| (Copyright) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 “The Ten Commandments” movie dramatically portrayed God’s presence on Mount Sinai as recorded in Exodus 19. Mountain tops seem to be special places where God communicates or reveals His presence with those seeking Him. Jesus would often go to a mountain top to pray or to give revelation to His disciples (See Matthew 5:1, 14:23, 17:1-2, 24:3; Mark 3:13; Luke 6:12 for some examples). Nearly everyone has heard of the sermon on the mount. Likewise, a mountain in Canaan played a role in the lives of Abraham and Jacob. In Genesis 12, God told Abram to leave his father’s house and head to the land of Canaan. When Abram entered Canaan, we read that he first stopped at Shechem where God appeared to Abram and said that He would give this land to Abram’s seed. From Shechem, Abram traveled further south along an established road toward Bethel (Luz, later named “Bethel” by Abram’s grandson, Jacob.) This road is now referred to as the “Way of the Patriarchs” by scholars. It is mentioned in Judges 21:19, “which is north of Bethel [Shiloh] east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem.” Today, it is known as Highway 60 in Israel. Abram made it to a high mountain near Bethel. Genesis 12:8 says that Abram pitched his tent on this mountain between Bethel and Ai. Bethel was toward the west and Ai was toward the east. Where can we find this mountain today? Abram moved on down into Egypt but later returned to this mountain near Bethel. This is where Abram and his nephew, Lot, decided to part company. See Genesis 13:3-4. After Lot departed, God then said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place [this mountain top near Bethel] where you are and look to the north and south and east and west, for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your descendants forever” Genesis 13:14-15. It is this same mountain that will play a significant event with Jacob, Abram’s grandson, when he has to flee from his brother Esau. Jacob had received Esau’s blessing by deception. His father, Isaac, did not want him to marry any of the local women and sent Jacob to Paddan-Aram to find his own kinsman. Jacob followed the ancient road from Beersheba on up to Shechem that had been used by Abram. He made an overnight stop near Luz which he renamed Bethel after having a frightening dream that night. In this dream, Jacob saw a ladder or a staircase. God spoke to him and gave him the same promise that He had given to Abram many years before at the same location (Genesis 28:12-15). What was so special about this location? In fact, after Jacob had spent 20 years in Paddan-Aram, God identified Himself as the “God of Bethel” and told Jacob to return to Bethel where he had set up a pillar (Genesis 31:13; 35:1). After dealing with his father-in-law, Laban, and his brother, Esau, Jacob and crew finally returned to Bethel where God repeated His promise that He had given to Jacob at the beginning of his journey (Genesis 35:6-7, 9-14). The place that is considered to be the location of ancient Bethel is the village of Beitin north of Jerusalem. This is disputed by David Livingston who believes el-Bireh, east of Ramallah, is the correct location of Bethel. East of el-Bireh is a high mountain with a staircase appearance. On that mountain exists an Israeli settlement called “Psagot.” The name means “pinnacle.” This area may play an important role in Israel’s future just as it did in the past. The first video (4 minutes) will give you some background on Psagot. The second video (28 minutes) tells the story of the Psagot Winery and the symbolism of the roots of the vine (Ezekiel 17) with Israel. The third video is a short Psagot Winery promo (two minutes). Because of the controversy of the Jewish settlement in the West Bank area, you won’t find their wine on the shelves of any woke corporations. Yet, if you want a connection (root) to the very place where God made a promise to Abraham and Jacob, then consider obtaining a bottle for the Feast or perhaps Passover. The last video is a 6-minute explanation of the ancient roads of the Bible. I encourage you to watch all the videos for some good background on this special area which may someday reveal why God chose that location to pronounce His promises. If you want to read David Livingston’s article on Bethel, the link is also below. https://youtu.be/tqZv-Fy4Iuw https://youtu.be/yarpxQBMOZc https://youtu.be/U9MwPz0Ug_o https://youtu.be/DH4PC9BBkLE Ancient Days:: Locating Biblical Bethel :: by David Livingston (davelivingston.com) |
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