Such a Unique Nation

Israel is so very unique in many ways. One of them is the wide diversity of the people who live there. While Jews are the majority, there are small minorities, such as the Druze, who pictured here are on their annual pilgrimage to a shrine inside Syria.

What a Land!

When Israel was getting ready to move into the Promised Land, God gave them these words through Moses:

Deuteronomy 11.10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. 12 It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

On my first trek to Israel I remember one thing as I entered its border from a day long ride across the Sinai, look at how rich and green it is!

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Time for a New Temple

Wearing a turban and a light blue tunic threaded with silver, a man stands in a workshop in Jerusalem's Old City beside spools of white thread affixed to sewing machines. A painting of high priests performing an animal sacrifice beside the First Temple illustrates the function of the room.

A workshop for making priestly garments is inaugurated in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem's Old City on Monday.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

On Monday, the Temple Institute started preparing to build a Third Temple on Jerusalem's Mount Moriah, the site of the Dome of the Rock and the Aksa mosque, by inaugurating a workshop that manufactures priestly garments.

After Efrat Chief Rabbi Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, a Kohen himself, gets measured for his own set of Kohanim garments, Aviad Jeruffi, the clothing's designer, strums "To Ascend to the Temple Mount" on his guitar in celebration.

Priestly garments have not been worn since the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome in 70 CE and cannot be functional until a Third Temple is constructed.

Kohanim, priests directly descended from Moses's brother Aaron, are recognized by the Institute as such if their paternal grandfather observed the tradition. Today, they have special religious responsibilities; in days of yore they performed the most significant duties within the Temple.

Approximately one-third of the commandments in the Torah cannot be accomplished without a temple, including the obligations of the Kohanim.

But a Third Temple seems a flighty dream with nightmarish political implications to many, as both a shrine, the Dome of the Rock, and the Aksa mosque, Islam's third holiest structure, currently stand on the Temple Mount.

Rabbi Yehuda Glick, director of the Temple Institute, says he assumes Muslims will be supportive when the Temple is ready to be built:

"We already have some Muslims who are secretly in touch with us," he says.

When the Temple is rebuilt, Kohanim must wear the proper outfit to perform their obligations, Glick continues.

Each set has a turban, tunic pants and belt and is individually tailored at a cost of NIS 2,500.

"If it were a bathrobe for watching SNL [Saturday Night Live], it would not be worth it. But we're talking about people who have a very strong yearning for working in the Beit Hamikdash [Temple]," says Glick.

Years of diligent research was needed to create the garments in conformance with Jewish law.

Special flaxen thread was imported from India and overseas travel was necessary to obtain the correct colors for the clothes, including to Istanbul, to purchase mountain worms from which the correct shade of crimson is derived.

The secret of the correct shade of blue has been lost since the destruction of the Second Temple, as the identity of chilazon, the snail from which it was extracted, was uncertain until the Ptil Tekhelet nonprofit organization identified it as the murex trunculus, aka hexaplex trunculus, the banded dye-murex found near the Mediterranean Sea.

"The Temple is not a message [just for] the Jewish people. It reunites the world all around one central prayer house. All the prophets say that at the End Times all the nations will be coming to Jerusalem and take part of building [the Temple]," Glick says.

Happy Birthday Israel!

1948-2008... 60 wonder filled years!

No other nation came back into being after being dispersed throughout the world.

No other language was revived after years of not being spoken except Hebrew!

God has been good to Israel.

We pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Senseless Slaughter

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the slain Yeshiva students who were killed in yesterday's massacre. What a brutal act of violence.

Our Thoughts Go To The Events That Took Place In Jerusalem Nearly 2,000 years Ago

Behind me is the city of Jerusalem. Here Abraham offered Isaac. Here Jesus died for the sins of the world. We celebrate Holy Week in a few weeks. Let your mind go back to the cross Let your thoughts go back to Jesus dying there for you and I. Think about His Love! Think about His death for our sins.

Influenza

I got hit pretty hard with the flu a few weeks ago and am still recovering. Therefore I haven't kept up with my blogging. Hopefully I'll be back to normal before too long.

Snow in the Bible, in the Land of the Bible

He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes. Psalm 147.6

A Rare Sight Tonight- The Western Wall With Snow!

Snow In Jerusalem!

Copy and paste:
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Rare-snowstorm-hits-Middle-East/ss/events/wl/013008snowisrael/s:/ap/20080130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_snowstorm;_ylt=AjRdWAWeA.ERZkvTW3lljlcUewgF#/080130/ids_photos_wl/r1587124901.jpg

How's the Weather?!

Israel's weather is varied- greatly varied. With its desert and mountains, borders of various bodies of water and its closeness to the Equator several seasons can be experienced at the same time in different parts of the country which is similar in size to New Jersey and Rhode Island!

Not Everyone Loves Israel

Copy and Paste for an important message about Ahmadinejad and the things he has said about Israel:

http://www.aish.com/iran/

The Western Wall

Copy and paste this and get ready-
http://www.aish.com/wallcam/
you will be looking at a live cam shot of the Holiest Place in all of Judaism!


Copy and paste this for a beautiful 90 second slide show of the Wall
http://www.aish.com/movies/wall.asp

There are some breathtaking shots in it

The Rabbi‘s Tunnel

If you go to the Western Wall (formerly known as the Wailing Wall) in Jerusalem you will notice immediately that the area is divided into two distinct sections, one for women and one for men. Fashioned after the Temple with its court of women, this area knows no political correctness. On the men's side there is a synagogue. In the corner of that synagogue a large door which had been off limits to the public as recent as 20 years ago. Behind that door is the entrance to the Western Wall tunnels which contain the infamous and somewhat mysterious Rabbi's Tunnel.

There have been claims by some very high ranking rabbis that there are what amounts to buried treasure behind the walls of their tunnel. The Rabbi of the Wall told some years ago that he actually saw the Ark of the Covenant there. One thing is for sure: in this tunnel you get as close as possible to the site of the Holy of Holies.

I have been in the tunnels and it is quite an experience- somewhat beyond words.

For more information go to this site: http://www.aish.com/seminars/tunneltours/

The Temple and The Temple Mount

They say it best: http://www.templeinstitute.org/

Click and enjoy.

I'm sorry actually you have to copy and paste.

Then enjoy!

He is Risen!

Some may say, "Hey! We just celebrated Christmas and Lent has not begun yet. Wait until Easter or at least Holy Week to proclaim this."

The fact that Christians gather for worship on the first day of the week has its roots in Jesus' Resurrection and His appearances afterwards. From that time on we read about the LORD's Day- which is the first day of the week. But everyday is the LORD's Day for believers. All our days belong to Him! Therefore it is always appropriate to celebrate the Resurrection.

"At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there." (John 19.41-42)

He rose from the grave and today there is an empty tomb. Someone put a door on that Tomb with the words, "He is not here. He is risen." Those who argue over whether this is the spot or not miss the point. Trying to strain out a gnat they swallow a camel! If this is not the spot it then there is another one very similar to it which is empty as well. The fact is Jesus is alive forever!

Here I am with my good friend John Foster. We spent a good deal of time in this Garden. It is a wonderful place to go and just sit and observe the people from all over the earth who come and see the place where they their LORD was placed before He rose from the dead.

Like Coming Home!

On a previous post I mentioned how Israel gives
a coming home feeling to its visitors.

I grew up learning the Bible. My heroes were David and Moses and Joseph and Elijah and of course Jesus.







I remember reading I and II Chronicles and Psalms and the rest of the Bible as a young man. I went to Sunday School each week and heard about things that happened thousands of years before in the Holy Land, never thinking that one day my feet would stand in Jerusalem.

I first entered Israel from the Sinai. What a sight it was! I can still recall that ride in. I came from Egypt. The border guard at the point of entry asked me if I enjoyed Egypt. I said, "Yes." She replied, "Then you are going to love Israel!" She was right.

I heard a number of people who had visited say, "I want to go back." I would always think, "If I got to go once that would be enough." I really believed that. My experience the first time changed all of that. Almost immediately my heart was being drawn to go again.

From Israel With Love and With Love for Israel!

The Valley of Decision

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Joel 3.14

The Valley of Jehoshaphat is this valley.

It is believed that this is the Kidron Valley, the valley that separates the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives.

Rooted in the Old Testament many believe that this is where the final judgment will take place.

The Kidron Valley is what Jesus walked through on His way to Garden of Gethsemane. He crossed over it on the night of the Passover. First century records show that there were 250,000 lambs slain for one passover. The blood was drained and went down the valley into the Brook Kidron. William Barclay wrote that at the time Jesus crossed over the Kidron to the Garden the brook would have been red with the blood of the lambs. A few hours later He was arrested. In the morning He went to the cross.
Christ our Passover Lamb has been slain.

He took the the death penalty for our sins so we could have eternal life.

The Most Famous Valley In the World

The Jezreel Valley or better known as the Valley of Armageddon has been the scene of many battles and will be the scene of one final battle. It represents the instability that has been part of the Middle East since sin entered the world.

Armageddon is the place where the final battle between the LORD and Satan will take place.

The Roman Army used this valley in 67AD as a gathering point prior to its march on and destruction of Jerusalem. One day the nations of the earth will gather there for one final battle- the battle to end all battles. As one song put it after this takes place, "Wars and strife will all be past. There'll be peace on earth at last when King Jesus comes..." Maranatha! Even so, come, LORD Jesus!

And a Few Valleys...

Israel has a lot of famous valleys. The Jordan River Valley, the Hula Valley, the Jezreel Valley or Valley of Armageddon seen in the picture along with the Beit Shean Valley.

There are valleys in Jerusalem. They are the Kidron, Hinnom and Tyropoeon. Two of these have great prophetic significance. We'll talk about them next time.

More on the Mountains

Take the road from Joppa, near Tel Aviv, on the Mediterranean and you will leave the coast and begin an ascent through the Plain of Sharon. Climbing higher as you go, eventually you will come to Jerusalem, a city surrounded by mountains as we mentioned on previous posts. What a sight on that road it is! Stay on that road and it will lead bring to the Joppa Gate, one of the Gates of the City, all which are so interesting. For instance, go out the Damascus Gate and stay on that road and you will end up in Damascus, Syria. You are catching on. Pretty cool, eh? Oh yeah but we are talking about the mountains.

Let me talk about one mountain this morning (as the bright winter sunshine comes through the window at my desk). It is spoken about in Luke 4.29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. The people of Nazareth took great offense at what Jesus had said in the synagogue. They were going to kill Him. It was not the way He was to die nor was it the time or place. He walked away from them.

If you go to Nazareth today, and you stand in the Valley of Armageddon (yes Nazareth is above this valley- In fact this valley is formed in part by the hills of Nazareth.) you can look up and see this whole large side of limestone that one of the hills has. It is apparent that this is where they wanted to throw Jesus off. This is an example of what He was saying about laying His life down and no on e taking it from Him. This is also an example of how in some instances, In Israel, you can go to Biblical sites that have not changed with time and witness with your eye their validity. I never read that verse without the picture in my mind now.

The Mountains of Israel

Israel is a land of mountains. Many of them have deep spiritual significance.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.
Psalm 125.2

So Jerusalem is a city surrounded by mountains. Some cities like Denver, Colorado have mountains but few are surrounded by them. The beginnings of the Rocky Mountains in Denver are referred to as the front range. Jerusalem was not built on commerce or industry. The first time (in Genesis) and the last time (in Revelation) we encounter it in the Word of God it is a place of worship. Jerusalem existed as a place to worship God. We see this in the conversation Jesus had with the woman at the well in Samaria. His words, (John 4.21) Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

The worship of the Father is no longer confined to Jerusalem but the mountains still surround it and stand as an example of God's abiding presence around His people. He has us surrounded! Jerusalem's mountains tell us this. If you know Jesus you are experiencing this!

Shalom!

(For Picture Lovers go to http://www.garlic.com/%7Elullah/travel/jeru.html)

President Bush In Israel Today

"We see a new opportunity for peace here in the holy land and for freedom across the region," an optimistic Bush said upon landing in Tel Aviv.

One of the things I did the last time I was in Israel was to ask every single military personnel their opinion of then attempts for peace. None of them agreed with it.

President Bush is attempting to do what so many presidents have tried to do before: bring peace to a land. But this is not just any land. The roots of this struggle are a family feud and one that is 5,000 years old. There is also the issue of Divine Mandate on the land. The promise of this land to children of Israel is in the Old Testament.

Wisdom often is found on the lips of children. On my first visit to Israel, I told a boy named Elijah in the city of Bethlehem that we were praying for peace in his land. He said, "Ah sir, there will not be any peace until He comes." He had a finger pointed to heaven. Elijah understood.

The Jordan River

The Jordan River runs from the Hermon Mountain range in the north (The Rooftop of Israel) all the way south until it empties, as we spoke yesterday, into the Dead Sea.

The nation of Israel crossed the Jordan to get into the Promised Land. Jesus was baptized in it. It flows into the Sea of Galilee and picks up it flow again at the other side.

People come to it to be baptized just as Jesus was to this day.

The Dead Sea

That's me in the Sea! The Dead Sea to be precise. You can't swim in it- you can just float. The minerals in it are so concentrated you are buoyant.

Nothing is alive in it. It cannot sustain life. At 1,300 feet below sea level it is the lowest place on the earth.

There is no outlet for the Dead Sea. The Jordan River empties into it and ends there.

One Week Completed

A tour to Israel usually ends in about a week but we are just getting started! The LORD created the heavens and the earth in a week and rested on the seventh day.
We'll take a break today from posting but here are some very enjoyable links I have found that you may want to check out:

http://beautifulisrael.blogspot.com/

http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~dhershkowitz/index2.html

http://www.israelimages.com/result2.asp

Galilee, Where Jesus Grew Up and Ministered

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan- Isaiah 9.1

There is no greater honor than having Jesus walk into your life. You may be a king on earth but when you have Jesus come into your life you become a servant-
a servant of the King of kings!

Galilee had the distinct honor of Jesus growing up in its Nazareth and teaching and performing miracles around its Sea. It is one of my favorite places on earth. I love the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Besides a few fishermen that still drop their nets there it is pretty quiet. It is conducive to being reflective and there is certainly a lot one can reflect on there!

In this picture I am sitting with a shepherd on the site where it believed Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. What a tranquil spot!

If you are a life long student of the Bible then going to Israel in one way feels like you are coming home. It is wonderful.

Jerusalem, the Eternal Capital of Israel

I remember the first time I saw Jerusalem. After 32 years of hearing about it there is was right in front of me. It was a glorious sight to behold.

We first encounter Jerusalem in Genesis and it is spoken about all the way through the Bible. Revelation speaks of the New Jerusalem, which is part of what we know as heaven.

Abraham offered Isaac here, David captured it from the Jebusites 3,000 years ago. Jesus died and rose again there 2,000 years ago. Today this city which is surrounded by mountains remains in the headlines. Its spiritual significance is what gives it notoriety .

Jerusalem has been conquered 40 times and destroyed 17. It is surrounded by stones. An old saying goes like this, "When people see the city for the first time, they take their stony hearts and toss them out and they are given a heart of flesh, thus all the stones around the city.

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."

2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.

4 That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.

5 There the thrones for judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May those who love you be secure.

7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels."

8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, "Peace be within you."

9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

You Are Going Love To The Food Here!

The food in Israel is an experience all by itself. I remember in December 1988 my first meal there was some pita bread with hummus. Hummus is ground up chick pea with a little olive oil and a little garlic. It is delicious!

Another favorite food is Falafel, pictured above. It too is ground up chick pea, rolled into little balls and deep fried. Then you stuff a pita with all kind of vegetables and the add a little sauce and you have got one incredible lunch.

The breakfasts in Israel are like dinners in the United States. In fact they are the big meal of the day! In the Bible we see Jesus with fish on a fire for breakfast, right along the Sea of Galilee, after His Resurrection.

Breakfasts are served buffet style with an assortment of yogurts, vegetables and salads, fish, roasted eggs, and cheeses.

It is making me hungry right now!

The Let Down and the Uplift of One's First Visit

People expect to see things in Israel just as they read in the Bible. They forget that nearly 2,000 have passed since the Bible was completed. We are not going to Israel under the monarch's rule or even under Roman occupation. We are going to the modern State of Israel. For instance to walk where Jesus walked in Jerusalem, you have to go down well beneath the current city (and you can!) to walk where the Master walked.

Israel is a progressive country. So much of life now is different than it was when the Bible was written. The clothes styles, houses, buildings, and modes of transportation have all radically changed.

HOWEVER...

There are still shepherds keeping watch over their flocks.

There is still the basic topography that was there in the Bible times as well as distances between cities. There are still the deep wooded area which remain largely like they always were. Galilee has some cities like Capernaum where ruins have been reconstructed so that you can get a good idea of how it looked during Jesus' time.

I found it helpful and interesting to read the Bible passages which were written about the places I was going to visit the next day and had visited that day. I enjoyed keeping my Bible open too as we rode along.

After returning home the first time my Bible reading and study took on a new dimension. The uplift replaced the let down.

Abraham, the Father of the Faithful

It was Friday, June 10, 1994 in Jerusalem. The sun was close to setting. The Sabbath was to begin soon. My friend John Foster and I were making our way down to the Western Wall for the beginning of the Sabbath.


It was then we met Rabbi Yechiel Koslovsky. He is the director of Abraham's Tent- a Hospitality Center located right across from the Western Wall. The rabbi and his wife provide meals for any one in need, particularly those who have just come to Israel.

In the same manner that Abraham offered food and drink to the three visitors (Genesis 18) , so Rabbi Koslovsky provides meals to people.

Abraham was given many promises from the LORD God. Among there were promises that had to do with the land. He promised the land of Israel to Abraham and his descendants. To this very day there is disagreement taking place in that land because of this 4,000 year old promise! Just watch the news.

Isaac, the Promised Son
When God promised Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age, they tried to help God out. That is never a good idea. Some disastrous things happen when God's people do that. The Arab-Israeli Conflict and the whole Middle East Dilemma has its roots in a family- the family of Abraham. Isaac was the son of the promise. Ishmael was a son of the flesh. God fulfilled His promise through Isaac, who had two sons, Jacob and Esau.

Jacob, Whose Name Was Changed to Israel
Jacob got his name because he came out holding on to his brother's heel. He was trying to get out of the womb first. so to be the firstborn, thus inheriting the greater blessing. Over the years the battle intensified between the maternal twins until an all night wrestling match with the LORD left Jacob limping away with a new name- Israel. The land became the land of Israel. The twelve divisions named after ten of Jacob's sons and two of his grandsons through Joseph.
It is a land of wonder and the history itself of this land is wonderful.

A Land Of Wonder

This land is like no other on the earth.

I grew up reading the Bible. Its setting is this land and the areas surrounding it. In 1988 a dream came true for me. I set my feet in Jerusalem and walked all over the country of which it is the capital, Israel.

Since that time I have been back twice. It is a wonderful place to visit.

Jesus was born there, and lived there and died there.
He rose from the dead there and ascended back into heaven from there.

One day He will return there.
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Israel is about the size of the State of New Jersey. This little country is the only land bridge between the continents of Africa, Europe and Asia. For Instance, a vehicle going from Brussels to South Africa would have to pass through Israel, as would one going from Egypt to China or from India to Paris.

Israel has mountains of all kinds, It borders the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Jordan River. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth and the minerals in it are worth three trillion dollars.

It can be snowing in Jerusalem and you can drive a few hours to the Dead Sea where it can be 85 degrees. Due to incredible irrigation projects the government of Israel has made the desert bloom just as Isaiah prophesied it would.