I want to invite you to join me on either one or two trips to the land of Israel. The first will only cost a few dollars, and can be enjoyed without ever leaving home. The second will cost several thousand dollars, but will help you understand the Bible in new ways.
The first trip involves ordering a book entitled Advent Journeys (click the link), which is in the format of a blog which could have been written by Joseph, the Wise Men, Zachariah the Priest or the Shepherds on the way to Bethlehem. The book costs only a few dollars (especially on kindle), but through the short daily blogs you will derive great benefit, especially if you take the Advent Journey in the days following Thanksgiving. Each year I advertise this because there is no better way to experience the real Christmas than to spend time reading the real story.
The second trip involves a two week (14 day) tour of Israel. You are invited to join me May 5-18 (tour: DSimon18) to actually walk where the people of our Bible walked. We will tell stories and share facts about the people and the places within the nation of Israel. Several knowledgeable tour guides will be traveling with us. I will also enable you to have a book, which follows the trip, before you leave. The experience is unforgettable. I wish everyone would do this at least once in their life. Here is the link.
A journey through Israel will carry you into many places. Between the locations on your travel agenda you will spend time traveling on a bus or in a car. Many tourists look forward to the travel time as an opportunity to rest and close your eyes, which is indeed necessary in order to maintain an appropriate energy level and keep up with a packed agenda.
But before you close your eyes, take time to think about others who passed along the road you are about to travel. Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel) is not a large land, and throughout most of the land geography dictates the overland routes. Each and every time the bus pulls out you will be traveling along a route that forms the backdrop of a Bible story. The rocks, the plants and the scenery of eretz Yisrael was familiar to men and women from every period of history. The Pharaohs of Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar with his army, Alexander the Great and the Assyrians all passed through Megiddo Pass and traversed the coastal plain. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus and his disciples, and a host of others traveled the great highway that follows the ridge of the mountains through Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The Pharisees, Joshua, John the Baptist and many others traveled the road through the Jordan River Valley. Every place you visit, as well as every road your bus travels is part of the Biblical account.
Take the highway from Joppa to Jerusalem. Joshua followed this road as the people of Israel conquered the land. David, Solomon and Hiram used this path to build the Temple. Two disciples were met by Jesus on their journey down this road on their way to Emmaus. Simon Peter trekked this road on his way to Lod and Joppa. He probably spent time at one of the Beit Horons and made other stops in the Ayalon Valley. The Apostle Paul traveled this road on his final journey to Jerusalem and then was taken down this same road at night on his way to see the governor.
