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February 2000 Israel February 22, 2000 - 14:30 EST To go to Jerusalem (Mount Moriah at the time of Abraham), it only took Abraham 12 hours to get ready. God called him and he left the next morning. (Gen 22) He gathered his son, three men, a donkey, and provisions and was on his way at sun up. His three day trip to the region of Moriah and 3 day return with a day in between made his a 7 day journey for which he had to provide supplies for 4 or 5 men and he was still prepared to go in a few short hours. To go to Jerusalem, it took the Hutchinson's a week to get ready. God called almost a year ago for us to go to the Holy Land. Over that time we left a trail of plans, frustrations, decisions, and even an argument or two in our wake. I wonder if Abraham would have been so decisive and efficient in his travel had he needed to accomplish all the tasks necessary to leave modern life in place for 10 days. Fact is, I think he would tell us we had our focus on the wrong kind of preparation. My preparations have included prayer and study for the trip itself. Next time I go to Israel, though, I will include prayer for the preparation time! As we prepare to embark, the question of what God's plans are for us over the next 10 days is a mystery. The unfolding of His will and revelation to us will occur on His timetable. These are the lessons I learned during the preparation period leading up to our trip:
February 23, 2000 - 06:39 GMT It's been a restless, cramped 6 hours thus far on the plane from Chicago. As we fly over France, just south of Paris, some stark facts are displayed on the small TV screen located on the back of each seat:
Up here no one could live except wrapped in the steel cocoon of our airplane, and yet we are promised that when Christ returns we will be caught up in the air with Him! There is a lesson or two here already and we're not even to Israel yet:
February 23, 2000 - 06:50 GMT We are 195 miles from Zurich, Switzerland now and the sun is rising as we race toward it at 559 mph. Kay is listing to her praise tapes and comments as she sees the glowing skies over the Alps that the song playing is "The Glory of the Lord is Rising." How appropriate!
February 23, 2000 - 17:30 Israel Time Arrival in Tel Aviv. We're tired and there is a one and one-half hour delay here at the airport as the bus waits for delayed passengers. Everyone is ready to leave for Jerusalem. Frustration, impatience, and grumbling have set in, fueled by fatigue. We have bottom out as we finally prepare to leave Tel Aviv. The bus ride to Jerusalem is in the dark while our guide, Saad, gamely tries to regale us with the stories of the area we are passing through. We begin the ascent into Jerusalem which is 2500' above the plains. Just as we enter Jerusalem, the driver, Awni, finds the song he has been searching for on the tape player. Suddenly, "O Jerusalem" bursts forth from the speakers. Our spirits soar! Tears of joy flow! And our voices lift the glorious words! What a contrast to the low we have just been wallowing in. How true of us all that we should be so caught up with our physical needs on the plain, when if we would only go to the heights God calls us, we would be lifted up in the Spirit.
February 24, 2000 - Bethlehem The hillsides near Bethlehem would make a wonderful place to hold a devotional. As we gathered around what our guide believes is David's Well (2 Samuel 23:134), our group begins the day with prayer. Lifting our eyes toward the hill to the East, we gaze at Bethlehem, much as the shepherd's might have done that glorious night. Visualizing the shepherd's wonder at the sight of angels announcing His birth, we rejoice at the opportunity to stand in this place together. The small boy with the sheep allows us to take a picture with him. I confess, I gave him a dollar for the effort, but forgot to share the message God brought to us right where we stand!
After passing through the fields of Ruth and Boaz, we climbed the hill to the the view Herod's palace overlooking Bethlehem. What a view from up here! How magnificent this palace with conveniences and luxuries even few homes have today. I'm struck by the contrast between Herod's palace and the nativity scene.
Driving into Bethlehem one views a relatively modern city by Middle Eastern standards. The Church of the Nativity, like so many sites preserved in Israel, seems almost a desecration. An enormous structure over this small place that changed the world, and yet from the building, I learned so much. To enter the site, one must go through a very small low door, a reminder to us all that "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Willingly I bowed and humbled myself to enter this chapel built over the place of His birth. As I did so, my eye caught sight of the threshold beneath me and my heart was struck! Worn by the steps of countless numbers of pilgrims before me, this solid piece of marble had been shaped into a cup that was 3 or 4 inches deep. The number of people in the "Forever Family" that had bowed their heads and confessed that Christ was Lord before me must be staggering. What a reminder:
Inside are two caves, one is the traditional site of Christ's birth cloaked in the tributes of man. The other is a quieter cavern left much as it was in that day. In it you can feel the dampness, imagine the smell of the animals stored there, see the blacked ceiling caused from centuries of camp fires. The smoke-stained ceiling and dampness of the chamber is a reminder that our Savior came to us as a human - God among men. He came to a place of darkness to be a light to the world. He lifts us from the caves of despair and cleanses us from the soils of every day life! What a jam-packed day of emotion and spiritual in-filling this has been as on to Bethany and Mary and Martha's house we go. The home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus reflected some wealth. Built in an elongated dome shape, the home had large rooms yet comfortable in it's feeling. The largest room presently houses a large olive press which resembled a grist mill with its large stone wheel. In the room as well was a wine press. Both of these items were place there by a subsequent king who tried to obliterate the memories ensconced in the room. Lessons for me:
Lazarus's Tomb is a short walk from the house. It takes time to walk down into the cave where the tomb is located. At the bottom of the cave there is a hole in the floor that one can crawl through and up into the tomb itself. The original entry into the cave was closed by the Muslims, but the current entry gives us a feeling of the drama that must have take place that day. "Lazarus, come out!", echoes through the cavern. If Jesus and the witnesses had crowded into the cave in front of the tomb with it's tiny opening in the floor and called out to the dead man, the echoes would have died away and been replaced with a long silence. Then there would have been a sudden rustling as the apparitions of a man discarding grave clothes crawled out of the tiny hole in the floor and stood up in front of those present. The shouts of joy would have bounced off the walls. "Lazarus, come out!" If they were standing outside at the entrance to the cave holding the tomb, the sound of Christ's command would have echoed down into the earth and the drama been even more intense. To climb up out of the tomb into the cave and then up the steps and out into the open would have taken a considerable amount of time. What a dramatic effect and overpowering emotions the women must have felt! What a testament to God's power.
What a wonderful way to end our first day in the Holy Land! To continue reading Lance's Journal click here. You will be taken to page 2 which has a wider format. |
