ELON MOREH - WHERE ISRAEL'S STORY BEGAN
by David Kiern
The story of man began in Eden. But what about the story of Israel and the Jewish people? Where did it begin?
There is a mountain in the heart of the Promised Land; a mountain seldom visited by the masses, but well known in the hearts of the Jewish people throughout the centuries. This mountain is Elon Moreh, and it is the place where the story of Israel began.
“Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the people that they acquired in Haran, and they left to go to the land of Canaan, and they entered the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land as far as the place of Shechem, as far as Moreh’s big tree. (The Canaanites were in the land then.)
Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, ‘I will give this land to your seed.’ So there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.”
GENESIS 12
Abraham listened to God's call, left his home behind and set out to reside in the place God would show him. He journeyed out of ancient Mesopotamia, not knowing where his final destination would be. After many years and a trek of over 2000 miles, he entered the land of Canaan. When Abraham set foot on the mountain of Elon Moreh, God told him to stop and to look out over the land. As Abraham looked out over the mountains and the valleys that would one day be called Israel, God promised to give this land to him and his descendants. This promise of God is the single most repeated promise in the Hebrew Bible, later affirmed by Stephen in Acts and Paul in Galatians.
In 1979, a small Jewish community was founded on this mountain. Their goal was to reestablish the Jewish presence in this region, of which had been devoid for so long. It was the first time the Jewish people had lived here in nearly 2000 years.
Today, more than 250 Jewish families call Elon Moreh home. With its grocery stores, medical clinics, schools and houses of worship, this community looks quaint and typical on the physical level. But on the prophetic level, it's significance is profound. This was the exact place where God made His promise to Abraham, and over 3 millennia later, his ancestors are residing and prospering on this mountain.
Elon Moreh, the place where Israel's story began, is a microcosm of the broader, unfolding story of the modern rebirth of Israel. After centuries of exile, devastation and hardship, the promises God made in the opening chapters of the Bible are coming to pass. The restoration has begun.
"It was here that God first promised my people that He would care for us in this Land. We believe in God and hold strong to His promises."
- SHLOMO KASHI
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