Mountains of Gilboa,  may you have neither dew nor rain,  may no showers fall on your terraced fields.For there the shield of the mighty was despised,  the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil. 2 Samuel 1:21 The Philistines were gathering for battle. Saul mustered his forces to meet the threat. They gathered near the spring of Jezreel at the foot of Mount Gilboa. The evening before the battle, Saul was scared. God had abandoned him, and he was seeking guidance. Sneaking across the valley, over Mount Moreh to the north, he found a medium at En Dor, and asked […]
Author Archive: Brian Johnson
Strengthen the Defenses
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 1 Corinthians 4:8-12 Belvoir is the best preserved Crusader fortress […]
Ten Years Ago
When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for […]
Springs in the Desert
The burning sand will become a pool,  the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay,  grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. Isaiah 35:7 Driving north from Eilat, we eventually arrived at the Dead Sea region. Most of the areas around the Dead Sea are rather dry and lifeless. But there are a few places teeming with life. En Gedi is the most famous because David hid there from King Saul. I’ve been there a handful of times. We stopped briefly this time before pushing northward. Near the northwest corner of the Dead Sea, […]
Sailing on the Red Sea
King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. And Hiram sent his men–sailors who knew the sea–to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon. 1 Kings 9:26-28 We reached the southernmost part of our trip at the modern port city of Eilat. Israel has a few miles of shoreline on this gulf, nestled between Egypt on the west and Jordan on the east. Arriving in town, we hopped on a […]
Seven Weeks Later
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:35-38 Seven weeks ago was Easter Sunday. That makes today Pentecost Sunday. Interestingly enough, this year Jewish and Christian Pentecost fall on the […]
Giant Geological Gems
It’s a magical world, Hobbes ol’ buddy. Let’s go exploring! Calvin & Hobbes After our stay in Mitzpeh Ramon, we descended down the switchbacked road into the makhtesh (see last time for more information), following highway 40 south towards the Red Sea. What strange sights would we see in this giant, geological, dinosaur footprint-shaped crater? First, we stopped at the “Carpentry”. Ascending a wooden walkway, we gazed at the unique hill, made of strangely shaped pieces of rock. Given their shape and color, they look like sawed-off logs, giving the place its name. Next, a short hike or drive to […]
Life on the Edge
[God’s] splendor was like the sunrise;rays flashed from his hand,where his power was hidden. Habakkuk 3:4 In my last post, I wrote about the Maktesh Gadol, a later crater-like hole. It is one of three large makhteshim (plural of makhtesh). The largest of these geological giants (which I’ve written about before here and here) is called the Makhtesh Ramon. It’s about 25 miles long, 1-6 miles wide and over 1000 feet deep. On its northern ridge, the town of Mitzpeh Ramon sits, overlooking this awe-inspiring landscape. We spent the night in this little town on our way south, staying at […]
Colorful Crater
The Negev Highlands region has some unique geological formations known in Hebrew as a maktesh (literally “mortar grinder” since they’re bowl-shaped a like a mortar). Often known in English as “craters”, these were not formed by meteor impacts, but instead by erosion. While I’ve seen the largest of these geological formations before (tune in next time for more), I got to see a new makhtesh (the Makhtesh Gadol) on this trip. Driving through, we saw on our map a stop labeled “Colored Sands”, which sounded like it could be worth stopping at. Given how remote the site is, we figured […]
Along the Spice Route
See, a king will reign in righteousnessand rulers will rule with justice.Each man will be like a shelter from the windand a refuge from the storm,like streams of water in the desertand the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. Isaiah 32:1-2 I’ve written in the past about the Nabateans. With their capital in Petra, they controlled trade along the spice route south of Judea. Their peak was in the first century BC and first century AD until the Romans incorporated them into the empire. While Petra is the most well-known site, we stopped at another of their […]