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Israel Study Tour - Grace Bible Church
April 23 - May 3, 2014
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The Lord is gracious
Day 1: Kiriah Jearim, Bet Shemesh/Cistern, Azekah, Bet Guvrin/Maresha, and Lachish
Incredible start to the trip! Some may be feeling the jet lag, but it did not stop us from a full day!
“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” Psalm 103:8
Hearing the words read from Psalm 103 in the ruins of a synagogue, we began our day. The synagogue sits in a biblical garden that we toured, seeing our first olive press of the day.
“For my people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13
When we reached Bet Shemesh, we were able to pause and hear the story of Sampson. While hearing the story in Judges, we could look out upon the Zorich valley in one direction and the lands from where Delilah came in another direction. To see the landscape as you are hearing God’s word…the visual picture becomes that much more tangible and real. A few steps away we were able to go down into a cistern, aka “Hard Rock Café” (according to Wes, the milkshakes there are pretty chalky)! Not a usual tourist stop,
“David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” I Samuel 17:45-47
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.
“Tel” was a popular term today for us. At Azekah, we walked up the tel and then gathered as West read the story of David and Goliath. We sat listening overlooking the valley of Elah and the land of the Philistines.
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.
The remainder of the afternoon we walked through the caves at Maresha and a quick stop at Lachish. We are currently en route to the Dead Sea. Rumor has it, there may be a little floating this evening!
Beth Guvrin (Maresha)
Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is a national park in central Israel, 13 kilometers from Kiryat Gat, encompassing the ruins of Maresha, one of the important towns of Judah during the time of the First Temple,[1] and Beit Guvrin, an important town in the Roman era, when it was known as Eleutheropolis.
Archaeological artifacts unearthed at the site include a large Jewish cemetery, a Roman-Byzantine amphitheater, a Byzantine church, public baths, mosaics and burial caves.
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