Walking in the Footprints of the King

Egypt was fantastic... and so are finals (okay, maybe not that)

2009-04-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

It's been about a week and a half since I returned to Israel from Egypt, which means that I've finally gone through most of the pictures from the trip! I would love to write a comprehensive blog detailing the trip, but there is simply too much to say. I do have to say, however, that this trip was one of the highlights of my time in the middle east and indeed all of college! Seeing the Pyramids, Karnak temple, Luxor temple, Valley of the kings, the Colossi of Memnon, Banana Island, the Egyptian Museum, and Petra (that's in Jordan, not Egypt :D) was incredible, but what made the trip so memorable were the adventures along the way. There are simply so many stories to tell of haggling with Egyptians who barely speak English, almost getting run over twice every time we crossed the street, shady hotels, overnight train rides from Cairo to Luxor, getting ripped off on Banana Island, and staying in an apartment owned by an (and arguably THE) Israeli drug lord. Hopefully the pictures will convey some of the fun that we had on this trip. Enjoy!

Chillin' with Pharaoh...

2009-04-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

In approximately 6 hours I will be on a bus bound for Egypt. This week is spring break for us here in IBEX, and most of us have decided to go down to Egypt (I know it's a little backwards... God brought the Israelites OUT of Egypt and now we're going back...?) to see the pyramids, temples, sights, and smells of the land of bondage. We will, presumable, be without Internet for around 9 days, but I promise to write about it as soon as I get back. If you remember, please pray for the safety of our group and that God will teach us while we are away from the familiar. I am extremely excited about his trip, but not so excited about the extremely short night of sleep ahead of me!

God Bless!
ברוך השם

The Beginning of the End...

2009-04-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

The end is in sight. It's quite a bittersweet thought. There is a part of me that longs to be home and another part of me that never wants to leave. I have learned so much in this land and know that there is still so much left to learn. I am torn between longing to see family, friends, familiar places, and a yearning to stay in a country that I have grown to love. I have even fallen in love with the language of the land, which before coming here I had always thought was a course and uninteresting. Lord willing, my studies in Hebrew will continue even after I am home.

This week has been rather hectic preparing for finals and getting ready to go to Egypt. Even though this is such a hectic week, I HAVE had some time to go through some pictures and edit them. Here are some more from the Galilee trip!

ברוך השם
Baruch HaShem!

2009-04-04T22:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the FIRST day of the Galilee trip I just returned from. There are pictures from 7 more days! I just haven't had time to go through them all yet. The last picture, of the rolling stone tomb, is actually from the second day. Since my camera still thinks it is in California, this photo was included in Day 1.

In Christ

2009-04-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

Over the past 8 days I have seen such sites as The Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Caesarea Philippi, Caesarea Maritime, Nazareth, Mt. Carmel, Bethsaida, Chorizim, Tiberius, Beth Shan, The Jordan River, Megiddo, The region of the Gadarenes, Bashan (the Golan Heights), Mt. Herman, Dan, and a great many other places where the redemptive history of the Bible took place. However, even after seeing these places and standing on the very stones upon which Jesus, Paul, or Peter may have walked, the question of whether it is real must still be asked. This question of reality is not a question of whether these events really did happen, but whether or not I truly believe that they did. There is a mountain of archeological evidence that says Jesus really did live, that He really was born in Bethlehem, and that he really was executed on a Roman cross outside of Jerusalem, and that he really did rise from the dead on the 3rd day. Knowing that these things happened and truly believing them are completely different matters. To know that they happened is to acknowledge the historicity of the events in the same fashion as acknowledging that I ate breakfast this morning. It happened. But, to truly believe that these events happened and to have my life changed by them, that's a completely different matter. How will my life be impacted by these places and what happened in them? How will I live differently because of what I have seen and what I have experienced? These are the questions that I must deal with for the rest of my life.

Let me now pose the question to the reader (that's you). You have read the Bible. you know the story of Jesus. How is your life different because of what Jesus said and did? How does it need to change?

Blessings
ברוך השם

2009-03-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that. Things over here have been getting pretty busy with projects being due, trips to strange and far off lands, and just life. Some highlights from the past few weeks are archeological excavations in two different places around Jerusalem. The first project we helped with is called the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The story behind this project is that it is the first time in history, modern or ancient, that the artifacts from the temple mount have been able to be analyzed by archeologists. The Muslims have controlled the temple mount for around 1400 years and do not let anyone dig or look around for artifacts up there. In fact, some IBEX students were arrested several years ago for bringing a spoon on to the Temple Mount because the Muslims believed they were attempting to dig with it! In addition to this, it is illegal to dig for antiquities anywhere in Israel without express permission from the government. It is even illegal to build without an archeologist inspecting the property first and affirming that there are no important ruins on build site. About 10 years ago the Muslims decided that the Al-Aqsa mosque, which stands on the south end of the temple mount and accommodates 5000 worshipers, was not enough mosque space on the temple mount (The Al-Aqsa mosque is the gray dome on the south end of the Temple mount. You can see it in most pictures of this site). So in 1997, they decided to renovate what is known as Solomon's Stables and turn it into a mosque. Don't be deceived, however, Solomon's Stables are not stables and were not built by Solomon. They are support arches for the Temple Mount expansions of Herod the Great in the first century AD. This 1997 mosque expansion was carried out quite illegally, but not necessarily covertly. Trucks and tractors were brought onto the temple mount and used to haul away several thousand cubic meters of dirt and rubble to a dump site about 2 miles away. The authorities, knowing full well what was going on, chose to look the other way for fear of agitating already volatile Jewish/Muslim relations. Many archeologists were outraged by the behavior of the authorities in not stopping the Muslims from bulldozing and dumptrucking material from one of the holiest sites in the world without allowing it to be examined first. After several years of legislation, archeologists were granted permission to sift through the rubble that was illegally dumped during this construction project. That project is the Temple Mount Sifting Project of which we had the privilege to be a part. It has been going on for about 5 years and will probably continue for another 15-20.

This past Sunday, our IBEX group spent some 3-4 hours sifting through the rubble from the Temple Mount. Between the 40 of us, we found 2 ancient coins (we're not sure what they are yet because they must be cleaned first), several blue glass mosaic tiles that had fallen off the Dome of the Rock, a section of Opus Sectili (extremely smooth and colorful tiles used in decoration - Very expensive and very rare), many mosaic tiles ranging from half an inch square to over 3 inches across, lots of nails - both ancient and modern, and more pottery than you ever thought existed!

The second excavation we helped with does not have so elaborate a story as the Temple Mount Sifting Project. Or perhaps it does but remains unknown to me. The second day of archeological excavations (that's Monday, if you're counting) we helped with excavations in the city of David. The city of David is the original city that David build when he became king. It was built in the exact same location as the Jebusite city of Jebus and is actually outside the walled city of Jerusalem that stands today. Faulty philosophy of archeology has led many archeologists to believe that the City of David never existed in this location. The excavation we helped with on Monday, as well as several others, are working on finding remains of civilization from the time of David thus proving these unbelievers wrong. Our work in this excavation was not nearly as fun or rewarding as our work on the Temple Mount Project. Basically, we were dirt movers. There were 4-5 people digging about a hundred yards underneath and building and the 40 of us were the line of people passing the bags of dirt and rocks up out of the hole. I would be lying if I said it was loads of fun, but I would also be lying if I said it was the worst day of my life. Some of the best times with other people are had when working hard together. All in all, the work was hard, but the fellowship was good. If you're still reading this, I apologize for the lack of photos. I didn't bring my camera these two days because I knew the work would be hard and dirty and not a good place for a camera.

I'm constantly amazed at how fast this semester is going, yet how long it seems at the same time. If my thoughts turn to home and the people I love, it seems like I've been here for years and won't be going home for a really long time. On the other hand, when I think of what has happened here in the past two months, I think "holy cow, it's been two months already!" I know that my time is growing short here in Israel, please pray for God to keep my heart soft and open to hearing from Him for the rest of this trip. God Bless!

Trip to Tel Aviv

2009-02-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

Well, It's been awhile yet again. It seems like that is how this is going - no posts for a week then a flurry of them!

Yesterday the History of Modern Israel class (which I'm not taking) took a field trip to Tel Aviv to see some sites relating to the founding of the Jewish state in 1948. Even though I'm not in the class they allowed me to tag along. A lot of other people tagged along as well, so I was in good company.

The first place we stopped was the home of Chaim Weizmann, who was the first president of the modern state of Israel. He was apparently very good friends with many famous people including Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, and Harry Truman. He was also a brilliant chemist that helped the British war effort by engineering new ways of manufacturing chemicals used for armament production. By the end of his life, he had acquired over 120 patents for his work in Chemistry! Throughout his life Chaim Weizmann had a fascination with western culture and loved traveling around the world, especially to Britain and the United States. Even though he loved the west, his heart was always in Israel. In fact, the efforts of Chaim Weizmann were largely responsible for the United States recognizing the existence of the state of Israel when it was created in 1948. However, his love of the west ultimately caused him not to become the first prime minister of Israel, as many had wanted. They believed he was to easily influenced by non-Jewish thinking. Instead, the office of President, which is more of an honorary position than a political one, was created to honor this man who had contributed to much to the establishment of the Jewish state. Here are some picture from his house.

From Tel Aviv Trip

Chaim Weizmann was eventually buried on his property in Rehovot. His wife Vera was buried beside him when she passed away several years later.

From Tel Aviv Trip

The next stop we made was at David Ben Gurion's house in downtown Tel Aviv. Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, was a much more modest man that Chaim Weizmann. He moved to Israel very early in his life and never had an urge to travel, unlike Weizmann. It is interesting to compare the differences between these two patriots. Chaim Weizmann loved western culture and would often travel abroad to foreign countries, while Ben-Gurion was more of a homebody. He moved to Israel when he was very young and basically never left, but lived a humble life fighting for the founding of his country. Unlike Weizmann who achieved a doctorate in Chemistry before the age of 20, Ben-Gurion never earned an academic degree in his life. However, he was an incredibly brilliant man speaking 11 languages fluently. He apparently learned enough German in 1 week to carry on a conversation with a German delegate (a fact that is disputed by some. I have no comment)! I have to admit that I skipped out on the tour of the David Ben-Gurion house (I just stayed for the talk at the beginning. But I'm not in the class, so I didn't have to be there!) and went to the beach instead, which was 1 block away.

From Tel Aviv Trip

And if all that wasn't great enough, the highlight of the day came next - the Latrun tank museum. And by tanks I don't mean the things fish swim in... I mean THIS!

From Tel Aviv Trip

The Latrun Tank museum and memorial is located at a fort that protects the only road up to Jerusalem from the coastal plain (or at least it was the only road. There is a new road that goes up to Jerusalem a different way that has been built just recently). This was a fort that the Israeli troops attacked and tried to take at least 3 times over the years and failed every time. When they finally did capture it, they snuck up on it and fired upon the main fortress for 20 minutes before realizing it had been abandoned by the enemy several months before (I guess military intelligence is and oxymoron in every country). Upon taking the fort, the Israelis turned it into a museum and memorial for all the troops that have died fighting in the IDF Armor Division since 1948. Their names are etched in wall at the museum that is reminiscent of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. The names of the fallen soldiers are etched in black to symbolize the black color of charred steel in which these men died. The rest of the wall is silver in reference to a Hebrew poem that says the state of Israel was not given to the people on a silver platter. The silver color of the wall makes reference to this poem by saying that they men who died are the silver platter upon which Israel was founded.

From Tel Aviv Trip

The inside of the fort has also been made into a memorial for the soldiers who have died. There are pictures of the soldiers inside with their names, how old they were when they died, and some of their stories. The idea of this place is that no soldier is forgotten. After visiting a very somber inside, we went outside to a veritable playground. The fort is laid out in a circle and all around the edge there are over 160 tanks that can be climbed on, jumped on, and driven (well, maybe not that one). We had a blast out there! Here's proof.

From Tel Aviv Trip

(Rival dorms... Hotchkiss and CDUB)

From Tel Aviv Trip

So, we had a great day, but it was really nice to get back and sleep. Just about everybody fell asleep on the way home because we had such a great time. Also, I got to speak some Hebrew with the bus driver, Moshe. That was cool. BTW, click the link on the bottom right of any of the photos to see some more. God Bless! Baruch Hashem!

Advice from Israel...

2009-02-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

If you learn something new, you should pass it on. You should especially pass this information on if it will be beneficial to those who will hear this information.

I have acquired information that I believe might be very useful to others. Here it is.......

"If you ever go to Israel, don't eat the hot dogs!"

I really mean that. Sparing you the gory details, I have learned from experience that hot dogs are a bad thing to eat in Israel.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T03:26:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Valentine's day and I missed Whitney a LOT. So, I thought I would just say that she's wonderful and I love her and miss her very much! So, here are some pictures of us! Happy Valentine's Day!

Approaching Jerusalem...

2009-02-15T00:50:00.000-08:00

This past Thursday we went on a field trip around the city of Jerusalem, but not in it. The idea was to see all of the different ways there to get to the city from other parts of Israel. We called it the Jerusalem approaches field trip because we studied all the approaches to Jerusalem. I have posted some pictures of our trip in a flash slide show instead of individually. The slide show runs through the pictures pretty fast so you might have to pause and flip through them manually if you want to view them for longer. And hit the little words bubble button on the slide show and the captions for the photos will toggle on and off.

After every one of our field trip, we are required to write a 1 page summary of what we did on the trip. Here is the paper that I wrote for this field trip. Sorry if it's a little bit long (sometimes you have to go 11pt font, single spaced, .9inch margins and it's STILL a page a and a half!). Hope it's not TOO boring!

One last thing... I reformatted blog by making it a little bit wider. Let me know if it works or if does weird things when you try to view it.

Beginning our Jerusalem approaches field study by stopping at the site of Bethphage. This is the most probable site where Jesus was taken up into the glory cloud after his death, crucifixion, and resurrection. It was here that the disciples asked Him about when He would restore the kingdom to Israel. His response was that they didn’t need to know about the times of the kingdom, but they would be clothed with power – the Holy Spirit – and would be his witnesses all the way to the uttermost parts of the earth! After his ascension, two angels appeared to the disciples and told them that Jesus would return (Luke 24, Acts 1). Also associated with Bethphage is Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He began in Bethany and headed toward Jerusalem. As soon as he crested the Mount of Olives and caught sight of Jerusalem He began to weep for the city. He wept because the city rejected its long awaited Messiah and would soon be destroyed (Luke 19).

From Bethphage we could look over the modern wall separating the west bank from the rest of Israel and see the town of Bethany. Bethany was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It was the town in which Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead after remaining in Transjordan “too long” and allowing Lazarus to die. We then find out from Jesus that this was allowed to happen so that God would be glorified (John 11).

After Bethphage we continued to the Mount of Olives and caught site of the Old City from the east. We saw the Kidron valley between us and Jerusalem and we also saw the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. We learned that the reason Judas sought Jesus in the garden was because the religious leaders needed to capture Jesus while he was alone and away from the crowds. If they had arrested Jesus in sight of the crowds, it would have incited a riot. Instead they proceeded with the trials at night so that nobody would know anything about it until it was too late.

From the Mount of Olives we continued on to the Hinnom Valley on the west side of Jerusalem. We stood on a bridge over the valley and were almost literally standing with one foot in Benjamin and one in Judah! On the ‘shoulder of the Hinnom’ we saw the remains of a tomb in which the oldest extant copy of any portion of Scripture was found – a silver amulet from the 6th century BC with a portion of the priestly benediction from Numbers 6 inscribed on it.

From the ‘Shoulder of Hinnom’ we continued on to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem, we read the story of the census going out from Caesar Augustus that all the world needed to be taxed. We learned that the ‘inn’ that Joseph and Mary were rejected from was not an inn in the sense that we think of it, but more likely a guestroom for visitors from out of town. We also went to a field just outside of Bethlehem and read the story of the Shepherds to whom the birth of the newborn king was announced. After hearing the chorus of angels singing praises to God Most High, the shepherds went to Bethlehem to visit the newborn king. The angels only left the shepherd a couple of clues on how to find the newborn king, so they probably had to ask around town for awhile before finding the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger (Luke 2).

From Bethlehem we continued on to the desert fortress of Herod the great called Herodian. This was a fortress built by Herod the Great to keep and eye on the Judean desert and the ascent of Ziz. It is also the final resting place of this man who was considered to be the “king of the Jews.” My favorite part of the day was the irony of singing praises to the real King of the Jews – Jesus the Messiah – in the cisterns under the palace of the earthly “king of the Jews” – Herod the Great.

From Herodian we traveled to a field outside the village of Tekoa – hometown of the prophet Amos. Here we learned about Amos’ message to the people of Israel – turn to the Lord and live. We also learned that Amos’ use of references to nature is very consistent with him having been a shepherd and having lived outdoors for much of his life. We also learned about the attack the Ammonites, Edomites, and Moabites mounted against King Jehoshaphat. When King Jehoshaphat learned of the impending threat against the land, he inquired of the Lord and was told that this battle was God’s battle. Following in the instructions of the Lord, Jehoshaphat went to the ascent of Ziz (the ancient road from En Gedi to Tekoa) the next day with the singers at the front of the Army! He was fully trusting that God would fight this battle. When they reached the other armies, they saw the victory of the Lord because God had caused Israel’s enemies to turn against each other and destroy each other. All the Israelites had to do was collect the plunder, a task that took them 3 days to complete (2 Chronicles 20)!

The final stop on our trip was the valley of Rephaim. It was this valley that the Philistines used on one occasion to mount an attack on Jerusalem. David found out about the plans of the Philistines and inquired of the Lord about what he should do. The Lord told David to go around and cut them off from behind. When David obeyed the Lord and cut off their way of escape, the Philistines went up through the central Benjamin plateau and retreated down the Beth Horon Ridge route (2 Samuel 5)!

Tension

2009-02-14T22:16:00.000-08:00

As we have been traveling around Israel, I have noticed that there is tremendous tension between the Arab and Palestinian peoples. This was no new revelation, but the proximity in which this tension exists is astounding. There are places where Jews and Arabs live literally just a couple hundred yards from each other, but would never even think of going to the "other" part of town. This just shows that what the Bible says about the end times (all of the surrounding nations around Israel wanting to drive her into the sea) is true. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. This is a city that desperately needs your prayers.

Here are some photos that hopefully give you a small taste of the tension that exists in this land. I have finally found a good way to post pictures, so there will be more of them coming!

Some various photos...

2009-02-01T15:28:00.001-08:00

These are some pillars in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem. They are the remains of a main street called the Cardo. It was called this because the street was the 'heart' of commerce in Byzantine Jerusalem.

This is a staircase from the cemetery in which Oskar Schindler is buried. It overlooks the valley of Hinnom which Jeremiah prophesied would be called the 'valley of slaughter' after the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. His prophecy came true in the year 586 BC and the nation of Judah was carried off into exile.

Blogger is acting up right now making it hard to add captions to the posts... I'll update this as soon as it's not being dumb anymore! In the meantime, enjoy the pics... and you can make up whatever you want about them before you really know what they are. you could tell your friends "See! Here's a staircase from mars. There really ARE Martians!"

Old Testament Walk Through Jerusalem

2009-01-31T09:20:00.001-08:00

This post is a description of what we did last Wednesday when our group walked through the walled city of Jerusalem looking at various sites pertaining to the Old Testament. The text is a slightly adapted version of a paper I wrote for class after this trip. Enjoy!

Our Old Testament emphasis walk through Jerusalem began in the Jewish quarter of the old city with a stop at the broad wall. The broad wall is a part of the city wall that was built by Hezekiah as he was fortifying the western hill of Jerusalem in preparation for an attack by the Assyrian army in 700-701 BC. Hezekiah made many preparations for the siege of Assyria in 701 BC, but what eventually saved the city of Jerusalem was not his preparations and strong walls, but his trust in the Lord for deliverance. He humbled himself and asked the Lord for deliverance from the Assyrians and the Lord delivered him by killing 185,000 of the Assyrian army in one night! (Isaiah 36-37)

The Broad Wall

Continuing through the Jewish quarter, we stopped at place where we saw a model depicting the old city of Jerusalem in stages all throughout the first temple period (The first temple period is the time beginning when Solomon built the temple in 967BC and continuing on to 586 BC when the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians). We saw the original city of David on the eastern hill of Jerusalem, Solomon’s expansion to the north by adding the temple mount area, and Hezekiah’s expansion and fortification of the western hill. Also in the museum, we saw several clay seals that would have been used to authenticate letters from around the time of Hezekiah and Isaiah. In fact, one of the seals was from someone mentioned in the Bible!

The Model of Jerusalem in the time of Hezekiah

Continuing through the Jewish quarter, we saw the remnants of the Cardo – a large street from the Byzantine period that would have been one of the main arteries (ha!) of business and trade in the city. We also saw a reconstruction of the oldest known map of Jerusalem that dates from the Byzantine period. The map was found in the form of a tile mosaic on the floor of a building.

The Cardo

The Oldest Map of Jerusalem - A Mosaic

After that, we exited the old city through the Zion gate, which bears the marks of years filled with war, strife, unrest, and tension (namely – lots of bullet holes). We were reminded of the promise in Isaiah 60:18 that assures us of the future peace that will rest in Jerusalem.

The Zion Gate

As we continued our walk we saw the traditional sight of the upper room where Jesus would have had his last Passover with His disciples. This could not have been the real room, however, because it was built in the crusader period of Jerusalem – over 1000 years after the time of Christ! In the upper room I learned that Jesus and His 12 disciples were almost certainly not the only people present at the Passover meal known as the last supper. The families of the disciples and maybe other friends and relatives would have been there as well. I also learned a new way of seeing the ‘last supper,’ which might better be called the ‘last Passover.’ When Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of me,” he was not speaking of anytime we take bread and wine. He was specifically speaking of the Passover celebration, which was a commemoration of how God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt – the single greatest expression of God’s redemption in the history of the nation of Israel. Jesus’ point was that they should now remember Him as the center of how God has delivered His people. He was proclaiming his deliverance of the people of Israel as greater than the Exodus of the Old Testament! They were now to remember Jesus when they ate the meal commemorating God’s deliverance of the children of Israel.

Some of our group sitting as the disciples would have sat at the last Passover

The Traditional Site of the Upper Room

Continuing on from the upper room, we continued on to a graveyard on the southern end of the western hill. Interestingly enough, Oskar Schindler is buried in this graveyard. From the southern edge of the western hill, we looked down into the Hinnom valley to the south of the Old City. We learned that the Israelites were at their most wicked during the time of Jeremiah. They were worshipping false gods and even sacrificing their children to these false gods. Jeremiah then prophesied to these wicked people that God would bring punishment upon them because of their wickedness and that the city would be destroyed and the dead would be cast into the Bin Hinnom valley. At that time it would cease to have the name Bin Hinnom, but would be called the valley of slaughter. This prophecy came true in 586 BC when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and carried her surviving inhabitants off into captivity. This is where I first realized how confused and scared the Jews would have been at this time. The city that God had always so wondrously and miraculously protected was now lying in ruins with the bodies of the dead strewn in the streets and the temple of the Lord lying in ashes, burned to the ground. What a perplexing and terrifying time this must have been for the Jews.

We continued our walk to the Jerusalem archeological park where we saw remnants of Herodian architecture at the temple mount. We saw Robinson’s arch, which would have supported a massive staircase ascending onto the temple mount from the streets below. It was here that we also saw the massive stones weighing anywhere from 50-400 tons that were used in the building of the temple mount. Here we were reminded of when Jesus quotes Psalm 118 saying that He is the stone that was rejected and has become the chief cornerstone.

The Jerusalem Archeological Park

Me Standing in front of Robinson's Arch - Remains From the Herodian Period Temple Mount. This is the time when Jesus would have been here!

Towards the end of our day was a trip through Hezekiah’s tunnel, which, as the name suggests, was built by Hezekiah to channel water from the Gihon spring to a pool inside the city. This tunnel was part of the fortification of the city in preparation for the Assyrian siege in 701 BC. The terminus of the tunnel is the pool of Siloam where Jesus later told a blind man to wash and receive back his sight.

My Friend Eli in Hezekiah's Tunnel. It was really hard to get picture of me in the tunnel, so I really don't have any. Sorry

The Pool of Siloam

Concluding our day was a visit to some tombs carved into the rock face of the city of David that might possibly be the dynasterial burial place of king David’s line. From the city of David, we could see the location of the Spring of Rogel (which is now just a well). This spring is the border of the tribal allotments of Benjamin and Judah. It is also the place where David’s son Adonijah declared himself to be king when his father’s health was failing. When David heard that Adonijah had declared himself king, he told Nathan the prophet and Zadok the priest to go to the Gihon spring and anoint Solomon as the successor to the throne. As soon as Adonijah realized that David had declared Solomon king, he went and begged Solomon for and it was granted him provided he lived righteously.

The red circle indicates a minaret built over the top of the spring (now a well) of Rogel

Here's just a little bit of what we've done over the past few weeks. It's been really busy and I haven't had much time to post. There will definitely be more to come.

My Dorm Room

2009-01-26T11:03:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of my Dorm in Israel.
This is the front of the building.

This is looking down the side of the buildingMy room from one way
My room from another angle.
It's comfortable. I feel blessed to be in such a big room for only 2 guys! Sorry this is so short... I hope it was sweet!

More to come soon...

2009-01-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of a walk we took in the Old City of Jerusalem today. It was an incredible experience but EXTREMELY tiring. I think the rest of the semester is going to be the same. Bill Shlegel is an awesome professor. He has lived here in Israel for more than 24 years and knows the land and the Bible incredibly well. Some of the thins we saw today on our walk were the Jaffa gate, the Citadel of David (which has nothing to do with David. It was built by Herod the Great!), the only protestant church in the old (walled) city, the church of the holy sepulcher, Via dolorosa, Damascus gate, and the pools of Bethesda. We also walked around the ramparts of the city wall from the Damascus gate (in the middle of the north side of the city) to St. Steven's gate (the middle of the eastern side of the city). I wrote a much more detailed report than this in a summary paper for class. I will try to post that or at least some of it in the near future.

This is a view of the entire old city from the top of the Citadel.

The courtyard and tower of the Citadel of David

My roommate Jeremy being mighty on the top of the citadel

The Israeli flag flying next to the citadel flag

Inside the church of the holy sepulcher. There's actually a man kneeling underneath the table in the middle. Supposedly, this is where the cross of Christ stood on Calvary.

Bill teaching us by candlight in the church of the holy sepulcher

Me standing on the ramparts of the wall looking over the Mount of Olives

Ceiling inside Saint Anne's Church

Looking up from the basement of Saint Anne's Church at the pools of Bethesda

The pools of Bethesda... or what's left of them.

Bill teaching us in the middle of the street along Via Dolorosa

Oh, Just In Case You Were Wondering...

2009-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Some pictures of and from Yad HaShemonah

2009-01-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of us on Moshav Yad HaShmonah (where we're staying) and some of the views from the Moshav. Sorry about no people pictures yet... they're coming.

This is the biblical site of Kiriath-Jearim, where the Ark rested in the house of Obed Edom and brought blessing from the Lord before David took the Ark to Jerusalem. It is otherwise known as the hill next door. We walked there today and had a short study at the top of hill where the ark would have been. There is now a Catholic church there (just like every important spot in Israel :D )

This is off in another direction... toward the Mediterranean.

Another View....

The moshav is also home to some beatiful biblical gardens. There are many examples of what life in Bible times would have been like. There are several rows of grape vines growing on steppes down the slope, many olive trees, exaples of an olive press, a ritual bath, and a watchtower.

This is a mockup of a watchtower that would be used for keeping watch over a vineyard.

This is what an olive press would have been like.... hook a donkey up to the stick and let him walk in circles for a while, crushing your olives to get the oil out of them.

This was my personal favorite of the day. This is at the biblical gardens as well.

Well, I'm really tired because my body feels like I should have been asleep for the last 8 hours, but had to go to class and walk several miles instead. God is teaching me already that this trip is going to be all about relying on Him. He will give me the strength to get through.

Getting Acclimated

2009-01-19T01:49:00.000-08:00

Israel is different... yes it is.

We arrived safely, and very jetlagged, on what was Sunday afternoon in Israel. Turns out our flight arrived in Tel Aviv an hour and a half early! Apparently we had a 150mph tail wind crossing the Atlantic. We were picked up at the airport by Bill Shlegel, Abner Chow, and Becky (Last name:???). They are the majority of the faculty here at IBEX. Bill will be my Land and Bible, and Modern Hebrew professor. Aber will teach the history of ancient Israel class I'm taking. They are all a blast and we're having tons of fun already.

My roommate's name is Jeremy and goes to Moody Bible in Chicago. I found out the hard way last night that he sometimes sleepwalks! We went to bed last night at about 10:20pm and and at around 10:55pm I woke up and he was sitting on the edge of my bed rubbing my head! I asked him what he was doing and he woke and was really embarrassed. It was really hilarious and we laughed about it this morning.

The food here is really different. There are lots of different kinds of breads and many different types of cheeses as well. There's a salad bar at the place at the moshav where we eat that has a lot of different types of mediteranian salads and dishes.

We had Orientation this morning and took a quick walk around the Moshav. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get them loaded on to my computer.

The First Post

2009-01-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

I guess I have to start somewhere...

Two weeks from this moment I will be flying over the Atlantic ocean toward the country of Israel - the land in which the story of God's provision for our salvation was played out. I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to walk where Jesus walked and study in the land where the events of the Bible took place. This being the first time I have ever lived away from home, the emotions inside me, although excited, are not unmixed with a fear of the unknown. However, through these fears, I know that the same God that brought the children of Egypt through the Red Sea, that gave a shepherd boy the strength to slay a giant, and that raised Jesus from the dead is the same God that is protecting me and covering me with His mighty hand.

If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,And Your right hand shall hold me.

- Psalm 139:9-10