Scattering out; Gathering in A 4000 year-old promise

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 2000 B.C. Abram Genesis 12: 1-3, 7

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 2000 B.C. Genesis 15: “To your descendants I give this land…”

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 2000 B.C. Genesis 17: 1-8 “…I will give you as an everlasting possession…”

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 2000 B.C. Isaac Genesis 26: 2-5 “…I will give them all these lands…”

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 2000 B.C. Jacob Genesis 28: “…I will give you and your descendants the land…”

On Wednesday, a small and ancient community in the Samaria region performed a Passover offering just as it has done for over two thousand years. Israel's small Samaritan community gathered, as it does annually, to offer sacrifices on Mount Gerizim, overlooking Shechem. Heads of Samaritan households slaughtered 35 sheep that were offered in a way very similar to that prescribed in the Torah, for sacrifices at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

According to a press release issued by the Shomron (Samaria) Regional Council, the Samaritan priesthood conducts the offerings. The leader of the priests is the "High Priest," just as is the case in the Torah. Following the slaughter of the animals, they are roasted and eaten with matzah, as would be done if Jews today brought the paschal lamb to the Temple in Jerusalem.

While the Jewish Torah requires Passover offerings to be brought on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Samaritans believe that the preeminent holy spot is Mount Gerizim. Mount Gerizim also features prominently in the Torah as a mountain upon which blessings were pronounced to the Jewish people. Deuteronomy 11: Deuteronomy John 4: 19-21

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ B.C. Israel Genesis 46: 1-4 Exodus 12: years to Egypt & back

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 1400 B.C. Israel Leviticus 26: Unconditional land Conditional production

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 1400 B.C. Israel Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, Obey – possess & be blessed Disobey – scatter & be cursed

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 1400 B.C. Israel Deuteronomy 28: Obey – possess & be blessed Disobey – scatter & be cursed

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 1400 B.C. Israel Deuteronomy 29: Renew the covenant with who?

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 1400 B.C. Israel Deuteronomy 29: Obey – possess & be blessed Disobey – scatter & be cursed

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 1400 B.C. Israel Deuteronomy 30: 1-5 If I scatter you, I will gather you

Scattering out; Gathering in ~ 1400 B.C. Israel Deuteronomy 31: And He still let them in???

Scattering out; Gathering in Deuteronomy 28: Ezekiel 17: 1-4 Jeremiah 29: A specific ‘scattering’ for a specific time

Scattering out; Gathering in Isaiah 11: Amos 9: 8-15 A second ‘scattering’ And final ‘gathering’ When?

Scattering out; Gathering in Isaiah 43: 1, 5-7 Isaiah 49: Jeremiah 9: 11, 16 Jeremiah 31: 7-10 From the ends of the earth

Scattering out; Gathering in Ezekiel 11: Ezekiel 34 Ezekiel 36: Pre/Post Babylon My servant David My Spirit in you

Scattering out; Gathering in Ezekiel 36: 1-12 To the mountains, hills, ravines, valleys “I will cause My people Israel to walk upon you.”

Scattering out; Gathering in Ezekiel 37 “Dem bones Dem bones Dem dry bones”

Scattering out; Gathering in Joel 3: 1-3 Judging the nations

Scattering out; Gathering in Zephaniah 3: 8, Judging the nations

Scattering out; Gathering in Matthew 25: Judging the nations A sheep? Or a goat?

Scattering out; Gathering in Zechariah 7: Zechariah 8: 7-13 Zechariah 10: 8-10 Desolate land Productive land

Scattering out; Gathering in “….. A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds… a silent mournful expanse…. a desolation…. we never saw a human being on the whole route…. hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.” Mark Twain On a visit to the Holy Land

Scattering out; Gathering in May 14, 1948 Isaiah 66: 7-11 “Can a country be born in a day or can a nation be brought forth in a moment?”

Scattering out; Gathering in Has the desert bloomed? Irrigated land 1948 = ~0

Scattering out; Gathering in Has the desert bloomed? Irrigated land 1948 = ~ = 750 Sq Mi

Scattering out; Gathering in Has the desert bloomed? 1948 = 637 Sq Mi Cultivated land

Scattering out; Gathering in Has the desert bloomed? 1948 = 637 Sq Mi 2007 = 1680 Sq Mi Cultivated land

Scattering out; Gathering in Has the desert bloomed? 1948 = 27 Sq Mi Vegetable Cultivation

Scattering out; Gathering in Has the desert bloomed? 1948 = 27 Sq Mi 2005 = 254 Sq Mi Vegetable Cultivation

Scattering out; Gathering in Has the desert bloomed? = 4X Increase All Agricultural Land

Scattering out; Gathering in Has the desert bloomed? 1948 = $6 Million 2009 = $67.5 Billion Exports

Scattering out; Gathering in Are the Jews returning? = 30, = 40,000 W.E. Blackstone Theodor Herzl Chaim Weizmann

Scattering out; Gathering in Are the Jews returning? = 35, = 82,000 Balfour Declaration

Scattering out; Gathering in Are the Jews returning? = 197,000 Rise of Nazi Germany = 82,000 World War II

Scattering out; Gathering in Are the Jews returning? = ~500,000 Total Immigration

Scattering out; Gathering in Are the Jews returning? = ~688, – decline to 1986 low of 9500 immigrants After May 1948

Scattering out; Gathering in Are the Jews returning? = ~376,000 then decline to 2009 = 14,500 immigrants After May 1948

Scattering out; Gathering in Are the Jews returning? 1948 = 806, = 7.5 Million Population Over 3 million Jewish immigrants 5.66 million Jews

Scattering out; Gathering in Are the Jews returning? More Jews in Israel than any other single location in the world (U.S. next) May 2006

Scattering out; Gathering in Total World = 13.3 million Israel = 5.55 million U.S. = 5.3 million France = 490,000 Canada = 375,000 Britain = 295,000 September 2008 (5769) World Jewish population

Scattering out; Gathering in Hebrews 9: “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ…” “New covenant” “Promised eternal inheritance”