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Israel 2015
  • Paul Bernard
  • Paul Bernard

Israel 2015

A 34-day adventure by Paul Read more
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  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    In the heat of the Negev

    May 28, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    It will be hard for me to find words that capture the experience from yesterday. Even photographs (when I can upload them) won't speak loudly enough of the majesty and vastness of the wilderess. I have to say that despite the heat and misery, this was one of the most profound days of the trip thus far.

    We're going back to the Old Testament wanderings of God's people before they entered Promised Land. The Negev. As the Israelites left Egypt, the highest things on the horizon were structures built by men. So God brought them to a place to teach them about his power. One would wonder why God would have His Chosen people wander in the Wilderness for so long. Why not zip them right to the Land He would give them?

    Perhaps it was to teach them about his power. The mountains of the Negev and southern Israel were beyond anything man could construct. "Because you have failed to trust me" he tells Moses. This desert and these mountains would insist that changed.

    The experience for the Israelites was all about God's capability in a place where there is no other option but to trust Him. It was a genuine wilderness (with all the connotations that stirs) experience where you are forced to re-establish the baseline. The word "wilderness" is used over 300 times in the Bible and it is almost always in the context of faith-building. This wilderness and this experience set the standard in Scripture for what wilderness would mean to all people.

    We started at En Avdat, an incredible canyon that rivals the jaw-dropping slot canyons of America's southwest. We wandered up the canyon in 110 degree heat, that was much cooler than the hour-long experience on the bus when the air-conditioner failed. Think 110 degrees outside and only one window by the driver that rolled down. Don't rely on the vents to cool your imagination though because hey were shooting out heated air. We got a glimpse of the suffering of the people of Israel. :)

    We moved to the Grand Canyon of Israel, a place called Maktesh Ramon. This wilderness is a place where people visit, but no one remains, where people travel, but no one lives. I wish I could show you what we saw. Again, even photos won't do it justice, but when I get back to Jerusalem, I will try.

    It is a place of silence. It is a place to experience God.

    Tozer writes "The Old Testament is a marvelous rhapsody on the creation. Even Moses soars in his acute consciousness of the presence of God in all creation. Then, go to the Psalms, with David literally dancing with ecstatic delight as he gazes out upon the wonders of God's world.

    "In our generation, how rarely we get into a situation where we can feel the impulses of nature communicated to us. We seldom have time to lift our eyes to God's heaven."

    I praised God this morning that He would bless me with this experience and the opportunity to lift my eyes up.    Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Dead Sea Floating

    May 28, 2015 in Palestine ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Some members of our team floating in the crazy water of the Dead Sea. It really is quite an experience, including the mandatory mud bath. But you don't want to get that stuff in your mouth. Oh, and don't splash your friends because they'll get mad at you when it feels like their eyes are on fire.Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Masada

    May 28, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today we spent the morning at Masada. For those who don't know the story, it really is something to behold. Masada is a place that the people of Israel hold close to their hearts. The cry of the modern nation of Israel is "Masada will never happen again." The year was 67 AD, a few decades after the death of Christ and just as the early church was getting their feet underneath them. The story of Masada shows the lengths that Rome was willing to go to in order to control the Jewish population.

    Masada was a fortress that was originally built up by Herod the Great. Herod was a psychotic, brilliant and prolific personality in ancient times. His imagination for building was second to none. Masada was one of several great fortresses that he built. However, over time, this fortress fell into hands of others, including a group of Jewish rebels.

    These rebels secured themselves at the fortress of Masada. The Romans moved heaven and earth to penetrate the fortress and finally, around the year 73 AD, they gained entrance to the stronghold only to find that all of the inhabitants had committed suicide or killed each other. This ancient site is evidence of the lengths that Rome was willing to go and the extreme opposition that Jews were willing to offer to resist Roman rule.    Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    West Bank

    May 30, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Well, we're back in Jerusalem for another few days. I'll be making the hill-laden walk to the Israel Museum with friends today. It's something of a free day, but we have a big exam tomorrow, so really, freedom is an illusion. ;)

    Yesterday was incredible for several different reasons (have we had a bad day yet? I think not!). We ventured North to Shiloh, Shechem & Samaria, all in Palestinian controlled territories. Safety and security were much talked about as we ventured into these areas. I may have alluded to this before, but the conflict between Palestinians and Israeli's is such a difficult one. I tend to simplify it in the States (we love easy answers!)

    Let me just give you a quick example: the Palestinians who live within the modern boundaries of Israel pay taxes to the Israeli government, but do not vote. Of course, good reasons and justifications abound, but almost any modern American would rankle at the idea of taxation without representation. But if the vote was given to Palestinians, their populations would outnumber the Israeli's and power would shift.

    Did I mention it was complicated? And, trust me, after an hour long lecture, that is just the very tip of the iceberg. There are so many layers, so many missteps from both sides, so little agreement. Right now the peace that exists is an uneasy and temporary peace. It cannot last because both nations have legitimate claims to the land, legitimate claims to the heritage that they have on each and every site we visit. They are important sites for every religious tradition represented in this diverse land.

    It makes me so happy that, as Americans we inhabit a land without baggage. Of course, the Native American fiasco should not be lost in the conversation, but overall, the land we inhabit does not have a complicated history. If you live in California, no one is laying in wait for you to leave so they can jump back on land that they consider their own.

    Not so in this complicated land called Israel.

    I'll write more later, but would love to hear your thoughts in the mean time.    Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Shechem

    May 31, 2015 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Yesterday, we visited the Israel Museum and studied for our exam. As we wandered through the day, I was struck by a continued though I wanted to share. This whole idea of layering Bible stories, one on top of the other, onto a particular place has been such a revolutionary way of thinking about Scripture. I know I’ve talked about how this works before, but in case you haven’t read any of that, the basic idea is that each place carries with it stories from the history of Israel.

    In America, our history only goes back a few hundred years, so it’s harder to relate to this, but imagine the grassy-green field that Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. Now jump ahead four hundred years into the future, and this is also becomes the exact site where we regain our independence from some imagined occupation. Six hundred years after that, it becomes the place where a great battle is fought and thousands of faithful Christians lose their lives.

    Now, let’s take a little class of cute 6th graders to that very field and we’ll tell them about the world-changing events that happened on the soil under their sneakers. Can you start to understand what it means to layer events onto a place? To read the Bible “like a walker?” Pile up Biblical event upon Biblical event and then walk the land and see if there isn’t some connection.

    For example, we visited the city of Shechem. Not much to look at in the photos below, but this is the location of Jacob’s well. But, before I get to that, back in Genesis 12:1-7, this is where Abram built an altar to the Lord and God told him, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” This land. Where we stood. In Shechem. Then jump to Deuteronomy 27 and God is telling Moses to write the words of the law on stones and then, here at Shechem, Moses is to build an altar of stones and offer burnt offerings to God. Jump ahead yet again to Joshua 8 when Joshua renews the covenant with God and, just as Moses had done before him, he writes the words of the law on stones here at Shechem.

    That’s all very interesting, but then the next time we see this place, something much more sinister happens. In fact, the previous stories are stories of hope. Stories of forgiveness. But in 1 Kings 12 Rehoboam is made king on this very spot at Shechem and because of the oppression that he institutes, the Kingdom of Israel is split in two.

    Such a devastating and cataclysmic event happens on the very spot that God gives to Abram. The very spot that Moses and Joshua wrote the law of God out on stones. It seems like a dismal end to this sad little spot.

    But the story of Shechem isn’t over.

    Because this is also the site of John 4:4 when, by Divine guidance, Jesus is led to this very spot to have a conversation with a less-than-faithful woman from Samaria. Here, on the hard soil of Shechem, He speaks of the life-giving water he can provide to a thirsty woman. And then, for the first time we know of, Jesus publicly and clearly proclaims that He is the Messiah. “I who speak to you am He.” Here on this spot.

    Because on this spot, God is playing out the story of humanity. It is a story of faithfulness and infidelity. It is a story of remembering the laws of God and a story of forgetting the fear of God. It is the story of humanity’s up and down relationship with the Sovereign God.

    And this spot carries the story of Jesus who ultimately comes and fixes the mistakes. Of course He would do it here. The place is loaded.    Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Day 14: Morning

    June 1, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    This morning begins our last week here in Israel. Of course it will be a bittersweet week. All good things, they say, must come to an end. (I would probably say, “Many good things…”) No one here wants to see it end, but we are all ready to get back to family and loved ones. Do I ever miss my girls, Carol and Samantha.

    But the trip isn’t over yet and we’ve been told the best is yet to come. After what we’ve experienced, that’s hard for most of us to believe. We leave for our final field trip for four days up to the region of Galilee. Mt. Carmel, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, etc. The area that Jesus lived his life. He came to the end of his Earth-stay here in Jerusalem, but he stayed on Earth in the region we’ll be in for the next week. I’ll try to post, but cannot promise anything due to wi-fi supply. 

    Yesterday, we went to two wonderful places. We started the day with an early train trip across town to Yad Vashem, the Jewish Holocaust Museum. I am not sure how to convey the power and emotion of being in a place like that. I taught Holocaust literature for almost 8 years to Jr. High and High School students, but walking through that place put clothes on all of the abstractness of what I taught. I’m not sure if that metaphor makes sense, but I can’t think of a good way to say it. As I watched survivor testimonies on T.V. screens throughout the museum, I was forced several times to choke back tears and take deep breaths so as to not be overwhelmed with emotion. A few times I huffed audibly so as to betray the deep affect that it was having on me. Tourists in all shapes and sizes and colors were overcome as I was though, so I had no reason for hiding. We wandered out the back of the museum in silence, no one sure what to say.

    The end of the day had a very different feel to it. I may have mentioned my climber friend who is here in Israel on the trip. Well, he wasn’t a friend before the trip, but climbing is always a quick and easy bond. With a group of people, we made our way across town on public transportation to a climbing gym across the street from the Jerusalem Mall. We all laughed at how unconcerned about safety they were at the gym. “Do you know how to belay?” “Yes” “OK, don’t get hurt.” No waivers, nothing. And we had a great time climbing all over the place, only occasionally coming near to messing something up irreversibly. I was glad that we only had a few hours in the place because my strength faded quickly and we got home at a reasonable hour.

    Oswald Chambers wrote in today’s devotional that sometimes “we mistake panic for inspiration.” In other words, sometimes the people we look at who are busy for the Lord are often in more of a state of panic than inspiration. Panicked that they are not doing enough. Panicked they their life has not been full enough, or good enough. That is why, he goes on, most of us work more FOR God than WITH God.

    Several times on this trip I have been struck by the sense that much of my life is busy for God. But walking where Jesus walked on the streets of Jerusalem, seeing what He saw from the Mount of Olives, reminds me that this life is so much better when done next to Him.

    This may be weird, but more than a few times now I have pictured Jesus walking right in the middle of our little group of student-tourists, laughing at something stupid someone said.    Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Nazareth

    June 1, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Photos are of sitting on a ridge close to Nazareth with Jack teaching and then just a night shot of Nazareth from the monastery we were staying. The other post has more details on our stay here.

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Caesarea Maritima

    June 2, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Another of Herod's greatest accomplishments. All of the harbor is underwater today, but it wasn't hard to see why Herod would want to build in this spot. A beautiful part of the Mediterranean.

    This is also the place where Paul spent 2 years in prison and where Peter meets Cornelius, the first Gentile convert to the faith.Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Caesarea Philippi

    June 2, 2015 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Pagan worship: Pan, Ashera, etc. Several temples in this area. This is also the area where Jesus asked his disciples "Who do you say that I am?" When you're standing right here, you understand that saying you're the Messiah has significance in a place like this.

    That large cave in the photos was also believed to be the gate to the underworld. Near this place Jesus said to Peter, "On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."    Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Golan Ridge (Bental Cone)

    June 2, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Signs of the modern war that raged in these parts. We could hear evidence of Syria's infighting from this spot (mortar and tank fire). From this vantage, we could see burned out towns on the border of Syria and Israel. To this day, U.N. observers sit there, documenting gun-shots and bombs. They were very interesting to talk to.Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Morning in Nazareth

    June 2, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I have a quick moment and a hint of wifi, so I thought I would try to post. Just a quick update on our travels yesterday that landed us here in Nazareth. This is as much for me to remember as for you to read.

    We started the day heading to the coast and Caesarea Maritima, yet another monument to the incredible genis and diaboloical nature of Herod the Great. Unlike an architect like Frank Lloyd Wright who tried to work with the landscape, Herod's goal was to subdue it. The seaport he built at Caesarea Martitima was a momumental achievement to this end. He used a relatively unknown medium (concrete the hardens underwater) to build his seaport. He brought in something like 400 ships, each loaded with 44 tons of the stuff needed to make the concrete. He had people working for him who would dredge the harbor there by hand. Yes, swim down with containers and and bring up sand to be hauled away. Herod's way of thinking was just so grand. Nothing was out of the realm of possibility. Caesarea is also the place where Peter came to share the gospel with the Gentiles for the first time and where Paul was imprisoned for two years.

    We headed back east along Mt. Carmel to a place to overlook the Jezreel Valley, then on to Meggido. Meggido was such an important town in ancient history and although Biblical events are limited on that very spot it was in close proximity to some good ones. Wish I had a bit more time to post, but people are starting to file in for breakfast. :)

    Anyway, we ended the day in modern Nazareth (literally thousands of times larger than tiny ancient Nazareth). It's hard to get a feel for ancient Nazareth amid the car horns and blaring techno music, but if you try hard enough, as always, you can get a sense of the place. Small town. VERY small town. A town where one would not want to suddenly be "pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit." Joy was shared by families and from family to family. So was shame.

    Mary was a lot braver than I am.

    Sorry for the limited post. I'll get you next time when we get to Galilee tonight.    Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Sea of Galilee

    June 3, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Almost no time this morning except a quick run-down of where we went yesterday. Reflections will have to come later. Hazor, Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Golan Ridge (OT Bashan) and then on to Azeka (I think... or is it Aphek? The names start to blend a little bit..) where I write from. By far, this is the most luxurious site we've been to. We're right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, complete with a beautiful man-made, white sand beach (reminiscent of Herod?). We were all swimming and having fun last evening, then went back down for a night swim around 10:30. Swimming at night on the Sea of Galilee? It's more like a Hawaiian vacation!

    Which is why I'm glad we get another night here. :)

    More later. I've got a boat to catch.    Read more

  • Paul BernardIsrael 2015Paul Bernard

    Lower Galilee

    June 4, 2015 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We had some extra time to sleep in this morning, so I set my alarm for 6:30, thinking I'd get caught up on some sleep. It's 5:45 and I'm wide awake. I hate it when that happens.

    Yesterday we spent some time exploring lower Galilee. This doesn't mean the southern side of the Lake of Galilee, but rather a place that's lower in elevation from upper Galilee, a mountain range to our north. It's mainly around the north side of the lake even though it's called "Lower." That might be hard to visualize, but there it is. We started the day with a boat ride across the Sea (Lake) of Galilee (I guess this is a must do for tourists). There was actually a pretty cool moment when the boat guy stopped in the middle of the lake and played super old, super cheesy worship songs and our whole group lifted voices and eyes to heaven in praise. It was another one of those moments, you know? Being a part of the "the church" on the Sea of Galilee, singing praise to the Creator in the middle of the lake. Even though our voices echoed off of nothing, we were heard.

    We disembarked on the north side of the lake and made our way up to Capernaum. This is the town that, on a few occasions in the gospels, is called "Jesus own town" and his "home." It is likely the home of Peter and his family. It was here that Jesus healed the man lowered by his faithful friends through a broken ceiling. The conversation of the day was a converasation about authority. "By whose authority" angry men ask. Jesus taught by an authority that certainly wasn't given to him by the Jewish leaders of the day, so they want to know. We know who gave Jesus the authority to speak, but that's because we witnessed the transfiguration along wih Peter and John. They hadn't, so it was a legtimate question. Jesus answered the question by doing what only God could do: forgive and heal a lame man and send him walking back through the thick crowds.

    Mt. Arbel is a high and very rocky mountain that juts up into the skyline on the west shore of the lake, near the town of Tiberias. I'll post pictures when I have my computer back. You can see it from the north and east shores. It doesn't necessarily dominate the skyline, but it stands out in sharp relief because of its craggy and imposing appearance. When our professor said, "We're going up there!" I got pretty excited. Mt. Arbel is an important site to modern Israelis because it was the site of another Jewish revolt where Roman soldiers had to work long and hard to oust a group of rebels holde up in mountain caves and on sides of cliffs.

    For Christians, the site doesn't hold specific Biblical reference, but our professor made a strong case that two important, geographically undetermined events happened here. He believes that both the sermon on the mount and the Great Commission happened on this spot. As we sat on top of the 1200 foot cliff, it was not hard to picture Jesus looking across the lake to Hippus, a Roman city that appealed in its worldliness, set high on a hill and saying, "No, YOU, oh, Israel, are the city on the hill." It's not hard to picture him looking down at the village of Magda (home of Mary Magdalene on the west shore of the lake) and telling people, "You are the salt of the earth." (Magda was a town that specialized in the preservation of fish). It's not hard to picture him looking down at the International highway from these heights and using it to tell his disciples that they were to take the gospel to all corners of the earth. I have loved watching as Jesus took the things that surrounded Him and taught theology to his friends.

    That's what I have loved so much about this experience. There isn't much out here in Lower Galilee that is "high church," with airs and pretentions. Jesus became more of a man to me out here. Like a real flesh and muscle man. I think back home, I have a better grip on the God-side of Jesus. I can picture him floating above the water and healing people. But Jesus didn't float everywhere. He walked on caloused and dirty feet. It's no easy hike to the top of Mt. Arbel. You don't get to the top without sweating and panting.

    You don't walk these hills and swim these seas without getting the scent of human all over you.    Read more

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