Indiana Jones and the City of Ai

Well, what a day. We headed out early this morning into the West Bank and found the site of the excavations. We don’t know for sure which city this is but it presents some strong evidence to be Ai. I was assigned to a section of the city wall. We dug down until there was bedrock and then started on the other side. The first time my shovel hit the dirt I prayed quietly, “Lord please don’t let me mess up anything important”. About thirty minutes into the dig I found a small piece of pottery that had some diagnostic features on it. They thought it was probably early to middle bronze which would be about the time that the Israelites conquered the land. What a cool way to spend the day finding something that is between 3000 and 4000 years old. We cleared the wall down to bedrock and found quite a few pottery pieces but nothing as cool as that first find. 

We are headed to the airport soon and it is back to the states…where there is ice in the glasses, a softer bed, and a washing machine, but it is a trip that has left me changed. Already, everytime I open the Scripture it is different. What used to be geographical locations are now personal experiences.

One More Day…

Ok, I have SO much to catch you up on. We have been in Galilee and the northern parts of Israel the last five days and I haven’t had any internet access. Needless to say, I have way to much to tell you to post tonight. I will catch you up as fast as I can. 

 

Cruisin' on the Sea of Galilee

However, I do have some exciting news. Tomorrow is our last day in Israel and it is also a free day here in Jerusalem. Last week when we were staying at a kibbutz, I came in contact with one of the leading evangelical archaeologists who is here for two weeks working on a site that could turn out to be the Biblical city of Ai. Scholars have already placed Ai, but they haven’t found any evidence that it was destroyed in the time of the Israelites. Thus, they argue that Scripture isn’t true. However, this man has found another site about a kilometer from the original one and it looks promising. Well, long story short, Dr. Merrill from DTS is digging with him here and I asked if some of us could tag along on our day off. So tomorrow we are heading out at about 5:00 A.M.  to do some digging. I know it will be really hard work but I am very excited to actually go and be a part of a team of Biblical Archaeologists for a day (Cue Indiana Jones theme music). We’ve been joking that we want to find either the Ark of the Covenant or a sign that says “Welcome to Ai”. 

 

We are suppose to arrive back in Jerusalem around 3:00 PM and then its off to finish some shopping before heading to the airport at 2:00 A.M. in the morning. Hopefully  by that time I will be sufficiently worn out enough to sleep on the plane. 

There is much to tell you so check back soon and frequently as I will catch you up on the many adventures of the last week. It’s been an awesome trip but I am ready to be home!

Just a little Fun…

I am staying at the Ibex campus today near Jerusalem. It’s our day off so we are enjoying relaxing a little bit.  The internet is really good so I thought I would upload some photos of us having a little fun. It’s not all hard work and study…: ) Enjoy. 

 

Here are the captions from top to bottom going left to right. 

1. Abraham’s Grave in Hebron. This is also the only Herodian structure that is still completely in tact. We think this is probably similiar to what Herod’s Temple would have looked like. 

2. I’m everywhere over here! Actually, this is the home of Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister. 

3. This is a Roman Gladiator Stadium. 

4. Reenactment of David and Goliath in the valley of Elah. 

5. Reenactment of Samson killing the Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey in the valley of Sorek. 

6. Dr. Ralson and I at Sea level on our way down to Jericho.

7. My roommate Bill getting his first ride on a camel. 

8. Walking around Jericho.

9. Standing on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem.

10. 2000 Orthodox Jews running through the Muslim area of town on their way to the cemetery on the Mount of Olives. It was for a funeral of a very famous rabbi. 

The Red Sea and the Valley of Timnah – Israel Day 10

On Thursday, we began the morning by swimming in the Red Sea. There is a little Coral Reef there and several kinds of fish that I hadn’t seen before. At that sight you could see Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. So much history and tension in eye sight. In the afternoon, we went to the valley of Timnah. This is where traditionally, Solomon’s copper minds were. The most interesting attraction was a replica of the Tabernacle that Southern Baptist’s helped to put together. The lady that presented it brought a Christian perspective to every aspect of the tabernacle and explained how each thing pointed forward to Christ. It felt weird to walk into the Holy of Holies, even in a replica, but then I remembered that the curtain was torn. God’s presence isn’t found behind a veil but now there is freedom for us to come to him anytime. What an amazing God that would love His people enough to devise a way to dwell among them. It shows how much God wishes to be in relationship with humanity.

Full Scale Model of the Tabernacle

So walk into the outer court and walk past the sacrificial altar knowing that the blood has been spilt. Walk into the holy place that was reserved only for Priests and go even farther than they could by pushing back the curtain and entering the Holy of Holies and dwell there today…tomorrow….and the next day.

The Wilderness – Israel Day 9

About three o’clock this afternoon we stopped the bus and got out in the middle of nowhere. We were right in the middle of the Wilderness of Paran. We’ve been heading south for two days now and are down in the very southern part of Israel. Nothing but desert and wilderness on every side. We had been driving in the wilderness most of the day but on this walk about 100 yards from the bus, I realized that I had been here before. This was the Wilderness of Paran where the Israelites had wondered for 40 years. This is the wilderness that they roamed until everyone over 20 had died because of disobedience. This was the wilderness where God had taught many lessons to His people. Yea, I’ve been to the Wilderness of Paran. Not physically until today, but I’ve been there spiritually. It’s not easy and you want to fight it every step of the way, but it’s in the Wilderness of Paran that God wants to teach us so much about Himself. 

We sat there in the blazing heat and scorching sun and read Deuteronomy 8 together. 

“Be sure you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments, ordinances, and statutes that I am giving you today. When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses, when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything, be sure you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery, and who brought you through the great fearful desert of venemous serpents and scorpions, and arid places with no water. He made water flow from a flint rock and fed you in the desert with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you and eventually bring good to you.” (Duet 7:11-16).  

 There’s no water out there in the desert, but God provided water for His people. There’s no food out there either, but God provided faithfully. I’ve got to admit, much more than 30 minutes in the desert and I would start complaining too. Now imagine 4o years! Wow! And Why? So that he might humble the Israelite people and eventually bring them to good. This is exactly what God did. 

Desert’s are humbling places and that’s where God seems to break a person. It’s not fun or easy, but without the desert, we would get prideful in our own strength. I stooped down on the way back to the bus and picked up a rock from the desert. A rock that will stay in my office to remind me of the necessity of the wilderness in my life. Never forget, without the desert, there is pride and arrogance ahead. 

On a lighter note, tonight we are staying on the Red Sea and it is very beautiful. Tomorrow we are going snorkeling in the Red Sea. Should be a lot of fun!  For some reason I can’t upload a picture tonight, but I will try again tomorrow morning.

Free day – Israel Day 7

 

Children's Memorial at the Holocaust Museum

Today, was scheduled to be our free day but it ended up being busier than most. A trip to the Western Wall Tunnel and a test in the morning, the rest of the day was our choice. 

I grabbed a taxi with five other guys from our group and we headed to the Holocaust museum for a couple of hours before heading to Hebron. This section is going to be difficult to describe. It has greatly affected me all day as memories of what I saw come flooding back. The museum itself is one of the best I have ever been to. It is tasteful and yet, presents the full story and horrors included. I think the thing that impacted me the most was the children. I walked up to a case and saw two beautiful braided “pig” tails in the case. . The young girl was only seven and had never cut her hair. They lived in one of the ghettos. Her mother cut off her beautiful hair because it would be easier to care for and gave the hair still in the braids to a neighbor for safe keeping. The family was killed by going to a gas chamber only a few days later, but the hair remains. Another picture in a case told the story of a little five year old boy who was given to his grandparents for safe keeping. This particular picture told me so much about the young man. You could tell he was all boy. Mischevious and rambuncious. He reminded me of my nephew who is not much younger. The young boy was killed with his grandparents in a concentration camp. I walked over a glass case of leather shoes found on the dead bodies at the gas chambers. The picture you see is at the Children’s memorial. I love how they depicted this young man in the stone. His name is Uziel. Over 1.5 million children perished in the holocaust. As I walked through the children’s memorial, they read the names of children and their ages that died. I was struck by the sheer evilness of man and what we can stoop to without the Lord. I still haven’t processed it. I hope I’ll never get over it. 

Our second excursion was to Hebron. Hebron is where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (and maybe Joseph) were buried. Our guide was excited because he had not been to Hebron in over 20 years because of safety issues. However, he felt secure enough to take us into a pretty volatile area to show us the tomb of the Patriarchs. It is now a duel holy sight with a synagogue and a mosque on the same sight. Of course both Jews and Muslims call Abraham father. Both the Synagogue and Mosque were very friendly and allowed us to go inside and get a look. The caves where the bones are most likely buried are underneath the Muslim side and off limits, but the markers giving tribute to their burial place are above ground. It was such a great representation of Abraham to have both a Mosque and Synagogue over the father of Ishmael and Isaac. A forever marker of God’s faithfulness to both sons and yet, the effects of sin are still evident. 

So, I was driving back from Hebron and the events of the day just seem to overwhelm me. Here I have experienced the grave of the father of the greatest conflict in history and I have also experienced the reality of one of the greatest slaughters in human history on the same day. I brought out my Ipod and was trying to find some comfort when I came across “The Power of the Cross” by Stuart Townend. It was while I was listening that the Holy Spirit whispered to my spirit: “Ben, I died for the sins of the holocaust just like I died for you”. I was caught off guard for a moment. It’s true. The wrath and judgement for every murder of every one of those precious children was poured out on Jesus Christ. The anger that I felt toward such brutality and the desire for justice has been paid. He paid for my sin. He paid for Abraham and Abraham’s descendants sin. He paid for the sin of Nazi Germany and every soldier that took part.  I saw the sheer depth of man’s evil, the continuation of a strife in Abraham’s family, and yet, I found afresh the most amazing truth there is. That less than a quarter mile from where I write this, the price was paid….once and for all. Now that’s a free day! 

 

Oh, to see the pain written on Your face,

Bearing the awesome weight of sin.

Every bitter thought, every evil deed crowning Your bloodstained brow. 

 This the power of the cross:

Christ became sin for us;

Took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross. 

 

We leave tomorrow for the southern parts of Israel. I am not sure the internet situation and how often I will be able to blog. Keep checking back because I will blog whenever I can.

Shiloh and the Home of the Tabernacle – Israel Day 6

What a day! We started the morning on top of the Mount of Olives and walked down to Gethsamane. You can see the entire old city from up there and Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:37 come to life. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!” 

We walked down the Mountain into the Garden of Gethsemane and the traditional place where Jesus prayed. The church had pews to sit in and pray. I took a moment to reflect on what was in the cup that Jesus agreed to drink. I don’t think we have a clue all that was in the cup but He did and still chose to drink it for us. I thanked Him for agreeing to drink it for me. 

A short trip up the way led us to Bethany and the tomb of Lazarus. This was a really incredible sight. It is a different sort of tomb that is under a church and under the ground in a cave. The Bible gives us a clue that Lazarus’ grave was probably under the ground because it says that “a stone was laid across it”. That makes perfect sense when you see the tomb. Jesus speaks and there is no more death. He is the resurrection and the life. I love how the text says that Jesus waited two more days before coming. The silence of God is never easy, but it is for a purpose. 

The Tomb of Lazarus

 

After lunch, we left Jerusalem and headed north out of the city and heading to Shiloh. Shiloh was where Hannah came to pray at the Tabernacle and Eli thought she was drunk before telling her that the Lord would grant her request. It is also where the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant after Hophni and Phineas took it to battle with them. I thought about the entire nation of Israel gathering there three times a year and what that must have been like. There are hills all around and it is on a short mound. The glory of God filling that spot and dwelling with His people. 

After leaving Shiloh we traveled up to Mt Gerazim in Samaria. The Samaritans still live there to this day and they have just finished a new temple. It was an absolutely beautiful place that has a lot of Biblical history. Joshua uses it to line up the curses and praises along with Mount Ebal. Down in the valley is where Jesus had His encounter with the Samaritan women. I thought to myself, we don’t have to worship at Mt. Gerazim or Jerusalem anymore. We have access to the Father anywhere. 

In ending this post, I want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been following this blog. Your comments and kind words are an encouragement to me. I know I am not doing a good enough job of describing what I have experienced but I pray it is a glimpse into what the Lord is teaching me.

Judean Desert – Israel Day 5

Today, we headed east over the Mount of Olives and into the Judean Desert. I was floored by how fast the terrain changes into pure desert. Just over the Mount of Olives, the rain fall drops to 4 inches per year. So many stories of merit took place in the Judean desert and my mind was racing all day. The first, of course, is Jesus when he fasted and prayed. While, I have a better appreciation, it kind of overwhelmed me. Looking at the mountains of rocks piled, it makes so much sense why the devil would have tempted him to “turn these stones into bread”. The hunger gnawing his body and no food in sight. 

The second thing that kept coming to mind was the prophecy “comfort ye my people says your God. A voice crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill made low.” I kept singing the tenor aria from the Messiah while I was out there.  What a picture of John the Baptist’s role. There are some big hills and some huge valleys. 

The next journey of the day was towards Jericho. I couldn’t help remembering the “certain man that was walking from Jericho to Jerusalem” in the Good Samaritan as we drove. The picture I had of that parable was forever changed. That’s dangerous territory! I thought about the Samaritan and how much danger he was in by taking care of this man. First of all, I’m sure the Samaritan gave the man his water that he had. Whoa! I was just out there for thirty minutes and I was “dying of thirst”. Secondly, he lost valuable time on a very difficult trip uphill to Jerusalem. Thirdly, he would have been a sitting duck on that road with the Samaritan with him. I guess when I learned this story in Sunday school, I always pictured the inn within a few miles. That’s probably not the case. They walked a long way, uphill to get the beaten man to the inn. 

Yes, we walked around Jericho. Then we headed to Bethlehem and finally to the Herodian. One thing is for certain, if there is a flat part of this country, I have not seen it yet. When you read “the hill country” in the Bible, don’t think foothills, think really big hills! 

 

On top of the Herodian

The High Place of Gibeon – Israel Day 4

 

Isaiah 37:27 says “their residents are powerless; they are terrified and ashamed. they are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the East Wind.”

 Today, I was able to understand for the first what the Bible means when it depicts an East Wind. Most of the time, the wind comes over the Mediterranean Sea providing some cooling breeze in the hot summer. However, when the when switches from the West to the East, it blows over the Judean desert and brings much hotter weather as well as a huge dust storm. Today, we had an east wind on our track through the land of Benjamin. I was covered in dirt and sweating quite profusely by the end of the day.

We made three stops that were quite fascinating. The first stop was at Gezer where Solomon fortified the walls as one of his three fortified cities. Yep, you guessed it, we had a lecture on the gate. What an amazing feeling to know that you are sitting on a structure that people were using 3000 years ago. It made me think about what I am doing now that will last as a testimony for future generations. The archaeologist who found it originally thought that it was a Byzantine structure (395 A.D.). Therefore, everyone supposed that Scripture was wrong in its account that Solomon fortified Gezer. Well, not so fast, because they found the same gates at the other two cities that Scripture gives and they matched the gate perfectly. The Bible wins again.                                                                  

Probably the thing that impacted me the most was going up to the high place of Gibeon where Solomon asked the Lord for Wisdom. That story has always been one of my favorites in Scripture as Solomon turns His heart toward God and humbly asks for what he needs most. I looked out at the surrounding hills. You can see Jerusalem from there. You can see Gibeah where Saul set up his kingdom as well. The weight that Solomon must have been feeling was suddenly apparant to me in a whole new way. On the way out, I took a moment to spend some time with the Lord that was quite special to me. James says that if anyone lacks wisdom to ask for it and God will supply generously. What a fitting place to ask the Lord for Wisdom!

 

The last stop was by far the most interesting of the day. We crossed the valley and headed into the West Bank up to Gibeah. Now Gibeah is where Saul set up his capital and where the Benjamites got wiped off the map for raping the Levite’s concubine in  Judges 19. But what was most interesting is on the very sight where Saul’s Palace would have been, King Hussein of Jordan began building a summer palace in 1966. He had all the concrete floors in place when the six day war broke out and he was forced to abandon it and it has stayed that way till this day.

Standing on the Second floor of King Hussein's Palace

So we climbed the hill to Gibeah  and went up on the second floor of King Hussein’s southern palace and chilled there for about an hour. It has an awesome view of the surrounding areas and you can tell why Saul would have chosen it for his capital.  However, you can also tell that there was an East Wind as the visibility is greatly reduced. 

Overall today, my thoughts have gone toward the day when Jerusalem will be ruled in perfect peace. I guess magnitude of standing where Solomon had asked for wisdom and the reality of the situation over here brought me to that point today. The Middle East is so messed up and the hate is so strong that I have come to a new understanding that it is only when Jesus steps down on the Mount of Olives and it splits in two, reigning in the great millennium, that there will be peace in Jerusalem.  And I guess I was longing for that today.

There’s a line in the U2 song “Peace on Earth” that kept coming back to me over and over again today:

Jesus in the song you wrote,

the words are sticking in my throat,

Peace on Earth.

I hear it every Christmas time

But hope and history won’t rhyme

So what’s it worth

This Peace on Earth  

 

 

Right now  history and hope aren’t rhyming, but someday they will…even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. 

The Revenge of the Temple Mount – Israel Day 3

I thought I would change things up today by sharing a really funny story about today. First of all, and on a serious note, we went to the steps of the entrance into Herod’s temple first thing in the morning. It is the sight where Peter most likely preached to the People of Pentecost. It also has some steps that are most likely the same steps Jesus would have walked on up to the temple. It was very moving to look out onto the surrounding hills and think that these hills were what Peter was looking at when He preached so bold a message and over 3000 came to know Christ.   

Now comes the funny part. Let’s just say that this morning’s breakfast didn’t sit very well with me. It was pretty rough walking this morning. So after the steps to the temple, we make our way  through very tight security up to the temple mount and the whole time I am thinking that this could get pretty interesting.  I mean, here we are going to walk where the Temple once was, where Abraham sacrificed Isaac and what generations have fought over ever since. This is Mount Moriah! This is Solomon’s Temple in all its glory. This is the temple mount where Herod’s temple stood in the days of Jesus! This is where Jesus answered the Priests questions when He was twelve. When I was up there, I kept thinking, “This is a Muslim Holy Site. They probably don’t even have bathrooms!” Well, long story short, I don’t remember much about the temple mount. I do have the restroom up there pretty much memorized however! If there are any questions about the temple mount/Dome of the Rock restrooms on the test, then I should be set! Otherwise, I pretty much missed it. Thankfully my roommate Bill got all the lectures on tape so I can review and I will go back up there on my day off. The funniest part was when I finally got to the restroom (which was on the exact opposite side of the mount, I asked the guard if these were the restrooms. He told me yes and then said “five minutes”. I nodded my head in agreement, but inside I was thinking “Buddy, this is going to take more than five minutes”. It was only after I came out that I realized that he was telling me five minutes until I needed to leave the Temple Mount because the Muslim prayers were about to start. So I caught up with the group and the rest of the day was fantastic…just a little Israel humor for you. I’ll never see the Temple Mount the same way again and every time I see the Dome of the Rock, you’ll know why I’ll be smiling! 

 

For some reason the internet is extremely slow and I can’t upload a photo. I’ll try to get some tomorrow.