Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant - July 3, 2014

Today was our final day in the field; I have mixed emotions. I feel like I am just barely starting to get a grasp on this country, its geography, and its people, and now it is time to go home. But my body will be glad for the rest. At the beginning of this course, our instructor told us we were going to feel this country in our legs and our lungs and he wasn’t kidding! Today was a feeling it in my legs kind of day. I’ve had plenty of feeling it in my lungs days, too!

We drove up in the bus to the cliffs of Arbel which gave us a fantastic look over the Sea of Galilee to the east and then we hiked down. It was exhilarating! At one point we had to go down a sheer cliff face using small metal bars anchored into the rock. I did it – I conquered! As I look back over the past three weeks, I can’t believe all that I have done that I never imagined I would (or could). Hiking up to the top of Masada in 100+ degree heat, exploring ruins over five thousand years old, and learning the significance of rock types for human existence. I am proud of myself for all that I have accomplished here.

As I sat at our last stop on this trip, Caeserea, one of the great achievements of Herod the Great, I was struck by how the world would look differently at his accomplishments and mine. Herod was known throughout the world for his great building projects, living the “good” life, and ruling with an iron fist – he had great power and wealth. Conversely, my great achievements here are making it up and down hills (mountains!) in intense heat without passing out or falling, learning to read the Bible in a richer way, and making new friends from all over the world. The achievements of the common Israelites who lived here were finding enough water and food to sustain their families, making it up and down the hills to trade with neighboring groups, and passing on their histories to future generations.

Yet, what remains of Herod is crumbling. Earthquakes, storms, erosion, have all taken a toll on Caeserea. The magnificent harbor he created is gone; the remains of his palace mostly underwater. The great aqueducts no longer do what they were created to do – carry water – instead they draw tourists.

How will my accomplishments be remembered? I want to pass on to others what I have learned here. I want to take joy in the body God gave me which allowed me to do all of these things. I want to remember the simple life of the Hill Country Judahites, working hard, enjoying the fruit of their labors, and passing on their trust in Yahweh to future generations.  I want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” knowing my accomplishments will not crumble but make a lasting impact on the lives of others.

The Gospel Triangle - July 2, 2014

The Sea of Galilee is a beautiful place. Today we explored the northern edge of it. This area – comprising the towns of Magdala, Capernaum, and Bethsaida – is called the “gospel triangle” because this region is where the gospels record Jesus doing most of his ministry. I had not paid much attention to the names of towns in scripture before, never taking time to look them up on a map. Even if I had, I likely would not have understood the significance of their locations. This trip has changed that.

At the time of Jesus, the area around the Sea of Galilee was divided into political districts: Galilee (100% Jewish), Decapolis (100% Gentile), and Gaulanitis (50/50% mix of Jew and Gentile). Jesus was from Nazareth, a fairly isolated town a good distance west of the Sea of Galilee. But, when he began his ministry, he based himself in Capernaum right on the coast within easy access to diverse peoples. If he had remained in Nazareth, or if he had made Jerusalem his base, he would have been much more isolated and limited, ministering to Jews only. But, he came to be the light of the world, not Israel alone.

While I knew that Jesus interacted with Gentiles in the Gospels and healed them, I thought that it was only because they sought him out, not because he made himself available to them. In Matthew 15, a Canaanite woman comes to Jesus begging for healing for her daughter. When his disciples urge him to send her away, he responds that he was sent only to the “lost sheep of Israel.” Yet, he had just left 100% Jewish Galilee and traveled to Tyre and Sidon, Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast filled with Gentiles. Why would he go there instead of remaining in Israel?

Luke records a story in chapter 8 of Jesus traveling by boat across the Sea of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes in the Decapolis (100% Gentile). Here he encounters a demon-possessed man wandering in the hills. After sending the demons into a herd of pigs which rushes off and drowns in the Sea, the man begs Jesus to let him go with him back to Galilee but Jesus tells him no, to go back to his hometown and tell others what God has done for him.

As I noted in my journal a few days ago, Jesus is clearly opening the kingdom to people outside the nation of Israel. He is coming to fulfill the purpose which Israel failed to do. Yahweh chose Israel to be the ones who would tell others about the life available through him. Not only did they fail to tell others, they also failed to appropriate the full life God wanted to give them by giving themselves over to false gods.

Parts of the church today have a similar problem. We are so busy trying to decide who is “in” and who is “out” that we fail to make ourselves available to others as Jesus did, putting ourselves in places where we can minister to those who need the good news. We fight amongst ourselves about points of doctrine and fear looking like the “unbelievers” so much that we avoid being around them. Jesus was not afraid. He went where he was needed, to the lost sheep of the world.

The Cost of Discipleship - July 1, 2014

After seeking advice, the king [Jeroboam] made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. (1 Kings 12:28-32a, NIV)

Solomon has died and the once unified kingdom has split: ten tribes to the north (Israel) and two tribes to the south (Judah). The newly anointed king of Israel, Jeroboam, fears that if his people travel to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh that they will return their loyalty to King Rehoboam of Judah so he sets up two places of worship (Bethel and Dan) in the northern kingdom, violating the word that God spoke about Jerusalem being the place he has chosen to dwell.

As we learned last week at Shiloh – the place where the tabernacle was housed until the political and religious center of the nation was moved to Jerusalem – God desires people who will seek after him. Both Shiloh and Jerusalem are a bit off the main travel route, meaning that people need to be intentional about going there to worship God. While certainly Jeroboam fears losing the loyalty of his people if they travel to Jerusalem, I do think that may have been a piece of his decision that truly did want to make worship more accessible. As I have seen, travel to Jerusalem from the northern kingdom is difficult, traversing through difficult Hill Country of Judah. It may have been pragmatism which contributed to the decision.

I wonder how we, in our modern times, have gone the pragmatic route and made worship easier and more accessible in ways that do not please God? Have we made things so easy that many people sit in our worship services without hearts that are truly seeking after God? This is something I think about quite a bit and it has come back again to me over this past week. Jesus challenges those who want to follow him by saying that they need to count the cost of being his disciple: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple,” (Luke 14:26-27).

True disciples are those who are willing to pay the price of following Jesus to the point of losing their own lives. Losing one’s life does not always mean physical death, but it can mean losing everything you thought life was meant to be. The people of Israel were intended to travel to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh, not to find an easier way. Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to give up his life. Are you willing to travel to Jerusalem?

Blessing to the Nations - July 30, 2014

Today we headed north to the Jezreel Valley, including stops at Beth-Shean, Megiddo, Mount Carmel, and Nazareth. This area of the country is very important as there are many routes that come through here, bringing people from east, west, north, and south, allowing for trade or conquest. In the ancient world (as in the present), controlling transportation routes and the cities alongside them was key to the survival of people groups. It is said about Megiddo: “Whoever controls Megiddo controls a thousand cities!”

Beth-Shean was also a notable city for nations and empires through the millennia as evidenced by the layers found there from as far back as 5,500 years ago. The last settlement there seems to have been Scythopolis, a large Greco-Roman city, which was abandoned after an earthquake in 749 AD which destroyed many of the structures. It was eerie to see large columns which had held up the roofs of temples and other buildings lying in rows on the ground.

It is significant that Jesus grew up in this area of the country. Because of the travel routes going through here, the culture was very cosmopolitan, having access to the people and ideas of many surrounding countries. Nazareth is in the middle of this area but cut off from the main travel routes by large hills and cliffs. In a sense, those living in Nazareth could watch the wealth of the world go by but were unable to participate. The particular bedrock and soil where it is located is not good for growing crops and lacks easy access to water. So, the people here likely felt hopeless for a better life and resented those they could see living the “good life.”

It is into this context that Jesus speaks words which, no doubt, were offensive to his hometown neighbors. In Luke 4, Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue, repeating verses they have likely heard many times about the anointed one who would come to bring freedom and healing. He tells the people, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,” (Luke 4:21, NIV). They were pleased at this, until he went on to talk about how their prophets, Elijah and Elisha, were sent to people outside the nation of Israel. How could he say something like that, when it was obvious they were the suffering and oppressed ones?! The messiah was supposed to come and rescue Israel, wasn’t he? But Israel had forgotten that Yahweh had called them to be a blessing to the nations, not only to be the recipients of God’s blessing.

It is very easy for Christians today, including myself, to forget that same message. We give thanks to God for the comfort and blessings he gives us but resent when we ourselves suffer and those who don’t follow Jesus seem to do well. But even if they are making lots of money, seemingly living the “good life,” they need the message of new life in Jesus, just as the Romans and others did. Many of us need to change our understanding of what constitutes the “good life.” Is it what the world says is good: health, wealth, and comfort? Or, is it what Jesus came to bring: a renewed relationship with the Creator of our world and the promise of a full restoration of the truly good life he originally intended for us?

Better is One Day in Your Courts - June 27, 2014

Today we journeyed into the area north of Jerusalem, the southern reaches of the kingdom of Israel, into the land given to the tribe of Ephraim. So far, this has been my favorite day, despite the disappointment of not being able to visit Samaria because of current tensions in the country.

We began the day at Shiloh, the place where the tabernacle was initially placed after the Israelites came into the land. It was at Shiloh that Hannah came to pray before the Lord and ask him to bless her with a son. It was at Shiloh that Hannah gave back that son, Samuel, in service to the Lord. It was at Shiloh that Samuel heard the voice of the Lord calling to him and instructing him.

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked,” Psalm 84:10, NIV). Shiloh was the location of the house of Yahweh. As I sat and looked out over the green fields on the hills surrounding this place, I could only think of the privilege it must have been to serve the Lord here; difficult, yes, but a tremendous privilege. What must it have been like as Samuel “was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was,” (1 Samuel 3:3)? What must he have thought as he realized Yahweh was speaking with him and giving him a prophetic message in “those days [when] the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions,” (1 Samuel 3:1)?

And now here I am, standing in the place where the Lord’s presence dwelt, where he listened to the heart cries of a barren woman, where he spoke to and through his prophet. Am I crying out to my Father from the depths of my heart? Am I listening for his voice? Am I aware of his presence throughout my day, wherever I happen to be?

Then I heard God speak as our instructor read from John 15 as we stood on the terraced hills of Judah at Sataf surrounded by vines spilling over a stone wall. “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener … every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful,” (John 15:1-2).  “I delight in you and the fruit you produce,” he said to me, “and you respond to my pruning even though it is so painful. I desire for you to produce even greater fruit so I am doing this work in you. In you I am well pleased.”

Yahweh, may I have the privilege of being a doorkeeper in your house. May I have the privilege of hearing your voice. May I continue to submit to the pruning work you want to do. May I be aware of your presence with me at all times, in all places. May you be well pleased with your servant. Amen.

Life by the Dead Sea - June 26, 2014

The Dead Sea area – extremely hot, dusty, and rocky, except for a few oases of springs and date palms – was our place of study today. We began at Masada, a stronghold and site of one of Herod’s palaces, and the place where the last holdout of the Jewish nation was destroyed by the Romans in 73-74 AD. It is also the site of the Essene community at Qumran, where a Bedouin shepherd stumbled upon one of the most significant archaeological finds, the Dead Sea Scrolls. But, in the middle of this dead, dry place is En Gedi, an oasis of springs and waterfalls which allows lush green trees to thrive and provides shady shelter for the weary.

En Gedi is one the places where David retreated and hid from Saul and where he spared Saul’s life by not killing him when he had the chance. Saul came into the cave where David and his men were hiding. Instead of killing Saul, David cut off a corner of his robe to show Saul that he was not his enemy, bent on his demise, but honored Saul as the Lord’s anointed.

The scriptures use the term stronghold for many of the places in this region and I can now understand why. The steep hills and cliffs which come down from the Hill Country of Judah descend almost three thousand feet to below sea level at the Dead Sea. This rugged area is difficult to traverse and there are many openings formed by the breaking of layers of limestone, creating natural places to hide and observe.

David spent a lot of time here between being anointed king and his actual monarchy, hiding from Saul and learning lessons from God which would guide him as he led God’s people. He needed to have lessons reinforced from his shepherding days: God’s provision of water, food, protection, and safety; seeking the voice of God as guidance and confirmation of his movements; and further developing his battle skills to prepare him for those who would desire to overcome the people of God.

This is a good place to contemplate the blessings of God in the midst of dry times in our lives. Things may look barren but we need to keep our eyes open for the small, hidden oases of refreshing waters. If we do not move from our places of dryness and difficulty, we will never discover what God may have for us a short distance away. We must have the courage and persistence to keep going over the rocky terrain, even when we can’t see what is over the next peak. God provided for David in abundance and he provides for us as well; we just need the eyes to see and the heart to pursue it.

One Step at a Time - June 25, 2014

Today’s field experience took us to the Negev and to the southernmost border of Canaan. The first stop was Tel Arad, a settlement which included an Israelite fortress at the top with a Canaanite city at the bottom. An archaeological find at the fortress has some implications for how we understand the worship life of the Israelites. Inside the fortress is a temple with a layout similar to other Israelite temples, including the outer court, an altar for sacrifices, an inner court (holy place), and the holy of holies. However, this holy of holies contained two incense stands and three standing pillars, indicating the worship of more than one deity. How is this possible when the scriptures are clear that there is to be one temple in Jerusalem, and the Israelites are to worship the one true God, Yahweh?

Before we are too hard on the Israelites, perhaps we need to take a look at our own lives. How often do our daily activities and even our worship line up with God’s clear commands in scripture? I think it is too easy for us to look back at the Israelites and judge from a privileged position. We need to remember that the average Hebrew in the land did not have access to the scriptures. They lived within a culture which worshipped localized, regional gods. Having multiple gods for different purposes and life needs (water, sun, fertility) was the context they lived within.

How easy it is for us in the U.S. church to separate ourselves from the many “gods” of our day? What is it that we worship in our daily lives? What “must” we have in order to live the life we want and what lengths do we go to get them? Comfort? Entertainment? The right job? A spouse and/or children?

Later, as I took a one-hour hike up through the Avdat Canyon to the top of the mountain in temperatures close to one hundred degrees, God impressed upon me once more the lesson of looking only to the step right in front of me, not gazing up at how far I need to go. Just as the Israelites had to trust God for the provision of water and food in the wilderness, so I needed to trust his provision for the strength needed to make it to the top. After that experience, I will never again judge the Israelites for complaining to Moses about dragging them out in the wilderness to die. I had a 3-liter water pack strapped to my back, trail mix in my pocket, and the promise of an air-conditioned bus at the top, yet I questioned why in the world I had done this. One hour in the hot wilderness and I was complaining!

This trip is giving me a glimpse into the difficult life of the Hebrew people and showing me how much more I am like them than I would like to admit. Yet, I remember: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but he will rejoice over you with singing,” (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV). I praise God that he is loving, compassionate, and patient, with the Israelites, and with me.