A Day with Daddy

This is my field study report from our trip south of Jerusalem. I did it from the perspective of Todd’s son, Luke, who went with us. I got a 10 on it.

This morning I hopped out of bed because this is my day to spend with Dad. Mark got to go with him on Shabbat into the Old City, but today is my turn. He says that we are going go see places like Bethlehem and Herodium, I can’t wait! We ate breakfast, kissed Mommy good-bye and then went out to the bus. I got to ride in the back with some really cool students. I love riding in the bus it is so much fun!

While we drove towards Jerusalem, Daddy talked to all of the students on the microphone, but I have already heard all of this before. He tells me a lot of these kind of things all of time; telling me what things are and what the history is behind them. I really like it when he does that because it shows that he is really smart. But he did read us some stories from Frog and Toad. I really liked that. The bus first stopped on the Mount of Olives with an eastern view of Jerusalem. Dad was talking about The Hill of Evil Council, which the United Nations building sits on, the Hill of Offense, and the place where Judas died. He talked on for a while, so I went climbing around on the stairs and the railing. It was really fun because we were high and we could see the whole city. Dad showed me where the Dome of the Rock, Kidron Valley, and Temple Mount were because my daddy is really smart and knows lots of stuff.

We got back in the bus and drove over to Bethphage, from there we walked to a hill that over looked Bethany. The little town is latched on to the eastern side of the Mount of Olives. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived here and it is the city that he went to two days before going into Jerusalem on the donkey. It was funny because there was a big wall between us and Bethany. Dad said it was just put there, so Jesus didn’t have to go around it. We looked at some fig trees, but that was boring, so I jumped on some stones on a pathway near us. Dad was reading from the Gospels on how Jesus cursed the fig tree and it did not yield fruit.

We went inside of a church at Bethphage and it was really neat because it echoed a lot. Dad taught the students about how the church commemorates the place where Jesus got on the donkey and then he rode up to the top of the Mount of Olives. When he got near the top, people waved palm branches and praised Him. We followed that same route that Jesus took, but it is a big hill and my legs were tired. A student picked me up and ran me all the way up to were Dad was, in the front of the line, then I drank some water out of his water hose coming out of his backpack.

At the top we went inside a courtyard of the Church of the Pater Noster, which was built by Constantine’s mother to commemorate the Lord teaching His disciples the Lord’s Prayer. There were a lot of people there and they were all talking in a funny language. Some of them were smoking at it was yucky! After Dad was done was yappin’, he said I could go down into the cave. I ran down into the cave and it was dark and it was really fun and then I went back up and looked around but there was nothing more to see, I wanted to leave.
We walked down the Mount of Olives and it was really steep, but we stopped part of the way down and went to Dominus Flavit. This got boring really fast because it was just only another view of that gold thing. I got up on the wall to get a better view and I was going to take a picture with someone’s camera, but everyone freaked out and I had to get down, so much for having fun. This marks the place where Jesus wept for Jerusalem.

Lunch was next, yeah, my favorite! I got each lunch with daddy on the hill over looking Jerusalem from the south. For lunch I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple and…OH! I almost forgot! I had some really good cookies that mommy made tools. I wanted to go play and find Robbie, but Dad made me eat the rest of my lunch.

We got back on the bus and went to Bethlehem. On the way a soldier came on the bus and talked with my dad, but everything was okay. Bethlehem really didn’t look like it does in all of the Christmas story books. There was no stable or manger, but only an old church with a cave where Jesus was allegedly born. I didn’t like it very much, we had to walk slow and be quiet. One of the guys didn’t have pants to cover his shorts, so he had to borrow a skirt from a girl. He looked really silly.

We went to a mountain that a guy named Herod put there. It is called Herodium. I had to go potty, so I went behind the building there. Then we started climbing the mountain, but I got to ride on the shoulders of one of the students. It was really steep. The hill was so big that we couldn’t even ride up it on our bikes! At the top it was a really great view. This is a palace and a fortress of Herod the Great. He built it to commemorate himself when he died. At lower Herodium, there is a really big swimming pool that little boys used to swim in. Then we went into some really cool caves under Herodium and then went back to the bus. In the bus we got COOKIES! Becky made cookies for everyone and I got some. They were really good.

Two things that we got see that were really neat were the Ascent of Ziz and Solomon’s pools. The Ascent of Ziz is out in the Judean wilderness where it is hot and dry and has lots of rocks. This is the route that Jehoshapat took when the Lord went in front of the Judeans and conquered the enemy (2 Chron. 20). I liked running around with all of the students out there. Solomon’s pools were south of Bethlehem and very big. They were so big you could fit the whole Noah’s Ark inside of it!

After that, we went back home. It was a really fun day, because I got to spend it with daddy. I didn’t have to go to school and I went on the field trip. I really like doing things with my smart dad, I hope I can do it more times.

Assuming God

We live our Christian lives assuming that God is. Each breath assumes God will us another one. Each morning assumes God will carry us through another day. Each prayer assumes that God is listening. Each sin assumes that God will forgive us.

Don’t read this wrong. I’m not saying that God does not do these things, but rather we go through our day assuming that God will continue to sustain us. Our sinful state deserves none of God and yet we have complete access to Him. The mercies that are bestowed upon us each and everyday are not a product of our own good works, but rather the provision from the Father. Through our Savior, Jesus Christ, we have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Only through His blood has salvation been granted to us; belief in anything else is not the gospel that saves.

My own heart is more conscious of God around me. Before I left for Israel, my good friend, SKH, gave me some advice that I have not forgotten. He prayed that I would see and live spiritually; that I would not be focused on the physical, but everything through the work of the Spirit in me. I pray that we can all give God the credit that is due His name in everything that we see, hear, and do.

Don’t assume God, thank Him.

A Hike Below the Sea

Anything that is advertised as involving death, I am quick to sign up for. Well, maybe I’m not that drastic, but when a sign up sheet for an En Gedi Death Hike showed up on the bulletin board I was all over it. The group slowly formulated and gathered excitement for this hike.

We left Saturday evening from Yad HaShmonah for En Gedi, an oasis on the shores of the Dead Sea, but not before taking a group picture. The whole hour and a half bus ride there, we sang. I pulled out some classics from Children’s Church and summer camp. It was so much fun and it made the time pass really fast.

We arrived on the shore of Dead Sea with a full moon reflecting off of the calm water (at the green “S” on the map). The wind was very strong and warm as we walked down to the salty shore. We immediately started taking pictures of this never before seen territory. After the excitement wore down, we set out find our sleeping spot. With the wind blowing at high speeds, we found shelter from the gusts behind a small stone wall and so we all proceeded to get situated for the night. Some of the guys ran off and went floating in the water in complete freedom. Mary and I entertained ourselves by spelling letters in the air with our feet together. It provided not only something that was new and interesting, but a good work-out for our legs the night before an insanely rigorous hike. We all slept on the ground with only a towel separating us from the dirt. I woke up several times in the night, only to find out that I was laying only on dirt. But don’t get me wrong, we were having a blast!

We were rudely awaken at 6am by pesky flies; flies that would haunt us the rest of the day. Breakfast was especially appetizing, since it was food that we packed 24 hours earlier. I ran out from behind the palm trees just in time to see the sun crest over the mountains on the other side of the Dead Sea; several pictures followed. It was incredible to be able to read God’s Word with the rays warming your face in the light of the young sun. Even though we sin so much, God graciously allows us to see gorgeous things, such as sunrises and sunsets, waterfalls, mountains, and clouds. All of the features of earth that we marvel at, shout the power and faithfulness of God. Praise Him for the wonderful works of His hands.

There were 13 of us who were going on the death hike and the others were going on a picnic trip. We left just after 7:30 and walked over to the gate into the En Gedi National Park (the light blue line). From there we filled up our water bottles at the cold water station and set out down the Nahal Arugot for the first destination, the hidden waterfall (the pink line). This part of the hike was relatively flat as we walked in the bottom of the nahal, rather than climbing up the sides, which we were looking forward to later.

We found the waterfall in half the time that the ranger said that we would and quickly jumped in the pool. We had lots of fun going under the waterfall and playing around in the water. Part of our group left early and started up the sharp ascent. I was in the later group and started to climb 15 mins after the first group. As soon as we began the steep uphill, I was strides ahead of the rest of the group and I didn’t stop. I past some people in the group ahead of me and was only minutes behind Robbie and Mary who made it to the top first. The climb was not that long, but it was one of the steepest I have ever done. Some places we climbed straight up, scaling the rock wall. Here are some pics to help you see what it was like. (Notice the two people in the middle of the cliff on the second picture and the group at the very bottom of the third one.)

At the top of the plateau, we walked across to the En Gedi Lookout. That site had one of the most incredible views that I have ever seen. We could see almost all of the Dead Sea and the surrounding shore. It is truly something that pictures cannot do justice to. We ate a little something up there, but didn’t stay long. We hiked down the north side, into the Nahal David. This went very quickly. We stopped at an ancient temple from the Chalcolithic period, which was cool because we had learned about it in archaeology class. After that short stop, we went to the bottom of the nahal and swam in the pools on that side for a half hour or so, a very refreshing break from the hot trek up and down. Nate tried to block up the pool by laying in the only exit for the water, but Mary wanted to see him go down with the water (picture above). My REI equipment came in extremely helpful on this trip; my shorts dried fast after each swimming stop, my boots were very comfortable, my backpack held all of my water and everything else, and my headlamp did its job the night before.

The day was very fun. We even saw some natural ibexes (shown on left). We were all warm and nasty after it was all over, but we had drawn closer through it all. God is so good. How could any of us plan to put all of us strangers together in a group and yet glorify the Lord through it? It has only been by His hand. I thank God for the opportunity to study over. I am learning so much that I now regret, not taking learning serious before. I feel like all through high school and even last year in college, I didn’t really desire to learn, but rather a desire to do everything else knowing that I have to school work in between it all; which is the wrong way to think. Praise God for what He is doing!

Benjamin, The Land of

Wednesday was a day marked by heat, dirt, views, and following Todd. The focus of the day was the land of the tribe of Benjamin. This includes cities such as Jericho, Ramah, Gibeon, Gibeah, and Gezer. We left Yad HaShmonah at 7:30 in the morning and didn’t return until just before 7pm. It was long, but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

The day started at the ancient city of Gezer, where an IBEX alumni taught us about the significance of the city. Although hard to describe on paper, I will try and do so. The central part of Israel is the tribe of Benjamin. The western part is composed of the Ajialon Valley which stretches from the Hill Country and opens up in the coastal plain. In the middle of the Ajialon Valley standing between the coastal plain and the rest of the country is the tell of Gezer. A tell is a mound of layers of civilization. Over the thousands of years, different people groups have stayed at the same sites, building on top of the previous civilizations. After all the years, the remains begin to build up and create a hill or a mound; this called a tell.

Gezer has been important throughout history and there are many things that are testament to that. One evidence is that Gezer is mentioned in many ancient texts, such as the Amarna Letters. The name Gezer means “to divide.” It was the crossroads for the International highway and the route up to Jerusalem from the coast. It was captured by Egypt and then given to Solomon as a dowry gift for his daughter. Solomon then fortified it. One of the major remains left there today is the gate constructed by him (picture on upper left). The gate had four chambers and the sewer system ran underneath the gate. The city was destroyed again by Egypt after Solomon. Gezer boasts of having the largest defensive tower of the Middle Bronze Era, this was connected to a wall that surrounded the city. The standing stones at Gezer were used for occultic purposes and were something that God forbade in the Old Testament (picture on right).

After Gezer, we went to Emmaus. Emmaus is the city that Jesus walked to with the two disciples after His resurrection. There is a debate about where the actual site is because there is a difference in the manuscripts as to the distance away from Jerusalem that Luke describes in chapter 24. Two of the sites that have been suggested for the location are recent traditions and are thus not trusted. The other two sites are a considerable distance apart and so, due to a re-evaluation of the text and the practicality of the situation, the site that is closest to Jerusalem seems the best choice. The Emmaus that we went to is not a practical location of the biblical Emmaus. It used to be an Arab village and now all that is left is fruit trees and a building that commemorates an important Arab man (picture on left). We climbed all around the building and went on top of the dome. It was lots of fun, plus we got a great view of the Ajialon Valley and Gezer to the west of us in the distance.

Through Benjamin, there is only two main routes, because it is filled with wadis. The only way to travel through the hill country is to go along the ridges. There only two routes from the Ajialon Valley and the coast to Jerusalem. On our way down to Gezer we traveled along the Kiriath Jearim Ridge Route, the southern of the two routes. From Emmaus up to Nebi Samwil, we went along the other route, the Beth Horon Ridge Route. On this route, Joshua chased the Canaanites and he asked God to have the sun and the moon stand still, which God granted (Joshua 10). I was privileged to read this passage up on the roof of Nebi Samwil and it was so easy to see how the events took place so many years ago because of the geography.

Nebi Samwil is the traditional place of the burial site of Samuel the prophet. It is a wrong tradition, but it has been suggested that it is the high place of Gibeon where the Lord appeared to Solomon and he asked for wisdom. From the top of the mosque, we could see all of the Central Benjamin Plateau (picture on right). Going right through the middle of the plateau is the Way of the Patriarchs. This route follows the Watershed Ridge. The use of this road is shown in the story of a Levite and his concubine in Judges 19. They travel from Bethlehem, north. The cities that are mentioned are all of those of the Way of the Patriarchs: Jebus (Jerusalem), Gibeah, Ramah, and Mizpah. Through a series of events while they are in Benjamin, a civil breaks out between Benjamin and the other 11 tribes. There are three battles between the two armies. The Benjamites win the first two, but are nearly annihilated in the third.

In 1 Kings 15:16-22, the story is told of how Baasha, the northern king captures Ramah and begins fortifying, blocking traffic in and out of Judah. Asa calls for help from Assyria, Baasha backs out, and Asa then fortifies Mizpah and Geba, securing the other routes into Jerusalem and the rest of Judah. Ramah is the crossroads because it sits on the Way of the Patriarchs, the highway going north and south, and controls traffic east to Jericho and west to the Ajialon Valley.

We ate lunch on top of the mosque at Nebi Samwil. It was warm, but there was a breeze keeping us cool. We celebrated Erin’s birthday up there as well. Becky had made chocolate cupcakes for everyone that were very good!

After Nebi Samwil, we traveled east toward Jericho. On the way we stopped along the side of the road and climbed up a hill to give us a view of Michmash, Geba, and The Pass that connects the two cities. This was the site of a battle of Jonathan and Saul against the Philistines. Jonathan came from Geba and climbed down into the Wadi Qilt and then surprised the enemy on the other side at Michmash, causing a panic and they all fled. It worked because the Philistines were watching the Pass, a break in the steep sides of the Wadi Qilt for about a mile, the only place where an army could cross. On this hill we saw cisterns that are used to hold water for livestock. I had the privilege of taking a drink from this water. It was amazingly cool and fresh-tasting. The hill was also home to a sheepfold, where a shepherd would keep his sheep for night.

Next, we drove through the Judean wilderness and then came into Jericho via the TOE Ridge Route. When we arrived at the tell, we saw the supporting wall (picture on right) that held up the wall that Joshua and the children of Israel knocked down according to the commandment of the Lord. It was also neat to be able to see the archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon’s dig that I had heard so much about in archaeology class. We saw the Neolithic tower that is the oldest structure of that size in the world. A couple of us were able to walk down to it and go in the tower, down the staircase. Jericho is only 10 acres and so this presents a problem with the whole Israelite camp coming against the city. If there were 600,000 Israelite men, why didn’t they just attack the city of 2,000 people? That questions is, as of now, still unanswered.

Todd, being the great Land and Bible professor that he is, took us up in cable cars, above the city of Jericho. We walked along the cliffs over looking the city and up to a monastery carved into the rock. Todd went crazy with the picture taking because this was a place that he had never visited before.

On the other end of the city, we stopped and saw the Hasmonean and Herodian palaces that sat on either side of the Wadi Qilt. It was the site of Herod’s summer palace and had huge swimming pools and gardens.

The last stop of the day was over looking the steep sides of the Wadi Qilt with a monastery carved into one of the sides. It was very windy and warm as we looked out over the wilderness and read about Jesus being tempted in such a desolate place. Only after seeing the wilderness, do I truly understand what it means to fast for forty days and forty nights and then being tempted. It is comforting to know that the same Spirit that led Jesus in the wilderness resides with me as a believer. May I rely on that power and not my own.

Nate and I in front of the Wadi Qilt.

IBEX Fall 2005. Here is everyone in my group. For more pictures throughout the semester go to www.ibexsemester.com

Just down the road from the Moshav is a restaurant called the Elvis Inn and they have lots of pictures and statues of The King and his music played all of the time. I edited this picture and thought was kind of funny that it was taken in Israel.

New Testament Jerusalem (Text Version)

We began learning about New Testament Jerusalem at the end of our Old Testament walk. The reason for this was because logistically, it worked out the best. It started at the Holy Land Hotel model of Jerusalem in 66 A.D. just before the Romans destroyed it. It is very similar to the Jerusalem that Jesus lived in with a few exceptions. This model is absolutely amazing! It is built on a scale of 1:50 and with a crazy amount of detail. I was blown away at how precise the builders were. The city has the same north-south that real one does and has the same exact slopes and valleys – it is very realistic looking. It is here that we talked about what the sources are that we can know about what Jerusalem looked like back then. There are two types: written and archaeological. Josephus, the New Testament, and Jewish Rabbinical Writings (Mishnah and Talmud) are the primary written sources and the archaeological ones are scattered all through out the city. The city has three walls, the third of which was built after Jesus’ death by Herod Agrippa II from 41-44 A.D. Josephus describes the wall as having 90 towers, but they were unable to fit that many on the model itself. This wall encompasses much more of the city than the Old City does today. One tower, which is in northwestern part of the wall, called Psephinus provides a view of both the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea because it is 35 meters tall. The second wall was built by Heord the Great probably around 20 B.C. The first wall was built by the Hasmoneans in 150 B.C. It follows the line of King Hezekiah’s wall, which follows the natural topography of the land. On this model you can see the difference between the two proposed crucifixion sites. One is just outside the first and second walls near where some tombs were and thus he was crucified and then buried. This is the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher today. Just north of the Temple Mount was the Antonia Fortress, where the Romans could look over the Jewish religious activities and protect against attack. On the top of the Western Hill is where Herod’s Palace sat. It was very beautiful and spacious. It sat on most of the hill and had a huge courtyard where Jesus was probably condemned before the chanting crowds. The upper city was where the wealthy people lived and the lower city where the poor dwelled. The current temple mount was built by Herod the Great when he expanded three sides: the north, west, and south. The east wall is still the original because it is built right on the edge of the Kidron Valley. The temple was finished in 18 months and then in 10 B.C. they had a dedication ceremony. But we know from John chapter 2 that the temple actually took 46 years to complete. The surface of the Mount is huge in order to accommodate the crowds that flooded Jerusalem during the Passover and other holidays. Two of the major colonades on the temple mount were the Royal Stowa, which served for economic and judicial purposes, and Solomon’s Colonade where Jesus would hang out with His disciples. There are three different courts for different people to go into. The first one is The Court of the Women where any Jew could go. The Court of the Israelite is restricted only for the men. The porch is where the altar was to offer sacrifices. Inside the Holy Place was the altar of incense, menorah, and showbread. Only the high priest once a year can go into the Holy of Holies once a year. There was a veil between the Holy Place and the Holy Holies, which was split when Jesus died. This concluded the stuff that we learned at the model. It was very impressive.
On Tuesday night we headed back into Jerusalem for some more fun. We spent the night out on the town, going to the best Swarma place in town, eating ice cream at an Israeli McDonald’s where we had to be checked by a police officer at the door, and shopping at the various places within modern Jerusalem. We spent the night at Gloria Hotel; I shared a room with Joe Schlegel. This trip into Jerusalem I brought the video camera in order to properly document what we did. This will also enable me to put together some kind of video at the end of the semester. On Wednesday morning we at breakfast at 6:30; the food we had for breakfast made us thankful for what we get here on the Moshav. The coffee was probably the worst I have ever had; it tasted dirty and like it hydrochloric acid in it. We met on the roof for some Scripture reading, where Todd tied the things that happened here in Jerusalem back to the Bible. We started our morning activities by going to the Temple Mount. We had to leave our Bibles at the security checkpoint because the Muslim’s don’t allow them near their holy places. Once on the temple mount, we learned Todd began overflowing with information. The Muslim’s deny that anything existed before the Dome of the Rock and so the temple is not allowed to be mentioned while we were up there. There has been some changing of hands during the decades. It is guarded by the Israelis, but they allowed the Muslims to have keep it as a place of worship after Israel captured it in 1967. The Muslims first conquered Jerusalem in 638 A.D. The Israelites would ascend to Jerusalem from the south and would come in either the Double Gate or the Triple Gate, which led to subterranean staircases that let up to the Court of the Gentiles, which what makes up most of the temple mount. The whole last week of Jesus’ life, he orchestrated everything to work out just right. He proved that he controlled the temple restricting people from bring vessels in, this Jesus know would unite the religious leaders, who are usually at each other’s necks, to kill Him. Jesus was crucified the same day that the Lambs were sacrificed on the altar for the atonement of the people’s sins. The represented the fact that no animal could permanently cover the sins of any man and yet Jesus was the once-and-for-all sacrificial, perfect Lamb who took the sins of all men. Ezekiel describes perfectly what the fourth temple will look like. Amillennialism have to deal with this description, because in their eschatology, there isn’t going to be a fourth temple. The Golden Gate is the gate on the east side of the mount. It is labeled as the “Special Eastern Gate” because Protestants believe that Christ will return on the Mount of Olives, which is east of Jerusalem and then walk to the temple through that gate. The Muslims sealed it shut to stop the return of the Messiah. I don’t think that human walls will be able to stop the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Something special that we discussed was how Jesus lived His life on earth through the power of the Spirit. He showed us perfectly how it is we are live our Christian lives in the power of the Spirit. We can rejoice because we no longer have to do it on our on, but we can live by the Spirit. The Dome of theRock is named for the rock that it sits on. This rock is where the Holy of Holies sat, which is why Israel cannot rebuild their temple. The dome on the Dome of the Rock was originally lead, but in 1962 it was replaced with a gold one; it was repaired again in 1993. The architectural structure is amazing. It is a very well built, beautiful building. It is sad that things like this is worshipped rather than the true God, Yahweh. In the northwest corner of the temple mount is a staircase that has for its last step, large stones, rather than the little ones that are on the rest of the stairs. These stones were identified as part of an earlier temple probably built by either Hezekiah in 700 B.C. or Zerubbebel in 516 B.C. The staircase is aligned, not with the platform, but rather with the old wall composed of the stones.

After the temple mount, we went south to the Southern Temple Mount Excavations, Todd’s name for the Jerusalem Archaeological Park. We looked at a aerial view of Jerusalem and one can understand how when David’s fourth son had a celebration for him being king, it was heard up at the palace and Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba went to go ask David if Solomon was supposed to be the next king. The only period in history where the Muslims really cared about Jerusalem was the Umayyad, during which they build the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. We walked to the base of the temple mount got a good perspective for how big the structure actually is. The stones that compose the wall are huge. They are held together by gravity and the extremely clean cut of the stones. Directly west of the temple mount, were several ruins of shops, houses, mikvah’s, and remains of a huge staircase that led up to a gate on the southwestern corner. This was supported by Robinson’s Arch which today is only a small piece that juts out from the wall. We walked around the south side, where most of the people would enter the temple. There are two gates: the Double Gate or Hulda Gate and the Triple Gate. There are a lot of steps that lead up to these gates and the temple. When the people came to the temple, it was a place for worship and they came seriously before their God. The Psalms of Ascent(120-134) were intended to be sung up the steps to the temple, in order to prepare the people’s heart for worship of Yahweh. We all stood in a line and walked up the steps, while reading the Psalms. We took turns reading them aloud. That experience is one that I will not forget. It was incredible to be ascending to the temple just as people 2000 years ago did. I enjoyed taking a break from all of the academic information and being able to focus on the Lord and how he provided His people. I was reminded of how Jerusalem and more specifically the temple is very converging of a holy God interacting with a sinful people. It is hard to think why God would even bother with man. Why would he bless them? Why would he punish and reject them? Why would he save them? It doesn’t make sense that a self-existent God, who is completely satisfied in Himself, would even consider dealing with such a needy and rebellious people. I am amazed that God would choose me to be redeemed by the blood of His Son. Praise God for His abundant grace on an unholy people.

Next stop was lunch in the Jewish quarter, where most of us got flaffles. After lunch we went to the Wohl House Museum, where we saw numerous different things. We saw a house that had a couple of mikvaots, which were baths for ritual cleansing. They had to be attached to the ground, and not moveable. The water in it could not be bucketed from a well or elsewhere, but had to be rain water. The required amount of water was 200 gl. We also saw some stoneware from that time period, which was 1st century. The stone vessels were more expensive, but they could be cleaned if they became unclean, whereas the pottery vessels had to be destroyed. We saw some water vessels that Jesus would have used to perform the miracle at the wedding at Cana. They had low tables for eating at that had wooden legs. We entered into a mansion that was the style of house that Jesus was tried in and then Peter denied Him. Peter was in the courtyard and Jesus was in the house, but they made eye contact and then Peter went out and wept bitterly. The last place that we went to, was the traditional place where David’s tomb was and where the upper room was. The location of David’s tomb is not a good location, but it is very probable that the upper room was where it it is seen today. The original stones re not there, but it holds the same airspace as the room where Jesus had His last supper with His disciples. Scholars say that It is the house of Mark, when he was a young boy and so his mother would have the early Christians over. It is also probable that this is the house that Peter went to after he was miraculously freed from prison. Todd told us how Jesus orchestrated all of the events of His last week here on earth, including His plan to have Judas betray Him at the exact time that Jesus wanted. It was very cool to think of how Christ showed how sovereign and obedient He was. This trip into Jerusalem excited me because I think that I know appreciate it more than I have in the past. The time that I spend in the city, the more I want to be there more. May all glory go to God for his work through out history!

Sports in the Life of a Teenager

Dave Cleland presents an interesting topic that I think deserves some discussion.

A Night on the Town

Here is a bunch of us on Tuesday night in modern Jerusalem being crazy. As you can tell, I'm the one taking the picture.








The devout Jewish people early in the morning at the Western Wall.

Nate (affectionately nicknamed Shea Butter) and I on our way to the Temple Mount.

Muslim Text

This is my New Testament Field Study Report. I did it all inside the outline of the Dome of the Rock. At the end I didn't have anything else to write about, so I just added "Todd the Magnificent" which is our nickname for Todd, our prof. If you click on the picture you can see a larger version of it.

Canaanite Adaptation

Well, today marks the first week that I have been here in the land of Israel and already I have enough memories to fill a small booklet that you would find in a small bookstore in downtown Milwaukee. They say that the semester will go so fast and that December will be upon my doorstep before I even knew that I had a doorstep. Despite my earlier hesitations about how the semester will turn out, I am looking with full expectation at the future knowing that the Lord Jesus will cause my love to “abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that (I) may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Phil. 1:9-11)

It is important to adapt to the culture, climate, and lifestyle as quickly as possible, otherwise it will be really difficult, just like it is impossible for a chameleon to survive if he doesn’t change his color to fit his background. I think that coming over here initially, my heart and mind was still so connected to things back home that it was hard to readily accept all of the brand new Israeli things that I had to learn. It has taken a week just to make the switch.

The food over here is pretty good for the most part. I love eating pita bread, but don’t really prefer the humus. I have scrambled eggs every morning along with some yogurt and bread. The lunches and dinners are composed, some way or an other, of these three things: chicken, rice, and potatoes. So far, we have seen many different varieties of these, either combined together or prepared different. After dinner on Friday night (Shabbat), Kai and I had the privilege of skipping chapel and helping to wash dishes. It was very intense as we had to keep up with the dishes coming in and keep the kosher and non-kosher serving trays, washing trays, and dishes separate. All of the Heritage Dinners prepared me with the right skills to be able to work hard until 11:30pm.

Sleeping has been great, but for some unknown reason, I am able to get up much earlier over here. I sleep on top of my sheets because up until last night it doesn’t get below 80 degrees in my room. My roommate and I are getting along just fine. I have found that it helps to ask what the other person doesn’t like rather than just assume everything is fine.

My classes will have to be an adjustment for me, as we have lots of reading that can only be done in the library. I like the classes I am taking though; they are about things that I enjoy. It is fun to have classes with relatively all the same people, it reminds me back in elementary when everyone had class together.

Thank you for your prayers! More updates to come.

A Love Story

The Lord has been working in my heart, changing my attitude about Jerusalem. After the first walk in the city, I came away thinking that it was pretty cool looking, but it was dirty and didn’t seem to have any of the attachments to the Bible because few things remain today compared to the whole ancient city. I also struggled with the physical things that we saw compared to spiritual death that I saw all around me. The uniqueness of the Western Wall being a wall remaining from the temple mount built by Herod the Great was clouded by the fact that so many spiritually dead Jews have come for centuries to this sacred site to try to work their way into heaven. They are still living under the Law but Christ has come to save them from that, to break them free from the bondage. I was also disappointed at the divided Jerusalem that stands today. It is hard to grasp that this city was captured and lived in by the Jews since David conquered it in the Old Testament and now it is plagued with conflict because of the Arabs who want to have dominance over the Jews and are they willing to kill for it. All of that to say that I enjoyed Jerusalem but now…I love it!

The love story began when I stepped out of the bus after going to Jerusalem assembly on Saturday afternoon. Walking up the hill to Jaffa Gate, I realized that I actually did miss being inside those little streets amongst the ancient architecture. I traveled with Shane, Marissa, Megan, and Erin. We first went on a hunt for a little shop with really good humus and enjoyed a scrumptious snack before our trek around the Old City. The different sites that we visited are the Armenian Church of Our Lady of the Spasm, the Court of Flagellation and Condemnation, and we finished at the Church of St. Anne’s, where we sang out of our new IBEX songbooks for half of an hour. We found out later that the German man in the front of the church listening to us was blessed by our singing. Megan and I had to leave and we ran all the way back to Jaffa Gate where we arrived on the dot to leave to go back to Moshav for dinner.

At 7:00 pm we pulled out for the Old City once more. Once the sleeping bags were unloaded outside of Jaffa Gate we all went to the Petra Hostel to situate ourselves on the roof for sleeping later that night. Todd organized a walk up the Mount of Olives and so we all rallied behind our leader and headed off to see Jerusalem at night. We walked through the streets that have an eerie feel to them because all of the shops are closed and have big metal doors over them. We went to the Western Wall and took pictures of all of the people that had gathered to pray, especially because it was a new moon and they have special prayers to say at the beginning of a new month. Walking down next to wall, we were able to get right next to all of the guys praying see them perform the vain prayer rituals. It made me very thankful that I have been redeemed and am able to access the Father whenever and wherever I am because Jesus Christ the Advocate intercedes on my behalf. What a glorious truth that is!

We traversed down out of the Dung Gate and into the Kidron Valley where some old tombs were the subject a spelunking operation and exploring. We stopped at the Church of All Nations only for a brief moment before we began the ascent to the top of the Mount of Olives. Most walked up the whole way, while some of us ran part of it. At the top we could see Jerusalem from the east and it was all lit up. It was very cool to see the city from that perspective. Mary, Robbie, and I had the genius idea to run back down the mountain, which we did and proceeded to wait for the rest of group to make it down. After a half an hour, we concluded that they had gone a different way and we were by ourselves, so we went back to hostel, where we found the rest of the group.

All arose the next morning in hopeful anticipation of the sunrise over Jerusalem. The cameras began clicking as each student did their work to capture the beautiful sunrise from a top a three-story building in the Old City of Jerusalem. A group of us walked around the North half of the city walls as a warm-up for the day’s activities. The field trip began looking for breakfast and that was accomplished by getting fresh pita and fruit. Both of those were some of the best food I have ever had. As soon as the food situation was taken care of, we went to the Jewish Quarter for the beginning of the lecture.

There were five events that mark the history of Jerusalem.

1. Abraham in 2000B.C. There is the earliest mention of Jerusalem in Genesis about the city of Salem, where Melchizedek was king and priest.


2. Joshua (1400 B.C.) He defeats Jerusalem, but the Israelites don’t move in for whatever reason.


3. David in 1000 B.C. decides to hit two birds with one stone by taking Jerusalem to be his new capital and getting the pagans out of the land. He captures the city and makes it is his own. It is only 10 acres at the time and then Solomon expanded the city walls to include Mt. Moriah and the temple mount.


4. Hezekiah (700 B.C.) fortifies the Western Hill and improves the water supply because the enemy is coming and the population is growing. The Assyrians try to attack in 701 B.C., but God defeats them.


5. 586 B.C. – Judah is exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar .

The Broad Wall was the first archaeological stop of the day. It was named so because it is 25ft wide. It was built by Hezekiah in his efforts to fortify the city from the approaching Assyrian army. In the process he had to plow through homes in order to get the wall up in time (2 Chron. 32:5, Neh. 3:11, Is. 22:9-10).

Heading south we came to place that over looked the Western Wall and the temple mount. Until the time of Solomon, the people worship God at the tabernacle, which was in Gibeon. We learned that the temple mount was purchased by David from a Araunah the Jebusite (2Sam. 24). Solomon then built the temple and the dedication ceremony was in 960 B.C.

We would spend the rest of our Old Testament studies in the City of David, which is located on the south side of the Eastern Hill. Area G is the name given to the section that has been excavated on the eastern slope. It contains several different features from different eras. First is the stepped stone structure which dates back to 1200 B.C. It provided support for the steep hillside and protection from enemies. It is also very probable that government building stood at the top and current excavations have revealed that David’s palace is directly above Area G. The second feature is the house of Ahiel. It was built in 700 B.C. and destroyed in 586 B.C. when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. A toilet was found in this house with a pit of remains. There was also found a burning chamber that the Babylonians used after they conquered the city to burn all the furniture and stuff that was left. Finally, a room with about 50 bullaes which shows that the room contained many documents and as it was burned, the clay seals hardened and the paper documents were consumed in the flames.

Standing on edge of the hill it is easy to see how David could have walked out on his roof and seen Bathsheba bathing. David lived with the consequences of his sin the rest of his life. Solomon’s heart was turned away from the Lord by the many women that he had who worshipped other gods. In honor of one false god, he built an altar on top of the Mt. of Olives and today it is called the Hill of Offense. This same hill contains 50 tombs, which include the tomb of Isaiah the prophet and the tomb of David’s Steward.

At the bottom of the hill, almost in the Kidron Valley, is an excavation where two walls were found. One is from the Middle Bronze dating back to 1800 B.C. It is possible that there were two huge towers that stood on either side of a gate which was on a path that has been around for centuries. It was named the Water Gate because of its location near the Gihon Spring (Neh. 8:1-8). The second wall was from the time of Manassah, Hezekiah’s son. It was made with smaller stones, but there is a larger portion still standing.

South from there is the opening to Warren’s shaft. A water system that was discovered by the archaeologist Charles Warren. It was used to get water from the spring during the time of a siege. It is composed of a series of tunnels that lead underground. The most recent discovery shows two towers that stood over a pool and the spring. The people would draw their water from the pool. They date to 1800 B.C. Connected to the spring is an amazing tunnel constructed under the leadership of Hezekiah. It is a tunnel that was dug from both sides and they met in the middle. It only has a 12 inch drop from one side to the other. It is barely two feet wide and ranges from 4-15 feet in height. Walking through this tunnel was absolutely amazing! It was a very special thing to be able to walk through that which was so old and was something that I could read about in the Bible. We started singing in the tunnel in worship to the Creator.

This walk was completely different for me than the first one. This time through Jerusalem, I grew to love it! It is so connected to the Bible and I can learn so much by seeing the remains. Seeing all of the things left standing was such a testimony to me of the faithfulness and graciousness of God for His people. Thinking back on my feelings about how Jerusalem did seem like a whole still remains from Bible times and thus I wasn’t too excited about it, that is exactly how God wants His city. He designed it to be like that and everything that is left standing now is what He wants to be there. I will glory in my redeemer for He will return one day to save His people, hallelujah!

A Picture of Christ

     One of my friends over here in Israel presented an interesting, thought-provoking idea that I want to share with you. We were talking about how Christians in the centuries past had built so many churches just to commemorate the religious significance of the site and yet the churches are so vain, because they do nothing to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead all they do is put something in the way for someone to see the God behind site. The example that was most vivid in our memory was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the traditional and most probable place where Christ was crucified and buried. This site, which I admit is interesting and fascinating to think that this where our Savior gave his last breath, was not intended by Jesus to be a shrine to worship the actual ground, it is to point the person to the work that Christ did on the cross what that means for each individual.

So back to my point, inside the church are paintings everywhere of Christ on the cross and such. My fellow IBEXer was telling me why she really didn’t like being in there and for the same reason she didn’t see the movie The Passion of the Christ. It isn’t because she can’t handle see the gruesome portrayals of His death or that she is offended by the shrine that those kind of things can turn into, but rather she does not think that it is right to have manmade ideas of what Christ looked like. It is a way that we put God in a Box, by confining Christ to certain pictures, rather than allowing him to be who is without restraint.

I thought that was pretty interesting. I had never heard that concept before. I’m not sure how biblical or theologically sound that is, but if nothing else, it gives you a high view of Jesus Christ and that’s something you can’t shake a stick at.

First Encounter with the City of Our God

This is my journal/field report after our first day in Jerusalem.

     My first day in Jerusalem is over. All of the sights and sounds are now just memories and I am back to the place that I will call home for the next three months. It is hard for me to crystallize my thoughts for the day. Usually when it comes to what I saw and experienced, I have no trouble telling others, or writing it down, but today is different. Both my heart and my mind are full and nothing seems to what to come out on to the page. Oh well, I will have to force it today.

     We left Nate and Christian behind as we drove towards Jerusalem. Todd pointed out several things along the way such as the probable site of Emmaus, the mall that we can go shop at, and Abu Gosh. Traffic became moderately thick once we were within a couple of miles of Jerusalem. The old city came up on us right away and we all filed off the bus and proceeded to the Jaffa gate. The Jaffa gate is the main west gate into the old city and is actually to the left of the road, which was made by tearing down part of the wall by William Keiser II in order to bring in His huge entourage to the dedication of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. This gap in the wall is just the first of many things that were destroyed for the selfishness and pride of man that we saw. Herod’s tower is directly inside the Jaffa gate and is one of the original three that Herod built. This tower is also an example of how through the centuries different groups of people have built on top of the already existing structures. The tower has stones from Herod’s time and from the Crusader period.

     I had trouble dealing with how much history was actually there and yet how much was plowed over for the different people that lived there. We learned about the layers of historic parts of the city that were beneath us and how they couldn’t be uncovered because of the modern people that lived on top. It was also disappointing to see how the historic Jerusalem has been turned into a place for shopkeepers and tourists. I understand that the people that live there have to make a living one way or another, but it seems unfortunate that there is so much that could be discovered and yet life goes on like nothing ever happened. I was sad also to see the conflict between the Jews and the Muslims. It was something that I knew existed, but never realized until I saw Jerusalem is so coveted by the Muslims. It is sad that Israel cannot have its temple mount, even though I don’t think that would necessarily drawn them closer to Jesus, but rather to more tradition and vain repetitious rituals.

     Our group climbed to the top of a hostel and got a great view of the city. From there we were able to see the Dome of the Rock, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Mount of Olives could also be seen. Directly below us was the Tower Pool, which today is just a dump for people to put their garbage. After Nate and Christian joined us on the roof top, we headed over to Shaban to exchange our American dollars for Israeli shekels. From there we proceeded to make our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This church marks the spot of the traditional site of Christ’s crucifixion and burial. It makes more sense than Gordon’s Calvary, which was found by General Gordon who thought that the hill looked like a skull. The best evidence for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher being the actual site of the crucifixion is the tradition that has been carried down for centuries.  Our next stop was the Damascus gate, which was also named the Gate of the Column, which can be seen on an old map of the city. We stopped at Solomon’s Quarries, which are falsely named, but are where they took lots of rock from under the city to make the city. We could also see Gordon’s Calvary from there. We made our way around the north and east sides of the city, passed the Lion’s Gate and stopped in the Muslim cemetery. From there we could see the Mount of Olives directly across the Kidron Valley. The Church of All Nations was built on the hillside to mark the place where Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Back inside the Lion’s Gate we saw the Pools of Bethsaida where Jesus healed a lame man in John 4. Singing in the St. Anne’s church was very special as the acoustics were amazing. We strolled down Via Delarosa, the traditional path where Jesus carried His cross, which ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Western Wall is full of Jews praying because it is the wall of the temple mount and is the closest one to where the temple originally stood.

     Jerusalem was definitely different than what I expected, but it was very interesting to see all of the historical places that I had read about, but never seen. It is disappointing how in ages past, people built churches on top of things. They weren’t built to nurture the body of Christ and provide a meeting place for believers, but rather to provide a shrine for people to worship the places of significance rather than the God who made it all possible.