Source of Life

Shalom!

We had an amazing day today! I apologize in advance for the length of this blog, but WOW it was amazing! First, just being in Israel is beyond anything we could have anticipated. We have all heard so many bible stories and we all have an image of what to expect. But now we all will experience it for ourselves. Each of us will live it in a different way, and experience what our Lord has in store for us in a personal way.

After LOTS of travel yesterday, we began the day 30 minutes earlier than we expected at 6am; several people struggled with only a few hours sleep. Breakfast at the hotel was quick and easy, then we were off to the Biblical Gardens. Pastor Mike introduce us to Ronen our tour guide, and Ronen introduced us to Meir our bus driver. Wonderful people, and I am sure we are going to have an amazing journey!

These Biblical Gardens were a great way to begin. Pastor Mike made a sincere point to ask every person not to think of this as a trip, or another place to visit, but to have this time be a personal time with God. I pray it be so. The Biblical Gardens introduced us to the basic food staples of Israel. Figs, dates, olives, pomegranates, grapes, barley and wheat. By taking this time to introduce us to food and how it has evolved over time was a great way to show us Hebrew culture in centuries past, and how it determined how land was settled. We also saw a wine press, threshing stones, and other assorted, important aspects of past Hebrew culture.

Next we visited the Tel at Gezer. A Tel is a city that has many levels to it. Over the centuries, Gezer was destroyed and rebuilt many times. Archeologist are constantly searching this and other Tels for clues to ancient past. The most notable thing in my opinion at Tel Gezer were the stone monuments. No-one knows exactly why the monuments are there, or what purpose they serve exactly. However Pastor Mike made the point that when Joshua entered this area he was commanded by God to destroy the people and everything they worshipped. However, Joshua disobeyed. Thus it is suspected that these stone monuments were idols. Joshua compromised, and the Hebrew nation integrated with the pagan cultures of the day. When difficult times came, many Hebrews fell into old habits and began worshiping idols. The theme of compromise was started for the day. How do we compromise when our Lord asks us to eliminate something from our lives? It was a touching moment, and VERY visual to be standing at that location enjoying seeing one of the examples of how the Hebrew nation had compromised.

After Tel Gezer we visited a cistern, a location where water would be stored. We actually were able to climb into the cistern! What an amazing thing to think that at one time it was full of water, and we could see the hole in the rock above where the buckets would come down to get the water. Again, the theme of compromise came in. Jesus said that he is “living water.” The Cistern is stored and kept for month and months during the dry season. The water in it will get old, moldy, and smelly but it could be purified. Pastor Mike asked, where do we get the source for our life? From our Lord, or from a cistern? Again, it was a graphic example of showing the different choices we must make every day.

Next we ventured to Azekah, a city on the hill facing the Valley of Elah. This is the same valley where David defeated Goliath the Philistine! What an incredible feeling it was to be on a hill looking down at the battlefield where this epic confrontation took place! After this visual, and an amazing description of the battle, we headed down to the same stream where David chose the rock he would use to defeat Goliath! We were able to choose a rock of our own from the stream!

Next we headed from the place where David defeated Goliath to the Caves of Adulum where David hid from Saul who wanted to kill him! Being able to trace the steps of where David walked, and see how he hid in the caves was incredible. We were actually able to crawl into the caves ourselves! The caves are barely large enough for a person to crawl through. A straight tube would turn and you would have to contort your body up to the next level. Occasionally there would be a larger room where many people could congregate. Sometimes you would have to go feet first, sometimes crawling forward. No lighting, no emergency exits. I should have thought twice about going when Ronen said that taller people suffer more! For me it was an army crawl (not on my hands and knees), but regardless it was an amazing experience that will not be forgotten!

Tonight we sleep at the Dead Sea. What an amazing experience. Thank you Lord for keeping us safe, and helping Pastor Mike get well!

Bob Wiseman