Israel trip

We returned on January 2 from our “pilgrimage” to Israel. It was an interesting, invigorating, and challenging experience. We are still sifting through the varied and sometimes conflicting emotions. Very early Christmas morning, we drove across the Sinai to Taba, Egypt and went through 6 Israeli checkpoints to Eilat, Israel. It took a full hour. We rented a car and began our drive up and down the length of the country. The Negev desert in Israel looks similar to the Sinai desert. Our first night brought us to En Bokek on the southern edge of the Dead Sea. It was our first exposure to full Shabbat. Candles were lit, prayers recited, shawls and head coverings worn, and stores closed.

The next morning’s breakfast would be mostly cold food since cooking is considered work. The weather was barely warm enough for a float in one of the saltiest body of water on earth at 1385 feet BELOW sea level. They say you don’t sunburn—if such a thing is even possible for Steve’s skin. It is impossible not to float, and the water has an oily quality to it.

From there, most of the daylight was spent on a 50 minute hike 3300 feet up Masada where Herod had a palace and the Jews in 73 AD were seiged by the Roman legions until they all committed suicide. Travis was NOT happy about the walk up. That evening we drove to Tiberius on Lake Galilee and ate at a very good hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant and sampled European beer (except for Karan and Alex).



The next morning (Sunday) in the light of day we marveled at the natural lush green beauty of Galilee in winter. It looked a lot like the rolling hills of the Pacific Northwest (minus spruce trees). We drove to the possible site of Peter’s famous profession of faith in Matthew 16 and the feeding of the multitudes, but the church enshrining the site was closed for the day. So we drove to the Mount of Beatitudes and that church was closed until 2:30 pm. As it turns out, many of the “holy” sites are guesses based on oral tradition that the Roman Catholic Church made centuries ago, so they built churches to commemorate events. So you go realizing you are remembering an event more than finding a specific place.


So we drove to Korazin to see the ruins and imagined Jesus healing and preaching there. We then continued 45 minutes north to Tel Dan nature reserve—the site of the religious worship center for the Northern Kingdom. The hike was much easier this time. We drove back to the now open Beatitudes Church and imagined the grassy hill filled with 15,000+ people. It was a long way down to the Lake. We ate a St. Peter’s fish that night in Tiberius where parking is as sparse as at a Southern California beach on a holiday.

The following day was our visit to Mt. Tabor—the “declared” location of the Transfiguration (it could have been at Mt. Hermon). There is a church on the site and a great 360º view. We drove to Nazareth and were caught in a traffic jam (felt and looked a lot like Egypt because of its Arab population) that made us miss the 11 am tour of a restored first century village, so went to the ruins of Megiddo to see the future site of Armageddon. The surrounding valleys could easily accommodate a battle with millions.

The afternoon tour of Nazareth Village was enjoyable to see the historic recreation from a Christian-Arab point of view. Then began the looonnnggg 3 hour drive to Jerusalem on roads that seemed to have stop lights every five minutes while traveling hungry grouchy young adults and teen. Streets in Jerusalem are twisting and constantly name-changing with no highway numbers, which is all incredibly confusing. After an hour and a half of being lost, we finally hailed a taxi and followed him to our lodging place.

The next morning began our two-day tour of the Old City with a Christian guide. Our first impression of the Old City was that it was like a giant bazaar or flea market with a Jewish section with shops, a Muslim area with shops, an Armenian area with shops, and a Christian area with shops. Sprinkled throughout are churches commemorating Christian events—like the stations of the cross on the Via Dolorosa and the resurrection. There are also lots of archeological excavations on the east side of the city as well as below the Temple Mount. Our kids response was: “Oh boy more ruins that all look the same!”

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was one of the places of contradictory feelings. Is this the real site of the Resurrection (there is another tomb outside the city that makes the claim also)? There are several different denominations fighting over their corner in the church. A leftover section of ladder stands on a second story ledge unable to be moved because of Christian parochial turf wars. It is not Christianity at its best. Still people tour and kiss the stone and touch an oiled rock for a special blessing and answers to prayer. That’s okay if we remember that God is just as present in your hometown and that this site is not any more holy than a believer’s heart (temple) where the Holy Spirit lives.

The Mount of Olives is so populated that it scarcely resembles any picture that my mind had imagined. When Jesus returns to split the mountain in half someday, there will be a lot of property damage! The Garden of Gethsemane was also a bit more manicured and groomed than I think it was when Jesus spilled tears of blood on the night of His betrayal.






Ironically the most inspirational spot for us was the Temple Mount. Ironic because it is controlled by Islam and only open to the public for a couple of hours some days. Non-Muslims are not allowed in the Dome of the Rock shrine at all. I guess they can tell who is and is not Muslim based on some racial profiling method?? Still it is an unspoiled area where the grand Jewish Temple (rebuilt and adorned in splendor by Herod the Great in Jesus’ time) once stood and where the final events of history will unfold someday.

The Holocaust Museum (Yad Veshem) was a serpentine building of zig-zagging rooms that chillingly chronicled the conditions leading to the Holocaust. One gains a deeper understanding of the Jewish hostility toward Christianity after seeing the displays and presentations. Still stories of courage and risk to stand for morality were featured from people of all beliefs and walks of life. I wonder what our world would be like if those 6 million souls had survived? What talents and innovations were lost?


Our final day included stops by the desert oasis of En Gedi where we hiked to David’s water fall and saw caves on the side of the canyon walls that could have been where Saul … umm, “turn aside.” It is an amazing natural area in the midst of the desert. We left Israel after visiting it’s one and only coral reef on the Red Sea complete with tropical fish. I was struck by the incredible variety of ecosystems exist in Israel in such a small area. I think the only one missing is a tropical rain forest! How God has naturally blessed that land, yet how humans have made it such a focal point of political and religious fighting! We truly walked away with a longing … “Come Lord Jesus!”