Day 01 - Shephelah: Gezer, Beth Shemesh, Azekah, Caves of Adullam, Lachish

Good evening from Israel! We had an incredible and full day in the hill country! First on our itinerary this morning was Gezer. We stopped at a gate that was built during the time of Solomon. Gates were significant in biblical times as they were a place were the elders would gather to make administrative decisions. Then, we saw large standing memorial stones that are evidence that when Joshua took Gezer, he did not tear down the high places of the Canaanites. Unlike these stones that no longer tell the story of why they’re there, we are called to be living stones for the Lord and continue to tell our story.

We later moved on to the Beth Shemesh in the Sorek Valley - the place where the narrative of Samson took place and where the ark of the covenant was returned after the Philistines took it. 

We went to Azekah in the Elah Valley where David killed Goliath. Pastor Brian challenged us to ask the Lord to reveal to our what our “5 smooth stones” were that God wants us to trust him with for his use. Continuing in the path of David, we went and CRAWLED THROUGH the Adullam Cave. David hid there when Saul was seeking to kill him. He went from being alone to having 300 distressed people who joined with him. 

Our last stop was Lachish. One of the first fortified cities that Sennacherib (from Assyria) captured in an effort to take Judah. Sennacherib took all the fortified cities and threatened Jerusalem. Hezekiah layed out his petition before the Lord to save Israel and he did! 

Our main takeaway from today was, as disciples, we need to hear Jesus and obey him. Pray for us tomorrow and our second full day of hiking!