Joseph's Tomb

Arabs have destroyed the Jewish shrine at the traditional site of Joseph's Tomb, located in the Palestinian city of Nablus, which encompasses a more ancient settlement called Shechem. The Israeli Defense Force apparently thinks defending the site (smack dab in the middle of one of the largest Arab/PA towns in the interior of the West Bank) isn't worth the cost, weary of having to defend Jewish civilians worshiping in the building. The site has been desecrated in the past but now the large tombstone has been smashed into rubble. The third link below is especially sad -- it describes the feelings of orthodox Jews trying to preserve this link to their history. Nearby is also Jacob's Well, thought to be the well at which Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman in John 2.

Following the article is a little outline of Biblical history. When you hear the phrase "the Promised Land," it's a reference to that first promise God made to Abraham in Shechem. The Jewish nation brought Joseph's bones from Egypt and buried them in Shechem -- a powerful symbol of the fulfillment of God's promise to His people.

WorldNet Daily article; Jerusalem Post; Orthodox Jews at Shechem; History of Nablus; Shechem info from Jewish Virtual Library

------------------------------------------------------

Arab vandals desecrate Joseph's Tomb - Gravestone of biblical patriarch ruined despite Palestinian pledge

Posted: February 25, 2003, 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

The sacred Jewish site regarded as the grave of the
biblical patriarch Joseph has been turned into a pile
of rubble by Arab vandals, according to Israeli
officials.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon confirmed Sunday that the
large stone marking the grave was destroyed some time
during the past two weeks, the Israeli News Network
said.

Minister Natan Sharansky wants the foreign ministry to
publicize photos of the desecrated site, which is in
the Palestinian Authority-controlled town of Nablus,
the biblical Shechem.

"If we would have razed the gravesite of one of the
founders of Islam, billions of Muslims would have
taken to the streets," Sharansky said. "It's
inconceivable that the world should not know about
this travesty."

The Oslo Accords put the site under Israeli
jurisdiction, but on Oct. 7, 2000, then-Prime Minister
Ehud Barak ordered a unilateral retreat, based on a
Palestinian agreement to protect the site.

But within hours, smoke was seen billowing from the
tomb as a crowd burned Jewish prayer books and other
articles. With pickaxes and hammers they began to tear
apart the stone building. Two days later the dome of
the tomb had been painted green and bulldozers were
clearing the area.

Israeli authority was restored to the site during last
April's Operation Defensive Shield, but Israeli
worshippers are not allowed to visit and it is not
regularly guarded.

Members of the Hassidic Breslover sect have been
arrested in attempts to reach the tomb.

The Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva, a Jewish center for
learning that was closed down at the time of the
initial Israeli retreat, issued a press release last
week demanding the "immediate safeguarding" of the
tomb. The center also asked that it be allowed to
reopen its doors on the site.

Yehuda Liebman, the head of Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva,
told the Jerusalem Post that while the attacks have
become more severe, the grave had always been left
intact.

Israeli government spokesman Ra'anan Gissin said that
the government will find a way to protect the site.

The Israeli news agency Arutz-7 News reports Israel
Defense Forces is interested in restoring a Jewish
civilian presence to Joseph's Tomb.

"Army officers requested that the government enable
Jews to pray and study there, as they did before the
Oslo War, but the government did not do so," Lt.-Col.
Rabbi Avi Ronsky said.

Gissin said the desecration "shows the moral
bankruptcy of the Palestinian Authority and points to
the critical need for a change in leadership."

Israeli archeologists say they have convincing
documentation of the site's authenticity, dating to
biblical times. The book of Joshua says, according to
the New International Version, "Joseph's bones, which
the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried
at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for
a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the
father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of
Joseph's descendants."

---------------------------------------------------

GENESIS 12:5-7

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at SHECHEM, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.


GENESIS 33:18-20

And Jacob came safely to the city of SHECHEM, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel [God, the God of Israel].


GENESIS 50:23-26

So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here." So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.


EXODUS 13:18-19

But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here."


JOSHUA 24:1,32

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to SHECHEM, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
...
As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at SHECHEM, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

Concerning Genesis...

(1) --Idea that Earth and humanity were God's "first attempt" at creation.--

God evaluated his creation in Genesis 1 and 2 : it was GOOD. Because God is eternal and all-powerful and omniscient, he had all eternity to devise a universe that was exactly according to His plan and purpose. He created man and woman in His image, an incredible compliment. Unlike man, God never operates using trial-and-error. God does not learn -- He got it exactly right the first time.

---

(2) --Why did God create the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the first place? Why create the opportunity for sin if He knew the awful consequences?--

How interesting would your marriage be if your wife had no choice whether to marry you? How fulfilling would any loving relationship be if one party was FORCED to be in the relationship? God wants our love and wants it freely given. Anything else would be a planet of automatons, and we can't be created in God's image without the capacity to choose. Sin and rebellion is OUR fault... if Adam had not sinned , and if we chose not to ratify his decision over and over again, the evil in the world would decrease by leaps and bounds.

But.... God also had a plan to overcome sin and death and provide a way out once the sin was committed. The book of Revelation describes Jesus as "the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world."

Also there is an element of faith involved.... God asks us to trust him despite what we see with our eyes: "Blessed is he who has not seen, and yet believes." (John 20:29) Job is the ultimate (human) example of one who suffered incredibly, and undeservedly, and yet still chose to put all his faith in God, rather than curse God and die, as his wife recommended.

---

(3) --Idea that the sheer size of the universe and multitude of stars and planets virtually guarantees that there must be other inhabited planets.--

I don't dispute the silence of the Bible on the existence of extraterrestrial, sentient beings, nor the possibility that they exist. However, the Bible has already given us a glorious purpose behind the field of astronomy:

PSALM 19:1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their measuring line goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.


JEREMIAH 31:38

Thus says the LORD:
"If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,"
declares the LORD.


PSALM 136:3-9

Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights-
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.


GENESIS 14:18-20

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,

"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
And blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand."


From what I see in the verses above, IMHO I don't think the outer universe needs to be populated to be worthwhile. The universe is a declaration of the power and majesty of God. And also a metaphor for God's infinite patience and forgiveness towards His people. It's God's calling card: the God who blesses you is the Lord of heaven and earth. Nothing is too difficult for him -- because creating a billion galaxies by the word of his mouth out of nothing, was all in a day's work for him.

If God loves us and desires a relationship with us, why could he not create the entire universe as simply a message to the inhabitants of earth? Perhaps that sounds like the height of arrogance. But Paul says that in the afterlife Christians will "judge angels" (1 Cor. 6:3) and Christ says faithful servants will be put in charge of whole "cities" (Luke 19:11-27 -- although I realize this is a parable).

An appropriate response would be one of total humility, to think God thinks this highly of us, and more: he sent His most precious Son to die in our place.