Don’t Pigeon-Hole Me There!

We got an early morning start after a late arrival, but appreciated the amazing breakfast buffet and the fellowship of friends, some old and some new, as we got on the bus. Our itinerary was full of Hebrew names and places, so we really had no idea what to expect. Our first stop was Yad Hashmonah.

At Yad Hashmonah, we sat in the ruins of an old synagogue that has been reconstructed to hold groups like ours. Pastor Rob started us out with a morning devotion and Brooke led us in worship in the beauty of the synagogue, surrounded by ancient agricultural terraces. We then read about the agricultural terraces in Isaiah 5 and saw ancient wine and olive presses, and then burial tombs. My favorite place was the tall tower, one of many that dots the landscapes among the agricultural terraces. We then raced off to Beth Shemesh.

At Beth Shemesh, we climbed to the top of the ridge where we had views of where Samson was born and where he killed the lion. We had a view of the land given to Judah and we walked among the ruins of Canaanite and Jewish excavations. They said that they determined whether or not they were Canaanite or Jewish by the amount of swine remains. If it is a Jewish settlement, there is less than .02% of pig bones. In this area, they also found a ring with a picture of a man holding a lion by the neck, which they assumed to be Samson. At this point, Pastor Rob gave us a devotion on Compromise and the Redemption from Compromise as he recounted the story of Samson in Judges.

Next we went to Bet Guvrin/Maresha, which you can find mentioned in Joshua 15:44, Micah 1:15 and several places in 2 Chronicles. Dennis A. was actually picking carob from a carob tree and talking us into eating it! Once our guide ate it, we felt reassured and we all joined in! And then we found out that it tastes best in August, not November! We then toured the excavated ruins of an old Edomite home, where they had discovered an olive press, a cistern, a quarry and finally, pigeon holes where pigeons could provide food, feathers and droppings for fertilizer in the garden. Yes, these pigeon holes are underground, yet the pigeons find them and reside there. There were tunnels galore, and I couldn’t help but think of many 10 year old boys who would love to go exploring!

We ended our touring for the day, by climbing another big hill called Azekah. From the top of Azekah we were overlooking the valley where David defeated Goliath. Brooke again led us in worship and Pastor Rob gave a devotion recapping the faith that David had, and how we should do the same things: trust in His Word, pray for help, and think back on God’s history of faithfulness in our lives when faced with trials. Our time was accented with flashes of lightning over the mountains of Hebron and rolling thunder.

Personally, Don and I had not yet ended our day. We found our own personal pigeon hole as we were trying to get our luggage to our 4th floor hotel room. We were stuck in the elevator for about 10 minutes before Annette E. and Chester H. realized that someone was stuck and they contacted the front desk. And then another 10 minutes before they could pry the doors open to let us out. But all in all, it was a wonderful, blessed day, with lots of learning! Waiting expectantly for tomorrow!

Shalom, from Don and Marie Stout