Beersheba
Out of all the sites we visited, Beersheba probably had the most biblical history attached to it. All of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, visited Beersheba at some point. For example, in Genesis 21, Abraham built a well at Beersheba and made an oath with Abimelech. That being said, Tel Sheva where we went, is not the Beersheba that the patriarchs went to. The ruins at Tel Sheva are from the Iron Age (the time of Solomon). It is quite likely that the remains of any Bronze Age Beersheba are actually underneath the modern city of Beersheba. But for obvious reasons, no one can excavate there, since there's a giant city! At Tel Sheva, excavators found the remains of a four-horned altar. The picture I have here is a replica. I actually just saw the altar they found when I was at the Israel Museum the other night! It looks pretty much the same, only the stones aren't perfectly shaped like they are in this picture. Beersheba is one of the sites that the two good kings of Judah cleansed of its idolatry. Both Hezekiah and Josiah are recorded tearing down the high places of Judah all the way from Geba to Beersheba. Archaeologists and scholars disagree on whether they think the altar found here at Beersheba was torn down by Hezekiah or by Josiah, but either way, the true pure worship of YHWH was restored, which is so exciting! In the picture, my friend Katie is demonstrating how Joab grabbed hold of the horns of the altar (in Jerusalem, though) when he sought mercy from King Solomon. However, Solomon did not spare his life because of the wickedness he had done in being so quick to shed blood for his own personal gain (1 Kings 2).
Nahal Zin and Avdat
The border of the Promised Land extended all the way down to Nahal Zin, but the Israelites didn't really inhabit it. The practical border of the Promised Land (ie the area that they generally controlled) was from Dan in the North to Beersheba, discussed above, which is north of Nahal Zin. However, it was such a gorgeous hike! We hiked through the canyon along the water, and then up and out of the canyon to Ein Avdat. From there, we drove just a few minutes to the Nabatean fortress of Avdat. The Nabateans were the only people who were able to successfully inhabit the desert highlands. They made special use of the route leading all the way from Gaza on the coastal plain, through the Negev and to the Aravah in the east by selling and trading spices and all sorts of precious goods. Therefore, they became extremely wealthy during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Fun fact: Herod the Great's mother was a Nabatean! The Nabateans also converted to Christianity, so at their fortress, there were several remains of churches and baptistries.
Machtesh Ramon
A "machtesh" is a giant crater formed by water erosion, and let me just say ... Machtesh Ramon is GIANT! It was within walking distance from the hostel we stayed in, so we hiked down into it in the morning. It was a gorgeous hike! I am a firm believer that the desert can be beautiful. I really struggled to find a picture that adequately demonstrated the unique topography of this area, and this panoramic picture is the best I could come up with! There were very rocky, steep cliffs surrounding the crater, and then the bottom of it was relatively hilly, but extremely wide and long. The machtesh extended in every direction, further than what we could see! I always tried to see the end of it, but was never able to! It was huge and absolutely beautiful.
Wilderness of Paran
The Wilderness of Paran is where the Israelites were camped when they sent the 12 spies from Kadesh- Barnea into the Promised Land to spy it out. We stopped in the Wilderness of Paran just to contemplate this tragic story. We got off the bus, and each of us was able to go and read Numbers 13-14 as well as Deuteronomy 8 for ourselves. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, God promised the land of Israel to the Israelites. He promised it initially to Abraham and his descendants, and then continually renewed and confirmed that promise throughout the years! So when Moses led the people out of Egypt, their destination was the land promised to them long ago. Moses sent 12 spies, 1 of the leaders from every tribe, to go spy out the land. Sadly, 10 of the spies came back giving a negative report. They said that although the land was beautiful and full of all that God had promised them, the people inhabiting it were too big and too strong for them to go up against, and that it would be impossible to take it for themselves. The other two spies, Joshua and Caleb, tried to convince the people that
since the Lord had promised them the land they would have no problem taking it,
but they wouldn’t listen. They thought that since the other peoples were
stronger than them, they would have no chance against them. They didn’t trust
in God’s promises to them, even though He had already rescued them from
slavery, miraculously delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians, had
promised the land to their forefathers and had proven Himself to be faithful to
them, they rejected Him. Therefore, God told them that their generation would
be punished, and none of them would be able to enter the land promised to them,
but rather, they would have to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
Deuteronomy
8 was a great passage to read after reading this extremely heart breaking
passage. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses was speaking to the Israelites right before
they would go in to inhabit the land after their 40-year sojourn, and he told
them not to forget God and the fact that He was the One who was providing for
them. He was the One who delivered them and kept them alive in the wilderness
by giving them manna. He was their livelihood and their means of existence. And
in the same way, He would be the one to cause them to grow and prosper in the
Promised Land. It wouldn’t be their strength or might or righteousness that
would bring them prosperity. It was only God’s grace! What a good reminder for
us as well! We have nothing to offer God, nor do we deserve any of the
blessings He’s graciously given us. We don’t deserve salvation, and did nothing
to earn or work for salvation! It is entirely His doing (Ephesians 1). On top
of that, He has given us so many blessings on this earth that far surpass our
needs. Yet sometimes we have a tendency to be boastful and proud about all of those
things. We take pride in our salvation, or even our sanctification. We boast
about our looks, intellect, families, circumstances, etc. Yet all of those
things are from God! He is the perfect provider, and the gracious giver! Our
thanks and praise should be given to Him. Our boasting should be about how
great He is. My prayer is that this can be my daily mindset, so that I don’t
distract from the glory that God alone deserves!
Snorkeling
in the Red Sea
We
ended Day 2 with some snorkeling in the Red Sea J No big deal! It was
absolutely beautiful! Our hotel was also in Eilat, and we were able to spend
some time on the town in the evening after dinner, which was a ton of fun!
Timnah
Park
AMAZING
hiking! Timnah is the site of some ancient copper mines. The mountains and
rocks here are just beautiful, and are in some of the funkiest shapes I’ve ever
seen! We had a blast just exploring and hiking around for a while, and got some
really great views as well.
Timnah
Park also has a life size model of the Tabernacle! We visited it and had a
guided tour explaining everything there. It was really cool to actually picture
what the Tabernacle would have been like for the Israelites! I really enjoyed
it. Our guide was also a believer,
and she made some great connections between the Tabernacle and the person of
Jesus Christ. Just as God allowed His presence to dwell among His people
through the Tabernacle, so also did He choose to dwell among men by sending His
son to live among us! John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt
among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth.” His glory came to earth! God made His dwelling among
men! What an amazing concept! And now, He even chooses to live within us through His Holy Spirit, so that we
too are Tabernacles of a holy God.
Masada
Day 4 of the
Negev Trip was definitely my favorite, and sadly, it was our last Land and
Bible field trip! There are no more trips that our entire IBEX group will go
on, which is so weird, and totally sad! Anyways, we had stayed the previous
night at a hostel right at the foot of Masada. Therefore, we could go up to
Masada whenever we wanted to. Most of us went up for the sunrise, and wow … it
was totally worth it! It was quite an intense hike up, but a beautiful sight
from the top! The site itself was also really great! There are some amazing
ruins there from all of Herod the Great’s building projects, including His
palace, a Roman bathhouse, guard towers, storehouses, and the biggest cistern
I’ve ever seen! Herod wanted to have all the amenities of Rome while living in
the seclusion and safety of a desert fortress.
Masada is
probably most popularly known because of the Jewish revolt that happened there,
and ended in mass suicide. A sect of the Jewish people held out at Masada from
66-73 AD before the Romans came and attacked the fortress. One night, the
Romans finally broke through the wall, but decided to wait until morning to run
in and siege the city. That night, the leader of the sect, Eleazar ben Yair,
convinced the people that it would be better for them to die as free men at
their own hands, rather than as captives at the hands of the Romans. Therefore,
the heads of households all ran to kill their own wives and children, and then
those men cast lots to choose 10 men to kill the rest of the men, and out of
those 10 men, one was chosen to kill the rest of them. Out of the 900+ Jewish
people at Masada, the only survivors were 2 women and 5 children, who hid
during the slaughter. In one of the rooms at Masada, excavators actually found
fragments of pottery with the names of people written on them. These fragments
(also known as ostraca) are most likely the lots cast to choose the 10 men who
would kill the rest of the men. It was so surreal to be standing in that room
where those ostraca were found, and to be thinking about the dramatic and
tragic event that happened there.
All that being
said, Masada was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the remains. It
is a really impressive fortress.
The Caves
of Qumran!
Our last stop of
the trip was at Qumran, and this was an extremely exciting trip for me! Qumran
was a village of Essenes who were scribes by trade. They wrote hundreds of
books and scrolls 2,000 years ago, many of which have been found hidden in
caves near Qumran. They scrolls and books were probably hidden during the Roman
conquest of the area, and were so well preserved for 2,000 years because of the
dry condition of the desert. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
right? Well … those are the scrolls found at Qumran! Among the Dead Sea Scrolls
was a scroll of the entire book of Isaiah! It is the most well preserved of the
books, and is absolutely amazing! The Isaiah Scroll was found in Qumran Cave 1,
and we actually got to hike up to it and go inside of it! I was super excited
…. Like way more excited than you’d expect! For some reason, the Dead Sea
Scrolls have really sparked my interest, and I’d honestly really love to study
them more when I get back home. For one of my classes, we have to do a creative
project, and my project is actually copying a page of the Isaiah scroll. So as
I’ve been studying the scroll, scrutinizing the page I chose, and learning
about the scroll itself as well as the scribes who wrote it, I’ve became
extremely interested in it. So naturally, I was really excited to actually be
at Qumran!
The Negev trip
was amazing, and a total blast! Lots of the students have been trying to decide
which trip they liked better – Galilee or Negev – but I think it’s impossible
to choose between them. They’re such different trips! Galilee had a much
heavier influence on Biblical events because we were right where Jesus lived.
It was the center of commerce and society. The Negev, however, was nearly desolate.
Hardly anyone lived there because it was a dry, hot, waterless desert. I loved
Galilee because not only was it fun, but it also ministered to my soul and
taught me so much about Christ and His ministry! But I loved the Negev trip
because it was adventurous and active the whole time! I loved hiking around and
to see all the sites. Of course, I loved learning about the Biblical events
that did occur there, but there weren’t as many of them. Anyways, the trip was
a huge blessing! It was a really great finale to the Land and Bible class.
In other news: I
leave for Greece tomorrow! It’s time for our 10 day travel break and it starts
TOMORROW! We had our Land and Bible final today, which went very well, praise
the Lord, and now it’s time for some relaxation! I’ll be in Greece with three
other people for 5 days, and then we’ll spend the remainder of our time in
Crete. I am totally excited about it and I can’t wait to share all my
adventures with you soon!
Well, I’d better
pack and maybe get a bit more homework done. Thanks for hanging in there for
another exceedingly long post.
Deuteronomy 7:6-9
“For you are a holy people to the LORD
your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own
possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD
did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than
any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the
LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD
brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God,
He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a
thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments”
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