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!