Israel In-Depth Study Tour - Yearley

March 13-24, 2017

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So much more to tell

Shalom Rocky Peak,

The weather here in Judea is similar in many ways to southern California but the temperatures are more like Death Valley since this is mostly desert climate, as in, Jesus was tempted in the desert, Though not in the traditional sense of sand and cactus, we learned that there are three Hebrew terms for different types of desert. Midbar is a desert that is mild enough to raise sheep and goats, and Tsi-ya is a more scarce climate where you must walk for a full day, (an average of 26 miles, where we got 26 mile marathons) to reach a rest spot or camp known as a Han to avoid staying the night out in the harsh elements of the desert. And finally the third is Yeshimon which is an empty desert.

We came earlier than previous trips and the weather is much cooler and we even managed to avoid two days of rain that had been predicted before we arrived. Rain would have probably made two of our scheduled trips unsafe because of the steep terrain and the small canyons that funnel the rain down canyons and dry creek beds known as a wadis, or wadi. They can have sudden flash floods and wash anything or anybody down the creek bed in its raging torrents. But thankfully the Lord had the rain go to another area for a time so we could do as He has always asked of us, Love him with all our hearts and study His word because no man lives by bread alone but from every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.

That old expression of having a religious experience takes on new meaning here in the mountains of Judea, The Lord’s house. Jesus spent most of his physical life here and it seems that everything is connected to the Father and the Son everywhere you go and everywhere you look. So it really is true about the bible coming alive when you are here, but it really helps to have such good teachers as Pastor Michael and Ronan our native Israeli tour guide.

We started our first trip with a crazy steep climb up the cliffs at Masada which brought a truly inspirational story to life of the Zealots holding on to their last foothold in Israel that the Romans refused to leave unchallenged as a final rebel holdout. The Romans were unwilling to let hope flourish even with this small number of Zealots and wanted to squash all efforts of rebellion. The Roman attacks were unsuccessful for a few years but they eventually built a ramp for access to the fortress and the Zealots took each other’s lives to avoid slavery and living under Roman rule. We saw firsthand how the rebels were able to defend against large numbers of well-trained Roman soldiers as they were protected atop the treacherous cliffs of Masada. They hurled rocks and pushed boulders to keep the enemy away, but Roman soldiers were not ones to give up and they were victorious in the end.

I only have a short time left to finish this because of the time we returned and our planned dinner time so I will mention quickly the other two sites we visited. We all loved Ein Gedi which was the place David had found with caves and flowing water to hide from King Saul as it tells us in the bible. There were many cascading waterfalls in a lush canyon that was full of vegetation, but more importantly there were many caves where David and his men could hide from King Saul’s soldiers. We imagined one of those caves we saw to be the one David was close enough to cut off a piece of King Saul’s cloak.

What a great time we had walking in the creek with our shoes off and two fun loving guys couldn’t resist hamming it up for the camera and sitting under the falls. It was a beautiful hike over some steep rocky terrain but it was amazing with the towering canyon walls of beautifully carved rock from the water rushing through the canyon over time. David wrote some of the psalms there and the bible text really does come alive when you see this place.

And finally Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found was another amazing place and we learned how some shepherds had found the scrolls while looking for their sheep. King Hussein had commissioned an archeological dig to search for more caves and scrolls and to date they have found all but two of the original writings of the Old Testament. It is truly awesome how the reality of this only builds your faith. It becomes even more real than you ever imagined when you see and touch and feel these things in this magic place, this holiest of holy places on Earth where God had chosen to make his new covenant with the people of this planet.

Well I’m out of time and there is so much more to tell, may God bless you all richly and a special shout out to my friends at the Trust Company.

Shalom
Jon Harriott

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