Meanwhile, Back in the Desert…

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with […]

The Great and Terrible Wilderness

Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. Deuteronomy 1:19 The Negev began to look lush and green as we continued south into the Negev highlands. The farther south we went, the fewer plants we could see growing. No one survives in this region unless they’re prepared. Driving a car makes life much easier, especially with the air conditioning cranked up. The ancient Israelites had no such luxury. This […]

Negev

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. Genesis 21:33 We turned south, leaving the Shephelah and Coastal Plain behind us. It is obvious that less and less rain falls the farther south you go. The plants became smaller, sparser, and browner. We entered the Biblical Negev. While the modern Negev region covers the whole of the south of the country, in Biblical times it was a small region, forming the southern extreme of the ancient nation. At the center is the site of Beersheba, located where two […]

Coast

“Your western boundary will be the coast of the Great Sea. This will be your boundary on the west.” Numbers 34:6 Continuing west from the Shephelah, we arrived at the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The coastal plain is characterized by its flatness and being on the coast (hence the region’s name). This area allowed for easy, unimpeded travel. The main international airport that serves Israel today is located in this region near the modern city of Tel Aviv. I had once wondered why they hadn’t built the airport closer to Jerusalem. The simplest answer is that if you go […]

Shephelah

Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out–Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities left in Judah. Jeremish 34:6-7 We continued our journey west, emerging from the hill country to the shephelah, the low foothills. This region is characterized by low, rolling hills and wide valleys. The Sorek valley (mentioned last time) opened up as we crossed the limestone line. Sitting near the border is the ancient site of […]

Sorek

I will sing for the one I love    a song about his vineyard:  My loved one had a vineyard    on a fertile hillside.He dug it up and cleared it of stones    and planted it with the choicest vines.  He built a watchtower in it    and cut out a winepress as well.  Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,    but it yielded only bad fruit. Isaiah 5:1-2 After three days in and around Jerusalem, we rented a car as planned and headed west. Jerusalem is situated in the hill country, the ancient site laying a little east of the […]

Collected Artifacts

“That belongs in a museum.” Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The Israel Museum is one of my favorite museums, which I highly recommend if you enjoy archaeology. Besides all the amazing artifacts from throughout history found in Israel, there’s the Shrine of the Book (for the Dead Sea Scrolls) and the Second Temple Model. There are other wings devoted to art and other topics which I have not seen. Next to the Shrine of the Book is a 1:50 scale model of Jerusalem from the 1st century. It gives a great sense of what Jerusalem looked like […]

Moving Mountains

Our next excursion was to Herodian, the mountain that Herod the Great moved. He built it by chopping away at a nearby hill, looking like a volcano with its flat top. Visible from the Mount of Olives, it stands as a testament to the drive of Herod. Who builds a mountain? Because of difficulties of driving a rental car into the West Bank (our rental car company, like most, only cover driving on 2 main highways in the West Bank), we decided it would be easiest to get there via bus. The Egged bus system covers the country. We took […]

House Hill

“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your […]

City of the Great King

David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward. 2 Samuel 5:9 The City of David is located south of the modern walled city even though it was the original city core. This is the small town King David captured and made his capital. We visited the City of David National Park to see what has been found at this important Biblical site. Archaeological digs continue throughout the site. At the northern end of the park is a nice overlook. Doing a […]