Month: November 2021

From James K. Nolt

God: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness” (Psalm 48:1). Visiting sites in Israel is a good opportunity to worship God, who chose this place to perform unique acts. It is also a time to mourn how His people rejected Him. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37).

Stones: Big stones, little stones, square stones, round stones. We saw stones “from Dan even to Beersheba.” Stones to build walls, to build pavements, and to build idols and temples. Empire builders destroyed the stones that others had arranged, and then they built other structures, which in turn others destroyed. After they had crossed the Jordan River, God told Joshua to build a stone memorial, so their children would ask, “What mean these stones?” (Joshua 4:21). As we viewed many ruins, we likewise pondered this question.

The ruins of Capernaum remind us of Jesus’ lament, “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day” (Matthew 11:23). Abraham, in contrast, “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

People: Stones help us understand the past and how it shaped our lives, but contacts with living people are more memorable. People memories begin with the fine group of thirteen fellow travelers. How many times we counted, “1, 2, 3, . . . 13.” This reminded me of the dozens of times I counted students on school trips to be sure everyone was there.

There were some negative experiences, such as aggressive salesmen shoving their wares into our hands and demanding that we give an offer, but the majority were positive. And some were superlative, such as a supper in Bethlehem with Palestinian Christians (and singing “How Great Thou Art” in four languages; see Nov. 11 report), and evening Sabbath worship and supper with a Jewish family two evenings later. The modest dress of conservative Jewish women was commendable.

Not only were we watching people, but people were watching us. “Are you Amish?” “Are you Mennonite?” We heard these questions various times or overheard people discussing us. We hope we gave a good Christian witness.

Singing: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). We can worship God anywhere, but it was a blessing to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and other songs about Christ’s Birth in Bethlehem; to sing “Tis Midnight” and “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed,” etc. about His suffering and death in the Garden of Gethsemane; and to sing “Lift Your Glad Voices,” “Up from the Grave,” and “Alive Forevermore,” etc. as we visited a possible site of the Resurrection. What shall we sing in Nazareth? Is there any song that uniquely fits there? Yes. “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene.” As we looked across the Kidron Valley at the Eastern Gate, we sang, “I will meet you in the morning, just inside the Eastern Gate . . .”

The Jewish family demonstrated that singing is an important part of their Sabbath routine by their songs at the beginning and end of their meal. Later after we visitors had sung the first two stanzas of “How Great Thou Art,” extolling our Creator God, they welcomed us to sing a distinctly Christian stanza. On the last day, Sunday, our guide sang “Our Father” (the Lord’s Prayer) for us in Arabic.

Home Again, November 15

With mixed feelings we boarded the B-787 late Sunday evening for our approximately 11 ½ hour flight from Tel-Aviv. We landed in Newark, New Jersey, shortly after 4:00 AM, grateful for a safe and enjoyable trip.

Later that morning, Sarah and I attended the funeral of her uncle. And so, the routines of life and death continue, at home and abroad. A mountaintop experience should renew us for the challenges before us, encourage us to be good Christian stewards of life’s opportunities, and help prepare us for death. Thank you, God, for the blessing of this trip; may You be honored in all things!

Weary travelers on the Newark shuttle bus

We ate breakfast & left the Grand Court Hotel & Jerusalem around 10am.

We visited an area in Bethlehem with a view of the the hillsides that shepherds have watch their flocks for millenia. We took an hour to read from Luke 2, give time reflect on experiences in the last week, sing & pray.

Afterwards Elias gave a tour of a nearby Shepherd’s cave house. He noted that the NT “inn” is a mistranslation of “upper guest room” and what NT is saying is that Joseph’s relatives all already had their guest rooms full.

We ate lunch of falafel (which included a server getting dramatically cut by glass) and then headed to the Church of the Nativity.

Perhaps more accurately, the churches of the Nativity as it houses Greek Orthodox, Armenian & Catholic areas. It has some nice mosaics on the floor & of course the grotto (cave) where Jesus was born & the “stable” nearby.

As we left we noted the wall between the Palestinian & Israeli sections of Bethlehem that was built after the last intifada. It had interesting graffiti by the famous Banksy celebrating a future time when unity & peace can be the norm.

From Bethlehem we traveled north west, through the Coastal Plains (where God made the sun to stand still for Joshua while he fought the Caananites) to Joppa. The temperature was noticeably warmer here—just perfect for an evening stroll. Our guide Sufian noted that Joppa, or Jaffa, was named after Noah’s son Japheth. Joppa is the “port of Jerusalem” since it wasn’t a port city. This is one reason there is a Joppa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Joppa is where Jonah tried to escape God’s call to the pagan Assyrians. Joppa is also the sight where Peter called pagans “unclean” when God was calling them to be part of His Kingdom. (Acts 10) Peter’s vision at Simon the Tanner’s house changed the course of history. Thankfully Peter responded a bit more enthusiastically than Jonah & Peter’s story doesn’t end with him pouting.

We had turkey & veal shawarma for dinner courtesy of Isa. Shawarma is meat cut off a spit and put in a pita like a sandwich.

First thing in the morning of Shabbat (Saturday) we noticed some changes in our routine at the Grand Court Hotel. Guests could use “Shabbat mode” elevators to avoid pressing a button and “breaking a circuit.” We also noticed no scrambled eggs, the toaster was missing and the coffee machines were covered with a cloth.

Our first activity was walking from Bethany (aka Bet’Haini) to Jerusalem, roughly the path that Jesus took on his triumphal entry. It was steep but not overly hard to walk.

The olive tree garden where traditional site of Gethsemane is located is part way down the Mount of Olives. Gethsemene means “the place of an olive press”. At the present there are no longer that many olive trees around but we were glad for these gardens preserved for relaxing & mediating on Jesus’ struggle to follow the Father’s will.

Our next stop was the Israel Museum. We needed a Covid Green Pass to enter. We focused on the 2nd Temple era model of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea scrolls display. The model of Jerusalem helped me settle in my mind where the City of David was in relation to the Old City.

It was interesting to see the display of actual Dead Sea scrolls.  Some of them looked like they could have been written yesterday.

We had falafel at a small shop for lunch.

We visited the traditional sight of the Upper Room & David’s Tomb. David’s Tomb is a Jewish sight which required Jewish protocol which included “No Sleeping”.

We strolled through the market at Damascus Gate. Some bought some souvenirs they weren’t sure they wanted.

After supper we did some strolling on Ben Yehuda Street area. Some of us satisfied our fast food craving.

By Lester K. Burkholder

(Due to technical difficulties, we weren’t able to post this article earlier when we were at Masada)

A highlight today was ascending the 375 foot high earthen ramp to the top of Masada built by 15,000 Jewish  slaves in 73 AD. Masada is an ancient fortress  built on a 1300 foot high butte  on the eastern edge of the Judean desert and overlooking the Dead Sea.

Jerusalem had fallen to the Romans and Masada was the last Jewish stronghold. On top was the Sicarii remnant of the Jewish nation under siege by the Roman army. They realized that their enslaved Jewish brothers were being forced to build the ramp which, when built, would be their downfall. 

According to Josephus,on April 15, 73AD the Roman troops entered the fortress in full armor.  They found an eerie silence. The 960 residents of Masada had committed mass suicide. Only two women and five children, who had hidden themselve in the cisterns, were found alive.

What happens in Israel is important to Christianity. The Temple era was over, and from its roots the new shoot of Christianity would flourish.

Friday was a long day, and packed full of interest and inspiration. The first thing this morning we had our PCR Covid tests done in preparation for flying home on Sunday night. We were relieved when within a few hours they all came back negative. Praise the Lord!

Then we went to the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem. The golden Dome of the Rock was right in front of us across the Kidron valley.

Jerusalem is a city of stone. Above left is a picture of the city wall showing layers of stone as the wall was rebuilt multiple times over the centuries. Next is a picture of the sealed-up Golden Gate on the east wall of the Temple Mount. The picture on the right is a close-up of Herodian stone. Notice the frame chiseled around the edge of the stone. This is typical of Herod’s stonework.

We sat awhile at the Southern Steps. The lower steps are original from the Second Temple era, so we sat and walked where Jesus went up into the temple. We read about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which some theologians believe may have happened somewhere here in the vicinity of the temple. The remains of at least 50 ritual baths in front of us showed that there would have been plenty of room and plenty of water to baptize “about 3000 souls.”

We visited the garden tomb. Whether this tomb or the Holy Sepulchre site are the actual place where Jesus was laid, one thing is the same about them–they’re both empty! It was a beautiful day to sit in the garden and sing about the Resurrection.

A great highlight of the day was walking through Hezekiah’s tunnel. Our guide strongly advised putting our phones safely away, since if we dropped them they would be gone! Since I already dropped my phone at least twice on this trip, I decided to follow this advice, therefore I have no pictures. The water was clear and somewhat cold, and fun to walk through. Some of us found the tunnel uncomfortably narrow and low at spots, but we all made it through. It was amazing to look at the chisel marks in those ancient stone walls and think of the people who formed them long ago.

The evening was the best part of all. We spent the evening with an Orthodox Jewish family, attending prayers with them, eating supper with them, and discussing many things. Our minds and hearts are full, and you might hear more about these things tomorrow…

A young man who came to Israel from Cleveland, Ohio, to study at the yeshiva and serve in the Israeli military. His wife is beside him, and the yeshiva behind him. We were allowed to go in and look at the large room where about 400 students gather to study. Each student has a section of the table, and you can see their vast collection of books, all about the Tanakh, our Old Testament.

On the way to the Old City of Jerusalem we saw the Mount of Olives.

The Western Wall is part of the massive retaining wall for Herod’s Temple, closest to the Temple, specifically the Holy of Holy’s, that non-Muslim prayers can be made. Some unique characteristics of Jewish prayer at the wall: Covering the head, placing written prayers in the wall and a swaying motion of those praying.

While pondering at the wall Jesus’ words in John 4:21ff came to me: “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father…But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth…”

While we now can worship anywhere and no longer need “a temple of cedars built with hands”, place also holds importance and it seemed a bit of a contradiction that pious Jewish would find it sacred to touch the stones laid by King Herod who himself was always eyed with suspicion by Jews of his day.

The Dome of the Rock covers the area traditionally held to be location of Isaac’s binding, Temple Holiest of Holy & where Muslim’s believe Mohammed rose to heaven. This makes an extremely important location for the 3 monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity & Islam.

For a morning snack had some coffee, Jerusalem roll, olive oil and Za’taar, also known as hyssop.

We strolled through the Old City for a bit. Also the market shops at Mahane Yehuda Street.

We had an interesting discussion with Moise & Dov Shorashim at their shop near the golden Menorah. Moise had a short talk on his interest that Jews & Christians “have a discussion”. Afterward we discussed Isaiah 53, Psalm 110, how he would recognize the Messiah & other items.

Next we headed to an area A in the West Bank. An ominous signed warned Isareli citizens of dire danger to enter the Palestinian Authority zone.

Our destination was to a Palestinian Christian owned olive wood working shop in Beit Sahour.

Our last destination was Bethlehem to a gift shop and afterward we had supper with a Palestinian Christian family. The two brothers, Isa & Elias where very friendly and hospitable. They served some incredible lamb. Amos discovered Elias could speak German was in his glory. Perhaps the best part was after James lead our group in a song Elias noted they would sing us a song too. He and another family member had good voices & sang “How Great Thou Art” in Arabic! After they finished we all sang it again in the various languages around the table: Arabic, German, English & Romanian.

Our first stop was Nazareth, which is about 1 hour from Tiberias. Nat’zereth means “offshoot” which came from the fact that it was established by religious Jews as an offshoot of Bethlehem to start a village without Gentiles. We are reminded Jesus was noted to be “the offshoot” or branch as well.

The Branch out of the root of Jesse

Isaiah 11:1, Revelation 5:5

We visited the “Nazareth  Village” which was a reconstruction of various aspects of Nazareth life in the time of Jesus: the shepherd’s fold, a vineyard, olive press, carpenter, spinning & weaving & synagogue (Beit Knesset: House of Meeting).

The guide noted that in Jesus’ day did not eat olives as they are too bitter and it took a long time to find the recipe to make them taste good. Amos was overheard exclaiming “My goodness I’m glad they discovered that!”

I was especially fascinated by the winepress as it was authentic and dated by archeologists to near the time of Jesus based on pottery found there. Notice the trampling area, the notch to drain and the holding trough in front of it.

We passed through the fertile Jezreel Valley and passed Har’Meggido (aka Armageddon) on the way to Mount Carmel. This was an important passage for travelers and armies. Because of this it was the site of the significant battles of the ages like Deborah & Sisera and others.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ evokes the showdowns of Har’Meggido to indicate the victory ahead for Jesus & His Kingdom.

Next we arrived at Carmel. We learned that in Hebrew Carm’el means “the vineyard of God”. If you see “el” in a Hebrew word it usually designates “God”. For example: Isra’el. Mount Carmel is of course the sight of the great showdown & victory of Elijah. (Notice the El’Ijah: God is My God!) 1 Kings 18:22. Baal was supposed to be in charge of the rain, but Elijah demonstrated that Yahweh was *actually* in charge of the rain.

From here we grabbed lunch and headed to the modern city of Haifa. Our guide, Sufian, noted that Haifa is the place where Muslims, Jews & others lives together in harmony unlike many other places in Israel.

Caesarea Maritime is the city built by Herod on the Mediterranean Sea. No expense was spared in its building. It sported seaside palaces with seaside pools, a hippodrome (race track), theater and harbor that was envisioned to compete with Alexandria.

It is here at Caesarea that Peter made the monumental transition to accepting a Gentile and all people as God does. Paul said “I appeal to Caesar” in this city.

A stone with the Latin inscription: “Pontias Pilate, the prefect of Judea [erected a building] to [the emperor] Tiberias”.

The highest peak in the photo above is Mt. Arbel. The other side of the mountain is full of caves, with a bloody history. These caves were used by Jews as hideouts during a rebellion in 37 BC. Herod the Great (before he was great) crushed the rebellion by lowering soldiers over the cliff in cages to drag the rebels and their families out of the caves and drop them down the cliffs.

The picture above is a recently excavated synagogue at Magdala from the time of Jesus. Notice the pillars, the seating around the inner square, and more seating around the outer edge, with a beautiful mosaic floor in the aisle between. The Bible tells us Jesus taught in all the synagogues in Galilee, so He very likely walked these very stones. In the center is a beautifully carved stone that was likely part of the lectern where the scriptures were read.

The first activity today was getting on a boat right from the pier at the Ron Beach Hotel. They raised the American flag and we were on our way. The captain shut down the engines a ways out and we had a time of peaceful reflection on some passages . Andrew read some selections related to Jesus calming the sea and Jesus walking on the water. James lead us in singing “Master the Tempest is Raging”.

Our voyage ended at Kibbutz Ginosar, which is significant because its where the “Sea of Galilee Boat” was discovered. The boat was significant because it was the 1st New Testament era boat preserved in a fresh water lake.

We soon learned that what we call “Capernaum” is Kfar Nahoum here and means “the village of Nahum”. (Not nessesarily the prophet Nahum, but likely some other person of consequence.) It was also at an intersection of an important trade routes, “the way of the sea” (Matthew 4:15). This explains a few things: Why Jesus used this as a hub for his ministry and why Matthew would be sitting at the “receipt of customs” (collecting toll). Spreading the message of God’s Kingdom at this strategic spot meant it would have the potential of reaching far flung places along the trade routes. It was also a religiously attuned area that would be willing to react rigorously with the message.

Mount Arbel is a high peak which overlooks the Galilee area. Was this where Jesus went to pray? Was this the place where Jesus gave the Great Commission? (overlooking the surrounding “world”?) After descended we tried some carob from a tree in a resting area. It tastes kind of like chocolate.

Those who wanted had the opportunity to get a “Peter’s fish” at Tanureen Galilee Restaurant for lunch.

After lunch we headed to Magdala. This extremely interesting sight was discovered when the construction for a high end hotel was begun. The very first day of the excavation, in 2009, at only about 3 feet of depth the 1st century synagogue & town of Magdala was unexpectedly discovered. Roman coins from 9AD to 44AD were discovered in & around the synoguauge which means this synagogue was used during the life and death of Jesus.

The synagogue has a mosaic floor, a “temple” reading table and by our count, seating for about 100 people with very spacious aisles. Since the New Testament says Jesus taught “in all the synagogues of Galilee” it is almost certain the Jesus once stood on this very floor.

The ruins of the town of Magdala surrounded the synoguoge includs areas to store live fish, houses and the main road to the nearby Sea of Galilee.

Mary Magdalene is closely associated with the town of Magdala and there is a statue of her and a Women’s Atrium in the Duc in Altum chapel. (“Put out into the Deep” chapel). The atrium celebrates the significant contribution of the women among the first community of believers and throughout history. An inscription encircling the ceiling noted: “The church gives thanks…for the mystery of woman, and for every woman, for her eternal dignity & for the wonders God has worked in & through her in the history of humanity.” Pillars throughout contain the names of women who followed Jesus, with one pillar with no name. To whom is this pillar dedicated? The women that were to come.

We were lead in a meaningful meditation about Jarius’ raised daughter & the woman healed by touching Jesus’ hem in the Encounter Chapel. Andrew talked about the meaning of tzitzit, or tassels or “fringes of the garments” that the woman likely touched: The 4 blue stripes stand for 4 letters of YHWH & the threads & knots in Jewish numerology stand for the 613 laws of Torah. At James’ suggestion we sang a few songs and spent some time praying for some pressing current needs in our world.

The Ron Beach Hotel is acomodating and our room has a view of the Sea of Galilee. It was a welcome sight to see the breakfast buffet had some American fair: Eggs, toast, pancakes etc, along with Israeli options.

On the ride to Tel Dan we saw Rosh Pina, the first settlement (first Ailyah) in 1882. We passed the fort of Hazor, mentioned in Judges as conquered Deborah.

Tel Dan Nature Reserve had both natural beauty and historic interest. First we walked through a wooded area of one of the springs that feeds roughly 50% of the Jordan River.

Tel Dan is the area of the ancient Israelite city of Dan. We saw (what appeared to be a large Yahweh altar based on diminsions and uncut stone) altar at the gate of the city. Inside we saw the platform where the king or his representive sat to meet with the people “at the gate”.

There was also a high place for golden calf worship which was indicated by the cut stones, dimensions and steps (which were not allowed by Yahweh worship).

Before leaving Tel Dan we saw a very ancient Cannanite gate, likely seen or passed through by Abraham when he came here to save Lot. (Genesis 14:14) (We had some discussion about the anicent name of Dan was Layish.)

Caesarea Philippi has a area that was a rock outcrop that became a center for the worship of various Greek gods. Pan, Nemesis and Hades. The “gate of Hell”, or gateway to the underworld, was considered to be here. All the paganism and a concrete “Gate of Hell” adds to the scene in Matthew when Jesus brought his disciples here and noted that “the gates of hell” will not prevail against the church that He established. Was “the rock” Peter? His confession that Jesus is Lord? Jesus? Whatever Jesus was alluding to, the pagan temples are now only ruins, but His church is still alive.

The Bania springs, located in Caesarea Philippi, are another source of the Jordan River. 

We ate a lunch of salad, Turkish coffee and backlava at the Alsultan Restaurant in the Syrian Druze village of Mas’ada. Just outside the front door was a view of Mount Hermon

We stopped at a lookout on the Golan Heights with a view of Syria where we bought some olive oil and fruit from a local druze.

The Bethsaida site we visited was a town of apparent military importance from ancient times all the way till the Syrians left in 1967. This was very evident by the wall, gates, storage areas & its high perch overlooking the surrounding area. This is also where several of the disciples were called and a blind man was healed, importantly, outside the city. Andrew pointed out that this area was Jewish and very devout in Jesus’ day. A triangle between Bethsaida, Chorazim and Capernaum was where most of Jesus’ ministry occured.  It was also the place where the rabbi and disciple concept was established, which is interesting as Jesus made use of this model and made it applicable to Christianity. We also noted the curse on this town.

At the Mount of the Beatitudes we visited the church and had an enjoyable time reading the beatitudes at an area on the hillside over looking Kinneret. We read it in 3 languagues: Andrew in English, Amos in German and James in Romanian. An open time of commenting yielded interesting & inspiring thoughts and conversation. It was worthwhile to take some time to meditate on this Galilean hillside.