Our first stop was the road to Emmaus, where Jesus appeared after His resurrection and explained the Scriptures to two travelers. (Luke 24:13-49).
While there, Arie also showed us the valley where Joshua fought the five kings and the Lord did a celestial time-out for a day so that Joshua could fight with the sun to his back.
We had the morning off to do whatever we wanted, which our group seemed to appreciate.
After lunch we headed to Jaffa (Joppa in the New Testament), where Peter had his vision on the roof of the house of Simon the Tanner. (Acts 10:9-16).
We saw the house tradition says was the house mentionted in Acts. It’s on the dock, and it struck me that when Peter had the vision, which made it clear to him the Gospel was for the Gentiles, i.e, all the world, not just the Jews, Peter would have been looking west with a clear view west into the vastness of the Mediterranean.
The first thing I noticed as we headed south was that we were going downhill, continually. As we did, the grass on the hills slowly morphed into sand and rock. The Dead Sea is the lowest elevation on earth at 1,385 feet below sea level
Our first stop was in Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. One of the first questions one asks here is how peopled survived in an arid land like this, given that the water in the Dead Sea is undrinkable? The answer: cisterns.Those who lived here created an ingenious system of channels to capture and direct the rainwater coming down from the mountains into large cisterns where it was stored until needed.
We stopped next at En Gedi, an oasis where David and his crew camped when he was trying to stay out of the way of Saul’s spear. (I Samuel 23:29; 24:1).
We trekked up the path along the spring, up and up around the rocks, at each level finding a new waterfall collecting into a pool surrounded by steep rock walls. We stopped at one of the higher pools, sat down, took off our shoes and dangled our feet in the water. Cool place. I can see why David came here. Continue reading “Israel Travel Journal, Day 4”
Up early again today, and then off to the Israel Museum to see, among other things, parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls and a back-yard sized recreation of the ancient City of Jerusalem.
Much of what we’ve done thus far has been intended to imprint on our minds a picture of Jerusalem and the surrounding area so when we read the Bible we can visual what we are reading. It’s working.
Last night, now familiar with the surroundings, I spent two hours reading the New Testament narrative, from the Last Supper to Jesus’ trial at Caiaphas’s house. I couldn’t put it down now that I could visualize the places as I read.
Mid-morning found us at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum). Arie gave us a guided tour of the museum, sprinkled with stories he had heard from his father-in-law, who had survived a concentration camp as a fourteen-year old boy, immigrated to Israel and later became a Christian.
The food here is surprisingly good. I say “surprisingly” because when I think about eating out I don’t think “Let’s go for Jewish.”
As usual, today breakfast included food I’d never see before. It is best described as a loaf of sugar. Not knowing this, and wanting to make sure it was sufficiently sweet, I topped it with molasses.
I’m still not sure what it’s called, but I get the concept. Why dress up sugar in cakes, pies and other confectionaries? Just put it in a loaf and go for it.
Our day started with a visit to the Dome of the Rock, a mosque built in the 7th century over the place where it’s believed Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac.
It’s also the place where the Second Jewish Temple was located before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. This place is very important to Muslims and Jews, as places seem to be for both.
From there we went to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the man who had been lame for 38 years. (John 5:1-17). About 100 feet away is St. Anne’s Church, a church built by the Crusaders in the 12th century with acoustics that have to be heard to be believed. After our group of 17 believers entered, we began to sing the hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy, and as our voices filled the sanctuary, the presence of the Lord transformed this historical landmark into a church. Continue reading “Israel Travel Journal, Day 2”
