Israel: Day 8

What a Trip

We began the day exploring the Philistine country, so we stopped by Elah Valley to pick up a few stones… five round stones. Then, we headed up Azekah hill to take in the views of the surrounding Shephelah (rolling hills). Dr. Stone “reenacted” the David and Goliath story as we looked over a proposed battle site. As one of my favorite biblical stories from my youth, I hung on his every word… even though he had given nearly the exact same lecture in Old Testament Intro class.

Then, we stopped by a small amphitheater like one straight out of Gladiator! We scampered down into the arena and reenacted our favorite battle scenes. A couple of the Canadian students taught some of us a fun game called, “Ninja.” We had an opportunity to play this in the ring amongst the spectators. Sadly, this was one of my favorite spots thus far.

Then we traveled to Maresha and went inside a well preserved tomb with 44 niches. I hope to get a copy soon of our Asbury teams poking out of 12 of the niches. The artwork on the walls (restored) was fascinating and almost comical. Near the site were the Bell Caves. These were manmade caves created when they were quarrying for stone. We had some amazing photo opportunities inside…

Then we crawled all over the ruins of Lachish while imagining the siege of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king. Climbing the ruins of the wall and gate was pure joy. The view from up above was pretty amazing. A few brave souls entered the temple on the backside of the city and entered the Holy of Holies… apparently they were sanctified and thus spared. I didn’t take any chances.

After that, we headed to the coast to Ashkelon and very briefly viewed the rampart gate of the biblical city of Ashkelon, scarfed down a quick bite to eat and splashed in the warm, clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This was a highlight among many highlights of this day and a refreshing swim felt much deserved after a long, hot day in the sun.

Back on the pretty blue bus, we traveled to our home-for-the-night, Mitzpe Ramon. Here we finally made it to… The Super Bowl! (More commonly known as Mactesh Ramon) The views may nearly or superior to those of the Grand Canyon. There are only about 5 of these formations in the world. Of the 5, 3 are in Israel. The Mactesh Ramon is the largest and sits a mere 300 yards from the Youth Hostel that we are crashing at for the night.

As one might have guessed, we are all extremely exhausted as well as blessed. The Lord has given us an opportunity to watch the biblical text come to life within the geographical locations in which they originally occurred while also demonstrating the blessings of this land for those who choose obedience to His will. Each day make the price of admission well worth it. Blessings to all and to all a good night!