Israel Day 8
Butterfly’s fill my stomach as we walk in the morning sun up the very hill young David killed Galath on, in the Valley of Elah. The stories in the Bible are real. The proof is right here in the dirt. Driving up to this hill we read 1st Samuel 17, where the Word recounts this event. As we read the words of David being a shepard of sheep we look out to the side of our bus and see literal sheep grazing on the land. Miraculous! We get out and my friend Daniel Sullivan found an old 1/2 shekel in the dirt, the obverse of the coin depicts a date palm. The same date palm on the modern day shekel. Same image, same text, same name of currency. This land has done an impeccable job of keeping their roots alive! The stories come alive here! We start thinking of things the Word doesn’t directly depict, like the sun rising in the east. The same sun that rose in David’s day. I never thought about how the hill David stood on puts the sun to his back, blinding Galath, giving David the advantage to use his speed and agility to defeat the giant. What was David doing all day while shepherding sheep? Practicing with his sling. This was not the first stone he casts, this was muscle memory. Just as we read the word everyday to write these words on our hearts so that when we are faced with tough decisions or a chance to share the good news, it is simply muscle memory. This hill is a God made museum, filled with artifacts that we can pick up ourselves. I’ve had so many revelations this trip where I can never read these stories the same.
We then headed to Tel Aviv the modern city in Israel! Tech capital and a city built impressively by the Jewish people in the past 100 years. The landscape went from desert dunes to a metro sky scraping super city in such a short amount of time, directly next to the old city that is thousands of years old! What a contrast, and a great reminder of the roots of this nation pressing up against the future. In the old city, we hear Rabbi Jeff teach a great lesson using history from this very port, making for a great scene in the movie God has placed in my heart to make. Then we went to the local flea market where Dalana and I cleaned up! With 200 shekels I was able to get SOOO many cool things, including a new tunic and money belt. I love being with my sister, she found even more cool stuff than me. Great memory and items to remember it by.
Back to the hotel, we depart, to go change into our nicest attire. I dress in a suit, because tonight is the start of Shabbat. Like a proper Jew, we start it by watching the sun go down in the Old City of David. The Western Wall. Prominent Jewish family’s and tourist from around the world gather to put their prayers into the wall and pray to the most high Elohim! It’s not like this wall is God or anything, but if you didn’t know the significance of it you may think everybody is praying to it. Thousands of people pray toward the western wall every Friday, because it is the location closest to the Holy of Holies, the temple of the Lord, which is no longer there. Call us superstitious or crazy but we all felt Gods presence there. As I prayed for God to direct this movie and for it to be seen by millions, to glorify Him the most high and play a role in exposing the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, I felt Him. My eyes closed and Hebrew prayers filling the air around me I felt high, lightheaded, like I was floating. The wall went from cold to a radiating heat that shocked me. It was an extremely spiritual experience that I will never forget. After we prayed, our group danced and sung Jewish songs taught by our guide Moria! So joyous we were joined by the surrounding Jewish youth! So much fun. Great start to an even better night.
We were invited into a local Jewish home for Shabbat dinner. Religious Jews practicing sabbath, spend every Friday together with family, all technology turned off. Great tradition that is the culture in Israel practiced by even non-religious family’s here. We sat and had an extremely educational and intellectually stimulating conversation with our host in their beautiful home, over and delectable dinner. A practice I wish to bring back home and implement into our own family tradition.
Shabot shalom
