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.