Next year in Jerusalem!

After breakfast we boarded the bus for a tour through Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial. Jim Showers gave a devotional on I Chronicles 29:14-15. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You and of Your own we have given You. For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope.” Looking at Israel, we are pilgrims in this land. It is not our home. We are visitors, not citizens. It’s a privilege four us to be here. We have seen a different culture than our own. We’ve had Tito guiding us and Ruven driving us. We wouldn’t know our way in this country without them. When it comes to being pilgrims in this world, we need the Lord! When we become comfortable we stop relying on God. God wants us to know we are strangers in this world and we should be waiting eagerly for His coming.

On our way to Yad Vashem we stopped at Mount Herzl. There is a museum here that focuses on Theodor Herzl, the visionary behind modern Zionism. Learn more about him here.

We stopped at the IDF graves on top of Mount Herzl. There we visited the grave of a lone soldier Michael Levin from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A lone soldier is someone who comes to Israel on his or her own to serve in the IDF. Michael came over when he was 18 years old. He grew up being neighbors of The Friends of Israel’s former executive director and when we had tours come to Israel, Michael would speak to them. He was killed in action in Israel, serving the country he loved. You can learn more about Michael and a program on Israel’s lone soldiers here. The people of Israel pay a tremendous price to live in peace. Michael did not need to serve but he chose to come.

It was a moving moment going from Michael’s grave to Yad Vashem, a place to remember why the Israeli people serve: so it will never happen again. Sometimes it’s hard to put into words such an emotional place like Yad Vashem. There is the Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles, trees planted in honor of gentiles who risked their lives to save the Jewish people. People like Oskar Schindler and Corrie ten Boom. The Hall of Names, a place where each person who died in the Holocaust is written and remembered. They even have a special memorial for children of the Holocaust. It was overwhelming to think that over 1.5 million children died in the Holocaust. The Jewish people have disproportionate amount of contribution to science and medicine in the world. You wonder, what might have been if these children were able to grow and have children and grandchildren. The Lord has blessed all nations through His Chosen people.

As sobering as the memorial was, at the end is a message of hope! You look out into the Jewish people’s land, Israel! As you stand and stare out you’re reminded how God allowed them to have their homeland back after this tragedy. What a testimony of God’s protection and promise He will always leave a remnant. It gave us a new passion to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

We had lunch in the Jewish quarter (maybe the best lunch so far!) with a beautiful panoramic view of Jerusalem. We then headed to the City of David national park. Before there was Jerusalem, there was a city on a hill called Jebus. When David became the king, he conquered it and named it City of David. It has been expanded by Solomon and then by Hezekiah and then again a couple of times with the Second Temple period. This is the place where Jerusalem became the capital of Israel 3000 years ago!

There was a bulla from the time of the First Temple that was found in 2008. You can read about that here.

We went through Warren’s shaft, passed the Canaanite pool to Hezekiah’s tunnel. At the entrance for Hezekiah’s tunnel we turned left into an older Canaanite irrigation tunnel that dated back to 1400 BC! We came out to the street and traveled to the Pool of Siloam. This was created by King Hezekiah and was fed by the Gihon Spring. In the New Testament, Jesus healed a blind man here in John 9.

This evening we ended our time here in Israel with a farewell banquet. Jim Showers walked us through the events we shared together. He read a Song of Ascent from Psalm 122. “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!”

A representative from our Israeli tour company, Diesenhaus Unitours presented Jim with an appreciation certificate from the Ministry of Tourism thanking us for coming and supporting Israel. Debbie sang the beautiful song, Bethlehem Morning.

Josh Reinstein, director of the Christian Allies Caucus was our keynote speaker. Josh grew up in Dallas, TX and Toronto, Canada. He spoke to us about the importance of Christians coming to Israel and how we must stand together with the Jewish people for peace. He proudly told of all the blessing Israel has given to the nations. Over 20% of technology in the world comes the tiny nation of Israel, the laptop, cell phone, CAT scans, drip irrigation. Yet many are against Israel. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. They have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and gender equality. It is our duty to be friends of this beautiful nation.

Jim read from Psalm 137, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

Tomorrow we depart early to catch our flight home. We’re sad to say goodbye to Israel and the people we’ve met. Our hearts, minds, and souls are full. We bring with us a better understanding of the Bible and the history and culture of Israel, both ancient and modern. We leave encouraged, renewed, and spiritually challenged. From the devotionals, the teaching, and bonding with others we are not the same. We are thankful for Tito our guide. He was full of knowledge, personality and wit. Ruven, our driver was patient and helpful and an amazing driver of a giant bus on sometimes narrow roads. This was a transformational and life-changing tour. Turning the black and white text of Scriptures into full color. We are thankful for the wonderful weather we had and the great food and hotels. We will not forget you Israel! You are in our hearts and prayers. Next year in Jerusalem!