Israel - Days 8 & 9

It's hard to believe that we're now at the blog of the last day of our tour in Israel. It was quite a significant day, too. Of course, every day was significant in a unique, special kind of way. A few days before, we had gone to Gethsemane. The following day, we saw the pavement from the time and location where Jesus would have received the cross. On Day 8, we saw Golgotha and the Garden Tomb.

As was mentioned on a previous day, we saw the site where some believe Golgotha and the tomb were. However, many evangelicals believe the site we went to on this last day of the tour was the more authentic site. Even if it wasn't the authentic site, it definitely looked more like what it would have looked like 2000 years ago. Many of us had noticed while going through some of the traditional sites throughout the trip that we had the distinct, undeniable feeling, "No, this isn't where it really happened." We didn't feel that way at this site. That feeling, in and of itself, is of course no evidence that this was the actual location where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. However, Nathan did remember something that would indicate that this was at least closer to where it would have occurred than the place we saw a few days earlier...

Hebrews 13:11-12 - "For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood."

What does that say? Jesus suffered (was crucified) outside the camp...outside the city walls. The other location was inside the city. This location was outside the city. And although the boundaries have been somewhat modified over the past 2000 years, these locations were not affected by those boundaries.

Another difference between the 2 sites was how much the supposed Golgotha appeared as a skull. The first location we saw, impressions in the rock kind of looked like they could be little skulls. The second site, we couldn't help but see the "skull" in the rock. It was rather obvious.


Something we both were surprised by was how close the tomb and Golgotha were to each other. At first, we thought something was "off"...that they couldn't really be that close to each other...that the tomb was practically right next to Golgotha. Yet, once again, my mind had envisioned something incorrectly. When we took a look at John 19, we found that, indeed, the tomb was very close to where Jesus had been crucified. "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there." (vs. 41-42) Garden. Tomb. Place of Crucifixion. All 3 in the same area. Where we stood that morning fit that description very well. Even the tomb itself, which was slightly different than the "norm" (with certain chambers being on the opposite side of the tomb than what was typical) fit what is seen in Scripture. So, whether or not this was the actual location, it definitely gave us a much better perspective and understanding of the actual location.

A look inside the empty tomb

After the whole group had the opportunity to peek inside the empty tomb, we gathered together for a time of worshiping our risen Savior, with the entrance to the empty tomb still very visible to us. We spent time singing praises to our King. We spent time looking into His Word, meditating on His death and resurrection. We spent time remembering His sacrifice, His love for us, as we partook in communion. God's presence was so evident. And unlike the other location, people weren't worshiping relics. They were worshiping the living God. And He alone is worthy of all our worship.

Outside the empty tomb with Pastor James and Kathy MacDonald

Our next stop was to the traditional site of David's tomb. I don't think any of us really think that's where he is actually buried. However, many people do believe this is the actual location, and they go there to pray.

Then, it was off to an upper room. This upper room was in the general area of the upper room where Jesus had the Last Supper with the disciples. However, this one was actually made of Crusade-era materials, which obviously came several years after the Last Supper.

While we were in the upper room, we learned some interesting things about some of the symbols in communion. The one that stood out to me the most was the unleavened bread that had been used. We now tend to use little wafer things that don't reflect the depth of symbolism as the original bread did. So, maybe that's why, at least in part, I had never really thought about all the symbolism that a little piece of bread had when related to communion. I had known about the symbolism of the unleavened bread. Leaven is often used in Scripture to symbolize sin. Unleavened bread is to symbolize sinlessness. The bread that was used was motzah. Along with being unleavened, it was also punctured multiple times to prevent accidental rising during baking, and the punctures were in stripes. Christ was sinless. He was pierced for us. "...with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

Our last stop of the day was at the Valley of Elah. The weather had been beautiful all week. This was the only day that it rained a little. And even though we didn't really want to deal with rain, we were thankful that God provided the much needed rain for Israel. Besides, the rain really wasn't that bad. It was mostly pretty light rain, and it mostly held off until the last part of the day. And we even saw a faint rainbow on the way back to the hotel from the Valley of Elah.


Anyway...the Valley of Elah...that's where David fought Goliath. I know by this point, if you've been reading all the blogs for each day, it will come as a total shock to you to hear that how I pictured this area didn't really look like what we saw. That seems like it was a big theme for me throughout the trip...Nothing really looked like what I had previously envisioned.

The hill (in the middle of the pic) where the Philistines hung out


The hill where the Israelites hung out
David and Goliath met somewhere in between the 2 hills



A dry river bed - quite possibly where David got his smooth stones

To wrap things up, our group had a special dinner at the hotel. On our way to the room where we were all having dinner, we noticed there was a Jewish wedding taking place at the hotel. So, we had to stop and watch for a few minutes and take a couple pictures.

Toward the very end of our trip, we did have the opportunity to pass on a skill my dad had taught us...how to make a chicken out of a cloth napkin. Rebecca was so excited about this newly learned skill that she wanted us to teach Courtney and anyone else who was interested.

Even though we traveled all those miles back home, with hearts full and also missing the friends we had just met and spent this incredible trip with, we did arrive home to a little taste of something we saw in Israel. If you read the blogs from the beginning of the trip, you learned a little bit about our visit to Tel-Dan (the name means "hill of Dan"). Well, after a little yard work, we had our very own Tel-Machel that would provide protection from the enemies. Of course, just a couple days later, Tel-Machel vanished.

It was an amazing, eye-opening trip. My perspective on many things changed. How I pictured things while reading and studying Scripture has forever been altered. My hunger to dive more deeply into God's Word and to feast on it has grown. I've been humbled and challenged. I want so much to live my life for my risen Lord and Savior. And my desire for this trip to Israel is that God will continue to use it in my life to do His work in and through me to bring Him honor and glory.

Israel - Day 7

When Nathan and I were at Olympic National Park for our honeymoon, we often commented on how beautiful a bunch of green could be. We often saw green, green, and more green. Well, in Israel, there really wasn't a ton of green. However, we were amazed this time at how beautiful brown, brown, and more brown could be. The rock formations, the mountains, and the changes in the landscape were amazing. On the 7th day, as we traveled to a few locations, we saw the Dead Sea to the one side of the road and various rock formations (mountains, hills, etc.) to the other side. The view, although often involving mostly various shades of brown, was often rather stunning.







Occasionally, we would spot some green in the midst of all the brown, often from the leaves of the date palms. One such location was En Gedi, where David stayed when fleeing from Saul. We were supposed to stop there, but due to traffic, our schedule had to be slightly modified. So, we only saw En Gedi as we drove past it.

So...where did we start off the tour that day? Masada. Honestly, I really didn't know much about Masada before we went there. Ok...correction...I didn't know ANYTHING about Masada. Sometimes, I'm embarrassed to admit how little I know about history. I never really liked history when I was in school. It was rare to find a teacher who could teach history in such a way that made it interesting to me. I am very thankful that history is becoming more interesting to me now, and that I'm married to someone who knows quite a bit about history (and many, many, many other things.) Needless to say, I learned a little bit about this place called "Masada" that we saw.

Masada is a large plateau on the top of a mountain. It has three tiers/steps on the one side (as seen on the right side of the mountain in the picture below). Herod the Great built a fortress/palace there as a refuge to use as a last resort. He built it in such a way that it would provide great defenses against the enemy while also being quite a Roman luxury.

For those of you who find yourself in the same position I was in regarding Masada...clueless...here is some of the story about that place...and in the words of my studly husband (since he took notes on it and wrote up a really good summary of the history of the place). So...all the credit for the next paragraph goes to my incredible husband.

When Jews revolted against Rome in 66 AD, Rome responded heavily, destroyed the temple and much of Jerusalem in 70. The Zealots (leading the revolt) fled during that time to Masada, took the few Romans guarding it by surprise, and took over the fortress. About 1000 total (maybe 300 fighting men, the rest women, children, and the elderly) held out against a massive Roman siege for about three years, finally succumbing in 73. Late one day the Romans finally breached the wall, and the next day would storm the fortress. The men would be slaughtered, the women probably raped to death, the children left to die. Facing that, and with suicide not an option to Jews, the zealots wrote their names on pottery shards and drew ten of them (many such shards have been found). These ten became the death squad, slaughtering everyone else in the fortress (except two women who hid in a cistern, and told the story first to the Romans, then to Josephus). Then one of them killed the other nine. The last survivor threw himself off the mountain. When the Romans came in the morning, they found everyone dead.

When I learned this story, part of me felt sick by the thought of that kind of death of a group of people. It's not a fun story. However, I was challenged by it. If I'm faced with a reality that would be ugly, will I choose to trust God through it, or will I find a way to escape to something seemingly more "comfortable"? Will I allow God to work in and through me no matter what the situation is? Although it's easy to know the right answers, it's much more challenging to answer those when really examining the heart or when actually faced with difficult circumstances. I truly want my life to bring God honor and glory...in the good and in the bad times.

On with the pictures...

Quite a bit of the fortress was still there. Everything below the black squiggly lines on the stone walls were original remains. In some of the rooms in the living quarters, there were frescoes painted on some of the walls, which were over 2000 years old. The partial frescoes on the walls that we saw were beautiful. On the one hand, I couldn't help but wonder how brilliant the colors had once been. On the other hand, I also saw beauty in the age of them...the years, the history.

There were some really large food storage rooms there, too. There were 16 of them that were each about 60' long by 12' wide by 8-10' high. They had been packed with dried preserved food. There had been more than enough food to feed 1000 people for over 3 years. With as much as I raid my parents' pantry whenever I'm visiting, I definitely thought of my dad when I saw those rooms. Maybe...if they ever remodel their kitchen again, they'll choose to expand their pantry to this size????

There were several squares of stone in the area. These squares were the remains of the Roman camps. Since the Romans couldn't take the fortress by storm, they decided to hang out for a while in the area until they could successfully conquer the fortress. They hung out there for about 3 years until they attacked Masada.

We briefly went into the remains of the synagogue. It was the only synagogue we saw that had been built when the temple was still standing.

We also saw the ramp that the Romans built over the course of 3 years while facing some challenges to their construction project...namely, having large, heavy stones (like cannon balls) thrown at them by the zealots. Once the ramp was built, the Romans got a siege tower with battering ram up the ramp to attack. The battering ram was successful, which led the Romans to victory over Masada.

After our time at Masada, we went to Qumran. Along the way, we saw some great scenery of the Dead Sea.

I knew just as much about Qumran as I did about Masada before this trip. The Essnes (a group of Jewish ultra-radicals) moved out there. They rejected the temple, envisioning a more perfect "true temple". They sought to live a life of constant purification. Many, many, many years later (as in 1947), a Bedouin goatherd was looking for his lost goat and found the first of what is now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The cave in the picture below was where the scroll was found.

Our last stop of the day before heading back to the hotel was the Dead Sea. We had the opportunity to do a little "swimming" in the Dead Sea. We actually found that swimming was rather difficult...so it turned out to be more floating than swimming. It's really crazy to be able to basically sit back in water and do nothing to float. The water just floats you on its own. Nathan and I did a little tandem floating, which was fun. Some people slathered mud all over themselves. We didn't feel the inclination to do the same. I did notice, however, that even after just a short time in that water, my skin felt softer. I got a glimpse as to why cosmetics made from the Dead Sea and it's mud are so popular.

As I was heading up the stairs near the beach to go to the bus, I paused to look at the flags of various nations. I don't remember which country the red flag is from, but I had to get a picture of the other 3 that were right in a row: Argentina, USA, and Israel. Unfortunately, there wasn't much wind, so you can't seem them all that well.

Can it be? There is only one more day of the tour left! And it was definitely a good one! So...stay tuned for the next blog....

Israel - Day 6

Although there were things that stood out to me the previous days, it wasn't until this 6th day of the tour when I really experienced my heart being gripped. It was this day that had one of the more impacting times on my heart. It was this day that I saw some things confirmed in my life. It was this day that I had been wanting during the trip. To explain more fully what I'm talking about, let me take you on a little journey through the day...of course, by this point, you know to expect such a thing!

Our first stop of the day was on the Temple Mount...and really, we were in this part of the city for much of the day. The area is currently being run by Muslims, so there were certain rules that we had to follow that weren't typical in other parts of the country. The 2 most difficult rules for us: 1. We weren't allowed to take our Bibles with us, so we left those on the bus. 2. We weren't allowed to show any affection toward someone of the opposite gender. Nathan and I would just happen to accidentally bump into each other on purpose while we were in that part of the city. It was interesting (in a really sad sort of way) to learn that both Jews and Muslims are trying to hide history. Most Jews in Israel know NOTHING in the New Testament, not even from the historical perspective, since that is just not taught. Muslims seem to take things even a step further and try to cover up or even destroy any evidence of history pre-Islam. They deny that the temple was ever even there...even though there are still some things, possibly even from the temple itself, that have been used in the various Muslim structures. There is definitely a clash between truth and what certain people want everyone else to perceive as truth. In the midst of such beauty, we were hit hard with such darkness.

After leaving the restricted area on Temple Mount, we went to the Pool of Bethesda. (And of course, Nathan and I were holding hands again pretty much immediately.) Ummm...so it's not like the really big pond I had envisioned when reading John 5? I know that the passage calls it a pool and even talks about 5 roofed colonnades...but somehow, I still pictured the healings taking place by a body of water such as a pond or lake. Yeah...I was WAY off! It actually was a pool (the left side of the ruins in the picture below). Again, what I had pictured in my faulty brain was at least somewhat (meaning, "majorly") corrected when I saw what the Pool of Bethesda really was...it was a pool.

After seeing the pool that was really a pool, we stopped in at St. Anne's Church to check out the incredible acoustics. Groups of people will go in and take a turn singing some song. So, we (about 170 of us) sang "Alleluia" in unison...acapella. It was incredible...something that could easily give a person the goosebumps.

We headed toward a museum type of place that had a 50:1 scale model of Jerusalem before it was destroyed in 70 AD. It was great being able to get a better visual of where things are at since it's a little tough to grasp it all when walking around the city.

Another cool thing about the museum...it has the Dead Sea Scrolls there! We couldn't take any pictures of them, but we were able to look at the scrolls and pretend we were reading them...even though we can't read that language.

During our drive from one place to another, we saw a shepherd with a bunch of sheep just off to the side of the road. The shepherd spotted us and waved. :o)

Then, we were off to Antonia Palace, which is in the Muslim quarters of the city. Right above it is a convent where they have some of the original pavement from 2000 years ago. This would have been the same pavement Jesus was on when he was given the cross to carry. Some of the pavement had imprints of Roman games...the games they would have played when casting lots for Jesus' clothes.

The really old pavement

A portion of pavement with an imprint of a Roman game

For some reason, seeing that pavement was really sobering for me. It made me think what Jesus did for me when He was tortured and when He died to pay the penalty for my sins. It is so humbling. He has given me life. He has opened my eyes and heart to Him, not because of anything I've done but because He has chosen to call me His own. It's completely His work in me. Without Him drawing me to Himself, I would be so completely lost and spiritually dead.

As we left that site, this was all on my heart and mind. And as we walked out of that building, we were hit hard with the reality of the spiritual darkness around us. We were walking in an area that definitely wasn't in my comfort zone...mainly due to a drastic difference in culture. However, even more than noticing the "discomfort" due to "culture shock", I noticed a very deep sense of heaviness. My heart was breaking for these people. I saw the beauty in these people God created. Yet, I also saw (and felt) the extreme heaviness of the spirtual darkness, blindness, and lostness. I was finally getting beyond the location and seeing the people. By the time I got on the bus, I was just about in tears. My heart had been gripped in a way that it hadn't so far during the trip. And I had some confirmation that God has intilled in me (and is growing in me) a heart for a specific people group.

So, although this day didn't necessarily have a happy-feel-good highlight for me, whenever someone would ask what a highlight was for me on this trip, I mention this day. I mention how I was first sobered by being reminded of what Jesus did for me (when I saw the pavement) and then was pretty much immediately hit right smack in the face with such utter darkness. And I mention how my heart really broke for the people we saw as we walked through that part of the city and toward the buses. That was what I wanted for this trip. I wanted my heart to be gripped. I wanted to see beyond the location and find my heart breaking for the people in Israel. And on this day, that's what happened.

Israel - Day 5

The first day we awoke in the city of Jerusalem, I was greeted by one I didn't want to encounter and hope to never meet again. The encounter was not pleasant, and it led to some awkwardness and discomfort and also forced me to move beyond my pride. Normally I wouldn't even bring this whole thing up on a blog (due to its rather personal nature), but because I clearly saw God at work in the situation, I have chosen to share this adventure. The one who greeted me that morning, I'll call by its initials since it has a long name: UTI (aka bladder infection). I don't normally get UTI's, but I knew the typical symptoms, and I had them. And what better time to get a UTI than when you're on vacation out of the country? The symptoms started at least the day before, but it was that morning when I realized what was going on. I went through the options of what to do:

Option #1 - Ignore it and wait to see a doctor when we got home. That would "ensure" that I wouldn't miss seeing anything that day, and it would allow me to keep my sense of "pride" and dignity since I wouldn't have to say anything about it to these people I had just met on the trip (or hadn't even met yet). However, I knew I had to quickly rule that option out. Having MS doesn't allow the luxury of trying to ignore it. Plus, it was Monday morning, and we wouldn't be back home until Friday night.

Option #2 - Swallow my pride, seek out one of our bus captains at breakfast, and figure out what to do. This option "won".

In the dining hall, we sought out one of our bus captains, and I explained what was going on. She informed me that one of the women on our bus is a nurse, so we went to talk with her. She had just met a doctor in our group (on a different bus, though) the previous day who happened to be a urologist. She introduced us and we told him the issue. (What a great way to meet someone in a tour group with you. "Hi! My name is Tricia, and I think I have a bladder infection.") Right before we left for the tour that day, the doc checked with the front desk about how we might be able to get a prescription for an antibiotic. We then boarded the buses, and by the time we got to the site (shortly after 7:00 am), he had found another doctor on the trip who had brought antibiotics along with him, and he gave me the 2 doses I needed for that day. He said I should start seeing some improvement about 6 hours after the first dose. Our bus captain had also tracked down another doc who had also brought along antibiotics (which happened to be the same kind I had just received from the one doc) and gave me the rest of the doses I needed to fight off UTI. Those first several hours were pretty uncomfortable. I wasn't feeling all that great, but all things considered, it wasn't too horrible. Plus, just as the good doc said, things started clearing up fairly quickly.

As I mentioned earlier, the reason I'm sharing all this is because of the wonderful way God provided for me on that trip. He provided a doctor who specializes in such issues. He provided the antibiotics I needed without even needing to figure out how to get meds through an Israeli pharmacy. He provided healing. He provided strength. He provided wonderful people in our group who wanted to help and surprised me by buying me a cup of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice (it was wonderful!) that day since that kind of juice is good for such issues. And He also provided protection from the MS going crazy after I got over the infection. So, although I was somewhat distracted while venturing through Jerusalem and may not have been impacted in an incredible way by a specific place we saw, I will always look back at this day of the trip and with a heart of praise and thanksgiving, remember God's provision for me.

Ok...now onto the actual tour...

We began the morning on the Mount of Olives, where we had a great view of Jerusalem. Gary (from Discovery Ministries - the ministry that put this whole tour together for us) talked to us about the past, present, and future of Jerusalem. To be perfectly honest, I really don't remember much that was said during that time. As I mentioned before, I was a little distracted.

After the "introduction" to Jerusalem, we walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. As was the case with much of Israel, it was NOTHING like what I had imagined. I had pictured a much larger, more open, greener place. Instead, we saw some trees, dirt, and a few flowers. Pastor James spoke on submission to the will of God and the model Jesus provided. (Matthew 26:39-46) Then, we took the opportunity to get alone in the garden and pray about a specific area of our lives we needed to submit to God.

There were some really old trees in one area of the garden...trees that are thousands of years old and would have been there when Jesus prayed in the garden. This is one of those trees.

We then journeyed to the location that is the probable site of Caiphas' house where Jesus was brought for trial and Peter denied him 3 times. There is now a church in that location that has an "interesting" focus on Peter's denial of Jesus. As can be seen in the pictures, a rooster adorns the church and a column. When Michael (professor from Moody) was teaching on that passage of Scripture, the bells started chiming, indicating that it was noon. So, he waited until the chiming was done to continue. Shortly after he started speaking again, the bells chimed again. So, he waited until it was done. The bells ended up chiming 4 times: once to indicate the time, and three more times because of the Peter's denial of Jesus 3 times and then the rooster crowing 3 times.

The original walkway from over 2000 years ago
that led up to the house

We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the "traditional" site of where Jesus was crucified and buried. We believe that the other possible location is probably the more authentic site (which will be discussed later). Seeing this traditional site was heartbreaking. There are places inside that are claimed to be the rock where Jesus was prepared for burial and the exact location where Jesus was crucified. That alone wasn't heartbreaking. The heartbreaking thing was watching many people worship those things rather than worship the living Savior. There were some areas where the spiritual darkness and blindness was so evident, where it was so heavy, thick, and sickening, that it just broke my heart. This was one of those locations.

That day also provided my small world experience for this trip. I tend to have small world experiences wherever I go, even when its overseas. This time, it occurred on the 5th day of the tour at lunch. The dining area at the place we ate at that day was rather busy. We eventually found a seat at a table where there was one person from our group and some women from another tour. They asked where we were from, and I said, "Chicago. I almost said Ohio since that's where I'm originally from, and I've only been in Chicago for about a year." Not only were those women from Ohio...they were from Toledo! And the one woman has a daughter who is a freshman at UT! Ahhh...a little "encounter" with the place I still feel like is "home" in many ways. Later on, I was sharing the story with someone on our bus, and she mentioned that she lived in Toledo for about a year and worked at Owen's Corning. The only thing that would have made it crazier is if she actually knew any of the people I know who work there. :o)

Speaking of small world experiences...although this isn't as crazy as meeting the Toledo people, it was still a fun thing. We pretty much knew no one except one other person on the trip before the journey to Israel began. So, the week was filled with conversations with people on the tour (mostly with those from the blue bus), trying to get to know them a bit. In one of those conversations, I found out that one of the women on our bus is a crossing guard for the school right by where we live. Even though I hadn't met her until this trip, I pass by her almost every day on my way to work!

The second half of the tour for the day was spent at the Wailing Wall and the Temple ruins. Ahhh the Wailing Wall...the wall that tends to be mistaken as a wall that had been part of the temple. It wasn't. It was just a retaining wall. And even though the temple is no longer there, the retaining wall is. The Jews believe that God's presence is there. They go to the wall to pray. They even write out prayers on paper and stuff them into any space they can find in the wall. The men and women are separated by a fence to help prevent men from being tempted...but I did notice a man looking over the fence at the women.

The fence was high, but it obviously wasn't ridiculously high

since I'm on the women's side taking a picture of the men's side.

Some pieces of paper with prayers written on them and

stuffed into the spaces/cracks in the wall

The Temple ruins...well...they were ruins, but still a cool thing to see. There were areas where there had been pools or baths for ceremonial cleansing before walking up the stairs into the temple.

Some of the rocks were extremely huge. One of the things I often thought about was how the walls were constructed before the days of heavy machinery. The Bible study I am in is studying Nehemiah. So, as I saw rocks like this (and even much smaller ones), I couldn't help but be amazed at how the people would have built the walls. And I realized...people who were involved in such projects, would have been risking their lives to build something like the city walls.

Some original temple stairs

We spent time sitting on the temple steps, hearing some teaching about the area. The temple stairs were constructed to be uneven..on purpose. This was to "force" those going to the temple to concentrate when they were walking to and from the temple, rather than just being able to zone out.

Obviously, there was much to say about this day of the tour. And as can be expected, there is much more to say about the last few days of the trip. So...stay tuned for those posts!