Help support our friends in Israel in their time of need.
Israel Study Tour with BEMA Discipleship
July 24 - August 11, 2016
Subscription options are no longer available for this tour.
City Gates and Lowlands
Today started with breakfast at our hotel just outside of Jerusalem. There was a wide variety of food, from pesto covered pasta to waffles.
Our first stop was at Tel Gezer. We walked among ancient ruins and learned about city gates. In ancient cities, the gate was where the poor and needy went to get the things they needed (since they lived outside of the city). We were challenged to be a gate to the world and people around us.
Gezer
Situated near the International Coastal Highway and guarding the primary route into the Israelite hill country, Gezer was one of the most strategic cities in the Canaanite and Israelite periods. Gezer is a prominent 33-acre site that overlooked the Aijalon Valley and the road leading through it to Jerusalem. The tel was identified as biblical Gezer in 1871 by C. Clermont-Ganneau who two years later found the first of many boundary stones inscribed with the city’s name.
We landed near Bet Shemesh for our second stop. Looking up on the hills where the tribe of Dan lived and where Samson was probably born, we talked about his life and his calling as a Nazirite. Marty challenged us to come off of the mountains and enter into chaos and live in the Sh'phelah. We then descended into an enormous underground cistern for a little while (and the temperature difference was a welcome change).
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.
We worked up quite an appetite from so much hiking and stopped for lunch at the Tsidonim Cave area (think park or orchard; if there were actually caves, we didn't stay long enough to find out). Fresh pitas, delicious veggies, Israeli juice and, wait for it, Coca Cola was provided for us.
After our bellies were full, we were dropped off on the side of the highway next to a large field. Marty walked us back a ways and told us that we were standing in the place where David killed Goliath. We walked a little farther and talked about the parable of the sower. We hiked still farther (and up a large hill), and found ourselves at an archaeological site that was uncovered very recently (13–15 yrs old). The city is called Shaharym (meaning two gates).
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.
As this is being written, we are on the bus heading to our next hotel for the night (about a two-hour ride). Dinner will be waiting, and boy are we hungry!
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.