Israel Discoveries and a Fantastic Journey

I am pleased to invite you to join me on a 14 day trip to the Holy Land. I will be writing about different places we will visit over the next year on this blog (at least once a week). I do want you to join me on this trip to see Israel, meet the people, see the sites and hear the Bible stories. To see the full agenda or to sign up, click the links. You will be rewarded through personal discoveries and experiences by going on this journey.

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Our trip to Israel will be comprehensive. We will journey throughout the land and visit each region. You will discover differences in terrain and how lives of people in the Bible were impacted by where they lived, the places they traveled and through the people they met.

Visit Independence Hall and Hagannah Museum in Tel Aviv

From the very first day of our trip you will be immersed in both the present and the past of Israel. We will visit the Palmach Museum where we will experience the lives and stories of men and women who fought for Israel’s independence. We will also visit the home where the original Declaration of Independence was read and accepted. We will also visit the port from which Jonah departed and the home where it is said Peter received his vision to share the Gospel with Gentiles. We will point out how the stories of Israel’s recent past have brought about a great sense of patriotism and love for “Eretz Yisrael.”

Enjoy beautiful Joppa

Along the journey we will visit the Shephelah, a region where many conflicts occurred. We will see where David fought Goliath, where Samson slew the Philistines and the place where Sennacherib  and Nebuchadnezzar assembled to launch an offensive against Jerusalem. We will travel this region on the bus and by foot in order to discover how geography played a key role in where battles of the scripture and wars of recent times were fought. We will explore hilltop protective fortresses as well as underground hideouts.

Modi'in from Canada Park, Israel

Our trip to Israel will take us into the Negev and the desert. Here we will walk where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived and worked. We will see where they drew water and we will experience their way of life. We will even ride camels. While in the south we will visit the Wilderness of Zin and traverse the valley where Israel camped while under Moses’ leadership. We will sleep in the wilderness (in upgraded accommodations, of course) and see the same stars and constellations observed by the Patriarchs.

Ride Camels in the desert

We will experience in the lofty views from Masada and what life is like at the lowest spot on the surface of the earth. We will discover the caves in which David hid and we will climb into the caves where the scrolls of Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls) were hidden.

Climb Masada and see the fantastic view!

We will float on the Dead Sea, dip our feet in the clear water of Ein Gedi and experience baptism in the Jordan river. We will touch the very stones which fell to the ground when the army of Joshua blew their trumpets at Jericho.

Take a cool swim like King David at EnGedi

We will visit together places I have written about in my books (Advent Journeys and Spring), but have never seen. Our bus will take us past Ramah, Mitzpah and Bethel to Shiloh. We will see the place where Samuel served in the Tabernacle and also the hills of Samaria. We will discover the landscape of the hill country and how it afforded ancient Israel protection.

See where Jesus walked from the top of Mount Arbel

In Israel we will walk the land where Jesus walked (including Nazareth, Capernaum and Magdala), climb the mountains he climbed (including Mt. Arbel and the Precipice) and sail on the Sea of Galilee. We will visit Synagogues where Jesus preached and we will see the home where it is said Peter lived. We will read the Beatitudes from the place it is thought to have been delivered and retell the story of how Jesus fed 5,000 people from two fish and five loaves of bread.

History lives through archaeological finds

Our journey will take us to the northernmost extremes of the land of Israel. We will walk atop the Golan Heights, drive along (and walk under) the Damascus Road, look into Lebanon and see Mount Hermon. We will view two of the sources of the Jordan River and discover why Jesus said, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

See and experience life as it was in ancient Galilee

We will discover what life was like in a normal Jewish home by walking into houses dating back to Talmudic times. We will see how people cooked, where they slept and how they maintained their homes. We will hear about the crops they grew and view their modes of transportation. We will come to understand a great deal more about how people lived life in Bible times.

See the Jezreel Valley on this unforgettable trip

Our journey through Israel will take us through the highlands of Galilee, across the Jezreel Valley and up the slopes of Mt. Carmel. We will see Megiddo and the arena at Caesarea where the Apostle Paul was tried. We will walk under the Roman Aqueducts and see King Herod’s swimming pool. We will traverse the Plain of Sharon and climb Beit Horon ascent past Modi’in.

Visit Caesarea, Israel

Our visit to Israel will let us live in Jerusalem for four nights. We will walk through the walled city.  We will touch the Western Wall, walk along the ramparts, shop in the markets, eat the foods, take in the aromas and experience the pace of life among Jews, Arabs and Christians. We will discover Jerusalem from the top of the Mount of Olives to the bottom of Kidron Valley. We will visit Temple Mount, walk through the water in Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and make entry through many of the historic gates.

Take a look at the itinerary

What will we discover in Israel? More than this blog can contain! I invite you to join me on a 14 day trip to the land of Promise.  Each day will be filled with sights, sounds and taste. And you will make discoveries which will stay with you for a lifetime.

Descending the Precipice - Picture at heading

Our first trip to Israel in 2012 was a learning experience.  The land was not what we expected.  We expected a land which was similar to where we live: tree covered woodlands with rolling hills, rivers and streams, and in places green farmland.  The land was much more arid, similar to Wyoming where I lived for four years, with few trees and few rivers.

We traveled to Israel with Biblical Israel Tours led by John Delancey and Shlomo-Ben Asher who did a great job of orienting us to the land and sharing the Biblical stories connected with each place we visited.  And we visited a lot of places.

On our first trip we drove from Mt. Carmel to Megiddo, across the Jezreel Valley and up into the Galilean highlands to visit Nazareth.  We drove through the edge of the modern city of Nazareth to an overlook known as the precipice.  From this overlook we could see the locations we had visited earlier plus Mt. Tabor, Mt. Moreh, and Mt. Gilboa.  We could see recently harvested wheat and barley fields.  We could almost see from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River.

The precipice is the place Bible teachers believe Synagogue leaders took Jesus after he read from the scroll of Isaiah and announced he was the Messiah.  The leaders and people became furious and “took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.” (Luke 4:16-30)  Because it was not the time for Jesus to die, he was able to walk through and away from the crowd.

From the top of the hill we were able to look down into the bowl where modern day, and ancient Nazareth sat.  We saw the Church of the Nativity, which is over the place where Jesus lived.  We were told how Jesus probably came out to this cliff and played with his friends.  We were given a sense of what life must have been like when Jesus was alive.

On a second trip in 2014, we saw the site of Sipporis, where Joseph probably worked as a carpenter.  We saw the beautiful mosaic floors and the ruins of this once great city.

The point is Jesus was from a common every-day family, and when the census notice was delivered, Joseph had to travel as most people did in his day: on foot.  The first part of the trip would be difficult as Joseph and his pregnant wife descended from their highlands home into the valley below.  I talk about this trip in my book Advent Journeys.