A Bride for God

One of the greatest wonders in the world is falling in love with somebody. This is unbelievably special and changes one’s entire life. It is one of those inexplicable mysteries of the world. This is especially true when you consider God falling in love with His people. Moses puts it very succinctly in Deuteronomy 7, “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

It was the pure and mysterious love of God that caused Him to embrace the people of Israel and bring them out of Egypt. He took them first to Mt. Sinai, where a covenant was made between them. It was oh so similar to a Jewish wedding, even today. God and his people stood under a hupah (cloud) to say their vows. God promised to love, protect and provide for his bride, and His bride was to promise to be forever faithful.

What a shock then that before the ceremony is even finished Israel has created another god—a golden calf! The idea for a calf was not original at all. Hathor, the goddess of fertility and consort of Ra, was well known in Egypt, having many temples dedicated to her. She is the calf-god of Egypt. It was almost as if the people took themselves out of the marriage ceremony and placed Hathor in their place. But God wanted to wed a people made in His image, not an idol that is unable to love.


Unfortunately, the situation did not change much as God’s bride entered into Canaan. Here they were presented with Asherah, the fertility goddess of the Canaanites. She is said to have been the consort of the god Baal. She is depicted as a pole with the figure of a woman and is placed next to the altar of Baal in the pagan temples and high places. This summer we visited a high place. There we saw the altar for sacrifices made to their god, and right next to it was a platform that would quite possibly be used for the image of the god’s consort.


In a terrible offence to the God who loves and cares for His people, Israel continued to substitute their position as God’s bride with an idol which was incapable of affection. Even the evil king Manasseh made an Asherah pole and placed it in the Temple, probably next to the altar of God.

But God is not interested in dating a pole! He is looking for living, loving people. And though we are COMPLETELY unworthy of being His, he loves us and gave his Son for us. Now we are the bride of Christ. Could there be anything greater?! So let’s get rid of any and every thing that would keep us from placing all of our affection on the One who loves, protects, provides, and even died for us.

Living Water

One amazing thing about our trip to the Middle East was that we traveled through several deserts—the Sahara, Sinai, Negev, Judean, and Arabian. But at the same time, we swam or waded in some wonderful waters—the Nile River, Red Sea, Gulf of Aquaba, Dead Sea, Arnon River, Ein Gedi, Jordan River, Sea of Galilee, and Mediterranean Sea. I think the favorite dunking I took was in the Arnon River. Hiking up the river gorge in the river was challenging and refreshing at the same time. Working together we were able to climb over huge rocks, slippery boulders, and negotiate water falls. Everybody made it to the 30 foot water falls which stopped our progress up the gorge. However, we all were able to squeeze into a cave behind the water falls where Pastor George talked to us about the overwhelming love of God, like the water that was plunging over us.


We also learned about the difference between living water and water that comes from a cistern. Living water is water that is clean, cool and refreshing. It is running water and a great thirst quencher. Cistern water might be ok for bathing, but is not the best for drinking. It probably has some microbes in it that you would not want in your body, and it is not that refreshing.


The source of the Jordan River is living water. It runs out of several springs at the base of Mt. Hermon. It is cool, clear and very refreshing. It also gives life to everything around its banks. There are abundant plants and an amazing amount of birds that make the upper Jordan River their home.


We also got to walk Hezekiah’s tunnel, which he built in about 700 BC to secure the water supply to the old city of Jerusalem. He tunneled 1,700 feet from the Gehon spring to the pool of Siloam. Today you can walk this tunnel as cool water rushes around your knees.


This is all simply background for the time that Jesus was in the temple on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Just when the priests would have taken some clean, fresh water from the pool of Siloam and poured it around the altar in the temple, Jesus says in John 7:37 & 38, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

As believers in Jesus, we are the ones who should be gushing living water everywhere we go. There should be life springing up all around us because of the living water flowing from us. So just a simple question: do we bring life to people, do we help people come alive in Christ? I really hope we who believe in Jesus are life givers.

Finding our Refuge in God

Finding our Refuge in the Lord

It seems like there is an abundance of caves in the Holy Land. Or you might say that the Holy Land is very holey. David found out that these caves were the place where he could hind from King Saul when he became jealous of David’s success as a warrior. It was probably in the of the caves of Adullam that David wrote the beautiful words of Psalm 142. In it he says, “Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. I cry to you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living’.”


There in the darkness of the cave the Lord heard his plea and saved him, not by destroying Saul, but by bringing people around him. His family came and soon many others came to live with him in the caves. Before long 400 rabble rousers joined him and became his protection. God brought people who were distress, in debt and discontented to David and he became their leader—a veritable Old Testament Robin Hood.

When David needed another hiding place he found the caves of Ein Gedi to be just the place. Saul again was searching him out when unknowingly he ventured into a cave to releave himself where David and some of him men were hiding. Without Saul knowing, David found where Saul had taken off his robe and then cut the corner off it. After Saul was finished and out of the cave David went to him, bowed down before him with the corner of his robe in his hand. He told Saul how he could have killed him but did not because he was God’s anointed. Saul then had a change of heart and acknowledged that David would indeed be the king of Israel.



I would have to think that David learned many life lessons in the caves of the Judean hills. He learned that even though the caves provided protection, it was really the Lord who was his refuge. And the Lord provided him a community to care and protect him.


Where do we find our refuge? I have a suspicion that we find refuge in being able to control our circumstances and have power over any situation. But if we simply seek out of refuge in the Lord who is in control of all circumstance and has all authority over every situation, we can rest at peace no matter where we lay our heads down to rest.

The Heart of God

Often when we read the stories about the people of Israel leaving Egypt and traveling into the Promised Land, we have to swallow hard when we come to the fight scenes. We ask, “Why did God tell the Israelites to kill so many people?” It seems so cold, and not something the God of the New Testament would do. It is certainly not Jesus’ style.
But before we begin to chisel away at the reputation of the God of the Old Testament, we should take a good look at what God is doing in bringing his people from Egypt to Israel and how He does it.
Take the story of the Amalekites. God took his people out of Egypt and away from any populations that could attack them. He did not want his people to go to war. However, the Amalekites followed them on their journey down the Sinai Peninsula. There they attacked the Israelites who fell behind—those who were old, weak, or disabled. Finally, at Rephedim, God told his people to fight the Amalekites. This was in response to the terrible things they did, the killing of the old, weak and disabled. This is simply evil and God would not just sit back and do nothing while those who needed the most help were slaughtered by a people who preyed on those who lagged behind.

The Valley of Rephidim -- Amalekites defeated

I hope you see in this the heart of God – a God who desires peace, yet who will not let the weak be destroyed by evil. I wonder how closely our hearts resemble this heart of God when it comes to defending the weak and those who “lag behind.” Do we care for and stand up for the disabled, the elderly and even the unborn? Do we take on another’s burdens and share them? Do we follow the example of our Saviour, who was so desirous that God’s people not suffer that he took the evil of the world onto himself and defeated it with love and forgiveness? This now should be our modus operandi– to “overcome evil with good.”

Aliyah!

When Laura and I signed up for a trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel we understood that we were going to have to hike and hike hard up several mountains. We knew that the biggest hike was going to be up Mt. Sinai, or technically, Mt. St. Catherine. So we began to prepare ourselves for what we knew would be a four hour climb up about 4,000 feet to the summit. Laura ran stairs and walked hard. I ran several 5Ks and a 10K before we left. We also went for long hikes together every Friday for several weeks leading up to our departure. It was a real challenge and a good deal of work getting ready for our trip. We did not want to fail at climbing Mt. Sinai.

Our trip up Mt. St. Catherine started after a long bus ride from the Red Sea. It was not until about three in the afternoon that we started up the mountain. The first hour we traveled on camel back -- interesting but not real comfortable. Then we got off and began the real hike up, and up, and up. The trail was well-marked but steep, with many switch backs zigzagging up a rocky face.






We were still an hour from the top when the sun set and the world became dark. Then, climbing with our flashlights, we arrived at the top where some Bedouins had a fire and dinner waiting for us -- tea, soup, roast quail, rice and melons. We put on a base layer, rolled out sleeping pads, and pulled heavy wool blankets over us to sleep under the stillness of the billions of stars.





What kept us going up and up was a Hebrew word that Pastor George taught us: aliyah. It is a great word which means “to go up” or “to ascend.” It is used frequently in the Old Testament to describe how people went up to meet the Lord. It is used of Moses when he climbed Mt. Sinai. The Exodus narrative tells us that Moses “went up” to the Lord at least four times. God could have easily met him at a lower elevation. He could have even come down into the valley. But he told Moses to come up to the top of Mt. Sinai. What a tremendous effort God expected of Moses to meet with Him and come to know Him.

Today we rarely expend any effort to meet with God. Instead we look for convenience and comfort in our meeting with the Lord. Simply attending church takes minimal effort. We often fit our life of devotion to God into our lives when it works for us -- driving down the road, or a quick prayer before a meal. When do we really go up, or aliyah, to meet with the Lord? It makes me wonder, do I really put any effort into my relationship with God? I am really trying to take the effort that I put into getting physically prepared to hike up Mt. Sinai into getting spiritually prepared for all the mountains the Lord will have me climb during the rest of my life.

Trust or Security

I am sure that the people of Israel were excited when they thought about getting out of slavery in Egypt. But I can only imagine they became less than enthusiastic when they learned they were going into a vast and barren desert where they would have nothing of the things they enjoyed in Egypt. They would not have meat, an abundant supply of vegetables, water melons to cool their thirst and many spices to make their dishes tasty. And I am not even mentioning the water that is so essential for life.

I never realized the stark contrast between Egypt and not-Egypt until our teacher, George DeJong, made it very clear to us by having us hike up a mountain on the edge of the flood plane of the Nile River just west of Luxor, Egypt. It is unmistakable what is Egypt and what is not-Egypt when you look over the Nile River valley. The contrast could not be greater.


One is lush and full of life. There are all kinds of plants and crops. Birds of all kinds fly up and down the river. The Nile River is a fountain of life. When the Nile flooded it brought fertile silt and water to keep the valley the center of a prosperous and thriving civilization. Outside of the flood plane there is death. In fact, this is where the Necropolises were built. Here the Egyptians buried their dead; some in pyramids and some in deeply dug tombs like in the Valley of the Kings.


So when God took his people out of Egypt, they were going from the land of the living to the land of the dead. No wonder they often wanted to go back. You ask yourself, “Why did God not bring them back?” I mean, after Pharaoh and his entire army were drowned in the Sea, there was nothing stopping them from going back and taking over the country. They could have places to live, fertile fields, and all the prosperity they could ever want. But this is not what God wanted for his people. He was taking them to a land that he cared for and one in which they would have to trust in him for their life. To be prepared for that, they had to learn to trust the Lord in the dessert for 40 years. They HAD to learn that trust in the Lord was more important than security.

I am not sure that we have gotten to this point yet. We tend to look more to security than trust in the Lord. I have often heard people tell me that when they give to the Lord they give “what they can afford.” This means that they have to make sure that they will be able to eat and pay the bills first. But the Lord wants people who trust him for everything. Maybe we need to allow the Lord to take us into the wilderness to learn to really trust in him.

A Great Preoccupation with Life

Even though Laura and I are home from our trip to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, the journey of learning, of incorporating what we have seen and experienced into lessons for our life, continues. Here is what I have been thinking about this week.

God created us for eternal life. This was his desire for us. But ever since sin brought death, people have been obsessed with getting eternal life back. The ancient Egyptians were preoccupied with death and the afterlife. They strove to please the gods in the hope that they would in turn bless them with a wonderful afterlife. This can be seen so clearly in the vastness of size and quantity of tombs and temples in Egypt; in the symbols of the ancient scriptures that remain on the walls of all the tombs and temples; and in the way that bodies were embalmed after death.

One ancient symbol is the key of life, which seems always present in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. The gods were almost always depicted as having a key of life in their hands, and life was given after death in the symbolism of a god putting the key of life into the deceased person's mouth.



Another important symbol is found in every tomb. It is from the “Book of the Dead,” and is of a human heart on a scale being weighed against the weight of a feather or feathers. If the deceased persons heart was found to be heavier (or also could be translated "harder") than the feather(s), then he would be condemned and kept from eternal life; but if his heart was found to be lighter than the feather(s), he would in fact receive eternal life.



Think of this as you read the 10 instances recorded in the Bible where God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, or more fascinating yet, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Could it be that Pharaoh was willing to forfeit his own eternal life rather than to let the Israelites go?

In complete contrast to this preoccupation with death in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Old Testament does not speak of eternal life or seem that preoccupied with what happens after death. However, there are three very important “eternals” in the Old Testament: Eternal God, Eternal Covenant, and Eternal Kingdom. It as if God is screaming to his people, “I got this death thing covered, you should just be preoccupied with life and not death.” Ezekiel gives us God’s very words about this, “I will remove from you your heart of stone (heavy heart) and give you a heart of flesh.” God does not want us to be preoccupied with death, but with life!

We life in a culture where a new paganism is in vogue -- though nobody would want to call it that. However, something inherent in paganism is a preoccupation with death. And this we see all around us as evidenced in the emphasis on “dead heads,” zombies, TV programs that trivialize death and the deceased, and senseless killings. What we really need are armies of God-followers who are preoccupied with life and living well. When God takes care of the death thing, we can live the wonderful, abundant life that pleases him.

The Final Day :-(

For the last day of our journey George had us do a lot of walking retracing the steps of Jesus from the Mt. of Olives through Jerusalem to the Church of the Sepulcher. We first walked through the market place to the Old City before is was even awake. The narrow streets were bare and easy to maneuver. We went out the Damascus Gate, past Solomon's Quarry, where the large stones for the Temple were cut, and then up to the Mt. Of Olives. It was a beautiful morning and the sun glistened off the Old City.


We then walked down the road that leads to Gethsemane. It is very steep and gravity pulls you along, but as George said, it was love that pulled Jesus in this direction. We spent some quiet time along a path in the Garden reflecting on that love. We also saw olive trees that were centuries old, possibly over 1,500 years old.

We then crossed the Kidron Valley and entered the city again by the Lion's Gate. We went to St. Anne's Church, a beautiful 12th Century Catholic church. It has amazing acoustics and our group walked up to the steps and sang. Ryan, a young pastor with a beautiful voice, lead us in singing Holy, Holy, Holy; it was a powerful moment for us. We then walked next to the church to see the remains of the pool of Bethesda.

We continued our walk down the Via Dolorosa cutting through the old food and meat market ending at the Church of the Sepulcher. Here we mingled with the religious pilgrims who come here by the thousands to see where Jesus might possibly have been crucified and buried. It is actually rather dark and dreary there from all the candles people have lit and placed by the shrine of the tomb.


After a lunch in the market we packed up and began our trip to Tel Aviv. On our way out of town we stopped at the Israel Museum where we saw a model of Jerusalem as it might have looked in the first century. We then continued our trip to the coast and stopped for supper at a seaside restaurant. After dinner we walked to the Mediterranean Sea, waded in and watched the sunset.


We have seen, touched, smelled, walked on so much in the past two weeks that it will take months to process it all. All I can say now is that it has opened our eyes and hearts in such a way that we will not be the same. It has made us realize that God has always asked of His people some amazing things, and this has not stopped even today. I will try to unpack what that means more in the days ahead.

On the Eleventh Day of Adventure...

We left the hills of Judah and stopped by a Look Out or monument to the State of Israel. From here we got a very good view of the mountains of Judah and the new city of Jerusalem. But we did not stay here very long. We headed past Jerusalem and descended to the western side of the Dead Sea to visit the Qumran Community. Here was saw the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls where found. We also visited the ruins of the building called the "scriptorium" where they were written. They took great pains in getting the text absolutely correct by having one person watching each copier.



After getting a better understanding of the Essenes who lived here we headed to Masada, Herod the Great's fortress along the Dead Sea. Once at the top, we toured this huge complex and saw the hot baths, the cisterns and water collecting system, the Synogogue, and the great palace of Herod. This is truly an amazing place considering the amount of hard work by many slaves it took to construct it.

When we got down from Masada we traveled north along the Dead Sea to get to En Gedi. This is the place where when Saul was trying to kill David, David was able to cut the corner off of Saul's robe. En Gedi is a beautiful wadi with a stream running through it. We climbed up the wadi to a water falls, keeping in the shade as it was 116 degrees out. When we got to the pool under the falls one of the members of our team was baptized by her father. It was a great experience.



On our hike out of the wadi we saw a couple dozen Nubian ibex. They are on their way back from just about being extinct. They are beautiful animals! Interestingly, the Bible also calls this place The Crags of the Wild Goats!

As we travelled back up to Jerusalem we stopped in the Judean wilderness to get a view of Jericho to the north and the place where Jesus was tempted to the south. After a time of devotions and silence, we finished our trip at the Knight's Palace in the Christian Quarter of Old Jerusalem. After cleaning up and having a delightful supper we walked to the Western Wall and spent some time there.

On the Tenth Day of...

We began our day with a nice treat, a ride across the Sea of Galilee from east to west. We got out of the boat in Magdala. We then got on our bus and were dropped off at the foot of Mt. Arbel.

Mt. Arbel is one of those lonely places that is talked about in the Gospels where Jesus went off to pray by himself. Well the reason why Mt. Arbel is a lonely place is that it is really tough to climb. We had to help each other at times climbing hand over hand to get to the top, from which we could see all of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding county side. We took a different route down which was even more difficult than the route up, but we all made it safely.



We the had a great lunch of Falafels and Coke at a local restaurant and headed off to the Jezreel Valley. We stopped at the ruins of Zippori. This is a Roman villa just north of Nazareth built during the life of Jesus. It had beautiful stone work and amazing tile floors. Jesus' father was a teuton, or stone worker. It would seem reasonable that Joseph worked here possibly making the walls or beautiful floors.



From Zippori we travelled to Mt. Carmel. Here we learned about the Elijah story and saw right where it happened. When you actually climb these mountains you have such a better appreciation for what the people had to do to follow the Lord's commands.



We travelled to the Judean mountains and stayed in a Kibbutz from which we cold see Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea. It was so nice a cool staying on the Judean Mountains, a great change from where we had been staying.

On the Ninth Day

Today we visited some of the small but important towns on the north side of the Sea of Galilee.First we came to the place where there are several springs which used to be the town of Tabgah where Jesus was probably cooking fish for his disciples after his resurrection.  The mountain where Jesus fed the multitudes is above this location. Tabgah was located where several springs gushed into the Sea.



We then went down the road a ways to Capernaum. Here you can see the ruins of a Synagogue where Jesus probably did some of his teaching. There is also the ruins of what is believed to be the house of Peter's mother-in-law.

From Capernaum we travelled north to the ruins of a city called Hazor which was the last city Joshua conquered. It was a very pagan city and even after Joshua conquered it they soon reverted to pagan worship, setting up again the Asherah poles.

From Hazor we travelled past the ancient city of Dan and into the foothills of Mt. Hermon. While traveling there we came within 100 feet of Syria. There is a huge fence with signs all around to be careful of land mines. We hiked along the headwaters of the Jordan River. The water was so cold and clear, with beautiful waterfalls along the way. The river begins with a huge artisan well right out of the side of the mountain. Here the Romans built Ceaserea Philippi. They was a temple dedicated to the goat god called Pan. It was a terribly pagan city that Jesus visited with his disciples.



We finished the day traveling back to the Kibbutz and going for a swim in the Sea of Galilee and watching the sun set. It was a day in which we saw first hand the tremendous pressure from paganism that was placed on the people of God, and the unfortunate consequences. I wonder how vulnerable we are today to contemporary paganism?

And on the Eighth Day...

After two nights in one hotel we packed up and and headed to where people say John the Baptist taught and baptized. It is hard to know this for sure, but they have excavated a church here which was in existence before 300 AD which probably means that this was the site because of the short time from when it happened to when a church was built there.

Anyway, now there is a brand new Catholic church there named the John Paul church for the work he did to get it built. The church is pretty impressive but the Jordan River is not, it is just a muddy stream when it reaches the Dead Sea.



Next we travelled to the Jordanian city of Jerash. Here there is a beautifully preserved Roman city. It is one of the cities which formed the decapolis, mentioned in the Bible. We spent time looking at the temples of Zeus and Herodotus. There is also a large Areopagus with columns all around it. Then there is a monument which is a large and elaborate fountain dedicated to Herodotus who is the god of the earth and fertility. The water poured into a granite bowl about eight feet in diameter. The granite for this bowl had to have come from Aswan, Egypt as this is the only source for it in this part of the world. We finished by looking at an intact stadium. It really reminded me of the movie "Gladiator".


Interestingly, this city was probably one of the cities that the healed demoniac visited to tell of the wonders of Jesus the Messiah who healed him. His witness must have been very profitable because within a hundred years of the building of this city it had several churches in it.


We spent the rest of the day traveling through Jordan to Israel. There it took us almost three hours to make the crossing as the security is very tight. We ended up at Kibitz Ged which is on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. We are getting closer and closer to Jerusalem.

Shepherds

The last few days we have been observing a lot about sheep and shepherds. Jordan is a very good place for this as they still have many Bedouins who tend sheep and goats. We have observed shepherds calling their sheep, even calling out one sheep at a time.

The harvest is done now in Jordan and the shepherds move the sheep into the harvested grain fields to graze. When you are standing at a distance you might wonder what could they be eating. But getting up close there are very short blades of grass that the sheep are able to eat.

The Bedouin shepherds keep moving their tents and families all the time looking for better pastures. This is harder to do in the dry season, which is what we are in.

At night they bring the sheep back to the tents or if they are in the hills they bring them to a cave for the night. All 48 in our group went into one of these caves to listen to Pastor George teach about Jesus our shepherd. The image of shepherd is the one used the most for God in the Bible. George also told us that a cave like we were in was probably where Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Sitting there in that cave that was dusty and smelled of sheep doo, really gives you the wonder of the great love of God that he would send his son into that place to save us from the doo we get our selves into. Love that great is going to get loved back.

The Seventh Day: No Rest Yet

Today is a very difficult day to describe. We got up a little later and after breakfast went for a dip in the Dead Sea. I thought that the Dead Sea would be really gross but it was beautiful. And I have to say it was great to swim in. You don't want to get any water in your eyes though. Our entire group had a riot just floating and bobbing like corks for about half on hour and then we got out.



Our next stop was also a water stop. We went to what the Bible calls the Arnon Gorge. My oh my is this ever a gorge! There had been a strange rain two weeks ago and they closed the gorge. But the day we got there they said they would open it! So with a Jordanian guide we began to hike up the river gorge.

It is just breath taking. At times we were up to our waists in rushing water. There were other times when we had to use ropes to climb over ten foot rocks. Since there are people in our group that range in age from 16 to 64 we all had to help each other accomplish this challenge. And we did!

At times the gorge was only 15 feet wide with wall of rock going straight up 200 feet. It was a magnificently beautiful place. After over a mile of wading up the river we got to a 30 foot water falls which we could not get over. Here we let the water rush over us to feel the power of what the Bible calls Living Water.

Our next stop was to one of Herod the Great's fortresses. This is one which is about straight across the Dead Sea from Masada. It is said that this one was his most magnificent one. There is little left of it today. But what is significant is that Herod Antipas is said to have beheaded John the Baptist here. We saw the reconstructed banquet floor where Herod's daughter danced so seductively that Herod granted her wish to have the head of John on a platter. We also saw the jail cell where John might have been kept. That is pretty powerful stuff.




By the time we were finished seeing Herod's fortress we headed back to our hotel on the Dead Sea for dinner and some sleep.

Day Six

Day Six

Petra means rock in Greek. Well we stayed in the rockiest hotel I have ever been in. It was right out of Middle Ages/Middle East. Today was our anticipated visit to Petra. We began at Wadi Musa, which means the valley of Moses. Tradition has it that Moses passed through this valley. But who really knows? Petra was a city of the Nabataeans. The Nabataeans are not mentioned in the Bible however, another name for them was the Idumaeans. Now Herod the Great was Idumaean so it could be that Herod came from this nation. Herod built the great Temple in Jerusalem.

Our walk through the steeply cut rock ends in a beautiful view of the famous Al-Khazneh tomb which was an important scene in the Indiana Jones movie "The Last Crusade." After walking further into the wadi we began to climb a very long set of stairs that took us out of the Wadi and onto a rock high above the ruins. Here is the remains of a pagan high place where sacrifices were make to the gods. The altar is still there with holes in the rock where the blood would drain out. This would be the same thing that is talked about so much in the Old Testament when a King would nor tear down the height places.



We then walked to the far end of the ruins where donkeys were waiting for us to ride up to the exit of Petra. It was a wild ride up a very long hill to get out of the wadi, but it sure beat walking.

We travelled through the high lands of Jordan until we got to Mt. Nebo. From Mt. Nebo you can see all of the Biblical Lands called the plains of Moab where Israel camped before they crossed the Jordan. This is also where Moses died. It is a very long way from the plains of Moab to Mt. Nebo. I wonder what Moses was thinking as he travelled to the top of this mountain knowing that his work on earth was done and he was about to die? We hiked to the top of Mt. Nebo and we all had a chance to reflect on our calling in life. Moses climbed Mt. Sinai four times and came down each time. But he climbed Mt. Nebo once, and never came down.


The sun set on Mt. Nebo and we found a place to stay for the night on the Dead Sea. So much to reflect on, so much to learn.

Location:65,,Jordan

The Fifth Day

Well it is the 4th of July and we did a hat trick of countries. We woke up on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba in Egypt. After a quick breakfast we got into the bus and traveled north along the coast in perhaps what was the same route that the Israelites travelled 3500 years ago.



We then entered Israel which is no small thing due to all of the security at the border. Once in Israel we went to a National Park called Timnah. Here we investigated a copy of the Tabernacle guided by a Messianic Jew. She was very informative and inspirational. We then hiked to a place which is the first evidence of mining ever found. Here the Kenites mined copper. It is also the place where Solomon had mines.

After a lunch in Eliat we crossed into Jordan. Today we spent 5 hours crossing borders. But once in Jordan we travelled through Aqaba (the city that Lawrence of Arabia conquered) and up a very long wadi (valley) to the Jordanian Plateau. Then traveling along the "Kings Highway" we came to Petra where we are spending the night. The "Kings Highway" is again quite possibly the route of the Israelites as they went around Edom and through the land of the Moabites.

We are tired today from the traveling but are resting well in a great hotel. It feels like we are finally getting out of the barren wilderness and into some more forgiving land. We are really looking forward to our visit of Petra tomorrow. Indiana Jones here we come.

Days Three AND Four

Perhaps the most famous mountain top experience ever recorded was Moses meeting God on the top of Mt. Sinai. But before he got there he was "stuck" in Egypt. Let me tell you how we got there.

After a sweet sleep in the lap of the luxurious Veraclub Hotel on the Red Sea we woke up to a delicious breakfast buffet. We then spent the rest of the morning snorkeling along the coral reef which is just a hundred yards off the shore in front of the hotel. There we saw Tiger Fish, Clown Fish and others of iridescent blues, oranges and yellows. The waves were rather large along the reef, and getting a bit dizzy we began getting ready for the trip to Mt. Sinai.



Pulling away from the luxury of Sharm El Shiekh we entered some of the most "god forsaken" land known to man. Two and a half hours of traveling in terrible heat without seeing any signs of green life makes you think why anyone would head into this place. Yet part of the time we had to have a police escort because of some recent "incidents" along the road.

We finally get to St. Katharine's, a tiny dusty town at the base of the Sacred Mountain. We get off the bus with our backpacks ready for some interesting climbing. But first we mount camels for the first four kilometers of the trip.

Riding a camel has never been on my bucket list and now I know why. Lawrence of Arabia made it look way more fun than it is. Getting off the camels our real climb begins. Being lead by a bedouin guide we begin our climb at five o'clock knowing that we will finish in the dark. We have seven kilometers ahead of us but it up 3,700 feet to reach the peak.



We watch the brownish, redish, blackish rocks turn darker and darker as we climb. Finally the sun sets and we climb the last stage with our flash lights. But just below the summit we see a fire and a group of Bedouins sitting around it. They have made camp for us and even have a meal ready. First some vegetable soup, then quail, rice and potatoes followed by some tea. Can you imagine eating quail on Mt. Sinai, how cool is that?

Then we find a mat and heavy wool blanket provided by our guides and look for a flat spot with no stones, no small task. Sleeping under the stars on Mt. Sinai, a full moon standing guard. Well sleeping might be a stretch! Then in the morning we watched the sun come up, praised God for his gift of a new day, and then summited the peak. There on top of Sinai, with a breeze on our backs and the sun in our eyes, we learned how important going up to meet God on our own lives really is.



All through the Bible people go up to meet the Lord: Mt. Sinai, Mt. Nebo, Mt. Carmel, Mt. of Transfiguration and Mt. Zion. All of them mean work just to get there. I wonder how much work we today are expending on meeting with God?



After breakfast we begin our hike down. It takes a lot less time getting down, but with each step it gets hotter. Finally at the bottom we again mount the bus and travel out of the wilderness to the gulf of Agaba. I have never seen the water so blue and shimmery as the moon rises over it. Tomorrow...off to Jordan.

Day Two

Day Two...How high can you climb in 115 degree heat? Well we found out today. We started out taking our bus to a place that makes bricks the same way that the Israelites did while they were slaves in Egypt. If fact I made a brick in the same way. Got my hands into the mud and manure and formed an almost perfect brick, kinda like my jumpshot. After spending time talking to some poor farmers we headed to the Valley of The Kings. This is where they have uncovered 63 tombs of Pharaohs and important leaders of ancient Egypt.



After a lecture in the temple of the Egyptian creator god, we hiked into the Valley of The Kings. It was an hour and a half up and up and up and then an hour down. We were then able to tour a couple tombs, one being Ramsees II. This is also where the tomb of Tutankhamen was found.



After a very hot morning, we went for a cruise on the Nile to a place for lunch. Then to a papyrus shop to see how papyrus paper is made and back to our hotel to clean up and have dinner. After dinner we loaded our bags up and headed to the airport for a flight to Sharm el Sheikh. Got to our hotel by 10 PM and it did not take long and we crashed. Great day.

Day One

I think that we have packed more into one day than we ever have before. After a long, I mean LONG, day of traveling from Chicago to Ammon, Jordan to Cairo, Egypt we did not get to our hotel until 11PM. Up at six and to Giza Pyramids by eight. There are three main pyramids here built by a father, his son and grandson. These pyramids stand for power and strength, but also teach the egyptian creation story. The very top of the pyramids were at one time covered with gold and depicted order coming out of chaos. The Nile used to flood right up to the pyramids, in fact the flooding allowed the Egyptians to float the stones down to the Giza Plateau to build these amazing structures. The Egyptians believed that the gods brought life out of the muddy silt brought down the river during the seasonal floods. This is what the top of the pyramid directed.

I find it so interesting that in the Genesis account of creation the earth was formless and empty and God brought order, or better still, SHALOM out of the chaos. We are learning that by studying the ancient Egyptians we can understand the context of the first five books of Moses so much better. We are learning so much!



After the pyramids and the Sphinx we went to the National Museum which is right on Tarhir Square in downtown Cairo. Learned a lot about dead people! Then it was time for lunch which was eaten on the edge do the Nile.



Off to the airport for a late afternoon flight to Luxor in upper Egypt. We rushed into our hotel, which was right on the Nile River, and into sailing boats for a sunset trip up the river. We beached the boats in a shallow a section of the river and went for a swim, after a brief lecture on the importance of water to Egypt. Then a quick sail back to our hotel, a late supper and off to bed. What an amazing day. I have never done so much exploring in one day in my life. And this was just day one!

Traveling Together

Here I am meeting our group. People from all over: Oregon, Indiana, Florida, and other fun spots. What else do you do when you sit in O'hare with 2.5 hours before our flight leaves. The nice thing about this is that we are not traveling alone. We have a great group of brothers and sisters of Christ on a "family" vacation.

Our guide, leader, rabbi, or George, went to seminary with me, oh so many years ago. It was really nice to see him again and we are looking forward to renewing acquaintances.

Back when I was in seminary I served as the student body president. So I was asked to give an official "thanks" for a painting that was donated. It was called "The Joyful Procession" and depicted a group of disciples enthusiastically following Jesus. I got a real strong feeling that the group we are with will be a lot like the group in the painting. Everyone seems very enthusiastic and eager to walk with Jesus on the rocky paths where scripture was written.

Preparing for Life

On most occasions when I take a trip I will usually pack my bag a half hour before we take off. However, going to the Middle East has fired me up so much that I packed my bag two weeks ago. In fact all of the preparation that Laura and I have done has been exciting, from reading the books, buying the clothing and gear, to getting in physical shape for the trip. All of this for two weeks of traveling.

This has made me question why I do not do this type of training for life, or I should say the Christian Life. The training has been part of the trip itself, making the trip that much longer and more enjoyable. It has taken some extra money and certainly more time, but it has been quite enjoyable preparing for this adventure.

What if we would work at preparing for the rest of our lives, or say eternity, like we might prepare for a trip of a lifetime? I think this would make life much more of an adventure all the way to the very end. I hope to continue the preparation once we are back from Israel. Only this time I will be preparing for the "other" Promised Land.

Preparing for a Trip

When Laura and I were given a very generous gift from our church to travel to Israel we quickly looked at a variety of options for going there. We decided on traveling with Under the Fig Tree Ministries. This is an organization which takes you to Egypt, Jordan and Israel to follow in the footsteps of the people of God and of our Savior. The teacher/leader is Rev. George DeJong who will serve as our guide. We will be doing a lot of walking and go to places that are not normally on an itinerary to The Holy Land. In fact, our trip will begin in Egypt and pass through the Sinai Peninsula, head to Jordan and then cross the Jordan River into Israel.

The philosophy behind this trip is that we will learn with our feet; that is, we will be hiking almost everyday from 6 to 10 miles, much of it up and down mountains. We will also be reading and taking notes on all of the places we will be traveling to. So in preparation for this trip we have been doing a variety of things.

We have been hiking and running to get into better shape. I like to run so I have been running a little over three miles a day. Laura has been doing some vigorous walking and running stairs. She likes to go to the Grandville Middle School football stadium and run up and down the bleachers -- 34 steps up and 34 steps down up to 30 times in an evening. That is just over 2,000 steps. However, climbing Mt. Sinai will be twice that just to get to the top! Usually we try to save Fridays for a long walk together. We strap on our hiking boots, grab our hiking poles and take off for a hike of four or five miles in the hilliest places we can find. We are finding out that we like both the hiking and the time to talk.


We are also doing a bunch of reading. We have read The Source by Michener which is an historical fiction book about the history of the Jews in the land of Israel. It is an interesting book but can be difficult to read as Christianity is not placed in a very warm light. We have also read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jesus by Bruce Fisk. This is an innovative approach to the study of the life of Jesus. It is written from the perspective of a college student who travels through Israel looking to fortress his faith with an in depth study of the life of Jesus in the same places where that life was lived. Laura has also read a novel about Masada called Dove Keepers and I read Who’s Land, Who’s Promise, a commentary about the contemporary political situation in Israel and Palestine. Presently I am reading The Great War for Civilization by Robert Fisk, which is a journalistic history of the Middle East conflict over the past 20 years. We have also been reading the historical books of the Bible from Moses through Jesus.

The most important preparation for such a trip is the opening of our hearts to what the Lord will tell us during this experience. Obviously the Lord speaks the most clearly through the Bible. However, when you take the Bible to the place that it talks about and describes, we anticipate that there will be another level of revelation which will speak to us. It is a revelation which I am sometimes able to enjoy when, in the study of the context and culture of the Bible lands, I all of a sudden experience an epiphany of understanding into the will of the Lord. How much better it should be to travel through this country with an expert teacher who will point out to us so many things which will add understanding to our faith. This will be wonderful.

So our preparation is close to being complete. We are almost ready to hike, climb, see and experience the Land of the Bible.

Packing for a Trip

How do you get ready for a trip to the Middle East?  Well first of all you need some type of luggage.  Even though I have traveled to a variety of countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa, I have always used an old backpack that my dear wife bought me for Christmas about 30 years ago.  It is still going strong and I could take it on this trip too.  But I thought that this trip deserved something new, so I got a new piece of luggage from Patagonia called the MLC -- Maximum Legal Carry-on.  I figure that going to the Middle East in the summer, when the temperature will be about 100 degrees during the day, I will not need to take too much clothing along.

Laura also got a new piece of luggage.  Her duffle bag of 25 years was stolen in South Africa and she really needed something new.  Actually hers is what I call “pullage”.  I have to lug mine and she gets to pull hers because they took a couple wheels off a roller blade and bolted them to the end of her luggage, turning it into pullage.  Hers is bigger than mine and does not fit in the overhead compartment.  But that is just fine.  If I run out of room I will just stuff something in her bag and she can pull it around for me.

Besides new bags we decided we should get new shoes.  (This trip is getting expensive.)  I have been wearing some Asolo hiking shoes for five years; I mean every day for five years.  They have finally worn out, at least there is very little sole left.  So I thought I would just get a new pair of the same thing.  Can’t go wrong with that.  Laura lost her best hiking shoes in Africa and has not been able to find anything that fits her glass-slipper feet.  Finally, she fell in love with a pair of Keens and has been breaking them in for the last couple of months.  Those boots were made for walking and she can walk all over me.

So now we have bags and boots.  We are almost packed.  Moving up the anatomy we have a few pairs of short, wool hiking socks and also water sandals for when we are not hiking.  We have a couple of convertible pants which we can zip the legs off when it gets hot and turn them into shorts.  Both of us have a few light-weight shirts to protect from the sun.  We also have to take a light jacket along for the night we spend on Mt. Sinai.  Each of us also has our favorite quarter-zip fleece that should work out well.  Oh yes, something for the head.  I still have a floppy hat from Africa and Laura will be crowned with a wonderful sun hat.  I was looking for a fur felt fedora on the order of Indiana Jones, but I can’t believe how hot they are.  Harrison Ford had an air conditioned trailer when he made that movie in Jordan.

There is really not much more to take.  But some extras that we will take along include a camelbak for our water and “stuff” for the hikes.  We have a little camera and I am also taking my iPad so I can take notes and stay in touch with family and church.  And of course we will have our binoculars.  We don’t go anywhere these days without them.  Israel is one of the best birding destinations in the world.  In the land where Jesus told his disciples to “watch the birds,” we want to prepare ourselves to be as obedient as possible.

Now we still have to find out if it all fits into the bag.  After doing a bit of traveling we have developed a Mary Poppins knack of packing everything into our bags so I don’t see any trouble in getting it all in.  We are not really looking to bring home any religious relics from our trip.  No pieces of the cross for us.  We just want to be light and nimble so we can walk in the steps of God’s people and of our Savior for a couple of joy-filled weeks.