Hey guys it's Laura here again! This is day five part...3? Let's jump in (ah puns) We went to the Temptation Restaurant in Jericho for lunch. Jericho is recognized as the oldest city in the world. We went onto Tell Es-Sultan which is where the original city of Jericho was. The archaeology in this tell is cut like a birthday cake, showing 26 layers of strata as old as 8500 BC. Then we saw the spring of Elisha (2 Kings 2:19-22) And a sycamore tree like Zaccheus climbed. We got back onto the bus and headed toward the Dead Sea, but first we drove past the Mount of Temptation and there's a monastery on top now. We enjoyed floating in the Dead Sea. And slathered several thousand dollars worth of mud on our bodies. After washing off the mud and salt, we rode the bus an hour & half, returned to our hotel near the Jaffa Gate, and went out walking in the Christian Quarter.
Love to all, Laura
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We left Masada and drove along the coast of the Dead Sea and could see the wavy, salt encrusted ridges. The Dead Sea has been receding rapidly in recent years. We could see sink holes and buildings and resorts that used to be at the water's edge, but are now stranded on land. It is the largest hypersaline lake in the world, almost 10 times saltier than an ocean and is more than 1,400 feet below sea level. Within an hour, we arrived at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Prior to finding them, all that existed was the Aleppo Codex from 10th century. 1,000 years after that, the scrolls so closely aligned, if not exactly to the original texts from 1,000 years earlier. We had a teaching time in the only available shade and learned about the community of the Essenes, a community of men who left the Jewish people, and spent their lives copying scrolls. The Essenes lived in a village but worked on the scrolls in caves, stored in clay jars. The scrolls were written on kosher animal leather skins and papyrus, and were preserved by the dry climate and caves. Perhaps the 33 AD earthquake from Jerusalem unearthed the caves. Essenes believed in resurrection, which cause the thought that John the Baptist may have come to an Essene Community and influenced them. The Dead Sea Scrolls were aptly named since the community overlooks the Dead Sea. Essenes saw themselves as “sons of light” and all others as “sons of darkness.” The excavated site gave insight into life in the Essene community. The Refectory (left) would be where communal meals were eaten. On the right was a pottery storeroom and kitchen. We also saw a pool, cistern, and a work area where 100,000 date pits and an apparatus for the production of date honey. Below is Cave #4 where the entire Isaiah scroll was found - in tact, accurate in translation, and full (not like the fragments or scraps that are allowed to travel to museums). It was amazing to see how God perfectly preserved His Word! 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 - For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
Amen! Thanks for reading ~ Lisa : ) We got a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call today so we could get an early start to travel from Jerusalem to Masada. We stopped in En Gedi early enough to see Nubian Ibex (an animal listed in the Bible). They graze and visit before they tour buses come through, then scatter to the hills of the wilderness. The drive from from Jerusalem, where we stayed near the Jaffa Gate (oldest gate) past the Judean wilderness to Masada took about two hours. We traveled down from +250 meters to -300 meters below sea level. We went early to escape the heat of the day, and it was still 105 degrees F. Masada is in the Judean desert overlooking the Dead Sea. We're still getting used to seeing the amount of automatic weapons in the hands of young adults, since the Israelis are compelled to be in the military after graduating from high school (boys for 3 years, girls for 2 years). Even when they're not training, they still have their weapon with them. So if they're on a break, you may see people in shorts and flip flops carrying their weapon. We all took a cable car up; the Snake Path walking trail was closed due to high temperatures. Masada (Hebrew metsudhah) means stronghold. King Herod the Great built the city and palaces for protection between 37 - 31 BC. 75 years after Herod's death, during the Great Revolt against the Roman Empire, the Zealots (Jewish rebels) ran away to the desert, which was a good place to hide because of the challenge for the Romans to follow. 960 Jewish people hid in Masada and used Herod's stores of food. Herod employed Roman architecture for the bathing rooms - cold room (frigidarium), warm room (tepidarium), hot room (caldarium) like our sauna. Everything below the black line is original archaeology. King David may have used this stronghold when fleeing enemies - but didn't have stairs for access. The columns and colors are original, over 2000 years old! Psalm 59:9, 16 (HCSB) - I will keep watch for You, my strength, because God is my stronghold. But I will sing of Your strength and will joyfully proclaim Your faithful love in the morning. For You have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble. (Even the birds find shelter in the stronghold.) Psalm 62:1-2 - I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken. Mosaic floors were popular in Jewish art of the Herodian period. Byzantine West Gate Artifacts and archaeology tell much of the sad ending of Masada, when the Jewish people chose mass suicide rather than being captured by the Romans. It's sobering to consider in who or what is our refuge and stronghold, where do we seek our strength. Overlooking the remains of the synagogue.
Psalm 62:5-8 (HCSB) - Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock. My refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that] On the way out of Bethlehem, we saw the Palestinian take on an American icon... Then it was on to Jerusalem and the Hotel Gloria... After we found our rooms, unpacked and had a little supper, we took a trip to The Israel Museum... The dome structure above houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. This fountain/roof is huge and was created to resemble the lid from one of the clay jars that contained the scrolls...The pictures that follow are some of the artifacts contained in the museum... Outside there was this very cool 1/5th size model of Jerusalem, second Temple time...The bummer was it was night time...Would've loved to have seen this in the light of day... After another breathtaking day in the Holy Land, it was back to the Gloria for a good night's rest... Bye: Mark
You totally have Sound of Music stuck in your head now. By beginning I mean the beginning of the New Testament... We continued from the morning into Bethlehem for lunch. Bethlehem is in Palestine. We ate lunch in a very fancy Nissan Restaurant. After lunch, we went across the street to the Nissan Olive Wood Factory. They take wood like this... And turn it into things... Like this! The olive wood factory really was amazing. We then got back on our bus to continue on to the Church of the Nativity. We entered the loud, bustling Greek Orthodox church and went down the stairs... To the place they say Jesus was born. The room was beautifully decorated, almost ad nauseam We then exited into a nice courtyard. And re-entered the much quieter Catholic side of the building. We went down another set of stairs to a much more authentic feeling place. We prayed and sang a few Christmas carols before departing back to the bus. Despite this long post, we still did more today! But that's all for now :)
Love to all, ~Laura We - and the birds - enjoyed breakfast, and we reluctantly left the peaceful Sea of Galilee. I couldn't help thinking of Matthew 6:26 - Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Also, Matthew 10:21 - So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. We traveled to the Jordan River. To the Yardenit Baptismal site. Several in our group were baptized and shared their testimony. We cheered and praised God! After we left, our group stopped at Aroma Coffee and saw camels. After Jesus' baptism in the Jordan, he was led into the wilderness for 40 days. We also traveled to the Judean Wilderness. Psalm 63:1 - A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. We considered the story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37, when a man traveled down from Jerusalem (far in the distance, center right). We got to see and experience the Bible in context! Jerusalem - more visible just right of center in the distance. The man traveled toward Jericho, taking the winding valley through the middle (follow the green shrubs) - which is called the Valley of the Shadow of Death - Jericho is the city just beyond the hills, middle right. That valley is still a dangerous place today. The Good Samaritan was a "neighbor" to the man because he had compassion on him and acted to help meet his needs. We are commanded to "Go and do likewise."
Thanks for reading! ~ Lisa : ) Hey guys, This post is by my mom. Enjoy! Love to all, Laura In Capernaum, we saw Peter’s mother-in-law's house - the one Jesus healed (Matthew 8:14-15) Afterward, we went on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. A little gecko watched our approach. Half-way across, they cut the motor to allow us to just have silence to contemplate the miracles of Jesus stilling the storm and walking on water (Matthew 8, 14; Mark 4, 6; John 6). Overlooking the Mount of Beatitudes I was excited to capture a shot of a beautiful bird, which I think is a white-throated kingfisher. Mount Arbel was the next stop. The caves were used during Great Revolt against Romans. They discovered coins to pay tax, like temple shekel coins, from Tyre in archeological excavation . This is the end of the Gospel Trail and Jesus' ministry around the Galilee area before going up to Jerusalem. A furry hyrax could only be seen through the zoom lens watching us as we left... Then we went back to the Kibbutz for dinner and a swim in the Sea of Galilee : )
Hey guys, day 3! This post is brought to you by my dad. Love to all... ~Laura We started our day by visiting the ancient city of Dan. It's located in northern Israel at the headwaters of the Jordan river. The tribe of Dan was alotted the land by Joshua (Joshua 19:47) and settled in it. Time passed, when King Solomon died, the kingdom of Israel divided in two, the northern tribes going with Jeroboam. Since Hebrews were required to only worship in Jerusalem, he built temples in Bethel and Dan so his kingdom wouldn' t wander away. The main gate used during Jeroboam's time... The original city gate made of mud brick that Abraham likely walked through. The townspeople buried it beause stacked stone is much stonger. It remained buried until 1983 when it was rediscovered. It is in pristine condition... Next we journeyed Mt. Bental which currently is home to a U. N. observation post. They monitor Lebanon, Syria and Israel from there. We could hear artillery and heavy weapons fire from Syria. There are bunkers and trenches left from the '67 & '73 wars. We saw the U.N. soldiers keeping watch on villages, including those under control of ISIS, and we saw military trainees enjoying lunch and ordering coffee, carrying their M-16s. After a lunch stop at St. Peter's fish... We visited Capernaum in the afternoon. The ruins pictured a 5th century Byzantine synagogue built on top of the 1st century one. Then it was back to kibbutz Ein Gev for a refreshing swim in the Sea of Galilee.
Yes, I know I'm really behind on posting. But here is the rest of day 2. So after we left Megiddo, we stopped to go into a tomb. No, there were no bodies. Since this isn't a monument or anything, we got to crawl around inside it. This is a first century family tomb, and it had 5 niches for bodies. There was also a room with a hole in the ceiling but I'm not sure what that was supposed to do. It was fun though. After our short tomb excursion, we went to get coffee. There was a McDonald's. They didn't have big macs... That is just sad. Then we went to Mt. Precipice. This is the place that the crowd tried to throw Jesus off of for claiming to be the messiah. The view was amazing! After that, we went to lunch at the Canary Resturant. Lunch was great. Then we went...well I don't really want to summarize so just read this. Ok well basically this church was where Jesus fed the 5000. The church and landscape was very pretty 😊 The last place we went was the Mount of the Beatitudes. It was another gorgeous church and view.
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AuthorThis blog is mainly written by me (Laura Walkendorf,) and also by my parents. Archives
April 2017
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