The last day of this journey, or as we have come to call, a pilgrimage. My legs are weary but my spirit is refreshed. The words of this blog are inadequate to express the splendor, joy, and magnitude of this country. I feel that I have retained less than 10% of what I have heard, seen and experienced. I am grateful to our guide Doran, who shepherded us through this history of people and places. And to our driver, Mike, who could drive a tour bus through the eye of a needle. And to the faculty, divinity school students, friends and family of Campbell University - THANK YOU. Your kindness, laughter, insight, and shared love for our Lord have enhanced this journey beyond words. I consider it a great honor to have shared in your fellowship these last 12 days.
Pardon the delay in this last blog. We had a full of sites and people on Saturday, a late goodbye dinner to our hosts, 2 hour processing through customs, and a long overnight flight back to Philadelphia.
I have attempted to arrange this batch of pictures so that they have more relevance to setting. I will eventually process all prior day pictures the same way.
The final day was just as full as all others.
We began at the Herodium, yet another creation and palace of Herod the Great. Despite his grandeur in buildings and engineering, Herod was despised by most. As we known, he ordered the death of all male babies near the birth date and place of our Lord. He also killed some of his own family members. It I said that "it is better to be a pig than a son of Herod". The Herodium was built to be Herod's final resting place although there is some doubt as to whether he was buried at the peak of this place. It is also said that he ordered a group of Rabbis to be killed when he died to keep them from celebrating his death. Fortunately, his decree was not carried out.
The Israel Museum is an incredibly large complex. The Dead Sea scrolls are kept here as well as many other artifacts. The most awe inspiring display was the 1/50 scale of Old Jerusalem.
The Garden Tomb was a reverent place. Although there is much debate over the possibility of our Lord's crucifixion and burial was at this place or at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Holy Spirit was certainly felt at this place. We shared communion together after Kelly Jorgenson shared an inspirational message with our group.
The Church of Lazarus marked our visit to Bethany. The home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. This is also where Lazarus died - the first time. There are many lessons of faith, patience and encouragement in the passages of scripture regarding this event. The message of Mary and Martha and how they chose to serve our Lord also occurred at Bethany.
The final stop was a Jaffa, also known as Joppa. A place of several key Old and New Testament events. From the discovery of this city by Noah 's son, to the story of Jonah to the story of Peter's dream - this city was a beautiful reminder of how God can use the history and walk of others to enhance our own walk.
Our host, Doran, treated us to a goodby dinner at a beautiful restaurant town down Tel Aviv. He bid us well as we enjoyed the last hours of fellowship together.
I encourage all to take this journey/pilgrimage. The scriptures, particularly the words not written in red, will have a much greater meaning. I plan on making this trip again - and to work on absorbing more of the remaining 90 %.
Day 11 pictures Here
Shalom
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