Journey Day 5: Herodium, Tent of Nations and Israeli Museum

Are you ready to celebrate Christmas with us!?!?!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day here in the Jerusalem area.   Temps were in the low 80's with a beautiful cool breeze all day.   A very drastic change from the 110 degree hike yesterday to say the least.    A few of us in the group, myself included, were experiencing some heat sickness late last night and weren't feeling 100% today, so a beautiful day and change of pace was awesome.

Here was the run-down for today....

Our first stop was at what they call the Herodium.   This was another palace and stronghold that Herod the Great built just outside of Jerusalem.   It helps to know the background that Herod would have wanted to upstage any 'messiah' that was to come,  and so this stronghold was massive and magnificent.    But....the absolutely amazing part of this stop was reading the Christmas story.

You will see in the pictures below a couple of panorama pictures that show the hillside and skies around this place.  These hills would be where the angels showed up with their war cry to the birth of Jesus, and many believe the Herodium itself was where the 3 Magi would have stopped on their way to visit Jesus.   It is hard to put into words, and the picture won't do it justice to imagine the sky in this area filled with the multitude of heavenly hosts.

Our second stop was at 'Tent of Nations'.   This is a ministry in Palestine that was started by a Palestinian Christian family who has been persecuted and taken advantage of by the Israeli defensive forces and government, and yet this response has been 'choosing the other way' that Jesus offers.  No hate, no leaving, no whining - just loving and finding a way to make the best of the worst and channel anger and hurt into a positive outcome - what a great reminder for all of us in our lives!  We had a quick tour of the farm/hill area and had some time for lunch and fellowship.

Our final stop of the day was to the Israeli Museum.   Below you will see several pictures of the 3D model that has been created of Jerusalem.   It was so powerful and meaningful to see what the city would have looked like in the time of Jesus.   Daniel was able to point out such helpful information on the walls, on where the high and mighty would have lived, where many of Jesus events would have occurred.   We then had a chance to view a museum for the Dead Sea Scrolls and historical Israel artifacts, etc.   Very cool.  Gave us a great understanding of what we are experiencing.  I don't have a ton of pictures of the scrolls or artifacts.

So - join us in seeing and envisioning just how powerful of a moment Christ's birth was!

HERODIUM:

These are the type of shenanigans that gone on during a tour.  Bob Cleveringa and A.J. have a 'plank contest' - and Bob won.

Here is the hill that the Herdoium was on top of.  About the top 50 feet is what Herod 'added' to the hill to outdo nature.   Then 25-30 foot walls would have gone up from there.   See below...

Again - massive, magnificent and impressive.  My words of Herod - I was he didn't have to be such a jerk, because really did build some pretty cool things.

The hills leading to Bethlehem.  They would have been filled with shepherds the night of Jesus birth.  THIS is where they would have showed up....how cool.

And this is the skies over Bethlehem.  Imagine them with them, filled with the heavenly hosts!  Daniel put it in such a powerful way.  These aren't our 'wimpy angels' we like to envision - these are angels prepared for war.  Armed with swords, giving the war cry of 'Glory to God in the Highest!'  They knew they have come to welcome the start of God's final war over sin and death - amen!

And then we walked through tunnels inside the mound...

and we went lower....

and lower...

A huge cistern that was built to sustain water and life itself inside the palace.

And this was found just a few years ago - it is were Herod was buried.   It would have been an amazing tomb.

And this was his swimming pool - way down at the bottom of the hill.

TENT OF NATIONS:

Fig tree leaf.  Don't think Adam and Eve would have had to much covered when they used these - yikes!

A view of the hillside where they are now planting much of their trees and crops.

Grape trees

People Building Bridges - I like that life motto.

Daud (David) sharing with us about his families struggles and their committment to bring Jesus love in the midst of it.  (www.tentofnations.org) 

Mason introducing himself to Alaina - a very nice 16 year old girl from Italy.   Don't worry Chris and Rachel - he knew a long distance would never work. 

On the way to the museum, we had a chance to stop by on Olive Wood carving store in Bethlehem.  Olive Wood carving is one of the biggest industries in this area.

And this is the reality of how the Palestinians move around.  They show their pass.  Have to open their trunk and prove they aren't hiding anyone or anything.

And the wall that was literally built to 'keep people in'.

Another picture of the wall.

The guards as we passed through.

ISRAELI MUSEUM:

This is what the temple would have looked like in Jesus time.

A view of the entire city.   Looking to the North.

A view looking down from the Mount of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane.  We are looking west.

Pontius Pilates palace.  Where Jesus would have been tried and begun his journey to the cross.

Copy of the Dead Sea scroll of the book of Isaiah.

The scroll of Isaiah.

A picture of the boys....left to right (Brady, Bryce, Keith, Cory, Mason)

Tomorrow is David and Goliath as well as paying a visit to the Holocaust Museum.   It was be a powerful day filled with reliving the Bible stories with fresh eyes.   Can't wait!

As I mentioned, a few of us were battling some heat sickness today, so just keep praying us through.  Our hot desert days our behind us, and exploring the New Testament lie ahead of us.   Prayers for strength, focus, energy, soft hearts, and a continued joy to experience our faith in a powerful way!

Journey Day 4 - Qumran & Dead Sea Scrolls, Jericho, Hike

Wow - am I exhausted!

Today was another one filled with experiencing some amazing things, and being reminded over and over again that we are so blessed to have the Word of God, and that it is Holy, it is Inspired, and the most joyful thing of all for us - is that it is TRUTH!

We started the morning on a tour that not many get the chance to have, and that is to 'cave #1' where the first Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.  It was a trying hike up the side of a mountain, but upon reaching the cave (not all that big really!), we were reminded just how important these scrolls were.  You see, many people try to discredit the Bible by saying that some of the prophetic writing were put in there AFTER Jesus lived, and they just wrote things to make it look like it was all true.    The Dead Sea Scrolls contained the scripture of Isaiah, and what they found was dated 150 years BEFORE Christ came - again, showing that our God reveals the past, reveals in the present, and reveals into the future.

Following Qumran and the caves, we headed to Jericho.   Don't be disappointed below when you see the pictures because it isn't a ruins with obvious signs of the powerful things that happened here, but none the less, it is still here.   We were educated that many in the Palestinian world are trying to discredit what they are finding and what really happened here, all in the name of discrediting the Bible itself.   But as we saw layers revealed that indicate a giant wall fell over, that the city was burned, that it was abandoned, and then eventually rebuilt.   They are artifacts found that tell us that food and barley were burned (as that is the time of year God sent them in to destroy), and that infants were sacrificed (this is a sin God points out in the story).   Really amazing, powerful and again, a holy reminder that the Word of God is true, and we can see evidence of it yet today.

Lastly, we took a hike.  A long hike.  A hot hike - like 110 degree hot hike.   But it was so powerful as we walked the 'road' that Jesus, and his disciples, would have walked MANY times.   It was the 'road' from Jericho up to Jerusalem.  It is the road that Jesus uses in his parable of the Good Samaritan, and it is a road that men and women of that time would have journeyed to find places to stop, be still, and listen to God voice.

So, tired, sore and exhausted - I am touched today in a new way for the Word of God.   I am moved today to continue to stand and proclaim that my God, is a God of truth.  I am convicted to continue to die to myself, and to proclaim WHO HE IS!  It has been really cool to see the Old Testament come to life and made clearer over these past few days 'in the desert'.   Tonight, we have pulled into Jerusalem.   And you can just sense that this place is special.   A place specifically picked by God for his people.

Tomorrow, we head to the Herodium (overlooking Bethlehem), Tent of Nations, and Israeli Museum as we begin to see more and more of the land that Jesus lived in, taught in, and died and rose again in!   So stayed tuned ;)

Pictures........

QUMRAN & DEAD SEA SCROLL CAVES:

This was our archeological guide, Joel Kramer.   Talk about a man with an amazing heart, and who is doing amazing things in a setting that can be challenging.  If you want someone to add to your prayer list, make it this guy..   SO appreciated all her shared so passionately with us today.

Within this stretch of mountains lie most of the 11 caves that were discovered holding the Dead Sea scrolls.

The cave we are heading to, is way up in the top right corner behind the rock.

Entrance to cave #1 (was actually just the tiny little oval shaped hole on the top.  A shepherd boy threw a rock into the hole looking for a lost sheep, heard a jar shattered, and the rest is history.

Cave #1

Cave #1 - the wall they found the jars laying against.

The view from that cave, looking back out over the Dead Sea.

The cave entrance about 15 feet in from the left of this hill is cave #4, where again, several scrolls were found predating the life of Jesus.

JERICHO:

The obvious stone wall you can see, is actually part of the 25 foot 'retaining wall' that would have had the 25 foot 'wall of Jericho' on top of it.

Joel is showing us here, and the picture is hard to tell, but it is evidence of the 25 foot wall that fell from up high, or, as scripture says, it fell down on itself, literally tumbling over like a tree in the forest so Joshua and his army could use it to climb over the 25 foot retaining wall to take the city.

If you look closely, the top of this structure is covered in 'red brick', which is what would have been used to build the wall.  Although they do everything they can to dispute this truth, the fact is, everywhere they have excavated, they have found that this wall as collapsed outward.

Here is a quick view of just how big just the 25 foot retaining wall would have looked - imagine it with another 25 foot wall on top of it!

As they dug, they came across the layer of 'burn'.  It is the obvious black mark, and the 4-5 feet of white rock below it (white because the fire was that hot!).   Again, this carries around the entire city.

Above that is the layer of 'abandonedment', and then the layer of it being rebuilt.  All exactly as scripture says it happened :)

The bowl shaped item in the middle of the picture is a jar

When they say that Jericho is the oldest city on earth, this is what they are talking about.  This is the excavation literally 100 feet down that dates back to the very original city of Jericho.

Jericho was known as the "City of Palms" - I wonder why!!

THE HIKE:

Just starting the journey.   This path is the 'road' that Jesus himself would have traveled between Jericho and Jerusalem.

What follows will be several pictures of the hike - some I will comment on, some not.  What I am learning is to see the beauty, even in the midst of the desert - sounds like a good things to learn for life too huh?!?

St. George's Monastery - beautiful, secluded and peaceful

Monastery

A view of the Monstery on our way back up the other side.

Our guide, Daniel, and his wife Sherry.   Two amazing people with amazing hearts.

Our 3 young adults on the trails - Bryce, Mason and Cory.   3 young men with really cool hearts for the things Jesus is calling them into.

Our 'mother of the group' from a 'top of the world' kind of view.

OUR FIRST LOOK AT JERUSALEM:

You literally come out of a tunnel and the Old City, Dome of the Rock are sprung upon you.

Our hotel tonight is the Notre Dame - amazing beautiful.  The Pope himself stayed here just a few years ago.  We will snap some pictures of it and the views it brings to share tomorrow.

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!   It is amazing how our hearts are being shaped, softened, molded for this walk with Christ.   Keep praying for all those same things :)