Day 01 - Hebron, Susya, Shepherd's Field, Bethlehem

We began our day at Hebron in the West Bank.

Hebron comes up in a number of biblical stories. Joshua allotted Hebron to his right-hand man, Caleb, when they conquered the Canaanites. David reigned as king of Israel in Hebron for seven years before moving the capital to Jerusalem. However, Hebron is first mentioned in the story of Abraham.

After Abraham (then Abram) separated from his nephew, Lot, God showed him the land He intended to give to Abraham’s descendants. He reiterated His promise to make Abraham’s offspring countless “as the dust of the earth.” Abraham then settled in Hebron where he built an altar to the Lord.

Hebron, in a way, served as the bookends of Abraham’s faith in God. Yes, he earlier demonstrated his faith by leaving everything he knew to go to the land God would show him. But Hebron was an early stop along the way. It’s associated with God’s promise to and purpose for Abraham. Abraham was a nomad, so eventually he and his family moved along.

A lot happened in the years before Abraham returned to Hebron. He entered into a covenant with God. He fathered an illegitimate son named Ishmael through his wife’s maidservant. He then fathered the son God promised to send through Sarah. His faith was put to the test when God called him to sacrifice that son, Isaac, as a burnt offering (God, of course, stopped Abraham before he could go through with it). Then, for reasons the Bible doesn’t give us, Abraham and Sarah go back to Hebron. It is there that Sarah dies.

He purchased a plot of land from the Hittites – the people group occupying Hebron at the time – as a burial place. Abraham himself would eventually be laid to rest in Hebron – as would Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah. (Rachel is the only matriarch not buried as Hebron as she died in childbirth as they journeyed to Bethlehem – so she is buried there.)

God changed the world through Abraham. He didn’t always get it right. He made foolish decisions and took matters into his own hands rather than waiting on the promises of God. But the book of Hebrews has this to say about him:

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore." (Hebrews 11:8-12)

Abraham was a man of faith. Hebron, of course, was not the only key setting for his story. But it was a key setting and it was the perfect place to begin our study.

We then moved on to Susya – an archaeological dig south of Hebron.

Susya is not a biblical site, but it’s still a fascinating place to learn about the fate of the Jewish people after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. The Jews were expelled from Jerusalem and dispersed throughout, really, the world.

However, a portion of the Jewish population, it seems traveled south and established the community of Susya. The ruins first discovered in 1970 date to around the second and third centuries.

Susya is a bit unique among other sites where Jews were known to have fled. For one thing, every inscription, engraving, and mosaic is in Hebrew (even though Greek and Aramaic were the common languages of the day). Coins discovered at Susya bore not a Roman mint (as one would expect in a Roman-occupied territory), but the stamp of Jerusalem. The synagogue faces east, which seems to intentionally mimic the Temple in Jerusalem.

To make matters more interesting, there is no mention of Susya in the Roman records – including in their census records. This has led some scholars to believe that the people of Susya managed to live undetected for generations.

The inhabitants of Susya were likely devout Jews – possibly from the priestly class – who were determined to maintain, so far as they were able, their independence and religious freedom. The city was eventually abandoned without explanation. There’s no evidence of war or destruction. There’s no evidence of violence. It’s possible, if not likely, that the people feared being found out and so simply left before they could be.

Susya, of course, jumped us ahead in the story quite a ways. But it was powerful to see the great lengths these devout men and women went to in order to worship the God of Israel. I’ve never lived under occupation by another nation. I’ve never been threatened for what I believe. But it made me reflect on whether I’d be as zealous in finding a way to worship my God and Savior as were the people of Susya.

The latter part of the day was spent in Bethlehem.

Johnny, a Palestinian Christian, has been a longtime friend of GTI. He owns a souvenir shop in Bethlehem that specializes in beautiful carvings made from olive wood. Johnny graciously invited our group to his home for a late lunch. It was an incredible act of hospitality – inviting twenty people into the home he and his wife own above their shop.

It was getting late in the day, so rather than go to Johnny’s shop right away, we headed straight for the Shepherd’s Field. There we saw a shepherd's cave (now converted into a small church). We obviously don’t know precisely where Jesus was born – but the cave offered us a picture as to the humble surroundings of that birth. Together, we sang O Come O Come Immanuel. It was beautiful to sing a song about His coming near (if not exactly where) our Savior actually came.

We then ended the day at Johnny’s shop. As they served us lemonade and dessert, we browsed and picked up souvenirs for our friends and family.

We’re all safely back at the hotel and looking forward to our first full night of sleep in several days. We’re exhausted and happy and excited to see what God has for us tomorrow.