Australia Day in Jerusalem

Happy Australia Day!!!!!!

I’m sorry that this is going to have to be short this week. It is 9 pm on Sunday night and tomorrow morning we leave early for 4 days in Jordan. It will be a fun trip but I haven’t even started packing yet!

It’s been a great week with three field trips: down to the Negev with stops at Beersheva and Arad; Jericho with stops at Zacchaeus’ tree, Tel Jericho, Herod’s Winter Palace and Wadi Qelt; then off to the Western wall on Friday evening to welcome in the Sabbath.

Lana and I on the balcony of the Jerusalem Center with the Mount of Olives (left) and the old City (right) in the background.

Me teaching in the temple at Tel Arad. This was a legitimate temple that was decommissioned when Hezekiah and later Josiah decided to centralize temple worship in Jerusalem. I am standing right next to the altar where the sacrifices would have been offered. In the background are the hills leading up the highlands of Hebron, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Me teaching outside the city gates of Tell Beersheva. We stopped here to talk about wells. the well is where the two girls are standing. the well is 120 feet deep so I asked the two of them to pull up the rope. As they did so we talked about Rebekah and what it meant for her to get water for Eleazar and all of his camels! I think that the girls had a greater appreciation for Rebekah after that. Then we talked about the importance of water in a semi-arid desert and then finished by talking about Christ as the living water.

Lana and I in front of the Zacchaeus tree in Jericho (Luke 19). We talked about how often we can see in a tree and think that we have a good vantage point to see things, but how salvation doesn’t take place if we’re sitting in the grandstand watching things happen. Jesus called Zacchaeus out of the tree so that he could come into his home. Salvation takes place as we come down and get involved in what is happening in the kingdom!

The last major event, that I don’t have a photo for, was on Friday night. One of our Palestinian security guards had his engagement party and we were invited to go. It was a traditional party with the men and women separated. I think that the girls got the better deal because there was music and dancing; the men, apparently, just sat around, smoked and talked! Anyway it was a very interesting night. The Palestinian people are so kind and welcoming.