Don’t sink! (4/12) Wednesday, Jul 9 2008

This morning we loaded up and headed out (or should I say down!) to the Dead Sea. There were signs along the way indicating when we hit sea level, and then started going below. Before we got to our first stop, Husam pulled into a rest stop so we could see some Ibex. I guess they are know to hang out around this particular stop–not sure why. We saw 3-4 of them, though they are hard to spot at first. It is the Ibex horns that are used to make a shofar. After snapping a few pictures, we pulled out and headed on to Masada. This was a fort/civilization that Herod built on top of a mountain. It was mindboggling to think of the amount of time and effort that went into building this place. While it was certainly sunny and hot up there, there was a nice breeze, and I imagine that it wouldn’t be too bad if you were able to stay in the shade. Some of the group decided to walk down to the lower parts, but I passed on that. It was at Masada where the Maccabees held out against Rome. The Romans built a huge ramp up the side of the mountain and when they were done they rolled a large siege tower up to the ramparts and invaded the fort. The Maccabees couldn’t do anything but watch and wait. Ultimately, they decided that it was better to die than be a slave, so they drew lots. Ten men were chosen to kill all the other men, women, and children. Then they drew lots again and one man was chosen to kill the other 9 men then commit suicide, rather than be taken alive. When the Romans finally broke in, they found everyone dead.

Model of Masada.

 

View from the top.

These are the pipes that heated up the sauna at Masada.

After that we stopped at the Ahava factory, which sells beauty supplies made from the dead sea salts and mud. I had thought about getting something, but the prices were outrageous. I’m just too cheap for that.  Sis bought some things and fell in love with them (appropriate, since Ahava means love in Hebrew), so she’s decided to carry them in her pharmacy.  Maybe I can talk her into a discount. 

Our next stop was a beach on the Dead Sea to eat our packed lunches, then swim. Sis decided not to get in, but I wanted to check it out, so I put on my suit and got in with the moral support of a couple of other girls. The water was a little chilly, but not bad once you got used to it. It was such an odd feeling to float effortlessly. Sometimes you really had to fight the natural buoyancy of your body. If you had your knees or feet slightly in front of you, they would just float up and you’d be on your back. It was nice except you had to hold your head up, which wasn’t comfortable for long periods of time. After I’d walked just to where I couldn’t stand up anymore I tried to push myself down a little to see how far down the bottom was, but I just bobbed right back up. There was also a mud pit where everyone was slathering themselves with the black stuff. I figured what the heck, so I joined in. It felt odd, but my skin did feel soft after I washed it off. I ran up to the showers (OK, well I slogged my wet self up) and tried to get to some semblance of clean. Then I headed to the bus to wait for the group. I was a little early, but it gave me the chance to talk to a couple of people and catch my breath.

 

The standard position for most peole in the Dead Sea.

Everybody's gettin' pretty!

Our last stop before heading “home” was Qumran–near the caves where they found the Dead Sea scrolls. We started with a movie about the community that lived there, then went out into the ruins. I have to admit that by this time, even I, the die-hard history major, had about had my fill of old ruins. What I think is fascinating about this site, though, is that the find in 19– shows that the text of the Bible was unchanged for 2000 years. I guess that doesn’t really mean anything for non-believers, but to me that is such a powerful evidence of God’s control over His word. After looking around a bit, we headed back to the bus and on back to Jerusalem. It was sad to have our last ride together as a group. Husam and Itay humored us by recreating our initial entry into the city (it brings tears to my eyes to think about it even now)–and Husam took a detour around the block so that we didn’t get to the hotel before the song was over.

In the evening we had dinner, then one last time with Joel to ask questions and rejoice over the incredible trip we had been on.

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He is risen! (4/11) Thursday, Jul 3 2008

This morning we were at Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial. Itay gave us 2 hours to get through the museum, but I was going pretty quickly. Since I studied WWII in college, I was familiar with most of the things that the museum presented. I had also toured the memorial in DC, and felt that experience was more moving. It is the personal effects that touch me the most–piles of shoes, suitcases, and eyeglasses. If I’m remembering correctly, the DC museum presented these things in a way that affected me more.

An interesting fact that I picked up on this visit was that some Jews escape to China. Apparently, you didn’t have to have a visa to go to Shanghai (?). I wonder if there are populations of Jews still there–though I would imagine there are.

We ate lunch at the museum and had a fair amount of time to wander around. Some people decided to walk to the Valley of the Communities but I didn’t join them.  It sounded neat–a memorial to thousands of Jewish communities that had existed for hundreds of years, but had been wiped out during the holocaust.  Even though I’m from Texas, the sun here is just too much for me. The heat isn’t bad, its just the direct sunlight that gets to me.

Our other stop for today was the garden tomb. First we saw Golgatha, where you really can see a skull in the side of the hill. Who knows what 2,000 years have done to the erosion, but I guess its possible it could still look almost the same as in Jesus’ time. The guide gave the scriptural authority for why they believe this place is the true place of the crucifiction. In the ‘valley’ (not really big enough to be called a valley, just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about) next to the hill there was a bus station parking lot, then a roadway, then the city wall. The guide explained that while we picture Christ being crucified at the top of a hill, the believe the cross was by the side of the road (scripture). I think they said that there was an ancient road underneath the modern one, which is another reason they believe this is the place. If you a standing at this spot looking at the hill, then you walk about 100 yards to the left you come to the garden tomb. Here they found evidence of a vineyard (small by US standards) with a winepress. This is a depression cut into the rock with a channel, then a lower vat. The idea is that the grapes would be pressed and the wine would run down into the vat to be collected. This is important because Mary thought that Jesus was the gardener when he appeared to her at the tomb. At the back of the garden, facing the city wall, is a 1^st century tomb that has a channel where a stone would have rolled over the opening. We were able to walk in and look; you could see a place where a body would be laid with a stone pillow and a cut-out for the feet. After we finished the tour, we gathered for some praise and worship and communion. Then it was time to head back to the hotel.  (Here is a good article by Chuck Missler that lays out some of the scriptural basis of why many believe this is the correct site.)

 

Can you see the skull?

 

The tomb is empty!

 

 

That says it all.

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Epicenter ’08 (4/10) Thursday, Jul 3 2008

This will be a short post because we spent the day at the Epicenter conference.  Though there was a lot of the same message that we’ve been hearing, there were some very interesting speakers.  My favorite was a member of the Knesset who spoke about Israel’s failed history of appeasement.  His name was MK Saar.  I would encourage you to go to the site and watch his speech.  Another speaker was General Boykin, who recommended two books:  “Inflitration” by Paul Sperry and “Armigeddon, Oil & Terror” by Hitchcock.  If you haven’t yet, please read Joel Rosenberg’s book “Epicenter.”  This trip has certainly made me want to be more knowledgeable of both the Bible and Israel’s current affairs.

Thoughts of home have started creeping in, though I’m trying to block them out.  I’ve enjoyed myself so much, I don’t want to go home to my daily routine.  God has been so present and immediate here, and I know I will go back home and other things will crowd in.

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