David Simon's Blog, page 27
March 13, 2015
Passover Preparation - Day 5 - Procuring the Provisions
Hallel Psalm 117:1 O praise the Lord, all ye nations! Praise Him, all ye people! 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord!
Passover is a festival of celebration. Our people received the freedom, which brings life and happiness and joy. And, as is common, we celebrate by eating. The Passover meal is to be like a Thanksgiving meal, with lots of food and lots of people. When we eat together we tell stories, play together, and sing together.
When families gather for Passover, everyone knows what the Seder will include, so they come hungry. This element of preparation requires a diligent person to plan and cook the meal. They need to buy meat, Motzah, morror (bitter herbs), ingredients for Charosis, the wine (at least four cups), the egg, and of course the vegetables.
Sometimes we take the preparation of the Seder meal for granted. This is not to be so on Passover, for the story of this feast is told through symbolic foods, starting with the green vegetables. While it might appear that going to the store to purchase enough food for all the members of the family is a simple matter, we are reminded of a time before stores existed, when the family had to raise enough food for themselves or they would starve!
While sometimes vegetables are given to balance the meal, or as a healthy food, on Passover green vegetables mean even more. They speak of life, for the world is reawakening to life once again. Our gathering is at the Spring Harvest time and we are called to give thanks to God who gives our crops and our food (even if we go to the store, we must remember it all starts with the planting of crops).
The green vegetable is dipped in salt water to remind us of the tears our forefathers shed when in slavery. They had to produce crops, not only for themselves, but first and foremost for their taskmasters, the Egyptians. The saltwater calls to our attention the hard work of their physical toil, and the difficult reality that sometimes the seeds we sowed do not provide as much food as we would like and we go hungry. Bitter Herbs remind us how bitter life can be under slavery, in drought, under persecution, or when harsh circumstances come our way.
In your daily life, are you a slave to your existence? Is your survival a day to day matter, getting the things done which you must, coming home tired, and then doing the same thing the next day? Or do you take time to celebrate each day and give thanks for all things - small or great - which God has afforded to you for your enjoyment?
We eat the green vegetable to remind us to give thanks. And also we eat Charosis, and partake of four glasses of wine, to remind us that simple thanks is never enough in life - we must see even the small gifts from God with great joy and allow simple thanks to overflow into abundant rejoicing!
Passover is a lesson on new growth and new things. It is the story of our new nation. The descendants of Israel left slavery to become a new people with all the trials and possibilities that would bring. The purpose of this feast is to call us to the perspective that we must give thanks for all things (whether easy or hard); and we must show gratitude to the God who provides everything (small and great); and that thanks is not enough, for God desires us to live life in joy, no matter the circumstances.
Passover is a festival of celebration. Our people received the freedom, which brings life and happiness and joy. And, as is common, we celebrate by eating. The Passover meal is to be like a Thanksgiving meal, with lots of food and lots of people. When we eat together we tell stories, play together, and sing together.
When families gather for Passover, everyone knows what the Seder will include, so they come hungry. This element of preparation requires a diligent person to plan and cook the meal. They need to buy meat, Motzah, morror (bitter herbs), ingredients for Charosis, the wine (at least four cups), the egg, and of course the vegetables.
Sometimes we take the preparation of the Seder meal for granted. This is not to be so on Passover, for the story of this feast is told through symbolic foods, starting with the green vegetables. While it might appear that going to the store to purchase enough food for all the members of the family is a simple matter, we are reminded of a time before stores existed, when the family had to raise enough food for themselves or they would starve!
While sometimes vegetables are given to balance the meal, or as a healthy food, on Passover green vegetables mean even more. They speak of life, for the world is reawakening to life once again. Our gathering is at the Spring Harvest time and we are called to give thanks to God who gives our crops and our food (even if we go to the store, we must remember it all starts with the planting of crops).
The green vegetable is dipped in salt water to remind us of the tears our forefathers shed when in slavery. They had to produce crops, not only for themselves, but first and foremost for their taskmasters, the Egyptians. The saltwater calls to our attention the hard work of their physical toil, and the difficult reality that sometimes the seeds we sowed do not provide as much food as we would like and we go hungry. Bitter Herbs remind us how bitter life can be under slavery, in drought, under persecution, or when harsh circumstances come our way.
In your daily life, are you a slave to your existence? Is your survival a day to day matter, getting the things done which you must, coming home tired, and then doing the same thing the next day? Or do you take time to celebrate each day and give thanks for all things - small or great - which God has afforded to you for your enjoyment?
We eat the green vegetable to remind us to give thanks. And also we eat Charosis, and partake of four glasses of wine, to remind us that simple thanks is never enough in life - we must see even the small gifts from God with great joy and allow simple thanks to overflow into abundant rejoicing!
Passover is a lesson on new growth and new things. It is the story of our new nation. The descendants of Israel left slavery to become a new people with all the trials and possibilities that would bring. The purpose of this feast is to call us to the perspective that we must give thanks for all things (whether easy or hard); and we must show gratitude to the God who provides everything (small and great); and that thanks is not enough, for God desires us to live life in joy, no matter the circumstances.
March 11, 2015
Passover Preparation - Day 4 - Separation of Plates
Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8) An orthodox Jewish home will have at least four sets of plates. One set is for meat dishes; a second for dairy dishes, not to be mixed with meat. The third and fourth set are also for meat and dairy (always kept separate) to be used only on Passover, for they must be kept free of any leavening agents. This separation maintains cleanness in dietary restrictions.
This process of separation is something we often miss. The Bible tells us not to mix wool and linen. We are told not to plant two kinds of seed in one vineyard. Why? In the case of the seeds, it is because they will cross-pollinate; in the case of life, it is because God desires we live holy lives, not getting mixed up with evil. The evil will cross pollinate the fruit of our relationship with God.
Paul speaks of this separation of the pure from the pure in 1 Corinthians. While our lives are to influence the world by the holiness of God in us, we are to make sure the world does not have a negative influence in our lives. Sometimes we allow the world to cross pollinate the fruit of our relationship with our creator; in our language, dress, customs, worship, and relationships with other people.
To follow the good and avoid the bad is not as easy as it would seem at times. We are told not to covet and we are told not to lust because something inside us (perhaps Satan) draws us to things that are not best for us (which seems pleasing to the eye, good to the taste, and something which will make us wise), just as products with sugar and other unhealthy ingredients attract us to desire the unhealthy.
We have all seen evil, and perhaps experienced some. Once experienced, it is hard to rid our hearts of spiritually unhealthy habits. Consider the theme of Exodus: Moses had a hard time getting the Hebrews out of Egypt … and once he did succeed, he found it was even harder to purge life in Egypt (including its idols, foods, and lifestlye) from the minds and hearts the Hebrews.
In your preparation for Passover, consider, what things do you need to rid from your life or avoid? It is time to remove the chametz (or yeast) in order to make sure our focus is purely and wholly on God.
This process of separation is something we often miss. The Bible tells us not to mix wool and linen. We are told not to plant two kinds of seed in one vineyard. Why? In the case of the seeds, it is because they will cross-pollinate; in the case of life, it is because God desires we live holy lives, not getting mixed up with evil. The evil will cross pollinate the fruit of our relationship with God.
Paul speaks of this separation of the pure from the pure in 1 Corinthians. While our lives are to influence the world by the holiness of God in us, we are to make sure the world does not have a negative influence in our lives. Sometimes we allow the world to cross pollinate the fruit of our relationship with our creator; in our language, dress, customs, worship, and relationships with other people.
To follow the good and avoid the bad is not as easy as it would seem at times. We are told not to covet and we are told not to lust because something inside us (perhaps Satan) draws us to things that are not best for us (which seems pleasing to the eye, good to the taste, and something which will make us wise), just as products with sugar and other unhealthy ingredients attract us to desire the unhealthy.
We have all seen evil, and perhaps experienced some. Once experienced, it is hard to rid our hearts of spiritually unhealthy habits. Consider the theme of Exodus: Moses had a hard time getting the Hebrews out of Egypt … and once he did succeed, he found it was even harder to purge life in Egypt (including its idols, foods, and lifestlye) from the minds and hearts the Hebrews.
In your preparation for Passover, consider, what things do you need to rid from your life or avoid? It is time to remove the chametz (or yeast) in order to make sure our focus is purely and wholly on God.
March 10, 2015
Passover Preparation - Day 3 - Looking for the Unblemished Lamb
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month they shall take for themselves every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats. And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses wherein they shall eat it. (Exodus 12:3-7)
The most obvious symbol of Passover is the lamb. The Hebrew people, on the first Passover and during each Passover in the Old Testament, were to take a lamb - one lamb per family (or two, depending on number of people) - and keep the lamb in the house four days. During this time parents and children would form an attachment to this yearling pet.
The Lamb selected was to be a perfect lamb, an animal without blemishes, a lamb to be desired. Why is this? First of all, we should always give our best to God. But more importantly, we worship a Holy and Perfect God, and the lamb represents our adoration for the Divine. We see the fulfillment of this in Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God. (John 1:29; Acts 8:32-33; 1 Cor 5:6-8; 1 Pe 1:17-21)
On the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan, the people of Israel are to take the lambs and kill them in exchange for the firstborn sons (John 3:16). Some would object, calling this extravagant or bloody, but there is symbolism in this instruction. The first symbol is our attachment and attraction to sin, which we want to hold and which holds on to us. All sin, no matter how minor, hurts someone. The shedding of blood is a lesson so we will understand how much our sin hurts others and how much our sin hurts God.
The second symbol is that of a lamb who will save a whining, complaining, mostly prayerless people who only cry out when all hope is lost, save a miracle from God. The blood is a symbol to save their own family so the Angel of Death will “Pass Over.”
A third symbol is the shedding of Jesus' blood as a sacrifice for our own sin, which is incredibly similar to the blemishes of the Hebrew people so long ago. God wants us to attach ourselves to Him and love Him (therefore keeping Him in our hearts and homes) so we will fully understand the depth of the price Jesus paid for us on the cross.
Is your participation in this Passover motivated by simple interest (or obligation), or will you become part of the story, understanding every facet intimately? Have you taken part in this story through the selection of a lamb? Do you understand the consequences of your sin and live in appreciation for the marvelous gift God gave to bring you out of slavery into freedom?
Is your faith in Jesus just a religious idea? Do you have a strong bond with the Lamb of God who gave His life for the sin of the world?
March 9, 2015
Passover Preparation - Day 2 - Meeting God
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. … Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” And Moses said unto God, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:1-2, 10-11) Moses was a person like us, with a few advantages. He was born during the time the family of Israel was crying out to God over the atrocities visited on their people. This included the male children of the Hebrew people being thrown into the Nile River. This fate would have been visited upon Moses, save for his mother’s quick thinking. She protected him with a basket boat and put him into a field of bullrushes near the place Pharaoh’s daughter went daily to bathe. She then stationed Moses’ sister Miriam to look after her new brother.
In time, Moses was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter and taken into her father's palace. This adoption afforded Moses the best education possible in the world at that time. For many years he enjoyed the benefit of his placement - until two eventful days. On the first, he saw a Hebrew slave, one of his people by birth, being beaten by an Egyptian overseer, and Moses killed the perpetrator. On the second, he stopped a fight between two of the Hebrew slaves, and became fearful when one of them said, “Are you going to kill me, too?”
Moses escaped to the wilderness, where he met Zipporah, the daughter of a Midianite Priest. They were married, and Moses became the shepherd of his father-in-law's flock.
While Moses was watching the sheep, God appeared to him in a burning bush. God called Moses to a monumental task - to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Moses attempted to escape the call, but God's instruction is inescapable.
God prepares each of us, giving us a spiritual gift so we can accomplish a task. Do you know your gift and calling? God will show us in His own time and way where we are to be involved, and in what kind of ministry. Can you describe how God called you? Is the calling something you attempted to escape? To avoid God’s call is to miss a blessing.
When you answer a call, you will in a sense guide people from enslavement to God’s blessing and desire for their life. Pray today to find your calling.
March 8, 2015
Passover Preparation - Day 1 - Our Cry to God
And the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried; and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God took heed of them. (Exodus 2:23-25) Passover begins with prayer. The seventy members of the family of Jacob went down to Egypt during a time of famine. While the Hebrew people lived in exile (400 years), a change occurred in the Egyptian government. The new regime was not accepting of this privileged class of foreign people, and actually feared the Hebrew people, who had grown in population. So they put them into slavery.
For a period of time the Hebrew people went along with their enslavement. At first they were in shock at how fast their status had changed under the new regime whom they feared. Then as generations passed their status became “normal” and they saw no way out but to accept their “lot in life.” With the passage of time, and a new generation who observed how the rest of the world lived, expected tasks wore on the people. They saw the freedom others were experiencing, and they began to cry out to God in their pain.
Nowhere in the story does the Bible tell us that God forgot His people. To the contrary, the Bible teaches us God loved His people then, and God loves his people today. The topic of this devotion is relationship and prayer. God’s people accepted life as it came, dwelling in the normality of daily life, and in the routine of this schedule they forgot to pray. Perhaps they were busy (because their taskmasters demanded it); but the point is they were not praying daily and gaining the strength from the relationship with God as His people.
When we forget to pray; when we lose the most important part of our relationship with God, and all of life becomes a crisis. Within the routine, the crisis was allowed to become severe. And God’s people (after talking and complaining to each other … just like we do today!) began to complain to God. They cried out in their pain, and God heard their cry.
The question is, how is your relationship with God? Do you pray daily? Do you read the Bible daily? The concept of faith begins with the continual presence of God. God desires us to seek, desire and acknowledge that relationship, and in the relationship to seek Him in His word (the Bible) and prayer. Group meetings are then an enrichment and not the context of our faith.
For a period of time the Hebrew people went along with their enslavement. At first they were in shock at how fast their status had changed under the new regime whom they feared. Then as generations passed their status became “normal” and they saw no way out but to accept their “lot in life.” With the passage of time, and a new generation who observed how the rest of the world lived, expected tasks wore on the people. They saw the freedom others were experiencing, and they began to cry out to God in their pain.
Nowhere in the story does the Bible tell us that God forgot His people. To the contrary, the Bible teaches us God loved His people then, and God loves his people today. The topic of this devotion is relationship and prayer. God’s people accepted life as it came, dwelling in the normality of daily life, and in the routine of this schedule they forgot to pray. Perhaps they were busy (because their taskmasters demanded it); but the point is they were not praying daily and gaining the strength from the relationship with God as His people.
When we forget to pray; when we lose the most important part of our relationship with God, and all of life becomes a crisis. Within the routine, the crisis was allowed to become severe. And God’s people (after talking and complaining to each other … just like we do today!) began to complain to God. They cried out in their pain, and God heard their cry.
The question is, how is your relationship with God? Do you pray daily? Do you read the Bible daily? The concept of faith begins with the continual presence of God. God desires us to seek, desire and acknowledge that relationship, and in the relationship to seek Him in His word (the Bible) and prayer. Group meetings are then an enrichment and not the context of our faith.
October 20, 2014
Photos from Israel
I have uploaded photos from our September 2014 trip to Israel at this place: https://plus.google.com/photos/116153... . I will write more about the trip in upcoming posts. We had a great time in Israel this year!
September 30, 2014
Israel Trip - Day 0
When a person travels overseas, getting there is always half the fun. On my recent trip to Israel the journey there took me into a time machine. Leaving September 2, I stepped on a plane to visit my daughter in New York City (Step one of the journey). Arriving in New York, we took my bags to the apartment where I was staying, and then went to Metro Moses, a group of Messianic believers who met for a Bible Study. Wednesday we began the morning with a bagel (eastern European Jewish food), and then went into the city. We took a walk in Central Park (top to bottom, visiting botanical gardens first. We rode a tram to Roosevelt Island. Then we visited the Tenament Museum (http://www.tenement.org/), which looks at life of immigrants (including the life my grandfather lived when he arrived in this very community). We took a walking tour, and saw how the community changed over the years. In the evening we attended prayer meeting at East Seventh Baptist Church (www.graffitichurch.org) in lower Manhattan. The church purchased a Synagogue made up of a Jewish Community from Poland. The building had to be rebuilt, and I had the opportunity to help in the construction (lots of fun stories, but not part of this blog). The members of the church are from inner city NYC, and always fun to see. We enjoyed prayer and a good message from the Pastor. Thursday after a bagel breakfast at Ft. Greene, we boarded the plane. It flew east, so the afternoon and the night went very fast. We flew to Istanbul, where we spent four hours in the airport. We endured some jet lag, took some rest, and explored. This area is not far from where my grandfather grew up. Turkey is just below the Black Sea. My grandfather comes from Odessa, which is on the north side off the black sea. When he immigrated the first leg was on a ship which sailed through the Bosporus to France. Leaving Istanbul, we took the 2 hour flight to Tel-Aviv. We flew over Turkey, and saw the area where Paul must have traveled. Landing at Ben Gurion Airport we passed quickly through customs and readied to leave the airport. True to New York, we took mass transit to Tel Aviv, and then walked to our hotel, Beit Immanuel Guest House (http://www.beitimmanuel.org/) which is in the American Colony. This area was settled in the nineteenth century, and has a long history. Our accommodations were very good, and close to Jaffa.
August 12, 2014
Retirement!
King Solomon wrote: "In everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Wise words from a king with real world application. There is a season for everything in life.
I have found there are seasons I enjoy in life, and seasons I do not enjoy in life. When I go through a season I do not enjoy, I get through it with the knowledge that it will end and something else will come. When I experience a season in life I really enjoy, I find it comes to an end too soon.
There was a season when I was born ... I am not yet ready for the other part of this proverb... It will come later ... I hope much, much later. But when it comes, I am prepared ... and the Bible tells me after a little while, when the transition takes place it will be a good season (Philippians 1:21; Luke 23:43; Genesis 15:15).
There was a time to be a child. I enjoyed that time. Sometimes I still try to slip into that time. We watched Peter Pan last night, it was fun. I even tried to fly, and I sang, "I'll never grow up;" But the season ended, and I did ... and it was not so bad (as long as one can remember where they came from and join the little children sometimes... To this I tell every adult, sign up to work in the church nursery, and spend some time playing with the children in the block area. Matthew 18:3).
There was a time I was a student. I did not like that at first, but with graduation it passed, and that phase was over (I thought!). Well, I guess that phase keeps coming, and I keep learning more, and that is ok. I will start a new phase of learning in my next stage of life. (Psalm 19; Ezra 7:10; 2 Tim 2:15)
There is a season to work, and earn a living. I have been experiencing that season now for about 40 years (35 in ministry). And there is a season to move beyond a normal job.
I have come to one of the season changes. I have enough on my agenda, I will not get bored. There are at least three areas of productiveness in which I will be involved ... and then some travel, time with friends, recreational activities, which I will be able to do ... in this new season.
I have found there are seasons I enjoy in life, and seasons I do not enjoy in life. When I go through a season I do not enjoy, I get through it with the knowledge that it will end and something else will come. When I experience a season in life I really enjoy, I find it comes to an end too soon.
There was a season when I was born ... I am not yet ready for the other part of this proverb... It will come later ... I hope much, much later. But when it comes, I am prepared ... and the Bible tells me after a little while, when the transition takes place it will be a good season (Philippians 1:21; Luke 23:43; Genesis 15:15).
There was a time to be a child. I enjoyed that time. Sometimes I still try to slip into that time. We watched Peter Pan last night, it was fun. I even tried to fly, and I sang, "I'll never grow up;" But the season ended, and I did ... and it was not so bad (as long as one can remember where they came from and join the little children sometimes... To this I tell every adult, sign up to work in the church nursery, and spend some time playing with the children in the block area. Matthew 18:3).
There was a time I was a student. I did not like that at first, but with graduation it passed, and that phase was over (I thought!). Well, I guess that phase keeps coming, and I keep learning more, and that is ok. I will start a new phase of learning in my next stage of life. (Psalm 19; Ezra 7:10; 2 Tim 2:15)
There is a season to work, and earn a living. I have been experiencing that season now for about 40 years (35 in ministry). And there is a season to move beyond a normal job.
I have come to one of the season changes. I have enough on my agenda, I will not get bored. There are at least three areas of productiveness in which I will be involved ... and then some travel, time with friends, recreational activities, which I will be able to do ... in this new season.
August 7, 2014
Picnic for 5,000
One miracle which appears in all four Gospels is the feeding of the 5,000. [Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:35-45; Luke 9:10-17; John 6]. Recently I thought about who would have been at the picnic. Although this list is not exhaustive, it does capture many of the people who were present and participated at the picnic. You will find it to relevant because many of the same people are at large group event today.There was Simon Peter - who heard Jesus say to the disciples: “You give them something to eat,” and he just sat there like a rock and did nothing about the request.There was Thomas - He doubted that the disciples could feed the crowd, so he just sat and doubted and watched.There was Philip - the worrier. He wanted to know how they would ever get enough money. He had not yet learned that with God all things are possible (Mark 9:23; 10:27).Matthew the Publican who understood the methods and reasons for taxation. He probably responded to Phillip, “If we had known we could have charged admission.”And there was Andrew (John 6:8-9), the Problem Solver. Andrew went out, worked the crowds and found a boy in the crowd who brought some food.In the crowd there were lots of children: Ben , Yelda , and Peyton , for example. These were children who could not sit still (you see them at every picnic, and often in other large groups). These children, although asked to sit with their group of fifty, were actually running around the group playing games and creating commotion.Not all the children were like this. Shelly and Damien sat quiet and securely in the group with their parents, waiting until the food arrived.Nathan was the child that Andrew found with the two fish and five loaves. Nathan was a kind hearted child, willing to share his lunch with Jesus. He knew there was not enough for everyone, but because Jesus asked, Nathan was willing to give. I think Nathan was as surprised as everyone else when Jesus broke the bread, blessed it and the disciples began to distribute the food … and there was enough for everyone!Pat was one of the first people to get some food from the disciples. She wondered if there would be enough, so she only took a few crumbs so others could have some to eat also.Esthio had been there all day, and was hungry. He saw how little Pat took, and decided that he could take her portion, and a couple others. He was hungry, and didn’t care if there was enough for those who were last in line.Mary was bitter. She was several rows behind Esthio, and saw how much he took. She worried there would not be enough food for her, and she was hungry too. Camad tasted the food, and found it to be pleasant. Nabashal thought it wasn’t cooked well enough (of course she was a picky eater). Melody said the food was the best she had ever eaten. It reminded her of food she ate at a wedding (John 2). Something about this meal was much better than the ordinary.Tessie was served near the end. She knew that Jesus had received only one lunch, but there was so much food she decided to take some home. She liked to put food in her purse, which is what she did without anyone knowing.Nemalia is a regular at any picnic, and carried the scraps on the ground home. (This is the ant, not a person, of course)Cathy , Jardin , Cher ; and Cal cleaned up after the crowd, picking up twelve baskets of broken bread.
July 29, 2014
Israel 2012
Israel is the homeland of our faith (Jewish and Christian). Our family visited Israel in 2012, and learned much about the land, its people, our Bible and our faith. We took some pictures (I shared in a July 2012 blog). The links are as follows:
Pictures of Jerusalem – https://plus.google.com/photos/115544...
Pictures from the rest of Israel - https://plus.google.com/u/1/photos/11...
Chelsea & I look forward to returning to Israel in September. We will visit some of the same areas, and some new areas.
Our trip will begin in Tel Aviv, and go south into the Shephelah where many historic (and current) battles took place. We will visit the valley where David fought Goliath, where Gideon fought the Moabites, and where the Maccabees fought. We will get to see the landscape which made this area so important to defend ... or to conquer.
We will travel south to Beersheba, where Abraham lived. This is the desert. Perhaps we will get to drink some water out of one of the Patriarch's wells. We will visit Arad, the Wilderness of Zin, and the dead sea. We will spend one night in a Bedouin tent. We will climb Masada (lots of walking on this trip), visit Qumran, and EnGedi.
From this point we will travel north to Galilee. At present this is a more peaceful area. We will walk where Jesus walked ... both along the Sea of Galilee, on the road to Nazareth, and climbing Mt. Arbel. We will travel to points north: Dan and Cesarea Philippi. We will go east to Gamala. Then west to Megiddo, Mt. Carmel, and south to Jerusalem.
Our tour with http://biblicalisraeltours.com/ will end in Jordan where we will see Mt. Nebo and Petra.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Pictures of Jerusalem – https://plus.google.com/photos/115544...
Pictures from the rest of Israel - https://plus.google.com/u/1/photos/11...
Chelsea & I look forward to returning to Israel in September. We will visit some of the same areas, and some new areas.
Our trip will begin in Tel Aviv, and go south into the Shephelah where many historic (and current) battles took place. We will visit the valley where David fought Goliath, where Gideon fought the Moabites, and where the Maccabees fought. We will get to see the landscape which made this area so important to defend ... or to conquer.
We will travel south to Beersheba, where Abraham lived. This is the desert. Perhaps we will get to drink some water out of one of the Patriarch's wells. We will visit Arad, the Wilderness of Zin, and the dead sea. We will spend one night in a Bedouin tent. We will climb Masada (lots of walking on this trip), visit Qumran, and EnGedi.
From this point we will travel north to Galilee. At present this is a more peaceful area. We will walk where Jesus walked ... both along the Sea of Galilee, on the road to Nazareth, and climbing Mt. Arbel. We will travel to points north: Dan and Cesarea Philippi. We will go east to Gamala. Then west to Megiddo, Mt. Carmel, and south to Jerusalem.
Our tour with http://biblicalisraeltours.com/ will end in Jordan where we will see Mt. Nebo and Petra.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
