On My Way

Friday Night -- Sabbath

Friday afternoon I finished up my shopping in the Old City streets. Friday afternoon is my favorite time to go there since many people are closing down to prepare for the sabbath so the crowds aren't nearly as big. Friday afternoon the Jewish shops close usually between 2 and 4, museums close, the train stops running and the roads begin to empty as people don't drive on the sabbath.

After dinner I walked to the Church of the Holy Seplachure one more time and then went to see the Western Wall after sunset. It was an amazing sight. The small area that was busy but spacious when we visited as a class was now packed with probably close to 3,000 people who were worshiping, singing, dancing, praying and laughing together. I stood and watched for a long, long time.

The evening wrapped up with goodbyes to many new friends who left very early this morning for the 3 day Jordan Extension class. Honestly, I not jealous of them riding a bus to another hot destination. My taxi leaves at 3:45 a.m. tomorrow morning, so today is laundry and packing. I also plan to walk the top of the wall all around the Old City as my farewell to Jerusalem.

Ancient Site

One more picture for you...A couple of days ago we drove by the ancient site of the first McDonalds. This current structure now rises up above the ruins from the first century BC. There is archeological evidence of many cows being slaughtered here. they also found many stale buns and a couple of beef patties that had enough preservatives in them to still be edible. (Okay...maybe not...)


I just finished my final exam and have one more departure meeting before being officially done with my class by noon. Early Sunday morning I will fly out of Tel Aviv to meet Stacey, Erin and Brant in Zurich for a week of vacation in Switzerland. I probably won't provide posts from our vacation time (who wants to hear about someone else's vacation?). But on July 10, after one day at home, I will head south for the Civil Rights experience. Tune in then for more learning together.


Thank you so much for participating with me (reading, responding, encouraging, praying) on this learning experience. Your partnership and your prayers are a great encouragement to me!

Thursday, June 28 -- Samaria Field Study

Places visited: Nabus (Jacob's Well), Tel Balata (Shechem), Sabastia (Samaria), Shiloh


Our tour of the region of Samaria started in the city of Nabus at the site of Jacob's Well. Knowing the biblical history behind this well (or another well like it in the area) it was interesting to be able to drop the bucket into Jacob's Well and pull up water from deep down in the earth. But Jacob's Well, like so many other sites, has been turned into another "place" with a church built over it and no pictures allowed to encourage visitors to purchase postcards and other items from the table right next to the well.


If anything, the message that Jesus communicated here at this well to the Samaritan woman who came by herself to draw water at the hottest time of the day was one of the first times he dispelled the impression that place is important. When she got uncomfortable with all of the personal insights that Jesus knew about her, she tried to derail the conversation by bringing up the debate about place that was raging between the Samaritans and the Jews -- should worship happen on Mt. Gerazim where the Samaritan temple was located or in Jerusalem where the Jewish temple was located? Which church has it right? (That doesn't sound too different from the denominational debates that derail us often still today.) Jesus didn't enter into the debate because ultimately place doesn't matter. He makes it clear that true worshipers aren't concerned about place. Instead, they worship in the Spirit and in truth.


I heard that lesson spoken again and again in our Samaritan stops. First of all, the people of this region so often missed the truth. In the city of Shechem, this "uncrowned king of the hill country" which became the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Joshua set up the stone of witness centuries earlier. With this stone all of the tribes committed themselves to worship the true God alone in this new land He had given them. But that stone witnessed the eroding of the truth. Nearby in Samaria is where Herod the Great placed one of his three temples where he encouraged worship of the emperor. The prophets Hosea and Amos rail against this city specifically because they relied on "place" -- the temple -- for their salvation. They cried out "The temple! The temple!" believing that going to that place would protect and save them. But their lives were anything but godly. The rich kept on getting richer by abusing the poor and the powerless. The truth of God eroded.


It was here in Shiloh that God also teaches the lesson of worshiping him in Spirit and not relying on a physical presence. It was in Shiloh that the tabernacle was set up and Eli and his sons and then Samuel served God. (It was kind of exciting to see the work in progress where they believe the tabernacle may have stood.) And it was from here that the people of Israel took the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines believing that this physical presence of God would guarantee them victory -- the ultimate good luck charm. But not only did the people of Israel lose the battle, but they also lost the Ark. Upon hearing of the death of both his sons and then the capture of the Ark, Eli fell backwards, broke his neck and died here at Shiloh. God made it clear that he can not be manipulated by people. And true worship of God isn't about a place or an Ark -- it is about his Spirit nurturing and growing and healing and encouraging and transforming our spirit.


"God is Spirit and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." Spirit and truth...knowledge and conviction...head and heart...we need both. It is easy for us to get unbalanced in one direction or another, but both are vital. Without truth we, like the Samaritans, drift farther and farther away from God. And without the Spirit we, like the Samaritans, are going through the empty rituals of religion trusting them instead of the grace of God for our salvation. I need to sit by Jacob's Well and hear Jesus' message to me again. I need to worship both in the Spirit and in truth.

Kingdoms in Conflict

My professor has reminded us a number of times that the hope and desire that many people have that the various world religions can just live together in peace isn't at all what is desired by some of our Muslim brothers and sisters (some Christian and some Jewish brothers and sisters as well). We were reminded of that conflict again today in our visit to Nazareth. In the middle of this now bustling city we spent time at the Church of the Annunciation. As we exited for our walk to the bus, we stopped just outside the Church and looked at this sign. A few years ago it was decided that a mosque should be built right beside the Church of the Annunciation -- a very holy place of worship for our Catholic brothers and sisters. This mosque would tower over the church and the call to prayer would loudly echo into it five times a day. It is only because of a plea from the Vatican itself that construction was halted. This sign was erected when the construction stopped.

I paused to consider our response as Christians. Jesus taught and then modeled a response of love. Yes, we have an urgent message to proclaim to this world and we have a kingdom to usher in, but it is through love that his kingdom will come (remember the beatitudes?). If we could post a billboard right next to this one in response, what verse from the Bible would we put on it?

Wednesday, June 27 -- Galilee Field Study (4)

Places visited: Sepphoris, Nazareth, Mt. Precipice, En Harod, Beth-Shan

Today we sadly left our temporary home in Galilee and returned to our less temporary home base in Jerusalem. (It is amazing how a little bit of familiarity can begin to feel like "home" when you are away from home!) Before we left the region we spent the day at a number of key sites, most of which had to do with the time and ministry of Jesus. That made them especially interesting.


Our first stop was the city of Sepphoris which had been burned down by the Romans in 4 BC and was in the process of being rebuilt by Herod Antipas (son of Herod the Great) in the time of Jesus. The city of Tiberias on the nearby shores of the Sea of Galilee was also being built at that same time. It was interesting to think about what role Joseph might have played in those building projects as a carpenter. Perhaps he was part of one of these massive building projects. Perhaps Jesus helped him. We will never know, but it provides another possible perspective.


Most of the places we visited today were later period cities which had heavy Greek and Roman influences on them. The question of how the Jews were to either fit into or stand firm against the influence of this Greek and Roman culture with is competing values and priorities jumps right out. Do they conform or do they transform? That pressure would have been familiar to Jesus' listeners. And it is into that pressure that Jesus calls them to be "the light of the world" and told them that they "are not of this world" and that Paul urged them not to conform to this world but to be transformed instead. That calling is still ours in the face of a culture that is not only ambivolent toward Jesus Christ and Christianity, but is more and more anti-Jesus and anti-Christian. We are faced with the same dilema...will we conform or will we dare to be different and be transformed by Jesus (which will then transform the culture around us)? Those are our only two options. Jesus told us plainly that he didn't come to take us out of the world. So, either we are conforming or transforming. Which will we choose? Which are we choosing?


One impressive feature of the Greek and Roman construction is the intricate mosaics that they placed everywhere...they couldn't stand open space! These mosaic are true works of art. Millions of tiny squares of stone of all different colors and hues are works of art that often tell a story. They were very impressive in the faded (and often dusty) state that they are now. I can only imagine how impressive they must have been when their colors were fresh and new and vibrant.


It was meaningful to stop for lunch at En-Harod where the spring of Gideon is located. As I knelt by the water and scooped it up with my hand I could imagine being one of Gideon's 300 men going against the thousands of Midianites. I was able to look across the Jezreel Valley and see where that hoard of Midianite soldiers would have been camped and waiting for battle. I was thankful that my moment at the spring was followed by a picnic lunch and not a bloody battle!

Tuesday, June 26 -- Galilee Field Study (3)...with pictures

When Jesus taught us to pray he directed us to ask that God's kingdom come and his will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. We often spiritualize that request and simply think about Jesus' final return when his kingdom will come fully. But Jesus is thinking about something much more practical than that. He is thinking about ushering in God's kingdom right here and right now as we live in this world.

Today's journies got me thinking about kingdoms then and now. We started with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. I was told about it from people who had taken this trip before, so I wasn't surprised when soon after they pushed off they raised the American flag and had us sing the National Anthem. I realize that it was mostly a ploy to get better tips, but seeing the American flag flying here thousands of miles away from home reminded me that our nation is still the mighty kingdom of our age.

We visited a number of sites of significant biblical history like Korazim (the city that Jesus cursed for not paying attention to the mighty acts he performed there), Capurnaum (where Jesus lived and called some of his disciples) and Kursi (most likely the place where Jesus cast the demons into the herd of pigs). All of those cities are gone -- reduced to ruins. In fact, the cities that were built on top of them have also been reduced to ruins.

This land is the story of one kingdom trying to survive as kingdom after kingdom after kingdom comes and goes. Sometimes we are looking at city kingdoms from almost 5000 years ago. Other times we are looking at neighboring kingdoms like the Philistines that are a continual nemmisis to the biblical nation of Israel. Other times we are looking at superpower kingdoms like Egypt and Assyria and Rome that take turns expanding the boarders of their kingdoms as far as they can. Still other times we hear about (or experience) the current nation of Israel striving to maintain their boarders. We have studied what it takes to establish a city and a kingdom here in this land. It takes a good source of water, healthy agriculture, adequate building materials and good roads and lines of communication. History is a continual rising and falling of kingdoms when they lose one of those four vital items or when they are overpowered by an enemy

In Jesus' time kingdom was an important topic of conversation. The Romans were ruling over Israel. Their kingdom was on top. What does that mean for the people of Israel? Do they conform to the ways of the Romans? Do they accept the oppression? Do they resist and revolt and restore their own kingdom? Kingdom was a hot topic.

And it is in that culture that Jesus sat his disciples down on the side of a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee and told them all about his plan for establishing his kingdom. He said,

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

That is a very different kind of kingdom. As I sat at the site commemorating that hillside moment I went off by myself and sat in a grassy area overlooking the sea and tried to listen to what Jesus said that day. Jesus is talking about bringing in his kingdom and he gives his disciples -- he gives us -- a very different picture of what it means to occupy the land. Jesus' plan is to establish the kingdom of God. That is the kingdom that He wants to bring right now. That is the kingdom He wants to see come alive right where he has placed me. That is the kingdom He wants to usher in through me. This profound teaching is exactly what it takes for us to occupy the land for God.

I wondered how well I'm doing that. Am I poor in spirit, willing to mourn, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mericiful, pure in heart, peacemaking, and so righteous that I'm persecuted? Are those the life choices and life behavior that I'm committed to? Is God's kingdom coming through me? What does that look like in West Michigan in 2012? Those are some of the questions I'm exploring through this sabbatical. It was good to worship at (or at least near) the place where Jesus gave us this profound call to kingdom building.

The Jordan River

I got to see (and touch) the Jordan River today. I realize that it is summer and everything is drying up, but it certainly wasn't a huge river. The Grand River is much, much bigger than the Jordan River.

One reason for that (and for why the Dead Sea is shrinking by about a meter each year) is that the Israelis are using water from the Jordan for their irrigation and water needs and the Jordanians likewise are using water from the Yarmuk River (the other major feeder from the north) for their irrigation and water needs. What is left for the Jordan south of the Sea of Galilee is a lot less water and a lot dirtier water.

Interesting fact...the head of the Jordan River is actually in Syria. Back in 1967 Syria tried to divert the whole Jordan River away from Israel and dry them up. That is just one of the events that led to the dramatic 6-Day War in 1967. And you thought you had difficult neighbors...

Monday, June 25 -- Galilee Field Study (2)

Visits to: Hazor/Dan/Ceasarea Philipi/Golan Heights/Katzrim/Bethsaida

We have spent much of our field time exploring ancient sights that have been excavated and trying to imagine what life must have been like in both the Old Testament and New Testament times. Even for someone like me who isn't that enamored by archeology, it has been very interesting. Today, in our field study all around the Huleh Valley north of the Sea of Galilee, I experienced highlights from both ends of the archeological spectrum. We started the day at the excavation site of the ancient city of Hazor which century after century continued to be a very important city rebuilt multiple times on the same site. It was a treat to have the head archeologist come over to speak with us for a few moments about what he is trying to accomplish. He shared not only insights specific to the site, but some interesting technical information about the process. With city built on top of city after city, he has to make the decision on what to keep and what to destroy. In the trench before us were walls and columns from an Israelite city. He has made the decision and tomorrow they will begin destroying that find because they are convinced that there is an older level of city to be found beneath it. To hear some theory of how this ancient "treasure hunt" works was fascinating.


After continuing on to the ruins at Dan (which included a wonderful hike through the woods to get there) and Ceasarea Philipi after lunch, to be honest, all the sites with their low remains of walls and houses and temples and worship centers and gates and palaces, as unique as they all were, were starting to blend together. I think I needed something different.


And Katzrim towards the end of the day provided that for me. At Katzrim they excavated a village which was home to about 70 families somewhere between the 4th and 7th century AD. So, they were not even close to the oldest or largest excavation that we have seen. What made it refreshing for me was that after their excavation and after doing a lot of research they rebuilt one of the homes as close as they could to what it was probably like at the time. They even furnished it with some of the appropriate furnishings. Even though this is well after the time of Jesus, chance are Jesus' home was very similar to this one. Bringing the archeological work all the way from theory to reality was very interesting. Suddenly I could see how a neighbor knocking on the door at midnight would be upsetting when the whole family -- grandparents, parents, kids and grandkids -- are all finally sleeping -- most of them on the floor in the one main room of the house. With the dingy gray stone and dirt floor and very few windows to let light in I can see how it would be very difficult to find a coin that was dropped. With the roof made of wooden branches, leaves and clay I can picture four friends digging a hole in the middle through which to lower their friend. I can picture Jesus as a boy and a young man fully alive in a house like this one. Katzrim isn't a key biblical location or a spectacular archeological find, but it was just what I needed to help pull much of what I have been seeing together...to help bring these rocks to life for me.


I also appreciated sitting in the Golan Heights looking north and east into Syrain territory and hearing the history of the tensions and warfare in Israel with Syria and Lebanon (to the north) and Jordan (to the east) and Egypt (to the south). The tension that has filled this land for millenium continues to fill it today (which we experienced when we were in the southern region near Gaza last week as we read about shells falling in our general area and saw jets making their runs over Gaza). I'm praying especially for the relationship between Israel and Egypt as Egypt's new government steps into power. There has been peace between Israel and Egypt since 1979 and I pray that will continue.

Tomorrow we travel to sites all around the Sea of Galilee including time and worship on the Mount of Beatitudes. I'm looking forward to that very much!

How Ironic

I love to find irony in simple things and I found one today.

This morning we visited Mt. Carmel which is the place where God, at Elijah's request, rained fire down from heaven and defeated Baal and all of his prophets. The Muhraqa Monastery on the top of Mt. Carmel commemorates this spectacular, flame-filled victory. As I walked into the monastery compound, however, I couldn't help but notice and chuckle at the first sign that greeted me. I've pasted a picture of it below. I guess once is enough and they don't want history repeating itself!

Sunday, June 24 -- Galilee Field Study

I am beginning to comprehend the "great" in Herod the Great. While he most certainly wasn't great in terms of virtue or character or spiritual insights, what he was able to accomplish from an earthly perspective was nothing short of spectacular. It seems like every where we go we are finding amazing feats of engineering that he accomplished. First we examined what is left of the temple he built in Jerusalem and remembered what an awe inspiring building that was. Then came the Herodium, his palace fortress just outside of Jerusalem. Even more inspiring was Masadda towering above the shores of the Dead Sea. Now today I was in awe again at the city of Caesarea that Herod built on the shores of the Mediterranean. He turned a nothing town into a spectacular city with a huge theater, a hippodrome for chariot races and a palace that literally hung out over the Mediterranean Sea. But the crowning achievement was the port. This coastal location had no natural port, but that didn't stop Herod from making it the key port city for all of Palestine. He simply built a harbor out into the sea. What an amazing feat. For all of the great things he accomplished, he is the perfect example of not finding satisfaction in the things of this world. He still died paranoid and unloved.


Caesarea was just the first stop as we shifted our home base to Galilee for the next four days. The Jezreel Valley was the focus our day. Mt. Carmel was a highlight for me. The story of Elijah in a "shoot-out" with the prophets of Baal on top of this mountain is one of those Old Testament highlight stories for me. We have and will see plenty of locations of historic battles, but this battle in which God himself displayed his power by raining down fire from heaven is one of the best. I'm grateful to have been on Mt. Carmel.


This broad Jezreel Valley with its seven different entrances is like the kitchen of my house. It is the place where every door way and hallway seems to lead and where people end up meeting together. The same thing happened here throughout history. When armies met, they couldn't meet well in the mountains so they met in this valley. And when enemy forces were moving through the area, the best time to face them would be as they trickle out of one of the mountain passes and into this valley. For better or for worse, this was the place to meet. Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Jezreel, Mt. Tabor, Taanach -- this is where they met. And this is where Revelation 16:16 says that "They gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." In Hebrew "Ha" means mountain or hill. Add that to the city of Megiddo and you come up with Armageddon. It is a fitting name to symbolize the coming together of the enemies of God since Megiddo has been that place for the enemies of Israel for centuries.


The Sea of Galilee was a wonderfully refreshing end to the day. This lake is a gift. In the middle of a dry and dusty land that is a land of testing, this lake provides an oasis. It is around this lake that Jesus did so much. Here he multiplied bread and fish. Here he walked on water. Here taught the beatitudes. Here he calmed the storm. Here is cast out demons into a herd of pigs. Here he did so many other things both amazing and mundane. I wondered tonight if he ever just sat on the shore and watched beautiful sunset like I did. I'm looking forward to experiencing first hand this region that Jesus called home.

Friday Free Day

Today was the day before our second exam so it is labeled as a free day on my calendar. I guess that means we are free to study. I took my freedom a bit further than that and took the light rail train with a couple of friends to Yad Vashem which is the Israeli Holocaust Museum. It was a very, very sobering, moving and powerful experience. Sorry, no pictures since it didn't seem to be the place for picture taking. One holocaust victim wrote before he died that the just hoped that someday someone would remember that [insert his name] once lived. That quote moved this museum to try to gather some basic information on each of the 6,000,000 Jews who were murdered as a memorial to each victim and as kind of a "headstone" so that people will remember that they once lived. I walked on a ramp into the middle of a huge circular room with shelves on the wall all around both up above me and down below me. These shelves are filled with black boxes holding this information alphabetically. The sheer amount of information is overwhelming...and they only have information on 3,000,000 of the 6,000,000 who were murdered. More than once as I walked through this museum did I choke up.


As I sat and reflected towards the end of my time there, I wondered how it is that human beings can possibly treat other human beings like that. They must have been convinced that they were not human or at minimum not worthy of being treated as a human. Isn't that the same attitude our own country had that allowed slavery to flourish? It took a war to change the laws and then a powerful Civil Rights movement to begin to change attitudes and actions (and that process is still going on today). And I wondered how we can still today allow others to be destroyed without lifting a finger to do anything about it. Are the people of Syria who are being killed not worthy of being treated like human beings? Do we not consider them fully worthy of being treated as humans and that is why we can virtually ignore their deaths? It was sobering for me to think about how I can fall into very similar perspectives on people who in some way aren't like me and aren't a part of my daily life. Do I afford everyone I see, encounter, or even just hear about the dignity and value of being a human being created by God and loved dearly by God?


On our way home we stopped by the Garden Tomb. This is the Protestant's attempt to get into the religious "place" business. Since there wasn't room for them inside the Old City, they went outside. Back in the 1800s someone (I can't remember his name right now) found a stone formation in the side of a small cliff that resembled a face or a scull and believed he had found Golgotha -- the place of the scull. Very nearby was an ancient tomb which he suggested could be the tomb where Jesus was buried. It was interesting to see, but I wasn't very convinced. (And it does bother me when the only way out is through the gift shop...)


Since we had missed lunch we stopped in the Old City for a very late shwarma lunch. A shwarma is a pita filled with some kind of meat (we decided it is better not to ask what kind) and veggies and sauce. It is messy and good! I did take a picture of that to make you jealous.


I've been studying all evening and will wrap up soon. Tomorrow is exam and class in the morning and then the afternoon off to get ready for our move up to the Galilee Region for next week's study.

Thursday, June 21 -- Dead Sea Field Study

Our day began and ended with two extreme lifestyles. We started with a hike up and then a hike down Massada -- Herod's palace and fortress near the Dead Sea. Born out of both his love for extravagant living and his paranoia, Massada was a spectacular escape for Herod. With two palaces, a lavish bathhouse with a cold room, a tepid room and a hot room, mosaic inlaid walls and floors, Roman style pillars and painting, plenty of room to roam and huge supply rooms for food and weapons to last a long, long time, this mountaintop destination was the epitome of luxurious living and security. Being there I could just imagine Herod inviting the whos-who of his society to come and spend a week or two with him at his southern resort. (It is ironic that this palace fortress became the last strong-hold of the zealots holding out against Roman occupation. The story of their defiance and ultimately their communal suicide rather than surrender is a sad yet intriguing story.)


We ended our day at Qumran, the community of the Essenes also along the Dead Sea further north. Qumran was a community of men who would leave everything behind (even wives and children) to withdraw from the world for spiritual purity as well as waiting for God to restore his world. Their theology wasn't sound, but it is from them that we have received the Dead Sea scrolls which were discovered in caves all around the area in 1947. Their asceticism stands in stark contrast to Herod's excess.


In between these two experiences the area of the Dead Sea came alive to us. Before lunch we floated in the Dead Sea itself. With 37% solid matter in the water, we floated without any effort. (Sadly this sea is shrinking by about 3 feet a year because of water being siphoned off of feeder rivers by both Israel and Jordan.) But the sea failed to provide a lot of refreshment on this day when the thermometer read 42 degrees celsius (which would be close to 107 farenheight). That refreshment came following another wadi walk -- this one at En Gedi. The hike through the dry canyon with the walls blocking any breeze and the sun bearing down on us was miserably hot. But we were rewarded by a freshwater pool with a beautiful waterfall fed by a powerful spring out here in the desert. This is where Saul assumed correctly that he would find David and his rebel men who had been hiding in the wilderness. I could just imagine David and his men finding relief and refreshment in the same pool I sat in. It is here that David cut off the corner of Saul's robe when David ironically was hiding in the same cave Saul entered. Whenever I read about springs of water in the desert I will think of En Gedi and the joy and relief it brought to me on this hot day. Imagine the joy and relief it brought to David and others throughout history who needed refreshing from their time in the dry and dusty wilderness. (Too bad this was also the one place I forgot to bring my camera.)


We could have used some of that refreshing for our time on the bus. Throughout this scorcher of a day our bus provided just a trickle of air conditioning. For the final leg of our trip the air conditioning went out all together. The last 45 minutes back to Jerusalem was spent in 100 degree heat inside the bus. It was cooler outside than in! In this land designed to test our faith, we passed the test of a hot summer day with little or no air conditioning.

Nahal Zin Climb

Let me teach you one new Hebrew word that we are using a lot in class and in our field excursions: wadi. A wadi is a river bed that is dry most of the year and fills up during the rainy season. I'm having to learn the names of a whole bunch of these wadis.

Nahal Zin, the Grand Canyon of the Negev, was created by a wadi. This morning we had the opportunity to take a "wadi walk". We hiked up the mostly-dry riverbed and then climbed the steep walls of the valley to the top of the canyon. Along the way we encountered a waterfall, steep stone steps carved into the valley walls and a cliff cave that monks used to live in. It was a terrific hike with some spectacular views. I've posted some pictures of the hike that will take you from the bottom all the way up to the top. This excursion definately was a highlight for the day.

Wednesday Quiz

Okay...so no one knows what a Columbarium is. I've posted a picture below to give you a hint. See if that helps.

Your quiz for today is identifying the animal in the picture below. I encountered a lot of them today in the Negev Highlands. Anyone know what they are called?

Wednesday, June 20 -- Negev Field Study

Today I was struck with numbers. Last week Stacey and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary. Twenty-one years is a good long time to be married (and I'm hoping I'm not even half way to the number I'm headed towards!) At age 41 I no longer consider myself a youngster. When there is a call for young men to help carry our lunch coolers from the bus to our picnic area, I realize that I'm not the first person they are calling. In just under two years Ivanrest Church will celebrate it's 50th birthday. The United States has been independent since 1776. That will be 236 years this coming Fourth of July. Jesus was alive and walking on this earth 2000 years ago, and 800 years before that Hezekiah was rebuilding the temple after the Babylonian captivity. King David was alive about 1000 BC which would be over 3000 years ago and Abraham walked into the land of Canaan about 4000 years ago. These numbers ran through my mind as I walked through the remains of a city in Arad which was built in 2800 BC -- 4800 years ago. It was already abandoned and in ruins 200 years before Abraham! There is also a fortress tower at Arad which dates back to 800 BC -- the time of Hezekiah...it seems so "new" in the shadow of this ancient city. Suddenly 41 doesn't feel old at all!


We fly through so many time periods in our studies here in Israel. We did just in our travels through the Negev Highlands and Negev Desert today. Starting this morning at Mizpe Ramon we saw what remains of a typical house from the era of Abraham. In Avdat we learned about the Nabateans who were influential throughout this area from 100 BC to 100 AD. We also looked at the remains of two Byzantine churches on the site which would bring us all the way forward to 4th or 5th century AD. On the edge of the Zin Valley I visited the burial site of David Ben-Gurion who was the first Prime Minister of modern day Israel. In Beer Sheba we went back to the late 800s BC and saw an illicit worship center here away from Jerusalem which was most certainly torn down by one of the godly kings of Israel (Hezekiah? Josiah?). And then we end at 2800 BC with these amazing ruins in Arad. I don't believe I've ever tried to wrap my mind around that long of a period of history, but that is exactly what I needed to do today as I saw that history laid out in front of me.


It made me think about the extent of God's knowledge and his love. All of these ancient cities were populated by people that God knew and loved. Year after year...century after century...millenium after millenium...people lived and breathed and loved and fought and worked and played and laughed and cried just like I am doing right now. And just like God knows and loves me, so he knew and loved them.


In a way that scope of time made me feel really, really small and insignificant. I am just one person in the length and breadth of all history. My few short years will hardly even register on the timeline of history. Yet, on the other hand, that scope of time made me feel very honored. God is shaping and creating his story here on earth throughout history and he has chosen me to be a part of that story. He didn't have to include me, but he did. He arranged all of the details for my arrival and is designing opportunities for my day each morning when I wake up. I get to be a part of His story. What a privilege!


And I too will leave my mark on history. I know that my footprints in the Negev Desert sand have already been blown away, and I doubt that there will be anything left of my house to excavated 2000 years from now. That isn't the kind of mark I will leave behind. Through God's power and grace, my mark will be left in the lives of the people God has given me to love. I pray that God will use me to leave a spiritual mark on the people he has given me to pastor. I pray that God will use me to leave a spiritual mark on my family -- my wife and children. I pray that God will use me to leave a spiritual mark on anyone he places into my life. And I look forward to the length of eternity that I will have with God celebrating the "excavations" of his good work in the "old city" while I live eternally in the "new city" -- the City of God.

(The pictures are all of the ancient city at Tel-Arad. The last three are of what your house would look like if you lived there.)