Day 6

The landscape of Jordan... arid and Halleluiah we are back in Israel!

Cliffs entering Petra.....Most famous cave carving in Petra

Some very smelly Camels and another really cool Cave carving in Petra

March 31, 2008

Bible Study Theme: Preparing for the Future

Places Visited:
Petra

Today we visited the country of Jordan and went to the ruin city of Petra. Pastor Jim taught on how we are seeing a wonderful intersection of time on our trip as we see the past and the future. We can definitely see that the past is real and coming to life so vividly for us. What will the future have in store for the Jews and us too? Well we just need to open our bibles to find out. One of the most obvious signs of the future being told to us is found in Ezekiel 36 -37. These chapters can be summarized in a few ways. First, even though the Jews were scattered throughout the world, Israel became a nation again in one day. Second, the land which was once desolate will flourish with fruit. Well all of us here can see that everywhere the Jewish people are settled, the land is lush and fruitful. In fact, Israel is one of the worlds leading exporters of flowers and fruits and vegetables. So what else does the bible tell us about events yet to come? That’s where Petra comes into the picture. Most bible scholars believe that Petra is the location that the Jews will flee to in the end days. Several verses in the bible paint this picture. Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:13-17, Daniel 11:40-41, Isaiah 16:1-5, Isaiah 26:20-21 and Isaiah 42: 9-11, all point to the fact the Israel will flee into the wilderness to seek refuge provided by God. That wilderness is most likely a mountain region in Edom, Moab and Ammon. These three regions are located in present day Jordan. I’m not exactly convinced that Petra is the exact place of refuge, but likely one of many places. In the bible passages above, Moab is mentioned more than Edom as the location of the wilderness, but this topic could be debated at length. The point is that Israel will flee into the wilderness of Jordan and the Lord will provide safety for them. And our tour took us to parts of that wilderness… Petra.

I must be totally honest here, I did not like being outside the borders of Israel! Some of our group really enjoyed the whole experience, but as for me…I had a narrowed point of view. The first thing that struck me were the people and me feeling like I was not safe anymore outside of Israel’s borders. We did keep hearing from Nir that Jordan was the “nice” neighbors but I was still uneasy. We waited in the street outside the border crossing for a long time, while the Jordan officials took our passports and did who knows what? All the people smoking like freight trains really annoyed me to no end, but that annoys me back in the state as well. When we finally got permission to leave the border crossing and start our long drive to Petra, I could not help but notice the landscape. In Israel the land was lush and green and liter free for the most part. The land in Jordan was desolate and dry, with trash everywhere. It was like their local dump was the side of the highways. Another thing that I was less than impressed with was the food. We ate at a restaurant just prior to going to Petra. It was a buffet and seemed to have a large selection of food items, none of which we had any idea what they were. Just like in Israel our favorite meal time conversation was, “What is that?” followed by “I don’t know, what is that?” followed by a puzzled look of the unknown. Typically we didn’t care and just ate everything anyway, because we had just walked a marathon that day and needed to replenish our calories… Did I mention the giant black bug a few of us found on the buffet table in Jordan? Well, we didn’t tell the others either, since who knew when we would eat again and didn’t want to ruin it for the rest of the group. So the cat is out of the bag.

In spite of the cockroach on the lunch table, Petra was really amazing! No wonder it is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is something that you just have to see for yourself. Pictures just don’t do it justice. Walking through the canyons we were typically looking up in amazement at the Lords creation. One of the challenges of this was avoiding the horse, donkey and camel dung! The group split up and explored on our own. Mom and I found Petra really cool, but have some advice for future travelers. Be prepared to be hounded by every peddler within eyesight and take some cash for the restroom or hold it for quite a while. We found out that only about 7% of Petra is excavated and the area is about 45 square miles. (That’s what the guide said anyway.)

Things I learned in Israel today:

The most important part of this day trip was what the Lord revealed to me on our return to Israel. But first we must start off with a little history:

In the Genesis 15-17 and Genesis 21-22, we read that the whole earth will be blessed through the line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Lord said He would bless Abraham with a son (Isaac) begotten by Sarah and make him a great nation. Through Isaac the whole world would be blessed (Jesus the Messiah). Abraham and Sarah decided to take matters into their own hands, since Sarah was barren. So Sarah gave Abraham her Egyptian handmaid Hagar, to bear a son (Ishmael). This is not what the Lord intended. So in Genesis 17:19-22, God reveals His plan to give blessings to Ishmael and his decedents and to make him a great nation with twelve princes. But in Genesis 21:8-21, Ishmael is cast out of the land to which Isaac had the God given birth right, the land of Israel!

The whole time we were in Jordan I felt like a dark cloud was hanging over me, with an occasional ray of light. I felt uneasy and unsafe. (Even though others did not feel the same way.) When we crossed back over the border into Israel, I felt the darkness lift and Gods glory shine on His people and their land, Israel. I know it sounds strange but I’m telling you it was vivid to me. This is how I interpreted what the Lord showed me:

The Arab nations are descendants of Ishmael, and worship Allah. Allah is depicted as the moon god and symbolized by the crescent moon. The Lord said He would bless the offspring of Ishmael, so therefore there was an occasional ray of light or a little bit of Gods glory shines through on to these people.

The Jews, who are descendants of Isaac, worship the Living God. Gods Glory is usually thought of as Gods bright radiant light. The brightest light we can relate to is the sun. So when I walked back into Israel, I felt like the cloud had lifted and the sun was shinning bright. The symbolism I am using is that the sun is the Glory of God and shines bright on Israel. And the crescent moon is a small reflection of Gods true Glory and symbolized the small blessings poured out on to the Arabs.

Day 5

Spring running through En Gedi and me standing in front of waterfall

Sunrise at the Sea of Galilee........Gladiatorial Arena at Beth Shean

Ruin city of Beth Shean............ Gideon's spring at En Harod

Cave where scrolls were found in Qumran...A View from our hotel room to the Red Sea

March 30, 2008

Bible Study Theme: When I’m done with this life how do I want people to remember me?

Places Visited:
Sunrise Service at the Sea of Galilee
Beit Shean (Gladiatorial Arena)
En Harod
Qumran
En Gedi
Eilat

Today started early with a sunrise worship service on a jetty of rocks on the shore of Galilee! It was so incredibly beautiful, seeing God’s creation on the sea where Jesus did most of his ministry! To sing praises to the Lord and watch the sunrise is an experience that is very hard to top and something I will cherish the rest of my life! Without a doubt this is something I wish every Christian could experience!

We left Tiberius heading to a ruin city named Beit Shean. Where we took a seat at the Gladiatorial Arena. We had a short bible study sitting where the spectators would have sat in the theater. We took pictures and marveled at the arena. This place really made you think about the number of Jews and also the people of “the way” who were put to death here and in other arenas like it; mostly by animals.

Then we went to the rest of the ruins of Beit Shean. This is a pretty big city and the site where King Saul and his son’s bodies were displayed on the city walls after their deaths. (1 Sam 31:10). We had a Bible study and explored the city a short while, checking out the public latrine and the huge stone columns. Then we were off to En Harod.

En Harod means “Spring of Harod”. This is where Gideon and his army camped while the Midianites camped to the north at the bottom of the hill of Moreh, in the valley. (Judges 7:1-8) All of this area could be seen from a high vantage point a few of us dared to hike! We had a Bible study and were reminded that the Lord thinned out the army by testing them on how they drank the water from the spring. All those who drank with their hand were chosen (300 men). Some of us took took turns drinking with our hand from the stream as we took pictures! We also had lunch and worshipped too!

Next we headed to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. There not a was not a whole lot to see; a few ruins, and a cave across the way in the distance. Mostly all Qumran had to offer was shopping for Dead Sea cosmetic products. This is where some communication barriers were tested. We tried to buy some products but the total was close to $400! I freaked out in a nice way and needless to say we did not purchase as much as we would have liked.

Then we were off to En Gedi. This is the area where David hid from King Saul for 17 years between being anointed King and Saul’s death (1 Samual 23:29; 1 Samual 24:1). Our guide said David must have known this area well from his childhood. Growing up as a sheepherder, he would have brought the sheep to graze at the end of each winter before the first heat wave. As we pulled in we came across a bunch of wild goats and dry land desert landscape. We started out with a bible study and then ventured further into the valley. We found En Gedi to literally be a desert oasis. A stream of water all the way through the canyon, supplied by a pool of water on top of a large cliff. The spring created lots of waterfalls along the way. I really loved En Gedi and wished we would have had more time to spend there. While at the top waterfall we had a few minutes to sit and write a psalm of our own. (Since this is probably were David got a lot of inspiration to write some of the psalms.) Mine is kind of silly but I tried anyway…

Short Psalm I wrote at En Gedi:
The cliffs of Your protection
The waters of Your word
The Birds are Your warning
When danger is Heard

We left En Gedi and started our four hour drive to Eilat. On the way we stopped at a Kibbutz and had homemade ice-cream, then off to find our lodging. Our hotel is oriental style meets tiki. Minus the buddha’s in the rooms it was really nice. Phil and I stayed up late talking and praying. He delivers a very powerful prayer! Phil is the worship leader in the church and has a strong desire and huge heart for the Lord!

I was thinking all day about what Jim had said at En Harod, “The Lord may and probably will call you out of your comfort zone.” This trip has been an eye opening and heart opening experience for me. It has given me an opportunity to look at my life through a God perspective (spiritual) lens and not just a “me” lens. I believe the Lord is leading me to teaching as my gift, my test confirmed it, mom confirmed it and tonight Phil did too. How long must I resist God’s will? Then the thought came to me, I have very few problems about public speaking. I love to learn and educate others and I adore the word of God! All things a teacher would need to be able to teach. Then what is it, I said? “READING OUT LOUD in public or even one on one with my seven year old cousin Zoey. I am just plain terrible at it. I thought that I had dyslexia or something. But an expert said that I was just fearful. Phil reminded me to think about Moses. At first he needed Aaron because he lacked faith, but as time went by Aaron dropped from the scene and it was all Moses and God! (12:30AM)

Things I learned in Israel today:
1.“En” means natural spring
2.Israeli’s view the United States much the same way an American (non-Christian, non-Jewish) think of Israel…UNSAFE! They may have a point, not only is safety an issue but our moral values are an issue to them also. Lack of family values and Godly morals as a whole.

Quote I heard today:
“No matter where you are now, tomorrow or in life, it is always a good time to worship the Lord. In good times and in trials worship the Lord.” -Unknown

Day 4

Part of the Golan Heights--------------------Nimrod's Castle

The Road to Damascus ----------------------Spring at Caesarea Philippi

Base of Mount Hermon-------------------Burnt offering altar at Tel Dan

Shooting Range area------------Mount Arbel during storm

March 29, 2008

Bible Study Theme: To be “In Tune” with the Lord and listen to His will for us daily.

Places Visited:
Golan Heights (bunker)
Nimrod's Castle

Road to Damascus

Mount Hermon
Caesarea Philippi
Tel Dan

Shooting Range
Mount Arbel

I fell asleep last night at about 11:30 and woke at 7:00, so I had plenty of sleep, but I was so tired at the start of my day today! I read my bible and off we went to breakfast. After eating we got onto the bus and drove around the Sea of Galilee toward the Golan Heights. It is located east and goes to the north of Galilee. Golan (“Bashan” in the bible) was designated to the tribe of Manasseh. It was an area which the Lord set up as a “Refuge City” for the man-slayer (Joshua 21:27). This was also the land taken back from Syria in the Six Day War. Syria still cries to the UN (United Nothing) about this land and the United States is currently trying to negotiate to give it back to Syria. But if this happened they would likely just start firing missiles into Israel again. We stopped at a bunker located at the top of a hill overlooking Syria and checked it out. We could see the borders lined with two sets of tank trenches. While in the area we stopped at Nimrod’s Castle. This is a castle built upon a hill which guarded the Road To Damascus. (Not in Paul’s day) We find this road mention in the bible in Acts 9:1-25. It is a long winding highway now, built on top of the old road which Paul traveled.
Next we drove to Caesarea Philippi (Matt16: 13-20), located at the base of Mount Hermon. Caesarea Philippi is now a ruin city with natural springs and waterfalls feeding the Jordan river. In Jesus’ day this is where he took His disciples and asked “ Who do you think I am” Peter answered “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt 16: 15-16). If you continue reading in the book of Matthew, we see that Jesus and the disciples were in Caesarea Philippi before Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. This mountain is most likely Mount Hermon and referred to as the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:1-13).
After lunch at a kibbutz we went to Tel Dan. Tel Dan is a pagan city taken over by the Danittes, where they set up a pagan temple to worship a golden calf.[Apparently they still believed in the Living God, but just got it all wrong. In my opinion this is kind of like the Catholic Church and their ways of worshiping the Lord.] This happened in the days of kings Jeroboam and Jehu. (1 Kings 12:28-33; 2 Kings 10:29). This event is a subject debated by bible scholars as to the reason the tribe of Dan is left out of the twelve tribes mentioned in the book of Revelation (Rev 7:1-8). We had a very moving and powerful message in Tel Dan at the steps of the Pagan Temple about idol worship. Mom and I had a discussion on the way back to the bus about idol worship and the Catholic rosary. Again in mine and my moms opinion’s this too is idolatry.
From Tel Dan we went to a shooting range, where most of the group shot Uzi’s. Mom and I had no interest. While the others shot the machine guns we enjoyed some fellowship and prayer together in a grassy area filled with huge palm trees and shade. This was a tranquil and peaceful time spent with mom and the Lord!
From the shooting range we drove to Mount Arbel. The theory is that Jesus came to this mount with His disciples after His resurrection (Matt 28:16). It is a beautiful hike and overlooks all of the Sea of Galilee and Golan Heights all the way to Mount Hermon. We had a short bible study and we worshipped for a short time too. There was a storm funneling into the Sea from the north, so we had a chance to witness first hand how rough the sea could get and just how quickly it could happen. No wonder the disciples we scared on that little boat they were had. (Matt 14:22-23, Mark 6:45-51, John 6:15-20). It was windy and cold up there but what a site! I loved it! AMEN

Leaving the Sea of Galilee: “The Cradle of Ministry”

Things I learned in Israel today:

1. “Tel” means hill formed by the build up and destruction of cities through the centuries
2. Israeli secret service top’s in the world
3. Electric fence (light bulb to base) between borders is a very efficient obstacle for suicide bombers.