Israel Study Tour - Friends of Hume

May 18-28, 2014

Subscription options are no longer available for this tour.

Help support our friends in Israel in their time of need.

Wilderness, Camels and Mud…Living Water, Dead Sea and Trust.

As we drove to our location, we saw that “desert” can mean very different things. It’s best to know what kind of desert you’re talking about before agreeing to go there. As we began our time in the Wilderness of Zin, we learned about flint rock and how the Israelites used it to make fire and to fashion tools, weapons and knives. We got a better understanding of what the Israelites experienced as they journeyed through the desert and had to trust God for food, water and shelter, and that sometimes He provides in unexpected ways, like “Living Water” springing forth from a rock.

Ein Avdat

The Nahal Zin was the southern border of the land of Canaan that was promised to the Israelites. Numbers 34:3-4 (KJV) “Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon.”

Learn More

After a strenuous hike, we sat in the shade of trees planted by a stream of water and listened as Psalm 1 was brought to life. We saw that sometimes the trees have to reach for the water with their roots and also trust that water will come again when enduring times of dryness, something we too experience in our own lives. Like the Israelites, we can feel forgotten by God, but it’s possible that we are the ones who have forgotten God’s faithfulness to us in the past, and we too must “Remember, don’t forget.” Perhaps our desert times are to teach us not to grumble when God only gives “just enough” and to know that through perseverance the trial can result in proven character and hope.

On our next stop we experienced the goodness of Bedouin and Biblical hospitality, so different from our Western ways, to welcome guests and give them food and shelter for three days, no questions asked. Then our hosts treated us to a short camel ride where we tested our ability to mount our saddles in unison and learned that the lead camel sets the pace, or not, as he may be more interested in stopping to eat. We ended our day where we began, at the Dead Sea, or as the locals call it, the Salt Sea. We had a hilarious mud treatment followed by the traditional floating which we all agreed, “We could get used to this!”

Sheila and Greg Bair

Dead Sea

Known in the Bible as the “Salt Sea” or the “Sea of the Arabah,” this inland body of water is appropriately named because its high mineral content allows nothing to live in its waters. Other post-biblical names for the Dead Sea include the “Sea of Sodom,” the “Sea of Lot,” the “Sea of Asphalt” and the “Stinking Sea.” In the Crusader period, it was sometimes called the “Devil’s Sea.” All of these names reflect something of the nature of this lake.

Learn More

Upcoming Signature Tours

With 30 years of experience creating trips for other ministries, we've prepared our own signature study tours featuring some of our favorite itineraries and compelling teachers! If you've never been on a GTI Study Tour, take a moment to learn more about what you can expect.

GTI Signature Germany Study Tour
Sep 11-19, 2024
Learn More

Turkey / Greece Signature Study Tour
Sep 15-25, 2024
Learn More

Egypt / Jordan Signature Study Tour
Mar 5-17, 2025
Learn More