Tuesday 6/22:
We stood today in the Elah Valley, where David fought and conquered Goliath. We reenacted the event with a skit and then moved on to Tel Azekah, where we overlooked the whole valley from above. It is amazing to me that, as young as he is, David still has no hesitation to go and show the people what God can do through him. He gives the glory to God and and does not fear. He declares that God will deliver him with certainty. Nothing, and no one, can defeat God. Being led by the Spirit, David defeats Goliath in the name of the Lord. Why is it so rare to see this sort of faith today? God can use us to do great things and we should be confident and certain of that fact! It was awesome to be where this happened, where the young David defeated the Philistine hero with the Spirit's guidance. All odds were against him, except the one that mattered--He was working for the Lord.
Today we also went to Bet Guvrin (aka Maresha) where there are huge caves that date back to the Byzantine period. During the Roman persecution of Christians, it is said that many of them were exiled here to these caves to live the rest of their lives here. After a stop at Lachish, we made our way to Ashkelon, where we spent the afternoon swimming in the Mediterranean. It was awesome to just relax and hang out for a bit after being out in the heat (which was brutal). After swimming we went up to some ruins from the Canaanites, where we saw the first arch ever built and got to lookout from a high point over the Mediteranean. It was so beautiful! (see the video below!)
We finally made it to our home for the next two nights: a youth hostel in Arad. To our surprise, the dinner at the hostel was SO good! They served us some very traditional food, and SO much of it! It was definitely an excellenet end to a long day. We eventually went out to a local spot to watch the Argentina/Greece World Cup game, which was a lot of fun.
Wednesday 6/23:
Today we focused on studying different areas of the Negev (which, by the way, means "dry" and "south") Our first stop today was the ancient city of Arad. This was actually so cool. It is the ruins of an Israelite citadel, which had a temple in it. It was actually fascinating to talk about the implications of the Holy of Holies (the inner most part of the temple where God was said to dwell) at this particular temple because there were 2 alters, rather than the one you would expect in a temple of God. Archaeologists have also found tons of small statues of what seems to be a form of an idol from another religion. While this could be frustrating, it is actually very cool because this temple would have existed during the time of the prophets that were condemning Israel for adopting pagan ways and being influenced by secular religions. So these sorts of discoveries actually strengthen the accounts we read about in the Bible. It's so crazy that all of these places that have been found and excavated align beautifully to what we read. They make the text come alive because these places actually exist and significant things so clearly happened here. And, by the way, archaeologists haven't found any evidence of idols from the time of the exile or beyond, which eludes to a huge change in the ways and hearts of the Israelite people. It is amazing how God's glorious works can be preserved by things and places like this. These places aren't just piles of ruins and rubble, but they reveal God's glorious unfolding plan for His world and His people.
After Arad we moved on to Beersheba where we talked a little bit about the time of the judges, and Samuel's sons who were judging Beersheba very poorly, which prompted the people of Israel to ask Samuel to appoint their first king, which ended up being Saul. Next we took a hike up the canyon of Wadi Zin, which is in the Wilderness of Zin. This is where the Israelites wandered for 40 years, receiving manna from heaven to sustain them. It talks about how the people complained in the desert, and let me tell you, I can understand. Just being there for an hour was rough because of the intense dry heat. However, its was gorgeous in the canyon and it felt like quite an accomplishment when we got to the top (picture below, yay!). Then we trekked over to Avdat, where there are ruins of a Navitean city. These people were pagans that converted to Christianity and built churchs right on top of their pagan temples. We saw where their sanctuary type room would have been as well as a baptismal fount.
We made our way back to Arad where we had another great dinner and then some awesome conversation between a few of us girls in the part right across from the hostel (and we found swings!). Then we topped off the day with a card game and some gross cheetos (they were peanut flavored, do you know how weird it is to taste peanuts when you think it's going to be cheese?) and went off to bed.
We climbed all the way up this crazy thing!
Thursday 6/24:
Today was our Dead Sea field trip! We spent all morning at Masada, which is beyond amazing. Masada is one of the fortress' Herod built in case his people tried to rise up against him. The fortress is right on the dead sea, with a beautiful view from the top. You can still see a lot of the original structures, including the siege ramp used by the Romans when they attacked the Zealots that took over Masada after Herod's death. You can even see the places where the Roman camps were located around the base of the mountain. Herod was no minimalist, that is for sure. the buildings are large and elaborate, with detailed architecture, painting, and tile mosaics. Architects today still can't figure out how he built some of the things he built. His palace would have been absolutely stunning, with the most amazing view over the Dead Sea looking across at the mountains of Moab. He had three levels to his palace with large patios that look out over the land, which you can see there today. The craziest part was climbing down. The climb up was on the side by the seige ramp, which is 300 ft from the base to the top, so it wasn't too terrible. The way down on the other side, however, is a solid 1300 ft from base to top. To walk it you take the "snake path" which is exactly what it sounds like. It winds all the way down the side of Masada (picture below). Now, going down doesn't seem like it would be hard, but let me tell you, it was brutal. It definitely felt like quite the accomplishment!
After Masada, we moved on to En Gedi, one of David's stops during his flight from Saul, where he may have composed a good number of the Psalms. Here we actually got to swim in the Dead Sea for a bit (the 2nd picture below)! At 25-30% salinity (salt content), they aren't kidding when they say you bob liek a cork. It takes work NOT to float and every single tiny open wound an your body stings like crazy. It was so cool though!
Our last stop was Qumran before we made our way back to Jerusalem. This is where they found the Dead Sea scrolls, which are the earliest copies of the New Testament books we have (except Esther, they didn't find any copies of that). It was so cool to walk around here and see some of the caves where the pieces were found.
Once back in Jerusalem, and still so tired from the last few days, we made a grocery store run for snacks. This turned out to be the most entertaining grocery store experience ever and we discovered these weird biscuit thingys that the cashier said were "the best thing ever" that are now my new favorite thing. He was so right. So all in all it was a great few days! Now it's time to study for the exam tomorrow!
The side of Masada we walked down, it's ways taller than it looks.
floating in the Dead Sea
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