Quarry Study Tours
June 17 - July 1, 2019
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Adversity
A day is done. It’s one day with many amazing sights and lessons. We started at an ancient Tel called Tel Gezer where we were introduced really really really old ruins. For many of us it was a first time seeing something like this. As we took in Gezer and the nearby Ebenezer stones our conversations moved in an interesting direction. It seems, to me at the very least, struggle or living in adversity will be topics that speak to this wonderful group of people here.
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 moved onto Sha’arim and continued the conversation of struggle as we experienced the David and Goliath story. What an amazing moment to put color and direction and taste and sound to that amazing story of courage and boldness.
Azekah
Azekah (Heb: עזקה, ʿazeqah) was a town in the Shephelah guarding the upper reaches of the Valley of Elah, about 26 km (16 mi) northwest of Hebron. The current tell (ruin) by that name has been identified with the biblical Azekah, dating back to the Canaanite period. According to Eusebius' Onomasticon, the name meant "white" in the Canaanite tongue. The tell is pear shaped with the tip pointing northward. Due to its location in the Elah Valley it functioned as one of the main Judahite border cities, sitting on the boundary between the lower and higher Shephelah.[1] Although listed in Joshua 15:35 as being a city in the plain, it is actually partly in the hill country, partly in the plain.
Our final stops for the day continues the theme of talking through adversity. Whether from the enemy, man or our own minds. We swelled on what pressure might have been like for Jesus on that day long ago in a garden. We mulled how community works for us in adversity and what a marvelous example of community the trinity is to us.
It’s been a good, long day. We start early tomorrow with more adventures and lessons.
—Written by Adam
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