God's victory

Today we woke to a Jerusalem sunrise and after a great breakfast at the Gloria hotel, we loaded the bus and headed out to the surrounding hills. Our first stop today was Yad Hashmonah. At this site we saw some very well kept gardens and learned about the role of the threshing floor, a concept often referred to in the Bible, specifically in Ruth. This is where the chaff is separated from the wheat, a very important process in the sustaining the Israel culture for generations.

From Yad Hashmonish we then left for a very old city called Bet Shemesh. This was the region in which Samson lived and it was here that we learned about his story. Samson was a very strong man with, unfortunately, a very weak will. Even as one of Israel’s judges, he fell due to small compromises.

After Bet Shemesh we toured a really cool series of caves. This region is smattered in caves and we had the opportunity to explore just a few of the most impressive. We also got to experience an amazing Israeli “dip” meal in which we all received gigantic Israeli bagels with which we dipped into some amazing options of hummus, goat cheese/date honey, cream cheese/zaatar and lastly a chocolate spread to dip for dessert. We left stuffed and on a carb overload but loved every minute of it.

After lunch, we hit our final site of the day, the valley of Elah. This Elah valley is the site in which the Philistine army sent their champion, Goliath, to mock and humiliate the army of the Israelites. The Israelites sent the unlikely shepherd boy, David (and his incredible faith) to fight the giant. Of course we know the story of how the God of the Israelites was with David and gave him the courage to defeat this giant, sending the Philistines running through this valley. We later walked the valley collecting stones to remember Gods victory through David. We are now heading back up to Jerusalem to eat and sleep before another exciting day tomorrow. We have a ton in store tomorrow, please pray for us as we learn in this amazing city of Jerusalem. God bless.