Days 4, 5, and 6
So yes, I have been taking a break from blogging just to hold you all in suspense and build your anticipation for a post such as this one.
Get ready for a whirlwind review of three long touring days. You have not waited in vain, I assure you.
So if I can rewind my brain that far, day 4 was Gideon Springs, Bet She'an, Qumran, and En Gedi. Gideon Springs is the site of the story of Judges 6-7, when Gideon chooses an army with which to oppose the Midionites. We had the privilege of hearing Charlie Dyer speak there (the dude who WROTE our traveler's guide), and he taught us the story of Gideon and about how when the angel came and told him to prepare an army, he was freaked out and asked for a sign. Not a good idea, but God provides a sign. Gideon is still freaked out and asks for another sign (the fleece...go read the story, but that's where we get the phrase "Gideon's fleece"). Again, not a good idea to test the God of Israel, but God does it. I can just imagine Gideon's face when he realizes God has provided the sign, but he's still too terrified to act...that "aw, man" face. Anyway, the guy asks for another sign, just to be absolutely sure. Patiently, God agrees, and Gideon reluctantly starts to build an army.
Long story short, the Israelites are way outnumbered, but Gideon sees the Lord in a dream and FINALLY gets it. Yahweh is going to protect Israel. Yahweh is going to fight the battle for them. The text says, "As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand." -Judges 7:15
Gideon was struggling with faith until that moment, and God was patient to await the moment when his fear would turn to faith.
His faith was tiny and his fear was huge, but faith is not the absence of fear. It's trust in spite of fear.
The Israelite victory over the Midionites was miraculous that day. The 135,000 Midionites didn't even touch the 300 Israelites. A happy end to the story, but the really miraculous thing is what happened in the heart of Gideon. He learned to trust his Yahweh. Hundreds of years later, Paul would record his name in the Hebrews 11 "Hall of Faith." Some faith, right? A faith that needed word from God AND three consecutive signs AND a dream to enter the battle? But Paul places Gideon among a list of people "who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign enemies to flight..." (Hebrews 11:33-34)
Maybe there's hope for me.
Bet She'an was a city discovered in the early 20th century. It was an elaborate, wealthy Greek city (then Roman, then Byzantine, then Muslim, of course, but what site in Israel wasn't). During the Muslim occupation, there was that huge earthquake in Israel in 749, and within 2 minutes max, the aqueducts burst, the huge buildings and theater collapse, and the city is covered in mud for the next thousand years. I don't remember the Biblical significance to the place, if there was one. It was just cool to see that ginormous city uncovered and ancient Greek writing on the streets and buildings. Too bad the place was flattened...
Qumran, I have to say, was pretty disappointing. I know, I know, the Dead Sea Scrolls and everything, but the site is boring. The view of the caves were nice, but all the good stuff (aka, the SCROLLS) are in the Israel Museum. I guess learning about the Essenes plus seeing it RAIN in the JUDEAN DESERT (happens like 5 times a year apparently) made it worth it. :)
And En Gedi. Probably the site where King Saul and David have that run-in from 1 Samuel 24. Another boring site, but it was great to talk about David a little and be reminded of his incredible faith, incredible mercy, and incredible integrity. His conscience in this story cracks me up, because I have a conscience like that and I KNOW he was not thinking "wow this is so great that I have this sensitive conscience." He was thinking "feeling convicted about little things sucks." Ha! (Just kidding, David was a better person than me...he probably was very grateful to God for his sensitive conscience)
That evening we checked into our second hotel, on the shores of the lower part of the Dead Sea. The terrain in this part of the country is absolutely unreal. Especially in contrast to green, lush Tiberias and Galilee where we had been since we arrived. It's beautiful in its own way here, but I have to say, I miss Tiberias so much. I LOVE how I'm beginning to understand the Bible's talk about deserts hills and valleys and wilderness and the themes of need for water, etc. And the "land flowing with milk and honey" imagery too, which we saw firsthand up in the north.
Day 5 was Masada. Masada just made me want to cry. I don't have time to type out the story, but basically it was a palace built by Herod (aren't they all?) where the Jews took their final stand against Romans. They ended up killing themselves and their families to avoid the inevitable captivity or murder under the Romans, and the story is pretty intense. If you have some free time, google the story of Masada because you'll see what I mean. Gotta move on, I can't even handle it!
The afternoon of Day 5 was free time though. :) We spent time at the spa and the Dead Sea, which were both incredible, and I even wrote an essay for Russian History...yippee.
Day 6 was...get ready for this...JERUSALEM. We drove into the city first thing in the morning and spent forever in an olive wood store (yay for my own olive wood nativity set!). That afternoon we saw the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemani, and the Church of All Nations. Oh, and we walked down the Palm Sunday road. There were probably some other things I can't remember. Yesterday was a blur because it was freezing and wet and miserable. BUT, the Garden of Gethsemani was a really powerful spiritual experience, and I'm so grateful for Michael and the teaching he is giving us here. We were all tearing up in that garden, thinking about Christ and his suffering and the prayers and conversations that happened there. I loved getting to look at Matthew 25 and 26 in my Greek New Testament while Michael taught, because he points out the Greek occasionally, which I really appreciate. Anyway, Jerusalem is beautiful and just like you probably picture it in your mind. I secretly (except not so secretly, because I keep saying it) want to study here at Hebrew University. I just think it's so cute and interesting, and to LIVE in a city with this kind of rich history and spiritual significance would change my life, I'm sure.
The craziest thing to me about this city is how everyone has claimed it over the years as THEIRS. The Muslims have their holy sites, Christians, Catholics, Greek, and Russian Orthodox theirs, and the Jews (with in my opinion, the real right to this land) theirs. On the Temple Mount the Muslims have jurisdiction even though it was originally a Jewish holy site. The Muslims, when building the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, even COPIED the octagonal style from the Catholics/Christians because they liked the 8-sided thing. Little did they care that the number 8 is the number for resurrection. They just wanted a cool looking mosque.
And on and on that story goes, of the holy sites and the struggle for Jerusalem - since the time of David, the struggle has been almost constant. Michael says, "nothing short of the Lord returning will fix this land."
So anyway, we checked into our third hotel in Jerusalem yesterday (Day 6) and we'll be here till Friday night when we fly out. Today was a long day, and I am really really hitting a wall of exhaustion. So, for the sake of my sanity, I'll blog about today tomorrow so I can go to bed now. :) I miss you all at home, and I hope you aren't too bored with my ramblings. I adore Israel in so many ways and could never say everything I want to share with you. Half of me never wants to leave, but the other half needs a treadmill and my own bed really badly!
Shalom.
Get ready for a whirlwind review of three long touring days. You have not waited in vain, I assure you.
So if I can rewind my brain that far, day 4 was Gideon Springs, Bet She'an, Qumran, and En Gedi. Gideon Springs is the site of the story of Judges 6-7, when Gideon chooses an army with which to oppose the Midionites. We had the privilege of hearing Charlie Dyer speak there (the dude who WROTE our traveler's guide), and he taught us the story of Gideon and about how when the angel came and told him to prepare an army, he was freaked out and asked for a sign. Not a good idea, but God provides a sign. Gideon is still freaked out and asks for another sign (the fleece...go read the story, but that's where we get the phrase "Gideon's fleece"). Again, not a good idea to test the God of Israel, but God does it. I can just imagine Gideon's face when he realizes God has provided the sign, but he's still too terrified to act...that "aw, man" face. Anyway, the guy asks for another sign, just to be absolutely sure. Patiently, God agrees, and Gideon reluctantly starts to build an army.
Long story short, the Israelites are way outnumbered, but Gideon sees the Lord in a dream and FINALLY gets it. Yahweh is going to protect Israel. Yahweh is going to fight the battle for them. The text says, "As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand." -Judges 7:15
Gideon was struggling with faith until that moment, and God was patient to await the moment when his fear would turn to faith.
His faith was tiny and his fear was huge, but faith is not the absence of fear. It's trust in spite of fear.
The Israelite victory over the Midionites was miraculous that day. The 135,000 Midionites didn't even touch the 300 Israelites. A happy end to the story, but the really miraculous thing is what happened in the heart of Gideon. He learned to trust his Yahweh. Hundreds of years later, Paul would record his name in the Hebrews 11 "Hall of Faith." Some faith, right? A faith that needed word from God AND three consecutive signs AND a dream to enter the battle? But Paul places Gideon among a list of people "who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign enemies to flight..." (Hebrews 11:33-34)
Maybe there's hope for me.
Bet She'an was a city discovered in the early 20th century. It was an elaborate, wealthy Greek city (then Roman, then Byzantine, then Muslim, of course, but what site in Israel wasn't). During the Muslim occupation, there was that huge earthquake in Israel in 749, and within 2 minutes max, the aqueducts burst, the huge buildings and theater collapse, and the city is covered in mud for the next thousand years. I don't remember the Biblical significance to the place, if there was one. It was just cool to see that ginormous city uncovered and ancient Greek writing on the streets and buildings. Too bad the place was flattened...
Qumran, I have to say, was pretty disappointing. I know, I know, the Dead Sea Scrolls and everything, but the site is boring. The view of the caves were nice, but all the good stuff (aka, the SCROLLS) are in the Israel Museum. I guess learning about the Essenes plus seeing it RAIN in the JUDEAN DESERT (happens like 5 times a year apparently) made it worth it. :)
And En Gedi. Probably the site where King Saul and David have that run-in from 1 Samuel 24. Another boring site, but it was great to talk about David a little and be reminded of his incredible faith, incredible mercy, and incredible integrity. His conscience in this story cracks me up, because I have a conscience like that and I KNOW he was not thinking "wow this is so great that I have this sensitive conscience." He was thinking "feeling convicted about little things sucks." Ha! (Just kidding, David was a better person than me...he probably was very grateful to God for his sensitive conscience)
That evening we checked into our second hotel, on the shores of the lower part of the Dead Sea. The terrain in this part of the country is absolutely unreal. Especially in contrast to green, lush Tiberias and Galilee where we had been since we arrived. It's beautiful in its own way here, but I have to say, I miss Tiberias so much. I LOVE how I'm beginning to understand the Bible's talk about deserts hills and valleys and wilderness and the themes of need for water, etc. And the "land flowing with milk and honey" imagery too, which we saw firsthand up in the north.
Day 5 was Masada. Masada just made me want to cry. I don't have time to type out the story, but basically it was a palace built by Herod (aren't they all?) where the Jews took their final stand against Romans. They ended up killing themselves and their families to avoid the inevitable captivity or murder under the Romans, and the story is pretty intense. If you have some free time, google the story of Masada because you'll see what I mean. Gotta move on, I can't even handle it!
The afternoon of Day 5 was free time though. :) We spent time at the spa and the Dead Sea, which were both incredible, and I even wrote an essay for Russian History...yippee.
Day 6 was...get ready for this...JERUSALEM. We drove into the city first thing in the morning and spent forever in an olive wood store (yay for my own olive wood nativity set!). That afternoon we saw the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemani, and the Church of All Nations. Oh, and we walked down the Palm Sunday road. There were probably some other things I can't remember. Yesterday was a blur because it was freezing and wet and miserable. BUT, the Garden of Gethsemani was a really powerful spiritual experience, and I'm so grateful for Michael and the teaching he is giving us here. We were all tearing up in that garden, thinking about Christ and his suffering and the prayers and conversations that happened there. I loved getting to look at Matthew 25 and 26 in my Greek New Testament while Michael taught, because he points out the Greek occasionally, which I really appreciate. Anyway, Jerusalem is beautiful and just like you probably picture it in your mind. I secretly (except not so secretly, because I keep saying it) want to study here at Hebrew University. I just think it's so cute and interesting, and to LIVE in a city with this kind of rich history and spiritual significance would change my life, I'm sure.
The craziest thing to me about this city is how everyone has claimed it over the years as THEIRS. The Muslims have their holy sites, Christians, Catholics, Greek, and Russian Orthodox theirs, and the Jews (with in my opinion, the real right to this land) theirs. On the Temple Mount the Muslims have jurisdiction even though it was originally a Jewish holy site. The Muslims, when building the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, even COPIED the octagonal style from the Catholics/Christians because they liked the 8-sided thing. Little did they care that the number 8 is the number for resurrection. They just wanted a cool looking mosque.
And on and on that story goes, of the holy sites and the struggle for Jerusalem - since the time of David, the struggle has been almost constant. Michael says, "nothing short of the Lord returning will fix this land."
So anyway, we checked into our third hotel in Jerusalem yesterday (Day 6) and we'll be here till Friday night when we fly out. Today was a long day, and I am really really hitting a wall of exhaustion. So, for the sake of my sanity, I'll blog about today tomorrow so I can go to bed now. :) I miss you all at home, and I hope you aren't too bored with my ramblings. I adore Israel in so many ways and could never say everything I want to share with you. Half of me never wants to leave, but the other half needs a treadmill and my own bed really badly!
Shalom.
When I was trying to tell you about the one day was miserable because of the wind and the sand and my contacts, I was trying to think of Masada. Sorry I couldn't then, but the site is so impressive and ruinous, isn't it? It's like time stopped after they were overrun.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait until you come back and can tell me stories in person!
I'm glad you got your Russian History essay done.