Help support our friends in Israel in their time of need.
Israel Study Tour - Living Oaks Church
October 17-29, 2014
Subscription options are no longer available for this tour.
Informative, Refreshing, Beautiful!
Our first day was very full, entertaining, educational and inspiring! We began the day with an excellent breakfast at Neve Llann. We began the day at a very nearby Israeli garden where we learned about the importance of grapes, olives, figs, dates, wheat and barley. Olives were so very important to the economy – it was used for many things including fuel. In ancient times Israeli olive oil was exported all over the ancient world.
Next stop was at Bet Shemesh – learned what an important location it was geographically – and the importance of Sampson. Compromise was the key word of that lesson and how Sampson continually compromised his relationship with the Lord. Most of the group went down into an ancient cistern, to show how water was essential to survival.
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.
Next stop coincided with a lovely rain as Pastor Doug gave us a lesson about David and Goliath. Not only was it a lesson, but we were actually standing at the location where David slew Goliath! That was very cool! We could see the hills on both sides and the valley in between where the “battle’ took place.
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.
Third stop of the day was picnic lunch at Bet Guvrin. After lunch, we went down into an underground columbarium (pigeon house) which gave us an indication as to the size of the city. This is also the place where Herod came from. This was a very thriving community. We went into a second underground city. A few of these underground cities have been excavated in recent years. Many olive presses were underground as well.
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.
Last stop of the day was the Bell Caves. Very interesting in that these caves were created as a result of quarrying limestone. What remains today are very beautiful bell shaped caves with wonderful acoustics. The group sang an acapella version of “I Love You Lord” Beautiful!
The weather was absolutely perfect – cool with light rain. Stay tuned to follow more of our amazing adventure!
Nancy
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.