A Land of Diversity

We've arrived home (JUC) safe and sound...feeling muscles we never knew existed. We have now traveled the lower two-thirds of Israel since we arrived in this amazing country. We've visited numerous sites where stories of the Bible took place. Nothing can compare to reading the account in scripture while standing on the site where it actually took place! Looking around, seeing the lay of the land, and imagining the people of the Bible living out what we have come to cherish in the Word, is a very impactful experience.

On our first day out on this recent 3-day bus trip, we didn't need to imagine the story - we saw it enacted right before our eyes. Dr. Mullins asked for a volunteer to head up the re-enactment of the David and Goliath story. Scott Cody graciously took on the job. He gathered those who wanted to participate, gave them the script to study, and when we arrived in the Valley of Elah, this very talented troop performed the one-act play superbly. We saw the hills where the Philistine army was encamped and the hill where Saul's army was positioned. It was not hard to imagine where Goliath taunted the Isrealites day after day, and where David stood up to him and ultimately defeated him.

When we climbed a nearby mountain overlooking the Valley of Elah to get the broader view of the land, I picked up a pottery sherd on the path. Dr. Mullins said it was the base of a pot from the time of the United Monarchy. I was holding a piece of pottery that was 3,000 years old!

Next stop was Bet Guvrin where we toured the Bell Caves (caves cut out of the ground in order to use the rock for building materials), a Columbarium (dove-cote), and an olive press. In one of the dwellings, we entered the basement and began singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Blessed Assurance." The acoustics were better than a cathedral! The music that came only from our voices was amazing, transporting us straight to the Throne of Glory!

We then headed for the coast at Ashkelon and took a much-needed rest, splashing in the Mediterranean or relaxing on the beach. As the day drew to a close, we traveled inland to Arad where we spent the night in the Blau Weiss Youth Hostel.

The second day we toured Tell Arad which was an Israelite fortress with a Canaanite city situated below it on the plain. We also toured Be'er Sheva (Beersheba) and after lunch a group braved the heat to climb from the bottom of the Wadi Zin (in the Wilderness of Zin) to the cliffs above where the rest of us were waiting for them in our nice, air-conditioned bus. Dr. Mullins also pointed out the kibbutz where David Ben-Gurion retired, after leading the country as Israel's first Prime Minister. Dr. Mullins added that when Mr. Ben-Gurion died there was a copy of Hal Lindsay's book, "The Late, Great Planet Earth" propped up on his desk. That meant something to me since that book brought me back to the Lord in 1972. It's interesting how things connect with our lives. I'm hoping Mr. Ben-Gurion took the words of that book to heart, just as I did! We also visited Avdat, a Nabatean stronghold. The Nabateans were pagans whose capitol city was Petra. Herod married a Nabatean princess and later divorced her to marry his brother's wife. This marriage was condemmed by John the Baptist who later was beheaded for his outspokenness. The Nabateans later became Christians and transformed their pagan places of worship to Christian churches.

Yesterday found us at Masada. What an impressive example of engineering and perseverence on the part of Herod the Great! Photos do not do it justice. The skill and ingenuity of transforming this piece of rock into a fortress and lavish palaces is incredible. Long before Herod's handiwork, though, scholars think that when the Bible talks about David and his men going to the "stronghold," that place was actually Masada, but without all the amenities that Herod added later. After surviving the descent from Masada via the Snake Path (I thought I was going to die!), it was time for some fun. We hopped on the bus and took a short 15 minute drive to the Dead Sea, where we floated (what a bizarre feeling at first) and we coated ourselves with the mineral-rich mud on the shore. After washing it off, the skin felt like a newborn baby's skin. We had a BBQ at the picnic area of the Dead Sea and then headed for Qumran. This place is a wonder, since the scolls found in the caves above Qumran are the earliest manuscripts of the Old Testament that we have. Some are 1000 years older than the manuscripts used to translate our present day Bible before these scrolls were discovered in 1952. If you haven't already done so, please visit the "Treasures of the Bible: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Beyond" exhibit being displayed at APU right now, through July 19. If you can't make it to Qumran, the next best thing is to take a tour of that exhibit. Our group also was privileged to go inside one of the caves where the scrolls were housed (cave 11). It was awesome to see exactly where they were discovered!

We headed home to JUC after that - a full three days of wonder, learning, and inspiration...not to mention the commaraderie of our group! And I do need to give tremendous kudos to Dr. Mullins. This man is a treasure trove of information about the sites we're visiting. He's very engaging and no question is too outlandish. He truly is a scholar of all that we are surveying on this trip!

Today (Friday) is a free day with jaunts into the city, catching up on email, or just relaxing on the JUC campus. Tomorrow is another exam for those who are taking this course for credit. Your prayers would be appreciated!!

Blessings,

Bev