Desert Wandering

Well, this is the first chance I have had to update you all on what has been going one. We took a three day trek through the wilderness and desert of southern Israel. It was a three day Field Study for my Physical Settings class and I must admit that I am exhausted. We left at 7 am Friday morning and just got back in late Monday night. We traveled from Jerusalem down to the Mediterranean Sea at Ashkelon, through the wilderness desert to Arad, then south down Mapiq Ramon (a giant depression on the top of a mountain in the south) through many canyons and over several mountains; then down to the Dead Sea at Masada and hiked to the top by way of the Roman siege ramp swam in the Dead Sea at En Gedi, and then hiked up the mountains around Qumran to visit the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls where found. Ok so that is a quick over view of what we did in the last three days. I will give more specific updates and more pictures as I get to sort through them and can recover a little from the trip. I just wanted to let you all know that I didn't disappear. I pray things are well with all of you and if you get the chance I could use your prayers for strength and to be open to what God is trying to teach me here. Thanks

(Standing in front of the Mediterranean Sea)

(Laying on the alter found at Beer Sheva)

(Standing in the Holy of Holies at the remains of a temple at Arad)

(An overlook from the gravesight of Ben Gurion (an Israeli Hero and first Prime Minister))

(Floating in the Dead Sea)

Wednesday Oct 3

Today I got my first taste of what segregation really feels like. I started volunteering at a place last week the deals in the reconciliation between Israeli and Palestinian Christians. It is a little over two miles from the JUC campus so last week I rode the Israeli bus back after I got finished. This week I decided to try and ride the Arab bus that runs right past the lower level of the school, it is also cheaper at 3 1/2 shekels instead of 5 1/2 for the Israeli bus. To shorten the story a little I ended up walking the entire way because none of the Arab buses would stop to pick me up. For those that don't know about it, because of all the bus bombings and things that happened in the past the Israeli bus service refused to carry Palestinians on the buses. Because of that and a few other things I guess, an Arab bus service started around Jerusalem to cater to those who don't look like Jews. Well, I guess I look enough like a Jew because none of the Arab buses would stop for me. It was not a pleasant feeling knowing that I was refused a service based on the color of my skin, and it got me thinking more about the conflict that has been raging throughout history on people judging the abilities and status of other simply by the way they look, and in other cases what family they may have been born into. Since this is really my first time of receiving this type of judgment I really didn't know what to think about it other than to know that it felt unpleasant.

To add to it a little while I was at Musalaha, the ministry I volunteer at, I got the opportunity to watch a video they produced about one of their connection retreats. this is where they bring younger, mostly upper teen, Israeli and Palestinian Christians together in another country to talk about and build connection and friendships together. It was an amazing story of two young girls who became friends during this retreat and how they were working to try and keep that friendship going once they both returned to Israel. But what got me thinking is when the Palestinian girl tried to go visit her Israeli friend and the guards at the Checkpoint at the wall would not let her pass. If any of you don't already know Israel is building a 25 foot wall all around the west bank area. Looking at it really reminds me of the Berlin wall. Is is very high thick and gray. It stick out lick a sore thumb against the brown desert geography of this land. The first time I saw it I was amazed because I had never heard anything about them building this wall; and if any of you are familiar with the border that was drawn for the west bank Israel separation it is a very long wall. Well, for Israelis it is very easy to pass through these checkpoints that are along the wall. Most of the cars with Israeli registration have a yellow license plate on them and are basically waved through. Cars with Palestinian registration are often held and backed up for quite a distance at every checkpoint we have been waved through so far. But back to the video I was watching. When the girl was turned back at the checkpoint she called her friend and told her she couldn't come and visit because they would not let her pass so her friend decided to come to Bethlehem and visit her. She had never been through a check point herself and didn't know now if they would let her through, but she walked right through the checkpoint and not one of the guards even really looked at her. Well I can say that I have been in that place, all the times we have been through checkpoints going into or out of the west bank area we are not even stopped for an id verification. There are a few students on campus that travel down to Bethlehem Bible College twice a week for Arabic classes and the bus that takes them there has to stop at the border and drop them off because it is not allowed to cross over because it is an Arab licensed bus. But now for the first time I have gotten a hint of what it is like to be looked at and restricted because of how I look. I felt a little better as I was returning home because I caught an Arab bus pulled over to pick up someone else and jumped on board. I paid my 3 1/2 shekels and sat down, but I could feel every pair of eyes on the bus looking at me. I was the only one on the bus that was not of Arab complexion and I felt that they were all wondering why I was on their bus. As I pushed the button to stop the bus the driver looked into the rear view mirror with a quizzical look on his face, because I was getting off in a very Arab part of town, but it is the closest stop to walk back to school. I also felt all the eyes on the bus again watch me as I got off and began to walk through the streets toward the hill leading back up to Mt. Zion and the protective walls of JUC. I must admit that it was a little unnerving at first as I stepped onto and off of that bus, but I am determined to continue taking the bus as long as they let me on them it is a lot fast than the 40 minutes it took me to walk there this morning.

Samaria

Today we took a tour around Samaria in upper Israel. The land of the Israel after the nation separated into Judah and Israel; where Assyria conquered and deported the majority of the population and those who remained behind intermarried with other peoples and became rejected by the Jewish people when they returned from Persian captivity. We got the chance to meet with a priest of the Samaritan people. There are only about 600 left according to hill scattered between two cities here in Israel. One on the side of Mount Gerizim, and the other is in Tel Aviv. They still continue to practice animal sacrifice at Passover and believe that they are the true people of promise and God’s chosen.

(The Samaritan alter and sacrifice area)

I learned that during the rule of Alexander the Great over Palestine that he built the Samaritans a temple of their own on top of Mt. Gerizim to rival that of the Jews down in Jerusalem.

(ruins of the temple and Byzantine Church)

They also believe that Mt. Gerizim is the most holy place. It is were Abraham first heard the promises of God, where the Garden of Eden was, the mountain where Joshua brought the nation of Israel and read the blessings of God from, Mt. Moriah where Abraham came to sacrifice his son. Gerizim is the location of all these events according to their beliefs and so it is there and not Jerusalem that is the Holy City of God and is the Mt. Zion talked about in the Bible. They also only hold to the first 5 books of the Bible, the torah, as being the word of God.

We also got to spend time in a Israeli settlement in the west bank area that over looks the valley between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, which is the place where Joshua brought the nation and divided them into two groups and sent one up to the top of Ebal, and the other up to the tops of Gerizim.

(Gerizim over left shoulder Ebal over right)

From the tops of the mountains facing each other they called out the blessings and curses of God upon the people and the land God had brought them too (Deut. 11:29; Jos. 8:33-34). In the valley between these two mountains is where Joshua read the torah to the people and they consented to obey the law of God and affirmed their oaths to Him. It was an amazing view and it was interesting to hear from one of the residents about his views on the West Bank area, the wall Israel is building around the west bank to separate the Palestinians from the Israelis.

Our final stop for the day was at the ancient site of Shiloh. Where the tabernacle was taken and set up once the land was conquered (Jos. 18); where the Arc of the Covenant was at before it was taken by the Philistines after Israel went out to battle them and lost. It is also where Eli, the High Priest and teacher of Samuel, died when he heard that the Arc had been taken and both of his sons had been killed in the battle. It is where the kings came up to and where the sacrifices were made for the nation before the temple was built down in Jerusalem. They have a small replica of what they envisioned the tabernacle to have looked like, as well as all the alters and implements for use in the tabernacle. They have a small replica of the Arc as well.

Near the site where they believe the tabernacle stood they are in the process of excavating two churches with amazing mosaic floors.

There are also remains of a massive oil press and wine press that are believed to have been used to produce the oil and wine for the service inside the tabernacle. We also got to reenact the story of the battle between The Sons of Israel and the Sons of Benjamin for the wicked deed they committed (Judges 20-21).

It was a very long and intriguing day and the country, although still very dry and brown, was spectacular. I wish I was able to stay around till spring when the heavy winter rains have come and replenished the land and everything turns green and brilliant colors from all the wild flowers.