What About Israel?

When preparing for a trip of a life time I knew it would challenge my views, I knew that I would be different, I even knew that I would be better equipped for ministry; what I wasn’t prepared for was the depth of spirituality I was going to experience, and the realness of my faith that would transpire through my travels of the land where my savior walked.

Israel is a land that has been continually in a transition of power since long before Christ walked across it’s landscapes. Yet it still holds strongly onto the sense of promise given from Yahweh to Abraham, and then again unto Moses. From the vast differences in religion and political ideology found in the land, there is a continual sense of holiness that seeps from the soil and waters of the land. 

What I had expected was nothing close to the reality of what Israel was. The biggest disappointment of the trip had to be the Jordan River, or as I like to say, the Jordan creek. The humbleness of the Jordan is a precursor to  everything else in Israel. Not that its not an amazing place, but rather everything is smaller, and closer together than I imagined. God’s Promise Land for the Israelites wasn’t the nicest or most beautiful land, rather it is a land where they would have to struggle to survive. Where they would have to rely on God for their safety, it would be where they would have to live their lives in obedience to God in order to even have a grasp on the land.

The people in the Holy land have vast differences in theology, which dictate every aspect of life for those who live in Israel. It’s amazing to see people who are so confident in their faith that it dictates there political stances to a degree unheard of in the States. There is absolutely no separation of Church and State. Religion dictates all of their decisions, Jew, Muslim, and Christian alike. 

Jerusalem is the home to three of the worlds biggest religions, all three of which we are told are based on the ideals of love, yet there is no place on earth that I have experienced such signs of hate. There is not trust, love, or grace shown outside of those within their own religion. It reminds me of Christian churches that all preach the same thing, yet compete to see who has the most people, and try stealing members from others. It often seems like there is no faith, no love, no God. How is it possible for a place such as Jerusalem to exist? There is not a place on earth that has seen as much bloodshed as Israel, and it was all done in the name of religion. When religion is controlled by humans it causes a rift between one group and the next, it causes hatred, and ultimately it causes death.

Since I have been back in the States, I have had a very difficult time explaining what I had experienced in the land. Even now as I dictate my thoughts I can’t express the feelings I have. I love the land, I love the people, both Jews and Muslim. But the hate found in the land baffles me. How is it that this country even exists? And what is our role as a Christian? I have no idea.

Day - 11 - No Faith in Farts

Now that I am back in the states and the internet actually works I can catch you up on my travels through the Holy Land.


On day 11 of my trip I got very sick. There were 43, out of 72, of us who ended up getting sick on either day 11 or 12. 


So instead of talking about my fever and diarrhea, I thought I would use today to share some random photos that were taken during the trip. 

This is our Hotel at Ohalo Manor on the shores of the Sea of Galilee

This picture is the reason I ended up shaving off my beard before returning to the states. I look way too much like my Dad. 

Here are some Israeli Shekels

Some lizards Masters caught

Day 9 - Tension on Boarders

Today we had the chance to visit the militarized zone, where 3 different militaries sit and wait. The militaries of Israel, Syria, and the UN. 


The drive to Mt. Bental we saw lots of military vehicles driving, practicing, and training. Everything from tanks to helicopters.  

From the top of Mt. Bental we could oversee the entire boarder area between the two countries. Israel has bunkers and gun posts on every hill which faces the boarder.


You can feel the tension between the two nations.

Next we had the opportunity to spend a bit of time checking out Nimrod's Fortress. 

Which is a fortress created to stop the crusaders from getting to Damascus. 

The crusaders of course didn't get that far so the fortress never saw any war, which means it has been left in very good condition.

Next we visited Banais, or biblical Caesarea Philippi. During the time of Jesus it was a very pegan city.

Next we visited Tel Dan, which was the city of the Israel tribe of Dan. Tel Dan is where the headwaters of the Jordan river begin. We went to the place where the water comes from the spring.

After coming from the extreme deserts of Israel to the place that gives water to the land, the imagery of water in the bible was revealed to be so relevant. We could drink this water, and we had a great time of reflection, until I fell in and ruined the moment. It was very embarrassing.... 

Also found at Tel Dan was the world most ancient arch, dating some 2,000 bc. That's 2000 years before the reign of Rome, who usually get the created for inventing the arch.

The last thing of the day was a visit to Omrit, which is an active archeological dig. They believe it to be one of the Temples built to Caesar Augustus by Herode the Great. 

Day 8 - The Climb to Sea Level

[Sorry these are behind and taking so long, we are very busy, and the internet is awful. If I am not caught up by the time I get back I will continue to post until all my days in the Holy Land are covered.] Enjoy!

From -1300 feet to 0 was the climb of today. To reach the palace fortress created by Herod the Great on the shores of the Dead Sea.

Masada.

We climbed up what is know as the Roman ramp, which was the ramp built on the side of the cliff in order for the military to capture Masada.

After taking the tram down the other side of Masada we headed over to a place that overlooked the canyons and the caves of Wadi Murabat. This is one of the places where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were recovered from. 

From there we drove a few minutes to a place were we could swim float in the Dead Sea. 

The mud made our skin soft.

Day 7 - Through the Wilderness

Our first stop today was Maktesh Ramon, which is one of the biggest scars on the face of the earth. Much like the Grand Canyon except without the river, and quite a bit bigger.


After that we headed to Avdat, which is a city connected to Petra by the incense route. The Nabateans used to use it on their trading routes.












At Avdat we saw a millstone:

Luke 17:2 (New International Version)

² It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Even though we find ourselves in modern Israel, we are not yet in biblical israel. As we travel north to the land of biblical Israel we passed through both the Wilderness of Zin and Paran. 

Numbers 20

Water From the Rock

 ¹ In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

 ² Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. ³They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! ⁴Why did you bring the LORD’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? ⁵Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

 ⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. ⁷ The LORD said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

 ⁹ So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

 ¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

What I learned from one of our guides is that because the soil doen't absorb moisture very well in the desert, when it does rain often time it will get trapped in crevasses and calcify over, creating a pocket of water. 

Shepherds back in the day used to find these spots in the rock and strike them with their staffs and get water for their flock.

This could be the reason God punishes Moses, because he provided for Israel out of his own means, rather than allowing God to be their provider. 

Once we reached the southern edge of biblical Israel, we stopped at Tel Arad, which is one of the only places you can see a ancient Jewish Temple. There is a Kosher alter, and even a Holy of Holies. What is real interesting is that inside of of Holy of Holies there are two vertical stones which are idols to represent gods. It is believed that the taller one represented Yahweh, and the other represented his wife asura.  

It is interesting to see the worship of God along side of the worship of another god. It shows how the Jews were influenced by paganism. 


Arad is also the place where the Israelites first try to enter the promise land and are repelled. 

Day 6 - Stupid Americans

We got up early this morning to go out to Timna, which is the area the Egyptians used to travel to, to mine copper ore during the 6th millenium BC.

There we saw some of the beautiful rocks of Israel, but the coolest part of Timna was that there was a replica tabernacle that we were able to check out. 

The tabernacle was the place where sacrifices to God happened while the Israelites were in exile, prior to coming into the promise land.  

The tabernacle represented the place God's presence dwelled in the earth.

After Timna we headed out for lunch were I made a new best friend. Shwarma. It's lamb, chicken, or beef, shaved and put in a peta with hummus and lots of veggies. It is probably one of my new favorite foods.

After lunch we headed to the Red Sea to go snorkeling in the coral reefs. It was an amazing experience, especially after experiencing the lack of life in the deserts of Israel. 

I also had an interesting conversation with one of the guys on our trip. While we were in Jordan we all bought some Arab head dresses, which we learned represent various Arab nations. Red and white for example was for the nation of Jordan. 

Black and white on the other hand represents Palestine, which is a nation of no land who claims the Israel for itself. In essence Palestine and Israel are rivals, and often the reason for most of the violence in the middle east. 

My friend feels it's ok to where the black and white scarf in Israel. 

Our guides say that they dont like it, but most Israelites understand stupid Americans that don't know what they are doing. 

My question is, just because they think we are going to be stupid Americans, does that mean we have to be???

What do you think?

Day 5 - Into the Holy Land

In the morning we woke up early at the Beduin camp to prepare for a 4x4 trek through the desert.   

We rode in a bunch of awesome Toyota trucks that took us through sand and rock to see the land of Wadi Rum, Jordan.

After getting back we hoped on the bus to head down to Akaba, which is Jordan's main port. This is also the place were we crossed the Jordan - Israel borded. It was mid day on a weekend and we were the only people crossing.

The security was the tightest security I have ever been through. They checked through almost everyone's bags, and those with us that had darker skin were definitely profiled. One of my friends on the trip was pulled aside and interrogated 4 times. It took us about an hour to get through the 4 security check points coming into Israel. 

Once we were in Israel we stayed in the night at Eliaht, Israel at a youth hostil. 

The rest of the day was free to explore the city. Eliaht is considered the Hawaii of Israel. It was very warm and tropical. 

Most of us went down to the Red Sea to cool off.


I was amazed at how many people were walking the streets even late into the night, around 1am. 

Day 4 - Petra

We drove 4 hours through flat and boring desert from Amman to a place that amazing beyond words. 

Petra!

Petra blew my expectations out of the water. The carvings were incredible.

We had the opportunity to hike up 1000 steps to the very highest mountain in Petra. This is the place that the Nabateans, used to make their sacrifices to their gods. 


From the top you can see the Tomb of Aaron.

That hike gave me a new understanding of "The High Places" talked about in the bible. 

After Petra we headed south to Wadi Rum, Jordan to spend the night with the Bedouins.










They made us their traditional food Zerba, which is where they dig a deep hole and like a fire in it, then put the meat on the fire and burry it in the sand for 2-6 hours depending on the type of the meat. 

They made us both chicken and lamb Zerba, the chicken was great, the lamb, not so much.


After dinner we danced around the fire with the Bedouins, it was interesting. 

Day 3 - Final Arrival

We finally arrived in the middle east! 

I wasn't sure if we were going to make it or not.

I was able to sleep 10 of the 11 hours of the flight, so it wasn't too bad, thanks to my friend Nyquil.

When we stepped off the plane in Amman, Jordan there were buses waiting to take us to Mount Nebo. 

This is the place were God showed Moses the promise land. 

Supposedly you can see most of Israel and the Dead Sea from Mount Nebo, unfortunately there was a sand storm which turned the sky brown and decreased visibility so we were not able to see very far. 

Day 2 - New York

Sorry it has taken me so long to update the blog, its been tough with the litte time/internet we have. Look for more updates soon!

We were supposed to make it to Amman, Jordan, but we only ended up making it to New York, so we tried to see everything the big apple has to offer in a single day.

I was exhausted by the end of the day.

I am glad I got to see so much, because now I never have to go back.

I was not a fan of New York.

This is a monument down in one of the parks of New York, it is a monument that was outside of the World Trade Centers on 9-11.  

 

This is a memorial to those who lost their life on 9-11, it is found outside of the fire house across the street from where the towers once stood.

Israel Trip Day 1 - Mini Bags Of Peanuts

Flying is probably one of my least favorite things to do, ever. So excited for where I am headed, yet caged in a seat that I barely fit into. It's probably why I only allow myself to have one of my all time favorite drinks, Ginger Ale + Cranberry Juice, when I am flying. It makes it seem at least bearable I guess...


Today we flew from Sea-Tac to Detroit.


Detroit had about 50mph cross winds, the piolet told us over the loud speaker, "I don't feel comfortable landing in this weather, I am going to go around again and follow someone else in." Way to instill confidence....


Once in Detroit our flight out got delayed, they actually told us they had no idea when it was going to get in. So we sat around and waited. Then when in finally came in we boarded up and sat on the run way, for 1 1/2 hours.... 


Did I mention that this plane was the oldest and most scary looking thing ever?


We finally get in the air on our way to New York, only to find out after we land that we missed out transfer to Amman, and the next flight out isn't until 8pm the next day. So we get a free day in New York, which is cool because I have never been her.


Then there is all this drama about hotel and food vouchers that I dont want to get into because its been a long day and I am tired. 


Moral of the story? Don't fly Delta Airlines, unless you like having all your plans ruined. 


No pictures or videos yet, mainly because today was awful. Tomorrow should be better!


New York city, then an 11 hour plane ride to Amman.