Four Reasons to Visit Israel

View from on top of Mount Arbel overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

1. The Bible comes more alive as you are able to see the places mentioned in Scripture. This morning in my daily Bible reading I read in Song of Solomon of Mount Carmel and Mount Hermon and was able to vividly picture each place. When we arrived at the Sea of Galilee the wind had picked up and created waves, but the next day the water was calm. It gave us a clear picture of what the disciples faced in Mark 4:35-40 before Jesus calmed the storm.

2. To see firsthand archaeological findings that validate the truth and dating of God's Word.

3. To gain a greater appreciation of God's plan for Israel.

4. You do marvel that God chose to accomplish monumental events in such a geographical small area. Israel is about the size of New Jersey.

Four Favorite Sayings in Israel

While touring in a group, you pick up some sayings that stick. Our four favorites (not Corny free):

1. "Shabbat Shalom" "Shabbat" is the Hebrew word for "sabbath." "Shalom" is a greeting that works as both "hello" and "goodbye", similar to the Hawaiian "aloha." Hence, "Shabbat shalom" is a greeting for the sabbath. Israelis colloquially use it on Thursdays and Fridays as a rough equivalent to the American "have a good weekend."

2. "Oh, that is totally Herodian!" A term that some college students came up with after visiting too many archeological sites that were attributed to Herod the Great. We would just glance at a wall and say "Yep, totally Herodian."

3. "Time for a Magnum." No, not the gun. But every afternoon our bus load of people would want to know when and where we could get an ice cream. Magnum was the best brand, best price was 9 shekels.

4. "I am sorry but the pool is closed." Our tour guide would usually end our day by saying, "This hotel has a pool for you to enjoy." But but by the time we were dropped off at the hotel, checked-in, suited up and walking to the pool, a worker would say "I am sorry but the pool is closed." For some reason the pools in Israel closed at 5 p.m.

Four Best Swimming Spots

After touring each day we checked into our hotel at about 5 p.m. and would hear "I'm sorry the pool just closed." Fortunately we were close enough to take a dip into the sea. Our four favorite swimming sites:

1. Mediterranean Sea at Ashkelon

2. Red Sea at Eilat

3. Dead Sea (we floated) at En Gedi

4. Sea of Galilee

Sunset over the Sea of Galilee. Mt Arbel in the middle.

Four Favorite Foods in Israel

1. Pita bread and hummus. It was available everywhere and we never got tired of it.

2. Stuffed yellow and red bell peppers. Cooked in olive oil, they were full of flavor.

3. Falafel sandwich.

4. Fresh ice cream. If we couldn't get hand scooped then a Magnum bar would still satisfy.

Almost 1,000 Miles in Israel

This man on one of the streets in Jerusalem thought he was King David. I caught a photo of him playing his lyre, but when I came back a few minutes later he was smoking a cigarette.
Marie trying to decide which necklace to buy. She had saved for this special purchase and finding the exact item the Arab salesman started at a price of 50 shekels. But by the time Marie was done negotiating with him, she got it for 25.

Our family at Caesarea, a city founded by Herod the Great in 22 BC and the seat of Roman government for over 500 years. Pontius Pilate made his home here. The apostle Paul spent two years in prison at Caesarea and made his defense before Felix, Festus, and King Agrippa II (Acts 23-27).

Well, I am at the airport waiting to board our flight back home. It is a non-stop 15 hour flight - sleep, read, movie, .... stretch, sleep, read, movie, stretch....

We covered almost a 1,000 miles in Israel - most of those miles were riding in a bus, but we did our share of walking!

We did not go to Bethlehem and Jericho as they are mostly Arab and not very welcoming to non-Arabs. Last time our guide went into Bethlehem the bus was bombarded with rocks.

Our guide was helpful and we felt completely safe the entire time over here. We made some good friends and many memories. The best part was to share this experience with Paula and the children.

Several singles, young couples, and older people commented on how our family ministered to them. Praise the Lord.

The trip was full of ancient and modern history and we can now match names and places in the Bible. We have a lot to review when we get home and hundreds of photos to look at.

Thank you for your prayers. God did above and beyond what we could expect or imagine!

Gergesa, Korazin, Capernaum, and Tiberias

We stopped by the road in Gergesa. This uninhabited location on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee is the site where Jesus healed the demoniac man by casting out the demons into a heard of pigs. The swine ran down the hill into the water (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26).

Of course there were no mines back then or this could have been called pork chop hill.

The mines have remained in place since Syria retreated from this area in the Six Day War.

An arch in the city of Korazin.

The Hebrew word for "cornerstone" is rosh pina and means capstone in an arch. We tend to think of the cornerstone in the foundation of a building, but the rosh pina is the stone in the center top of the arch that is the most critical to the support the weight of the arch and all the building above it. Jesus is the Cornerstone of our faith. He holds all things together and is essential for us to enter into a relationship with God.

In the synagogue of Capernaum. Rejected at Nazareth, Jesus moved to Capernaum and made it the center of His ministry for 18 to 20 months. Many sick people were brought to Jesus and healed in Capernaum. In fact, more of Christ's recorded miracles were performed in Capernaum than in any other city. It was also here that Jesus restored Peter to ministry (John 21).

Crossing the Sea of Galilee, from Ein Gev to Tiberias, in a fishermen's boat.

A market in the city of Acco, on the Mediterranean Sea.

This may be my last post from Israel as our travels are coming to an end. We have enjoyed every minute of touring this wonderful land of Bible history. What a blessing!

Dead Sea to Northern Israel

Reading the newspaper while floating in the Dead Sea.

Our family at Masada (President Bush had just visited this site a few hours before us). The name Masada means "fortress" and is about 2 1/2 miles from the western shore of the Dead Sea and 15 miles north of Sodom in the wilderness of Judah. The mountain is 1,432 feet above the shore of the Dead Sea. It could possibly be identified with "the stronghold" of David (1 Samuel 22-24). Herod the Great used it as one of his favorite fortifications. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, 960 people took their own lives at Masada, choosing death over slavery to Rome.

En Gedi where David hid in a cave from Saul (1 Samuel 23-24). David may have composed Psalms 57 and 142 here.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in Qumran in 1947. Fragments of every Old Testament book, except the book of Esther, were found. In this cave the entire book of Isaiah was found. The manuscripts date back to 125 BC and some fragments even earlier.

The Spring of Harod where God gave Gideon the criteria to choose 300 men for battle (not sure we qualified!). The spring flows from the base of Mount Gilboa into the Jezreel Valley.
The Valley of Jezreel, as viewed from Megiddo, where the battle of Armageddon will take place (Revelation 16).

Marie with a village girl and her baby goat in Nazareth.

Jennifer looking out on the Sea of Galilee at sunset.

JP and Austin enjoying some humor at Tel Dan. We have traveled from the southern most tip of Israel to the northern most point. Today at the Golan Heights we could see Lebanon and Syria.

Tomorrow we travel to the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Tiberias, and take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee!