Israel Study Tour with Joshua Wilderness Institute

April 9-21, 2016

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Day One in the Shephelah!

Our first day of touring Israel has gone swimmingly. Now some of these things we once thought of as mere stories, in the form of flannelgraphs and Veggie Tales, feel a little more real.

Today, we started in the memorial of Yad Hashmona just a stone’s throw from the mountain, Kiriath Jearim, where the Ark of the Covenant sat for about 20 years. We then took a tour of a garden comprised of many herbs and fruits—mint, rosemary, lavander, fig, date, olive, grape, etc.—as well as a winepress, olive press, tomb, and a ritual bath, called a mikveh in Hebrew.

Yad Hashmonah

The Biblical Village on the slope of Yad HaShmonah provides visitors with hands-on exposure to the manners and customs of the ancient Israelites. The garden includes olive trees and press, grape vines and several winepresses, wheat field and threshing floor, watchtower, Bedouin tents, ancient Galilean synagogue, and a burial cave. All have been constructed according to the best archaeological knowledge of ancient life.

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Secondly, we ventured to Beth Shemesh where we read the account of Samson in Judges. The story took on a new light as we looked over the very hills and plains in which the story took place, with our guide pointing at cities and valleys and mountains—both ancient and modern—as names we recognized from reading the scripture. We also entered a cistern where we read some scriptures that described a cistern and how it differed from a well. Rich taught on Jeremiah 2:13 that says God’s people rejected Him, who is like a well with living water, and instead dug cisterns for themselves that are broken and won’t hold water and the water they collect isn’t very good. It was a good picture to remind us that we can get by on our own strength but it is only God that can truly sustain us.

Beth Shemesh

A border city between Judah and Dan, Beth Shemesh was given to the Levites. Beth Shemesh was the most important Israelite city in the Sorek Valley as it watched both east-west traffic through the Sorek Valley and north-south traffic along the “Diagonal Route.” Recent excavations have shown a thriving city here from the Middle Bronze Age through the Iron II period.

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After this, we went to Azekah, the place where David fought Goliath. As we looked over the hills, Jeff Lilley taught from 1 Samuel 17. We read the story of David and Goliath, looking over the valley and hills and envisioning the scene of the battle, even having two students read the parts of David and Goliath and giving us an inside view to their characters. The idea we walked away with was David was victorious because he put his confidence in the Lord, but Goliath and the Philistines put their confidence in the flesh and the strength of their own deeds. It could be summarized in this passage:

“What one believes about God effects what one does before men. It’s obedieance in the small things and in the quiet moments of life with the Father that define one’s character, and then in turn defines how one will obey when before the eyes of man. For it is as A.W. Tozer wrote, ‘To be right with God often means to be in trouble with Men.’”

Tel Azekah and Elah Valley

The Brook Elah is famous for the five stones it contributed to the young slinger, David. Some surmise that David chose five stones instead of the one needed in case he needed to face Goliath’s four brothers.

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Finally we spent the remaining portion of the day exploring the underground village of Maresha. We learned that Maresha was known as a great place of business with just about everything but growing crops happening underground, from raising pigeons in columbariums, to pressing olive oil, to digging a quarry.

We are excited to get back to the hotel tonight for some rest so we are ready to explore some more tomorrow!

Shalom,
Malcolm and Baylie

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