Day Nine in Israel

3/28/08


Today was another packed day of travel. I can’t believe that we leave to go home soon!
We started in the City of David at the Pool of Siloam (John 9). Hubs led a wonderful devotional here.


This is the source of the Springs of Gihon, the only source of living water in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32:30). We also saw the entrance to Hezekiah’s tunnel. The excavations here are still very new, so scientists have a lot yet to uncover. It was exciting to see the beginning of a new archeological dig!


We hopped back on the bus and headed to the Israel Museum. When we got there, our eyes beheld the most amazing scale model I have ever seen. It is a 1:50 living model of ancient Jerusalem. Every time they find something new, the model makers hop in there and change it. The neatest thing was to be able to see where we had been walking over the past four days. It provided some much needed cohesion for this visual learner!



This museum also houses the Shrine of the Book, the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept (at least some of them). I got to see the Dead Sea Scrolls! It was neat to put that together with our visit to Qumran where the scrolls were found.


Next we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial. I broke Kosher while I was here and I didn’t mean to do so! I ate my dairy sandwich in the meat section of the cafeteria so I could sit with Hubs. Once I realized what I had done, it was too late. I was horrified to think that I could have been incredibly offensive to some in the cafeteria. Other than that blunder, this was a very sobering visit. The children’s memorial was poignant and moving. Candles are reflected infinitely by mirrors with a recording of the children’s names playing in the background. The architect wanted to memorialize not only the children who were murdered, but also the unborn children of pregnant mothers who perished when their mothers were murdered and the future children of the women who were murdered. What a fitting tribute. The museum itself was very good. I think I could have spent a week in there and not seen and heard everything that was there. In many places, there were video testimonies of survivors. I didn’t stay to watch many of them. It’s hard to see a man in his 80s break down at the memory of the horrors that he experienced. The last place that you walk through is the Hall of Names. This is a rotunda structure filled with bookcases holding Pages of Testimony for victims of the Holocaust. Over 2 million are stored there already with room for 6 million.


We made a short stop at St. Peter of Gallicantu (traditional site of Peter’s denial of Christ in Matthew 26:70, Mark 14:70, and Luke 22:58). The coolest part of this site was the ancient steps that were still standing. Jesus most definitely walked on these steps!




Our last stop in Jerusalem was the Garden Tomb. Many scholars do not believe that this was the actual burial place of Jesus. However, it is an excellent example of what a rich man’s tomb (Matthew 27:57-60) would have looked like. There is a wailing chamber inside where the hired mourners would mourn, and only one of the graves had actually been used (the place for the feet had been carved out). Again, the important thing here is that IT IS EMPTY!

The place was serene and very worshipful. There was a group of Nigerians (the ones we kept running into!) “gettin’ their praise on” while we were there, along with many other nationalities of believers. It was beautiful to hear the Word in so many different languages as we made our way around the garden. This is also the place of the traditional Golgotha. This was a place of execution. When it was found, human remains were recovered at the bottom of this cliff. This was a place of stoning. The accused would be at the top of the cliff with his accuser. The accuser would push him off the edge down to a group of people waiting with stones to throw. What a brutal death. Now at the bottom of that hill is a bus station. While we were there, two bombed busses were waiting to be cleaned up. It had been two weeks since the bombing.


Peace is a popular subject these days. It has always been a topic of conversation in Israel. Having walked and seen the vast majority of this country, I can understand why. The landscape is scarred by war – burned out vehicles and tanks, mine fields, rusting barbed wire with flowers growing all around it, war memorials everywhere. Better than any other country, I believe that Israel’s history shows that true peace cannot be bought, negotiated, or won. The only source of lasting peace is the Prince of Peace (Ephesians 2:14, Isaiah 9:6, John 14:7). I am not naïve enough to assume that accepting Jesus as Messiah fixes everything. I can only believe that it starts and ends with Him (Hebrews 12:2). I echo the apostles Paul and John saying “Maranatha (O Lord, come)!” (1 Corinthians 16:22, Revelation 22:20)

Day Eight in Israel

3/27/08


This morning we went to the Temple Mount. What an amazing experience. It was very hard for me to see the Dome of the Rock and a mosque up there instead of the temple. At the same time, I was challenged by the fact that the Jewish people rejected Jesus Christ too. My heart was overwhelmed with burden for their salvation (both the Jews and the Muslims). A member of our group was told to stop touching his wife while we were there (I think he had his hands on her shoulders). Another young woman (not in our group) was asked to put on a sweater because her shirt was a little too short.


The architecture of the Dome was quite ornate and detailed. The architects for these buildings were Christians. All of the columns around the buildings were shipped in from old churches. Interesting, huh?

We saw places to wash (face, hands and feet). And there were groups of women and girls gathered to read from the Koran.


We left the Temple Mount and proceeded to the area of the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount. This was the main entrance to the Temple. These are the steps that Jesus walked upon when He visited the Temple. Do you know why the steps are staggered, one long, two short, one long, two short, etc.? It is to remind people that they are entering a holy place and it prevents them from running up the steps or rushing to “get it over with.”



There were many ritual baths around the Southern Steps, along with a market and money changer booths. The ritual baths gave them a chance to cleanse both symbolically and literally. The market provided the needed animals and supplies for the sacrifices. Remember, when people traveled to Jerusalem, they came from all over Israel. It was a long journey. The animals had to be without blemish in order to be acceptable sacrifices, so obviously they could not make the long trip. The money changers were there to “provide” the correct currency so the sojourners could make their purchases (most of them were crooked and took a large commission for their services).
Once they collected all of the necessary supplies and were ritually cleansed, the people would ascend the steps slowly and reverently through the gate on the left. Once they had completed their sacrifices and worship, they would exit through the right side. The only time it was reversed was if the person was in trouble, in mourning or unclean. This was not to ridicule the person, but rather a sign for the people to pity the person and intercede on his/her behalf.


To encourage themselves along during the journey to the Temple, the people would sing the Psalms of Ascents (Psalm 120-134, because they were going “up” the mountain to Jerusalem). If you take a close look at this section of the Psalms, you will notice that these are unique because they lead a person through the process of preparing his heart for worship. (Our tour guide sang one of these Psalms to us while we were in St. Anne’s Church. It was magnificent.) Also, they traveled in large groups with everyone in their family (parents, siblings, spouses, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins). So, for Mary and Joseph to not notice that Jesus was missing from the group (Luke 2:41-51) was not an example of bad parenting. Rather it was a reflection of the culture of family that is so important to Jews.


After lunch (pizza again!), we went to the beginning of the Via Dolorosa and traveled it. We began at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5). The ruins were quite beautiful, but my favorite spot was inside St. Anne’s Church. The acoustics in that place were amazing. It was such a worshipful atmosphere. We sang “I Love You Lord” while we sat in the pews. That song is so simple and so “old school” but it was perfect for that setting. We were magnificently assisted in lifting our voices to worship Him by the stones. It was a good preparation for our next site.


We went to the Antonia, the Roman fortress in Jerusalem. This is where Jesus was tortured according to the game Basileus.

In this game, the prisoner is made “king” for the time being, dressed in a robe, given a reed and gets a crown of thorns placed on his head (Matthew 27:27-31, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:1-5). The executioners make their way around the game board, with each move representing another act of torture for the prisoner. Once the game pieces make it to the sword, the time has come for the execution. Hannah led a devotion here, during which the call to prayer rang out again. Then we moved on to the next station. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been for Jesus to walk that narrow market street being strapped to a timber (the cross bar of the Cross), unable to protect Himself during the busiest time of the year (Passover). He had to have run into things and people. I’m sure that people took free shots at His exposed torso, especially since it was obvious that He was a prisoner headed to execution.


Once we arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I was tired. Then as we walked in I was utterly disappointed in what I saw. I understand the importance of this place for some people. For me, I could not get past the ostentatious décor of the place. I heard someone say that Jesus might want us to melt all that gold and feed some hungry people with the money. I waited in line to crawl underneath an altar and stick my hand down a hole to touch a piece of rock. Granted, that rock is incredibly important to my faith. It is where my Savior paid the price for my sin. But I sure couldn’t see it! I only felt it, and only for a second before the line had to move on. Then we walked down the stairs to the place of Jesus’ tomb. We decided not to wait in the 2 hour line to peer through a little hole and see that IT IS EMPTY! We did, however, get to crawl around a typical first century tomb. I hope that I did not come across sarcastically through this description. I found myself incredibly frustrated by this part of the trip (I was warned of that possibility by others who had visited before). The point is that the tomb is empty because my Savior is risen from the dead! That’s all I need to know! Another piece of irony: as we were walking out of the Church, we saw Imams from India entering the site. Hmmm.


The Western Wall was in my top three of the places we visited. This is the location of the Wailing Wall. So, what is so special about the Western Wall? What’s wrong with the Southern Wall or the Eastern Wall? The answer lies in the orientation of the Temple on the Temple Mount. When the Temple was still standing, the Holy of Holies (where the Presence of the Lord rested on the Mercy Seat placed atop the Ark of the Covenant) was at the rear of the building. The High Priest entered from the East and moved West toward the Presence. So, the Western Wall is the closest that the people can come to the where the Ark rested. The Jewish people believe that the Presence of God has never left this place (a falsehood because It left when Jesus left the Temple for the last time). That is why this is such a holy place for them. The most orthodox Jews wash their hands before entering, being sure that their heads are covered, phylacteries tied on their foreheads and around their hands (Deuteronomy 6:8), prayer shawls over their shoulders. They approach the wall slowly and with reverence, praying the whole way. They rock their bodies back and forth in order to engage their whole being (all your heart, soul and strength - Deuteronomy 6:5). Once they have reached the wall, they usually cover their heads with their prayer shawls creating a prayer closet. When they have finished their prayers, they remove the shawl from their heads and slowly back away from the wall, not wanting to turn their backs on the Presence.




I felt like I needed to pray at the Wall, mostly to say that I had done it. Once I got there, I had tears in my eyes because I was so thankful that the Presence of Almighty God resides in me by way of His Holy Spirit living in me. (I’m crying as I type this.) I can spin around in circles and not turn my back on Him! His presence is mobile as long as I am mobile! As I placed my hand on the wall to pray, little balls of paper fell out of the cracks of the wall. I was amazed by the fact that I can boldly approach the throne of grace with confidence. Because my Jesus is interceding for me, I can present my requests to Him. How awesome is my God! How wonderful is my Jesus! How blessed am I!

Soccer: truly the international game!

Day Seven in Israel

3/26/08


We started our day at the top of the Mount of Olives overlooking the city.
The religious diversity of the city is striking from this viewpoint. You can see the tops of mosques and minarets, church bell towers and, of course, the Star of David. Some people chose to ride a camel at this location. It looked incredibly uncomfortable to me. Once all the photo opportunities were exhausted, we started down the mountain, following the likely path of Jesus on Palm Sunday.
Because the Mount of Olives faces the Eastern Gate and is outside the city, there are hundreds of graves, Jewish, Christian and Muslim. Some of these are from ancient times. In fact, there is one marked Sarah’s Daughter from 10 B.C.

We stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane. What a beautiful place. The church there has made it quite a tranquil spot. There are very old olive trees and beautiful flowers.
I finally realized today that I have spent my time so worried about getting all the pictures. I have forgotten to be in the moment and truly reflect on where I am and what I am seeing. So while I was in the Garden I took some time for myself and prayed. Then when I walked into the church on the premises, the monks were singing a Gregorian chant. It was beautiful. What a nice way to finish a meditative time! We crossed the street and visited the cave where Jesus was likely arrested.


The Kidron Valley separates the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. It is not an easy climb! We drove by the Potter’s Field (Matthew 27:3), the Pool of Siloam (John 9), and the newly found ruins of the City of David. From there we headed into the city.


Once inside the city gates, we visited the tomb of King David (I think it is the traditional site).This is a place of prayer for many Jews as their connection to King David is very strong. The stones upon which this place is built were from a first century synagogue where the disciples likely worshiped. We went up the stairs to the site of the Upper Room (Mark 14:15, Luke 22:12, Acts 1:13; the place is accurate while the building is Medieval construction).


We traveled through the ancient Zion Gate into the Old City of Jerusalem. We ate lunch in the Jewish Quarter and had pizza! Yum-o! This was funny because you can’t get pizza with meat on it because it is not kosher to combine meat and dairy. There were lots of veggie combos to choose from, including a pizza with corn on it! Hubs and I both got cheese pizzas. We got to spend some time in the market. What a cool experience. The Jewish market and the Muslim market are right next to one another. The differences between the two were marked. The Jewish market was “upscale” with very little bartering. The Muslim market was more like what I expected. Someone was always offering you something. The walkway was much more crowded. And they had everything from meat to industrial size brooms to jewelry to undergarments. It was an amazing array and very colorful.


We visited The Wohl Museum of Archeology. Just like every other archeological discovery in Israel, this complex of mansions was found while digging for a foundation. Many scholars believe that this could have been the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where Jesus was taken after His arrest (Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53, Luke 22:54, John 18:12-15). This was an exquisite home, a mansion even by today’s standards, overlooking the Temple Mount. I look forward to the day that all of these mysteries are solved. It will clarify so much!


Some observations: I have noticed so many unaccompanied children. Kids that are Gator’s age (5) are responsible for walking their younger siblings who are Bull’s age (2) to and from school. I could not imagine allowing such a thing! Another observation is that kids are kids are kids are kids. It does not matter what side of the world you are on, kids all act alike! I loved watching the children play and run and shout. There was a little Muslim boy, probably 5 years old, wearing a US Army vest. We saw something quite humorous in its irony: an ultra-Orthodox young man in his early twenties text messaging a friend on his cell phone. The clash between modernity and traditionalism is evident everywhere you turn here.


This was another tiring day, but I am glad to finally be in Jerusalem! I can’t wait to see the rest of the city!

Day Six in Israel

3/25/08


Mt. Carmel was our first stop today. How amazing to be in the place that Elijah called fire down from heaven and showed those prophets of Baal how powerful the One True God really is! (Read the entire story in 1 Kings 18:20-40.) Unfortunately, the haze was very thick this morning and we couldn’t see very far. Apparently the view is absolutely amazing!


On our way to Megiddo, we drove by an incredible example of a rolling stone tomb, similar to the one in which Jesus was laid (though Jesus' was much larger since it belonged to a wealthy man).There are tombs everywhere around here. They are carved out of the sides of the hills. Most of them have been emptied and the remains buried elsewhere. But it is pretty fascinating stuff!

Megiddo was a highly strategic city during Biblical and modern times. Joshua conquered this city (Joshua 12:21). Gates from the time of Solomon still stand (1 Kings 9:15). King Josiah died here (2 Kings 23:29). Deborah sang about Megiddo (Judges 5:19). In modern history, Napoleon conquered this city and Allenby defeated the last of the Ottoman Empire here. And one day Jesus Christ will reign victorious here (Revelation 16:16)! The view of the Valley of Jezreel was amazing. Again, I wish it had been clearer. The water system they had in this place was impressive as well.


Caesarea by the Sea has probably been #2 on my list of favorites so far. What a beautiful place! It is no wonder Herod had an amazing palace here. The aqueduct stretching along the coastline was a marvelous structure!

The port here stretched a mile into the sea. It was that busy! This was the center of Roman government for during the first century. Peter had a most important (and pertinent to this Gentile) vision here and ministered to Cornelius (Acts 10). Philip the evangelist and his four prophetess daughters lived here (Acts 21:8). Paul had a hearing with King Agrippa and then left from this port in order to sail to Rome for his appeal to Caesar (Acts 25-27:1). Hubs and I walked down the original steps to the pier that Paul would have walked as a prisoner on his way to Rome.

Hubs raced our friend Hannah in the Hippodrome. Herod had a tidal swimming pool constructed here in the Lower Palace.

I wish we could have spent more time here. But we had to rush to make it to Bethlehem before they closed the Church of the Nativity for the night.

Our visit to Bethlehem was the most poignant of the trip I think. It crystallized the religious tension that exists here. As we pulled up to the gate, we read a sign that said “No Israeli Citizens allowed!” We had to get off of our bus and onto another one with a different guide to cross into the West Bank, leaving our Israeli driver and guide behind. Ironically, our new tour guide was a Christian (as best we could tell). He did an excellent job with our tour. As we were driving toward the church, there was a traffic altercation behind us. The men jumped out of the cars, got clubs from their trunks and commenced to having it out. Unreal. In order to get in the church (I think that there are 5-6 sharing this site), we had to duck! The opening had been closed in long ago in order to protect the church from invaders. Once inside, we saw amazing lamps hung everywhere.

After an orientation, we descended the steps to the place (most scholars believe that it really did happen here) where the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).
I was moved to tears - not by the site because it was all “gussied up” - but by the fact that a teenage mother birthed the Son of God and placed Him in a manger all swaddled up right here (Luke 2:1-20). I was struck by the beauty and sheer terror of that moment. I can’t imagine the thoughts she would have had knowing that she was holding her own salvation in her arms, and was also responsible for raising Him! I am familiar with that beautiful terror having held my own children moments after their births, and holding them now at 5 and 2 years old. Oh the responsibility! Oh the joy! We also passed by the Shepherd’s Field, where it is likely the shepherds heard the announcement of the angels. They would not have had very far to run to see the newborn King!


Once we arrived at the Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, got settled and were dozing off to sleep, we could hear gunfire in the distance.


Silent Night, Holy Night.
All is calm, all is bright round yon virgin mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace…

Day Five in Israel

3/24/08


This morning when I woke up I wanted to scratch my eyes out from them itching so badly! It took a long time until I felt better. I feel like I missed most of the day because I felt so yucky. Oh, and I twisted my ankle walking on all those uneven stones! Enough complaining though…we saw some really cool stuff today.


First stop was Kursi in the region of the Gadarenes (also called Gerasenes), where the miracle of the swine happened (Matthew 8:23-34, Luke 8:26-39). I’ve always wondered why there was a herd of swine (being unclean animals of course). Were they domesticated? Who owned them? What did they use them for? Well, we asked! This area of the Galilee was heavily influenced by Greek and Roman culture. There were pagans living here and it would not have been a big deal for them to have swine. Can someone say bacon? The coolest thing about this miracle is the fact that the demons knew who Jesus was and who His Daddy was.


Mt. Betal in the region of the Golan Heights was our next stop. From this vantage point, you could see well into Syrian territory.

This mountain played a major role in a few wars (I can’t remember details though I’m sure Hubs knows). This is close to Golan, one of the cities of refuge mentioned in Joshua 20:7-8. We could also see the Road to Damascus which still follows the same path that it followed when Paul was visited by the risen Christ (Acts 9). An interesting observation: there were 2-3 school field trip groups that were visiting here at the same time we were here. Every single one of them had armed guards escorting them. Apparently, it is a law that school children have armed escorts whenever they are away from school grounds. It saddens me that these children have to grow up in a place that is characterized by terror and hatred.


We headed to the Nimrod Fortress next. I sang Amazing Grace in the Refrectorium (dining hall) with Hannah, a good friend of mine. Great acoustics! There were lots of hidden passageways and little spiral staircases to explore. Fun! I had to keep making my camera flash in order to see my way down one of the staircases. At one time, assassins used its unmatched panoramic views to attack travelers on their way to Damascus.

We loaded up and pointed toward Caesarea Phillipi. This spring fed stream (Banias) at the base of Mt. Hermon (many scholars believe this to be the Mount of Transfiguration) joins with another to make the headwaters of the Jordan River. Around Jesus’ time, there was a massive complex of temples dedicated to Pan. According to Greek and Roman mythology, the entrance to the River Styx (afterlife) was here.

It is interesting then to note that the conversation between Peter and Jesus recorded in Matthew 16:13-19 happened here. The disciples had a very real picture of the Gates of Hades in their minds! And they were at the foot of a huge mountain, so the imagery of the “rock” upon which the church would be built was plain. It is amazing to see what the disciples and Jesus were seeing as He taught them. Like any good teacher, He used His surroundings-tangible, seen things and places- to enrich His lessons. The depth of my Savior becomes more obvious with each place we visit.


We also toured the ruins of Herod Agrippa’s palace here (he had many other palaces). We saw 1st century air conditioning: they diverted some of the water to flow through a covered walkway under stones that were separated by six inches. I have to say that as soon as I walked in, I cooled down. I was quite impressed with the effectiveness of such simple technology.
We moved on to the lush Tel Dan. This area is replete with natural vegetation. We hiked over rocks and streams, crossed bridges over rushing water, and stopped at the main spring. What a beautiful setting to read Psalm 42:1- “As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, O God.” Our next stop was the polar opposite of such beauty. We hiked the trail to the High Place, the setting of King Jeroboam’s altar (1 Kings 12). At this point in history, Solomon had already built the temple in Jerusalem and centralization of worship was in full swing. So, everyone left to go to Jerusalem twice a year to sacrifice (Passover and Yom Kippur). Well, Jerry was left defenseless in a highly contested region of Israel (along the Syrian border) and didn’t like that too good. So, he built the Jews an altar, similar in size to the one in Jerusalem. And he threw in a massive golden calf for good measure (1 Kings 12:27-29). How dangerous it is to violate God’s commands! This was the beginning of a terrible time for the Israelites that ultimately led to their captivity by Assyria and then Babylon. My heart was grieved to see the evidence of such blatant disobedience, though the Holy Spirit quickly reminded me of my own high places in need of tearing down.



We moved on to the recently unearthed Canaanite Gate. This is the one of the most ancient finds in Israel, dating back to the time of Abraham. In fact, he would have seen this gate on his way to rescue Lot from the northern kings (Genesis 14:14-16). For the record, that’s a long way to pursue somebody! We also saw Solomon’s walls of Dan. This was a good example of city wall construction, and is similar to the walls that fell at Jericho (Joshua 6). The only extra-Biblical reference (found to date) to the “house of David” was found here. The King of Damascus, Hazael, boasted of his victory over the king of Israel and the house of David.


Phew! What a busy day. Tomorrow we head to Jerusalem!

Day Four in Israel - Part 2

At Ginosar, we visited the Ancient Galilee Boat. This was a fishing boat discovered in the Sea of Galilee during a terrible drought. They carefully excavated it and discovered that it was from the first century. This is the type of boat that from which the fishermen disciples would have fished and on which Jesus and the disciples would have traveled across the Sea of Galilee. What an amazing piece of history.










Our next stop was the traditional Mount of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7). This was a beautiful and serene place. The landscape consisted of rolling hills overlooking the Sea of Galilee. I truly enjoyed this setting. Although there was a church built on the site, it was done in a way that wasn’t overbearing or ridiculous. Looking at the hills, it was easy to imagine a large crowd gathered with children running through the long grass, listening to the Master Teacher talk about life in such a practical way.





In stark contrast to the last site, Korazim was a place in total ruin (Matthew 11:20-24). Jesus walked these streets and performed miracles here. Yet they did not repent. May we learn from their mistakes! May we learn to recognize the work of His hand! We saw a Christ Crown of Thorns tree. This is the tree traditionally believed to have been used to make crowns of thorns for prisoners destined for execution. There are two types of thorns, long straight ones and short hooked ones, making this perfect for a tool of torture. Within the synagogue, there was a Seat of Moses. This is where the Rabbi sat to read the Torah and the Prophets. So, when Jesus came to the various synagogues to teach, He would have sat on one of these.

Next we went to Capernaum. This became Jesus’ home away from home (Matthew 4:13, Mark 2:1), and was Peter’s hometown. It was here that He performed many of His more well-known miracles, including the healing of the paralytic lowered through the roof by friends (Mark 2:1-12) and the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31,Luke 4:38-39). He taught in this synagogue many times (Mark 1:21). And yet this city was one of the cities that Jesus cursed for not repenting (Matthew 11:20-24). Once Jesus had ascended and the disciples began house churches, this is where Peter’s flock would have met.









We moved on to Bet She’an, the site of a very old city dating back to 5th Century BC and magnificent Roman ruins. The bodies of King Saul and his sons were displayed on the city walls here (1 Samuel 31), King David conquered this city and it became the administrative center of King Solomon’s reign. During the time of Christ, Bet She’an was one of the cities of the Decapolis and was the most important city of northern Israel. It was destroyed in 749 C.E. by an earthquake at night (no bodies were found in public places). When I climbed to the top of the Tel (hill) overlooking the city, all of the columns were toppled in the same direction. It was crazy to see the obvious effects of the earthquake. The theater here was beautiful. Some of the people in our group performed a little skit on the stage. Pretty cool. The Roman bath house was quite sophisticated. There was also a public lavatory that we got to see. Hmmmm. All of this was very impressive considering the time that it was built. When we were on the way down from the Tel, we came across a shepherd with his sheep. As the shepherd clicked once, the sheep immediately followed. I was reminded of John 10:27 where Jesus says this, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…” What a neat visual image of a profound truth.









Yardenit Baptismal site is the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus (there is new evidence suggesting that the actual site may have been on the east bank of the Jordan, not this site). Yardenit means “little Jordan” and is actually a spring that feeds the Jordan River. The water here is beautiful and the setting is serene. As we waded into the water, we could see some large catfish swimming close to us; ironic considering that catfish are NOT kosher. There were probably 40 different languages quoting Mark 1:9-11. That was amazing. This is verse 11 in Hawaii Pidgin: “Had one voice from da sky wen say, “You my boy! I really love and aloha fo you, an I stay good inside cuz a you!” I love it!

We are exhausted today. But it has been an unforgettable Resurrection Day! He is Risen INDEED!

Day Four in Israel - Part 1

3/23/08


He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!


It is Resurrection Day and I am in Israel. Wow. Ok, on to our recap.


We began this morning with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee from another Kibbutz at En Gev. Once we got to the middle of the lake, the drivers turned off the engines, and we just looked around. Then we had us some church! Dr. Nelson Price has been doing our morning devotionals. He’s quite an amazing man and has been to Israel 37 times. Sitting in the middle of the lake looking around was surreal. Jesus walked on water here. So did Peter. Jesus calmed the storm here. The disciples made their living as fishermen here. As I turned around I saw Capernaum, Tiberias, Genassaret, Magdala the Gadarenes, the city on a hill, the delta of the Jordan River, and Mt. Carmel in the distance. Seriously? This is one of my favorites so far. No wonder Jesus chose this area to teach. The voice carries on the water in an amazing way because you are almost completely surrounded by mountains. Also, it wasn’t hard to see how a nasty storm could come up with no warning. There was a break in the mountains with a sheer cliff. The wind funnels into the bowl of the lake and then has no way to escape. When you see the landscape, the Bible truly does start to come alive. Things make a lot more sense.


We docked at Ginosar. As we were walking up the dock, we met Nigerian Christians on a pilgrimage to Israel. The instant connection was beautiful. They shook hands with every single one of us and wished us a Happy Easter. Some of them insisted on giving us hugs! Apparently, the government of Nigeria has paid for Muslims to make a Hajj. One of the leaders in the recent past was a Christian and decided that the government could pay for Christians to make a pilgrimage to Israel too. I think they use a lottery system for selection. From what other people have said, we will be running into them often during our tour. The Holy Spirit recognizes itself and the kinship is instantaneous. Oh the things we have to learn as American Christians. The unity of the universal church was refreshing today.

Day Three in Israel

3/22/2008
The beauty of this region is breathtaking. The lake is beautiful and glassy. The cities are so white against the green mountains. Our guide showed us a picture of this area in 1908. It was a wasteland, though you would never know it by looking at it today! It’s amazing what can change over the course of 100 years.

We drove to Nazareth this morning. We didn’t actually tour the city. Instead we went to an overlook. Ancient Nazareth is in the middle of modern Nazareth (this wasn’t the case for most of the ancient cities). There isn’t much to see, just a courtyard and a church. At the very top of the hill, there was a Christian church and beside it stood a minaret. This is so telling of the tension that exists here. On the other side of the overlook, a massive valley stretched before us, the Valley of Jezreel (which contains the plain of Megiddo). It’s not hard to imagine all the armies of the earth assembling there to battle Jesus and His army. We get to visit Megiddo later this week.






Zippori, a Roman city, was the next stop today. The ruins were pretty cool. The cardo, or main street, still had the ruts from the wagon wheels in it. The mosaics on the floors of the buildings were magnificent. There is one called the Mona Lisa of Zippori because her eyes follow you when you walk. This place had indoor plumbing and a theater, along with numerous other buildings.






On the way to our next stop, Gilla told us about the reforestation efforts going on in Israel. The government actually plants a tree for every child that is born. How cool is that? People also plant trees in honor of the deceased, anniversaries, birthdays, marriages and other big events, etc. Americans could learn something there!

Next up was the coastal city of Acco, and the ancient city of Acre. We had three options for lunch today: schwarma (shaved lamb in a pita), falafel (similar to hush puppies but made of chick peas in a pita), or chicken schnitzel (breaded chicken in a pita). Hmmm. Interesting. The guy that owned the restaurant was the picture of capitalism. He kicked some kids out because he needed the table. It was a sight to behold!

There was a Muslim couple having wedding pictures taken in the ancient city of Acre. Oh the irony. Acre was a crusader city. The refectorium (dining hall) was massive. It took four men to reach all the way around one of the stone pillars. We experienced the Templars tunnel too. We emerged into the Turkish market. That was cool. It was our first true interaction with the people of Israel, though these people were mostly Muslim. The tension between the traditional Muslim and the modern Muslim was striking. The traditional women were of course dressed very modestly with their heads covered. The modern Muslims were dressed… how shall we say… immodestly. The looks exchanged were priceless. Those looks were only topped by the looks our group (all 50 of us Southern Baptists with a Jewish guide) got when we mistakenly joined a Hamas (green flags and all) parade celebrating Muhammed’s birthday. Oh the joy. The streets are so narrow that we could not get around them.

We walked along the coast too. The water was beautiful, almost as clear as the pictures I have seen of Greece. There were kids jumping off a very high wall into the sea below. Some of those kids couldn’t have been more than 8 years old. Crazy!





We ended the day by driving to Israel’s northern most coastal boundary, Rosh Ha’Nikra. We walked up to the Lebanon border and watched gun boats patrolling the border. We got a few shots of the young Israeli soldiers working there (all Israeli citizens serve in the army for a minimum of three years). The beauty of the coastline was breathtaking. I wanted to go swimming!

Day Two in Israel

3/21/2008
Early this morning, my body revolted and woke up around 1 am. I didn’t fall asleep again until 3 am. Ugh. Jet lag. The thing that we couldn’t get over was the dead silence in the desert night. Not even crickets were chirping. Nothing. It was fitting given the starkness that I woke to this morning. It reminds me of the deserts in western US: rocks, scrub brush, and sand.


On our way to breakfast this morning, two little boys were running after one another. The first boy had on a spiderman outfit, including mask. The second boy was wearing a knight’s outfit, and was wielding a sword. I laughed out loud when I heard a string of words in Hebrew come pouring out of their mouths. I’m sure they were saying “hi-ya” and “I’ll get you, bad guy!” I’m convinced that there is something attached to that Y chromosome that crosses all barriers!


We saw the Wilderness of Zin, where Hagar and Ishmael wandered after being turned out from Beersheva by Abraham (Genesis 21:14). I can understand Hagar’s distress. It wasn’t the first time she fled into the wilderness either (see Genesis 16). That Sarah could be persnickety! This was the area in which the Israelites wandered for forty years as well (Numbers 14).


We visited the ancient ruins of Tel Beer Sheva. When we ascended the watch tower in the city, the circular layout became obvious. When the area was under siege, all of the people living outside the walls would run to the city for refuge. The storehouses were massive and numerous, as was the water storage system. I also understood the importance of the city gates, defensively and politically. All of the dealings of the court were done in the public eye, at the gates. Quite a contrast with the methods of today. We also saw a tamarisk tree (Genesis 21:33).


We pointed east and headed to Tel Arad (mentioned in Numbers 21:1, Joshua 12:14, and Judges 1:16). There was a temple inside the fortress (Josiah destroyed this temple), complete with a women’s court, an altar and a Holy of Holies. Within the Holy of Holies, there were two memorial stones (like the one described in Genesis 28). Interestingly, our guide stayed in the Women’s Court.


Heading further east, we stopped at Masada, the fortress for Jewish freedom fighters fighting the Romans. At its inception, Masada was a winter palace for Herod the Great. The opulence was obvious even after thousands of years. Hubs hiked the snake path (I took the cable car) that hundreds of Jews would have used to flee the Romans. Imagine being pregnant or elderly, carrying that which was most important to you, hiking up the steep slope to your salvation. Then, watching every single person around you dies, by their own hand, rather than be taken prisoner by the Romans. Wow. What a history.

We followed the coast of the Dead Sea north to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. This place was home to a sect of Jews called Essenes. They were quite devout in their practice and left evidence of their extreme lifestyle. There were ritual baths, a large hall for dining, and other artifacts. Obviously, there attention to detail resulted in the preservation of the entire book of Isaiah along with numerous other scrolls, lending textual reliability to the ancient Hebrew texts. It was incredible to see the cave where the majority of the scrolls were found.








We traveled just a few miles north to the town of Kalia where we took a dip in the Dead Sea. It was beautiful from a distance, given that you could see the salt formations under the water.








However, up close, the water was yucky. It felt a little bit like mineral oil. Blech.








We continued north along the Jordan River to the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee to our Kibbutz at Ma’agan. On the way, we passed by the probable site of Jesus’ baptism (scholars believe that John’s ministry was between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea). We couldn’t visit though because it is under Palestinian control. We also saw the lights of Jericho. I would have loved to visit there!