When moving from the Mediterranean coast into the hills of Judah (places like Jerusalem and Bethlehem), travelers had several parallel routes to choose from. They were dominated by several valleys in a region called the Shephelah. I want to focus on the three most prominent today. The first, in the north, is the Aijalon Valley, dominated by the cities of Aijalon and Gezer. There was a road from here that led east up to lower and upper Beth Horon, to Gibeon and beyond. This route is mentioned a couple times with the Israelites routing their enemies westward (Joshua 10:12, 1 […]
Tag Archives: Gezer
Crossroads
This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look;   ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it,   and you will find rest for your souls.   But you said, `We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16 I’ve been taking my jolly time for almost a year now documenting most of the places I traveled to in Israel last May. I didn’t intend on taking this long, but that’s what happened. While there’s plenty more to write about, this is the last that specifically addresses that trip. Our last stop was […]
A Parched Watered Land
I will make rivers flow on barren heights,   and springs within the valleysI will turn the desert into pools of water,  and the parched ground into springs. Isaiah 41:18 Sunday was our next field study day, touring from Jericho in the east along the Jordan River to Gezer in the west, which overlooks the coastal plain out to the Mediterranean Sea. Journeying from Jerusalem down to Jericho requires crossing the Judean Wilderness and descending over 3000 feet. The wilderness is a fascinating place to study. It is a vast wasteland full of bumpy terrain and deep, dark canyons. The desert […]