Sermon on the Mount-"The Beatitudes"

It is at this location that it is believed Jesus sat down with his disciples and began to teach...Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 5: 3-10

The natural acoustics are amazing here. The area is currently occupied and run by the Catholic Church-Carmolite Order. If you walk around the building that is sitting up on a perch, you look down into the valley below where crowds would have gathered. One of the preachers that was with us on the trip offered a short sermon lesson before we entered into the church itself. Standing across from the preacher is our guide Ido. He gave so much information to us at each location that it was hard to take notes, take pictures, and just take in the views!

The "Jesus" Boat

Remember in Matthew 4:18-22 where Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee and he called to Peter and Andrew who were casting nets into the lake and said, "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men"? Well, in 1986 two fishermen brothers discovered this wooden boat buried in mud on the shores of the drought-depleted Sea of Galilee. This wooden boat is one of the few authentic things that can be conclusively dated to the first century (they used radiocarbon dating on the boat). Thanks to being sealed in mud, the wood could not "breathe" and thus decay.

The boat is about 24 feet long and 7 feet wide and about 4 feet deep. It is thought to be large enough to have carried 15 people. To get it out of the water they encased it in a foam to float it out and keep it from crumbling. Restorers used several techniques to preserve the

wood and be able to put it on display in the museum. Inside the boat they found a "flashlight and lunchbox." There was a small oil lamp that would have been used like a flashlight and a bowl where a meal would have been kept. They also recovered some nails. All of these items are also on display at the museum. This was a truly amazing find and brought the idea of a fishing boat from Jesus' time to life.

The Golan Heights

The Golan Heights was our 4th stop. As we drove along the roadside between the borders of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, we saw land- mines, guard towers, barbed-wire fences and bunkers. On the road we saw active soldiers with their tanks. They appeared to be just "hanging out" but I am sure they were ready for anything. We saw soldiers everywhere on this trip. Needless to say, we always felt safe.

We continued our drive until we got to a deserted bunker site which I do not remember the name of. We were able to climb down into the bunker. It was dark and cold. I cannot imagine living there. It was like walking into a metal ribcage. In the picture you can see light glowing from the end of one of the passageways.

We saw bunks and tables where they ate. Basically, it was a muddy mess. On top were places were they set up to fire guns. Not very technical language, but I don't know what they call those posts. Did you know that every house built in Israel has to have a bunker? We saw bunkers along roadsides and caves nestled into the hillsides where the "bad guys" would hide and fire down on the road below. Depending on who was in control of the area at the time, the names of the enemy changed. This was a fascinating place.

At the end of the day we stopped at a playground park that featured old army tanks to play on! Needless to say, we all piled off the bus and ran for the equipment. We climbed inside the tanks and hung from the long gun thingy. It was a lighter side to the very seriousness of survival for the Israeli citizens. I emailed this picture to my Y trainer so he would have proof that I did "some" exercise while on the trip :)

Caesarea Phillippi

Caesarea Phillippi was the third big stop we made on our journey. You may remember that this is where Jesus asked his followers, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Matt.16: 13-18. The scenery was incredibly peaceful with the many waterfalls and flowing water. This is where the Banias River is formed from the melting snow of Mount Hermon. As the water continues along its way it becomes the Jordan River and eventually flows into the Sea of Galilee.

The Greeks built a temple to Pan here. Pan was their half-goat, half-man god who symbolized nature. They called it Paneas. The ancient remains clearly show evidence of ancient sacrifices, old columns, and olive presses. There were ruins of walls from living quarters still being excavated. It was a nice hike up to the sacrifice area.

While we were there a group of about twenty young men, all armed with machine guns, were in the lower areas of the park. It seemed like they were having some sort of meeting, but were also having a good time joking around. It was a little unnerving to see so many armed people "hanging out."

Caesarea and Mt. Carmel

Our first stop was Caesarea Maritima located along the Mediterranean Sea. It was founded by the Phoenicians in the 4th B.C. Later, Caesar gave Herod the Great control of the area. It was the largest Roman port in the eastern Mediterranean. Herod also constructed a huge theater that it is estimated and could seat as many as 3,500 people. According to Josephus (Acts 21) it is believed this is the location that Herod Agrippa died. At the end of Paul's missionary journey he most likely stopped along this route (Acts 23:22-26) and it is believed he was imprisoned here. Herod also constructed a huge theater that it is estimated could seat as many as 3,500 people. The ancient theater is over 2,000 years old. We were able to bring home a piece of actual pottery from the time. Today only 10% of the site has been excavated.

From this site we left for Mt. Carmel overlooking the Jezreel Valley. This is the area where Elijah declared war on Baal and Asherah (1 Kings 18:19).

Some believe that this is where Armageddon will take place. The valley below is currently known as the "bread basket" of Israel because of the wheat, barley, and olives grown there. The valley is bordered by Lebanon to the North, Mt. Moav to the East, Samaria to the South and Mt. Carmel on the West. Today Mount Carmel is host to a Carmelite Monastery.

Pilgrimage to Israel

Hello!

We have returned from 10 days in the beautiful land of Israel. I tried to post on the blog while gone, but with the unreliable Internet service at the hotels and the high cost of minutes to use the Internet, it was prohibitive. So instead of daily posts, I will write a series of entries re-capping the different places we went. This was a life changing experience and I encourage you to go if you have any interest at all.

So on Feb. 7 we left with 19 other folks, some from our church and family and friends from other churches. The youngest member of our tour was 23 and the oldest was 86! It took 15 hours to get there and while we were tired, we excitedly boarded a huge purple bus hosted by an amazingly skilled bus driver named Udeo and a tour guide name Ido. This tour was not your regular in a "bubble" bus tour. Over the next 10 days we hiked, participated in a real archaeological dig, worked in a soup kitchen, were baptized in the Jordan River, had Communion at the Garden Tomb, as well as visited numerous ancient sites. Our guide, Ido, was an underwater archaeologist who takes tours through his country when he is not otherwise working. He has been doing tours for over 20 years and is a Messianic Jew. His perspective on life and the Jewish culture was enlightening to say the least. Locals were constantly saying hello to him no matter where we went. Despite the uproar in Egypt, we always felt safe thanks to Ido.

More posts will follow as I review my notes and pictures and try to process all that we saw.

Shalom

Packing and Re-Packing

It is almost time for us to leave on our trip to Israel! Actually we leave Monday morning the 7th of February. I am still dashing about doing laundry and digging out the passports. Of course no trip would be any good if you didn't plan to take as stash of "treats" for those midnight snacks and the LONG plane ride. I am not certain where I will fit them, but I am most definitely NOT leaving them behind.

We are flying from SD to Philly and then have a 4 hour lay-over. We resume again with a red-eye to Tel-Aviv. It is about 13 hours of flying I think. I can tell I am getting old because I asked for "travel compression socks" for Christmas. My ankles seem to swell the older I get! One more sign of aging! Thanks Margey!!

I am going to try to post while on the trip and then go back and add pictures later. I am taking my ipad instead of the laptop and I have never used it to blog. Of course it will all depend if we have WiFi available. Dan and I are experimenting with it to see if it will be a good replacement to lugging a computer around on a trip.

Please pray for our little group of 16 that we have save travels and that the tension and rioting in Egypt calm and do not spill over to Israel.