the earth, the four mothers of the 12 tribes, which were scattered into all the earth, and the four cheribim, who are always connected with going forth from God to the earth or the affairs of man. ..............end of side track.
Now the very first use of SHECHEM is when the sons of Noah walk backward with the garment on their SHOULDERS (SHECHEM) to cover Noah's nakedness. Seems like a highly symbolic gesture for it mimics the priests who took the covering off the pillars (shoulders) and walked backwards to cover the ark so as not to invade the private dwelling of God. For until the death of Christ when the veil was rent, no one except the high priest once a year, went into the Holy of Holies without suffering DEATH. Christ made the way into the Holiest place accessable to all who are in HIM.
All that is promised to Ephraim is accomplished in the church (for we are the church of the FIRSTBORN) I don't want to get into a discussion as to exactly WHO comprises Ephraim, rather my quest is to discern exactly what is the significance of DOUBLE PORTION of "SHECHEM ACHAD". Is it possibly the WORD or CHRIST dwelling in us???? I think I can see that in a general way, but it is still very fuzzy...........please any thoughts?????????
( Christ became the new High Priest, as that of Levi passed away, and Christ was the final King from Judah. )
Historical and Biblical Significance
*Shechem (between Sychar and Jacobs well) was a place of altars and "historical markers". . .
*At Shechem, Abram "built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him . . . and had given that land to his descendants" (Gen 12:6-7). This was the first recorded place where Abram stopped when he and Sarah and Lot and their entourage entered the land. On this occasion, God confirmed to Abram the promise He had first made to him in Ur of the Chaldees, that He would give him this land. It is possible that Abram climbed nearby Mount Ebal to view his inheritance, much of which could be seen from that peak.
*At Shechem, Jacob built an altar and called it "El-Elohe-Israel" when he returned from Padan-Aram with his eleven sons whose descendants would possess that land (Gen 33:19-20). Jacob and his family had traveled down the Jabbok Valley to the Jordan, camped at Succoth and then ascended through the Wadi Faria and the Wadi Beidan to Shechem (Gen 33:17-20). It is likely that, in doing this, he had retraced the route he had taken alone to Padan-Aram, twenty years before. While camped at Shechem, his family was involved in many contacts with the local people. Shechem, the son of the ruler, Hamor, raped Jacobs daughter Dinah. Her brothers, Levi and Simeon, avenged this crime by killing all the males of the city, including Shechem and his father. During this period, Jacob dug a well, augmenting the local water resource to supply the large herds of livestock he had brought back from Padan-Aram. This well was widely known in that region two thousand years later (John 4:12). Jacob also purchased land for his favorite son, Joseph, who at that time was the only son of his favorite wife Rachel (Gen 3:19; 48:21,22; Josh 24:32).
*Several years later, when Joseph was seventeen years old, Jacob sent him from Hebron to Shechem to "see about the welfare of your brothers" (Gen 37:12-14). When he arrived at Shechem, he found that his brothers had moved on twenty miles farther to the Plain of Dothan where there was very good pasturage (Gen 37:15-17). This sequence of events is important for two reasons. It confirms the affinity Jacobs family had with the Shechem area, the first place they had settled when they came to the land for the first time (Cf. Abraham). It also records the sovereign supervision of God over the process by which He would bring Joseph to Egypt. It was there that He would multiply Jacobs descendants in fulfilment of His covenant with Abraham, preparing them to become the nation that would later possess the land.
*At nearby Mount Ebal, Joshua built an altar of uncut stones. He also wrote a copy of the law on a pillar of stones. From Mount Ebal, half of the tribes shouted the penalties if they disobeyed the law and from Mount Gerizim, the other half shouted the blessings if they obeyed (Josh 8:30-35).
*At Shechem, Joshua set up a large stone to remind Israel of their commitment to worship God alone. "Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God" (Josh 24:1, 25-27).
Shechem was a place of witness.
It was a place of "stones and bones," memorializing twenty centuries of Gods faithfulness. Josephs last memories of the land were of Shechem and Dothan. Throughout his years far from his homeland, Joseph believed that God would fulfil His promise to give the land to his people. He expressed this confidence in his last words, ". . . you shall carry my bones up from here" (Gen 50:25). When Moses led the descendants of Jacob out of Egypt, he was careful to bring with him Josephs bones (Exod 13:19). Forty years later, when Joshua led the tribe of Manasseh to Shechem, they brought with them the bones of Joseph, the father of their tribe (Josh 24:32).
Shechem was a place of spiritual warfare.
*Here the kingdom was divided. Jeroboam called out "To your tents, O Israel" and separated the northern tribes from Judah (1 Kgs 12:1,16). To prevent his people from going up to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam set up a golden bull image at Bethel, near Shechem where their ancestors had made a covenant to worship God alone (1 Kgs 12:25-33).
*Here Samaritans lived. When the Assyrians deported most of the citizens of the Northern Kingdom in the seventh century B.C., they repopulated the Northern Kingdom with people who did not know the God of Abraham (2 Kgs 17:24-41). Over the years, this mixed people developed a Pentateuch-based religion, with worship centered at Mount Gerizim (John 4:20).
*The existence of Samaritans and their presence in the midst of the land near Shechem, the place where God had confirmed His promise of the land to Abraham when he first entered it, constituted a constant reminder of Israels apostasy and its resulting exile from the land.
For years I have been trying to clarify the significance of SHECHEM, but I can't quite get all the way there. So I would appreciate any thoughts from you all....... I will provide below all related scriptures and thoughts I have collected thus far. If it seems dis-jointed, thats because IT IS!! I'll make a lot of LARGE detours, because somehow, these things also seem to fit into the mystery. So don't try to see where I'm going, because I'm not sure either!! OK here goes:
SHECHEM is also called Sichem (Ge 12:6) and Sychem (Ac 7:16) It stood in the narrow sheltered valley between Ebal on the north and Gerizim on the south, these mountains at their base being only some 500 yards apart. Here Abraham pitched his tent and built his first altar in the Promised Land, and received the first divine promise #Ge 12:6,7. Shechem was one of the three cities of refuge on the west side of the Jordan and also a Levitical city (Josh 20:7; 21:21; 1 Chr 6:67).
The word shechem means SHOULDER. One of the reasons I find it to be of great interest, besides all the numerous significant events that happened there, is because it is the place given to Ephraim as his extra PORTION, the double portion allotted to the FIRSTBORN.
First of many side tracks on the subject of the FIRSTBORN:
Christ is called the FIRSTBORN of many brethren, and thus we are called the CHURCH of the FIRSTBORN.
Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn....
The FIRSTBORN (also called the BIRTHRIGHT) rights include:
1. the family NAME
2. the priesthood of the family
3. the rulership
4. a DOUBLE portion of property
Jacob (Israel), had the right as a father, to give these rights to OTHER than the actual firstborn son if he saw fit to do so......and he did just that.
First he took his two grandsons, Ephraim and Menasseh, and adopted them as sons:
Gen 48:5 "Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
He completely skipped over his first TWO sons, Rueben and Simeon, and gave only the priesthood to Levi for the following reasons:
1Ch 5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his fathers bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel:
Gen 49:5-7 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. . for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. {digged : or, houghed oxen}....... Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
He then split up the rights of the firstborn and gave the rulership to JUDAH, the preisthood to Levi, and the family name (Israel) and the double portion of property to Ephraim:
I Chron 5:1-2...the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Josephs (Ephraim)
Ge 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Nu 8:18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
Jer 31:9 ..for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Genesis 48:14-22 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraims head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manassehs head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my NAME be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. {grow: Heb. as fishes do increase} And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his fathers hand, to remove it from Ephraims head unto Manassehs head. {displeased : was evil in his eyes} And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. {multitude: Heb. fulness} And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
What is translated here as "one portion" is in the Hebrew SHECHEM ACHAD. Most commentators I have read agree that the city of Shechem is meant, but none have an opinion as to the significance of the "achad" (one or unity). This is the same word used in the sh'ma "the Lord our God is ONE", and has the idea of unity, not just oneness.
Only one other place in scripture is the phrase "shechem achad" used:
Zep 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. {language: Heb. lip} {consent: Heb. shoulder...SHECHEM ACHAD}.....19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. {get : Heb. set them for a praise} {where : Heb. of their shame}20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.
Obviously this is speaking of the time after Christ returns.
the phrase SHECHEM ACHAD has a gematria of 373, the same as "logos" (WORD) and the same as "I will swear" "asheva", as God did to confirm the eternal covenant.
Other significant references are made to the "shoulder", even though sometimes the word for shoulder is "kataph".Here are a few:
Isa 22:22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder (SHECHEM); so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Re 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Is 9:6.. "the government shall be upon his shoulders (kataph).
The holy objects they carried on the shoulder (Numbers 7:9)
The ARK of God was carried on the shoulder (I Chron 15:15)
Aaron carries the names of the tribes on his shoulders (Ex 28:7,12,25,27, 39:4, 7, 18, 20)
The water coming out from the throne in Ezekiel's temple comes out of the "shoulder" (kataph) of the temple.
The side posts of the Tabernacle are shoulders....(Ex 27:14-15, the word here translated as "sides" is kataph, shoulder) they were supported by pillars.
ANOTHER SIDE TRACK:
The veil of the temple that divided the holy of holies from the rest of the temple was supported by FOUR pillars (Ex 26:31-33). The new testament tells us the veil was symbolic of the flesh of Christ (Heb 10:20). Some commentators see the four pillars as a type of the four gospels, the four living creatures (man, ox, lion, eagle), who are the four insigns of the four tribes on the four sides of the encampment in the wilderness, representing then, all Israel. In other words, God's message or WORD to man. There is also a similar image in the four rivers of Eden that went into all the earth, the four mothers of the 12 tribes, which were scattered into all the earth, and the four cheribim, who are always connected with going forth from God to the earth or the affairs of man. ..............end of side track.
Now the very first use of SHECHEM is when the sons of Noah walk backward with the garment on their SHOULDERS (SHECHEM) to cover Noah's nakedness. Seems like a highly symbolic gesture for it mimics the priests who took the covering off the pillars (shoulders) and walked backwards to cover the ark so as not to invade the private dwelling of God. For until the death of Christ when the veil was rent, no one except the high priest once a year, went into the Holy of Holies without suffering DEATH. Christ made the way into the Holiest place accessable to all who are in HIM.
All that is promised to Ephraim is accomplished in the church (for we are the church of the FIRSTBORN) I don't want to get into a discussion as to exactly WHO comprises Ephraim, rather my quest is to discern exactly what is the significance of DOUBLE PORTION of "SHECHEM ACHAD". Is it possibly the WORD or CHRIST dwelling in us???? I think I can see that in a general way, but it is still very fuzzy...........please any thoughts?????????
( Christ became the new High Priest, as that of Levi passed away, and Christ was the final King from Judah. )
Historical and Biblical Significance
*Shechem (between Sychar and Jacobs well) was a place of altars and "historical markers". . .
*At Shechem, Abram "built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him . . . and had given that land to his descendants" (Gen 12:6-7). This was the first recorded place where Abram stopped when he and Sarah and Lot and their entourage entered the land. On this occasion, God confirmed to Abram the promise He had first made to him in Ur of the Chaldees, that He would give him this land. It is possible that Abram climbed nearby Mount Ebal to view his inheritance, much of which could be seen from that peak.
*At Shechem, Jacob built an altar and called it "El-Elohe-Israel" when he returned from Padan-Aram with his eleven sons whose descendants would possess that land (Gen 33:19-20). Jacob and his family had traveled down the Jabbok Valley to the Jordan, camped at Succoth and then ascended through the Wadi Faria and the Wadi Beidan to Shechem (Gen 33:17-20). It is likely that, in doing this, he had retraced the route he had taken alone to Padan-Aram, twenty years before. While camped at Shechem, his family was involved in many contacts with the local people. Shechem, the son of the ruler, Hamor, raped Jacobs daughter Dinah. Her brothers, Levi and Simeon, avenged this crime by killing all the males of the city, including Shechem and his father. During this period, Jacob dug a well, augmenting the local water resource to supply the large herds of livestock he had brought back from Padan-Aram. This well was widely known in that region two thousand years later (John 4:12). Jacob also purchased land for his favorite son, Joseph, who at that time was the only son of his favorite wife Rachel (Gen 3:19; 48:21,22; Josh 24:32).
*Several years later, when Joseph was seventeen years old, Jacob sent him from Hebron to Shechem to "see about the welfare of your brothers" (Gen 37:12-14). When he arrived at Shechem, he found that his brothers had moved on twenty miles farther to the Plain of Dothan where there was very good pasturage (Gen 37:15-17). This sequence of events is important for two reasons. It confirms the affinity Jacobs family had with the Shechem area, the first place they had settled when they came to the land for the first time (Cf. Abraham). It also records the sovereign supervision of God over the process by which He would bring Joseph to Egypt. It was there that He would multiply Jacobs descendants in fulfilment of His covenant with Abraham, preparing them to become the nation that would later possess the land.
*At nearby Mount Ebal, Joshua built an altar of uncut stones. He also wrote a copy of the law on a pillar of stones. From Mount Ebal, half of the tribes shouted the penalties if they disobeyed the law and from Mount Gerizim, the other half shouted the blessings if they obeyed (Josh 8:30-35).
*At Shechem, Joshua set up a large stone to remind Israel of their commitment to worship God alone. "Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God" (Josh 24:1, 25-27).
Shechem was a place of witness.
It was a place of "stones and bones," memorializing twenty centuries of Gods faithfulness. Josephs last memories of the land were of Shechem and Dothan. Throughout his years far from his homeland, Joseph believed that God would fulfil His promise to give the land to his people. He expressed this confidence in his last words, ". . . you shall carry my bones up from here" (Gen 50:25). When Moses led the descendants of Jacob out of Egypt, he was careful to bring with him Josephs bones (Exod 13:19). Forty years later, when Joshua led the tribe of Manasseh to Shechem, they brought with them the bones of Joseph, the father of their tribe (Josh 24:32).
Shechem was a place of spiritual warfare.
*Here the kingdom was divided. Jeroboam called out "To your tents, O Israel" and separated the northern tribes from Judah (1 Kgs 12:1,16). To prevent his people from going up to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam set up a golden bull image at Bethel, near Shechem where their ancestors had made a covenant to worship God alone (1 Kgs 12:25-33).
*Here Samaritans lived. When the Assyrians deported most of the citizens of the Northern Kingdom in the seventh century B.C., they repopulated the Northern Kingdom with people who did not know the God of Abraham (2 Kgs 17:24-41). Over the years, this mixed people developed a Pentateuch-based religion, with worship centered at Mount Gerizim (John 4:20).
*The existence of Samaritans and their presence in the midst of the land near Shechem, the place where God had confirmed His promise of the land to Abraham when he first entered it, constituted a constant reminder of Israels apostasy and its resulting exile from the land.
