Journaling a

Preacher's Pilgrimage

to Israel

Pastor Edward Rice

via

Holy Land Pastor's Educational Tour

Christian Journeys (877) 465-3442

27 Jan – 05 Feb, 2009

“If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land,

and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.” (Num 14:8)

Journaling a Preachers Pilgrimage to Israel

Copyright © 2009

Edward Rice

Cover Photographs by author

Book photographs by author and Pastor Jeff and Denise Carpenter

Scripture quotations, The Holy Bible, King James Version with no copyright.

All rights reserved. For permission to use material from this text submit a request on line at www.GSBaptistChurch.com

ITINERARY

Day 1. Tue 27 Jan: Toronto Canada to Tel Aviv Israel #LY104 Depart 23:55 Arrive Ben Gurion Airport 18:05 El Al Airlines

Day 2. Wed 28 Jan: Israel, Tel Aviv, Boarding our touring coach for Netanya, through Tel Aviv – off of Joppa, “Welcome to Israel Dinner” Blue Bay Hotel

Day 3. Thu 29 Jan: Caesarea, Caesarea Aquifer, Mt. Carmel, Druze Lunch in , Megiddo, Valley of Jezreel, Nazareth, Dinner and overnight stay at Kibbutz Hagoshrim in the upper Galilee.

Day 4. Fri 30 Jan: Tel Dan National Park, Headwaters of the Jordon River, Ancient City of Dan, Excavation of Laish, Caesarea Philippi, Golan Heights, Olive Farm, Golan Heights, Kibbutz Hagoshrim in Upper Galilee

Day 5. Sat 31 Jan: The Mount of Beatitudes, Sea of Galilee Boat Ride,The Jesus Boat Museum,Tabgha, Peter's Fish, Peter's House, Capernaum, Jordan River Dinner at kibbutz Ginossar

Day 6. Sun 01 Feb: Gideon Springs,Bet Alpha Synagogue, Bet She'an, Qumran, Ein Gedi, Dead Sea, Moriah Classic Hotel,

Day 7. Mon 02 Feb: Masada, Jerusalem, Via Dolorosa, Dinner at Moriah Classic Hotel, Western Wall at night

Day 8. Tue 03 Feb Overlook Jerusalem: Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Mount Zion, City of David, Davids Palace, David's Tomb, Active Synagog, Eccumenical Shop, Rachel's Tomb, Israel Museum, Archiological Park, South Steps, Temple Wall, Western Wall Tunnels, Dinner at Hotel

Day 9. Wed 04 Feb: Overlook Bethlehem, Holocost Museum, The Garden Tomb, Holy Sepulcher Church, Garden Tomb, “Farewell Dinner” in Joppa

Day 10, Thu 05 Feb: Israel to Toronto non-stop overnight. #LY103 Depart 00:55 Arrive 06:30

Table of Contents

Vol I Day 1-2. Tue 27 Jan: Toronto Canada to Tel Aviv Israel 1

Vol II Day 3 Thu 29 Jan: Caesarea, 3

Vol III Day 3 Thu 29 Jan: Carmel, Megiddo 5

Vol IV Day 3 30 Jan: Nazareth - Tel-Dan 7

Vol V Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Tel-Dan Cont. 9

Vol VI Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Caesarea Philippi and Olive Press 11

Vol VII Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Olive Press and Golan Heights 13

Vol VIII Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: The Sabbath Day 15

Vol IX Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: The Sea of Galilee 17

Vol X Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: Peter n Capernaum 19

Vol XI Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: Baptist n Baptisms 21

Vol XII Day 6 Sun: Gideon Springs, Bet Alph 23

Vol XIII Day 6 Sun 1 Feb: Bet She'an 25

Vol XIV Day 6 Sun 1 Feb: The Lord's Day 27

Dedication

I wanted to go to Israel ever since 1960 when I was saved and attended Marian Clark's Sunday School class at Gang Mills Baptist Chapel. I listened to him talk about the places where Jesus walked as if he had been there. I do not know that he had, but the pictures that he painted in my mind's eye week after week, and God's promises that he taught in that Jr. boys class assured me that I would one day stand with my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, on the Mount of Olives and see Jerusalem with him as the King of kings and Lord of lords. I still will, but to visit there in the flesh was a dream I inherited from my Sunday School training and my father, Levi Rice. Since his salvation in the same Church in 1958, Dad always wanted to go to Israel, to actually see Jerusalem, and he had tickets in hand after his second by pass surgery. His heart was weak, but I had told him that to go and even to die in the land would be better than to forgo such a dream. I was disappointed that his doctor and others, concerned for his heart, talked him out of his 10 day trip to the Holy Land. He canceled his opportunity and died without visiting Israel. When the opportunity came for Bev and I to go on this 10 day Pastor Familiarization Tour it was financially impossible because we had just purchased tickets for our 10 day trip to Cajamarca, Peru, where our son Shane was ministering as a missionary. Impossible or no, the journal of this trip to the Holy Land is dedicated to Misty, Kassandra, Rachael, Rebekah, Moriah, Micah, Alexus, Charity, Lucas, Parker and Christina Rice, our 11 grand children, with the expectation that they too, one day, will get to walk where Jesus walked, and that they too, will one day stand on the Mount of Olives with their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The Half Shekel Journal Vol I by Ed Rice

Vol I Day 1-2. Tue 27 Jan: Toronto Canada to Tel Aviv Israel

#LY104 Depart 23:55 Arrive Ben Gurion Airport 18:05 El Al Airlines

January the 27th arrived after 6 months of anticipation and $(undisclosed) in hard earned, carefully saved cash. The morning dawned on Waneta Lake with Jeff and Denise Carpenter and Tony Spradlin looking for coffee and our promised steak and egg breakfast. Jeff and Denise would travel on our maiden voyage to Israel with us and Tony would sit and keep our wood fires going and our dogs content for this 10 day adventure. Packing was well nigh complete which allowed a relaxed morning of fellowship and anticipation. Gary and June Cook had arrived to stay with Bev's mom, Betty Cook, and would attend to her fires relieving my beagle and I of our morning chores. Our goal to head to Toronto Canada at 11 AM, and our sunrise dawning optimized an exciting and relaxed morning. “And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.” (Psalm 35:28)

The 500 mile journey to Toronto entailed some bad directions through Buffalo, (fool computers), an easy boarder crossing at Rainbow Bridge, and a Tim Hortons in Hamlin. After phoned up directions to his down town apartment we all arrived for supper at 4:30 PM at Jim and Ruth Bianchis, our missionaries to Toronto. The six of us discussed all the ills and cures of the world at the pizza place, Lebrettos, one block from their apartment. An interesting argument ensued about who should pick up the tab but Jim won by insisting that he get it. After cake and pictures at their apartment they dropped us off at terminal #3 and took my car for 10 days. Praise the Lord.

“Therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.” (Psalm 27:6b) Lee and Donna Pickett, our missionaries to Manitoba, who had connected us to this Christian Journeys Canadian tour, had flown into Toronto the day before and eagerly awaited our arrival at the airport. A joyous reunion surrounded our hurried check in, and our meeting of Marilyn Clarke and Brian Watt, our tour organizers from Christian Journeys and the 20 other 'Baptist'? preachers on our tour. I was excited to meet Matt Dowdy, the youth pastor from Parker Memorial where Shane and Kathy had just brought our 11th grand daughter, Christina Hope, into our lives. Matt had seen more of them than Bev and I. The Carlsons from Portage Prairie, friends of the Picketts, a couple from Saskatchewan, a Joshua Jones from W. Virginia, that had preached at Parker Memorial for Dr. Green, and knew Shane, and two or three other couples that I could not yet recall rounded out the colleague list and made me wish I had not left the list of their names on the kitchen table. We would be touring Israel with this group and the excitement and anticipation was intense.

While waiting for our 11 hour flight, I introduced myself to 'Shua' whose dialect and missing name tag disclosed my oversight in thinking he was a Baptist preacher. 'Joshua', as he explained his full name in English, was a business traveler that recruited high school girls to finish their last year of school and get 1 year of college by being an exchange student to Israel. The hour and a half conversation that ensued covered every topic conceivable and drew in several of my colleagues who wanted to preach a little when it was better to absorb from this x-tour guide and very knowledgeable traveler. Shua, just the same, was very impressed with our love for Israel and our savvy and disdain for the liberal Western media. He read through portions of my Isaiah 53 in Hebrew offering but would not keep it. The trust in God and looking for Messiah that he showed was encouraging, but his obvious rejection of Jesus as Christ not so much. What an insightful couple of hours. One more security check, surrounded by police with 9mm Uzzies[1] and we were on board the Luxurious 767 El Al aircraft which lifted off 15 minutes early.

Several 'orthodox' Jews boarded with us and with the dawn over Paris were found with a box strapped to their forehead, what I expect contained Scriptures. As they bobbed back and forth ritualistically they recited softly in Hebrew their prayers or readings. The young fellow beside me accepted a copy of Isaiah 53 in Hebrew which I had brought with me, and thanked me politely. The great interest in the people we will live among for 10 days heightened. Hours into the new day I was very impressed with Clint Eastwood's ability to speak Hebrew so well, although his lips never seemed to align with his words.

Day 2. Wed 28 Jan: Israel, Tel Aviv, Boarding our touring coach for Netanya, through Tel Aviv – off of Joppa, “Welcome to Israel Dinner” Blue Bay Hotel (011) 972-0 960-3603

A round of applause went up when the airplane touched down early at Ben Gurion Airport just outside of Tel Aviv. As Bev and I gathered our bags and climbed aboard our tour bus at our 18:05 scheduled landing time it was very surreal. We were in Israel, ... Just outside of Joppa, where Jonah began his flight from God, ... Where Dorcas was raised to life, “and many in Joppa believed in the Lord,” and where Peter stayed with Simon a tanner and saw a vision from God bringing him to Caesarea. We were here in the Holy Land. Bev and I asked the other if it was real. If we were really here. The tour bus headed off into the darkness to a place called Netanya. It was real.

The Half Shekel Journal Vol II by Ed Rice

Vol II Day 3 Thu 29 Jan: Caesarea,

Caesarea Aquifer, Mt. Carmel, Druze Luncheon, Megiddo, Valley of Jezreel, Nazareth, Dinner and overnight stay at Kibbutz Hagoshrim in the upper Galilee.

The eleven hour flight, the seven hour time change, and the strange excitement from the late night dangling of our feet in the Mediterranean Sea united with the realization that I was in Israel when I awoke at 3 AM. Beverly and I, Lee and Donna, and Jeff and Denise walked along the crashing starlit waves after supper last night and that came to my mind even before I figured out where I was sleeping. My mind raced madly to capture that I was in the Blue Bay Hotel in a Jewish Settlement called Netanya, nestled between the Biblical Plain of Sharon and the Mediterranean Sea. I was in Israel. “Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of Holiness.” (Psalm 29:1-2) I often read, pray and praise when I awake at 3 AM.

Although I studied quietly, madly looking up Scriptures and mappings of Joppa, the Plain of Sharon, Caesarea, Mount Carmel and Megiddo, Beverly woke by 5 and we impatiently waited for the sun that would find us combing the beach line of the Mediterranean Sea before our 7 AM breakfast call. There with our feet in the mighty crashing waves we should discover the rest of today's Psalm “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” (Psalm 29:3-4)

As the bus executed its scheduled 8 AM departure from Netanya, which we learned was named after Nathan Straus, (1848-1931) the wealthy founder of Macy's Dept. Store, who died on the Titanic, and left an inheritance to build the Jewish settlement in Israel; none of my studies prepared me for the information I was to receive as we made our first stop at the Caesarea National Park.

Nathan Straus (January 31, 1848–January 11, 1931) was an American merchant and philanthropist who was to own two of New York City's biggest department stores -- R.H. Macy & Company and Abraham & Straus before giving away most of his fortune to the Zionist cause.

The port city of Caesarea was built by Herod the Great and named after his Caesar in Rome, an ancient form of kissing up. Herod was not a great personality but he was a great builder and was often called on this trip “the king we all love to hate.” To butter up the non Jewish subjects, for he was Jewish, and to kiss up to the Roman Caesar he built, dedicated, and named the most Roman City in the whole promised land of Israel. Its Roman theater, hippodrome and architecture made Caesarea the avenue by which Roman culture was first funneled directly into the middle east. Its largest port in the world was intended to provide Roman ships a place to winter safely on the trade line to Egypt. But the jump start it gave his economy every spring made Caesarea take over as the leading trade center of the world.

We wandered through the ruins of this portage city where our imagination was captured by what life was like 2000 years ago when the theater was in full production with its secret tunnel out of center stage and its circular design that allowed a stage whisper to be heard anywhere in the 2000 seat auditorium, still used for concerts today. We walked through Herod's Palace, and I heard the governor Pilot announce to his Roman soldiers in the Praetorium that they had to go to Jerusalem for that Jewish holy time of passover; their presence there was to quell any spirit of uprising among the Jews. From the ruins of Caesarea I heard Peter say to Cornelius:

“Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly.” (Acts 10:34-40)

We each could imagine the cistern, not even fully excavated yet, likely housing the Apostle Paul who was held prisoner for Felix the Governor and first held in Herod's judgment hall then kept in Caesarea for 2 years until shipping to Rome. (Acts 23) We heard the crashing of hooves and chariots at the Hippodrome as animal contests and races were held on the Roman 'circus.' The 'tel' of construction built upon precious rubble which layer by layer exposed to the archaeologist a craggy history of Muslims, Mongols, Crusaders, Byzantine walls, Roman bath houses and entertainment centers. The massive harbor sunken into the sea and the fresh archaeological digs of Caesarea whet my ready appetite to see more, to comprehend it all, to come to this place again. But we had to press on to stand on Mount Carmel this very same morning. The tour bus only paused momentarily on our exit so we could view the aquifer which carried fresh water at 250 gallons per family per day into Caesarea. Americans average only 100 gal/day/family and this gradually sloping suspended river of water, a world wonder of 2000 year old construction, was recently exposed in a hurricane, then unveiled by the archaeologist shovel, and now occupied only a few moments of our time between Caesarea and Mount Carmel. This day is fast becoming overwhelming.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol III Day 3 Thu 29 Jan: Carmel, Megiddo

The whole land of Israel dwarfed to reality when Bev and I stood on Mount Carmel and looked across the Jezreel valley to see the town of Nazareth nestled in the foothills of Galilee, then looked back to see Caesarea on the coast and down the side of the Jezreel Valley to pick out the location of Megiddo. This condensing of the Holy land into a walkable, conceivable image seen from atop this height had as much an impact as reading Elijah's 63 word prayer which he uttered from this mountain, or hearing King Ahab and the people on their faces saying, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.” (1Kings 18:39) My mind's eye saw and heard these things on the third day of our visit to Israel. I saw the blood of those 400 prophets of Baal slain 2,906 years ago, and the sound of the abundance of rain that Elijah announced will never be driven from my ears. I was in God's Holy land, and I stood on Mount Carmel long viewed as only a dot at B-3 on map plate 9 of my Schofield reference Bible. The day presses us on and we need to be in Megiddo right after our lunch in the Druze village.

The Druze who served up our pita bread dipping dinner, with no individual plates or utensils but several dishes on one platter per table of five, wherewith we, the Cicanskys, and Marilyn while sharing one platter tried to dip from separate sides of the favorites because double dipping was the norm, was a secular Druid. He was still a Druid, but not living according to their very strict lifestyle. A Druid believes in reincarnation and the instant one dies, he is reincarnated in the birth of another Druid somewhere in the world. Therefore their numbers never change and the only way you can become a Druze is by birth to a Druid father and mother. Their founder is supposed Jethro, the father in law of Moses, and it is taught that he will someday be reincarnated and born of a male, without female involvement. The male britches, of practicing Druids, must have a large pocket in the buttocks in case he should ever drop in, or 'out' as the case may be, unexpectedly. The Druze commune together with no entertainments and a strict set of rules taught by a father in their secret reading of their hand copied secret book. This is only done in the privacy of their own home and even secular Druids are very careful to maintain this secrecy by choice or by ignorance, our host feigned the latter during the cross examination of 13 preachers. The Druze assimilate into many cultures and although they indulge in no entertainment they sure did put out an exceptional lunch for the 24 of us. They live peacefully in Israel, and even serve in the Israeli military. They are very sincere in their beliefs but 12 Baptist Preachers of the Gospel were all silently repeating John 14 in their minds: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 ¶ And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. ” The tunnel at Megiddo closes at dark and we hurry to the bus.

The Bible says that Solomon built the walls of Megiddo (2Kings 9:15) but the archaeologist shovel tells us that Ahab, 70 years later[2], was the king that did the major constructions within Megiddo. (2Kings 9:27 tells us he died there 112 years after Solomon.) A 'tel,' Arabic for 'a hill or mound,' hides layer upon layer of conquests and victors which 'tells' a history and the 27 layers of conquests was indeed at the crossroads of empires. An ideal defense overlooking an ideal farming valley strategically placed at the intersection of three continents makes Megiddo an ideal site for archaeological discovery of our 4000 years of history back to Noah. It was almost embarrassing to focus all my interest on only a few kings of Israel when pealing back before our eyes was world history from Napoleon's failed 1799 middle east campaign all the way to the Canaanite peoples that stepped off the ark in Noah's son Ham. (Gen 10:6) But such is the necessity of a 3 hour tour. Discovering city gates and concluding which were built by kings of Israel, uncovering grain 'silos' and older “Bronze Age” temples, horse stables and homes, palaces and water systems, are all an archaeologists dream and a Bible students paradise. There was no time nor allowance to descend to the bottom of the grain 'silo' while picking and dating 2,958 year old grains of wheat still lodged behind rocks. No time to sit in the gate or measure to estimate the stable capacity nor estimate army sizes and population estimates. The water system tunnel that would exit us from Megiddo would close at 4 and there was little time to conceive the rock chiseling and bolder lifting, necessitated by our 182 step descent (35m) down the 'well' and then up the grade through the tunnel to exit at the once concealed and buried spring. The Megiddo visit enlivened a flavor for all history, and for Bible accuracy. This war laden tel at the cross roads of continents should occupy more of my time because it will once again be a battle field of epic proportion:

“Zep 3:8 ¶ Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. Zec 12:9 ¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. Re 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. Re 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” (see also Isa 10:27-34, 24:21-23, 26:20-21, 34:1-8, 63:1-6, 66:15-16, Jer 25:29-33, Ezek 39:1-16, Joel 2:1-11, 3:9-16, Obd 1:15, Zeph 3:8, Zech 12:1-9, 14:1-5, Matt 24:27-28, Rev 14:14-20, 16:14-16, 19:17)

The cross section meticulously excavated into the tel exhilarated the mind for what remains yet to be discovered, but ancient history was but a passing fancy for this 10 days. I want to walk where my God, who was made flesh and dwelt among us, walked on this earth and we boarded the bus and headed toward Nazareth.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol IV Day 3 30 Jan: Nazareth - Tel-Dan

As we got off the bus in Nazareth the tension in this land crackled and creaked. Three Muslim women sat beneath a huge banner which announced something about Allah, Mohammad and a desired Mosque at the entry way of this Catholic church. The one with the infant jested toward our group and said something in Arabic to the others and all three laughed and giggled and babbled on. As 24 Christians, 12 Baptist Preachers, of the Gospel walked by in silence, their chiding laughter was replaced by booing as we walked by to another 'man made' religious establishment, the Roman Catholic “Church of the Annunciation.” Both establishments, Catholicism and Islam, have a history of hatred towards God's chosen. The paganism of Catholicism both amazed and appalled me. Here in the Holy Land the spokesman of Christianity is perceived to be this pagan Harlot, the Roman Catholic Church and her back up speaker the Greek Orthodox Church is competing for property rights on what they perceive to be holy dirt. As we enter the magnificent dome structure their paganism again caused me to marvel. “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.” (Rev 17:7)

The real marvel of Nazareth was found in the archaeological dig underneath accessed from the outer courtyard of the church. There, 20 feet below the surface of the beautiful poinsettia garden was a small portion of the village of Nazareth. With an estimated population in the hundreds, it should not have been surprising that it was then said of this little place, “can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) This tiny excavation under the Church showed Nazareth to be a small poor village of masons and stone workers. The modernists want to immediately change the Bible; in their opinion, since no Black and Decker circular saw was found in the excavation Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 were errant in referencing a carpenter's son and should have mocked him as the mason's son instead. One of the preachers with us (not a Baptist), because he had a year of seminary Greek, even tried to justify their hasty changing of the Holy Scripture. Modernists do not believe in God's preservation of His inerrant, infallible, verbally inspired Scripture, and consider it their duty in life to try to change and 'fix' His book in hopes of restoring some fictitious original manuscripts that God lost 1,500 years ago. The more sincerity they have in doing God this 'favor' the more their ignorance [3] aggravates this Baptist preacher. The excavation of the tiny town of Nazareth is a work in progress, the Word of God is not! We make our way north to the Golan Heights as our guide, Ron Winters, exhibits an awesome expectation of the days that lie ahead. It was getting dark as we checked in to Kibbutz Hagoshrim and we were to tired to take the short exploratory walk that we desired. The facilities and supper were superb. With interest we read their place mat at supper, Bev took hers since mine was spotted with spilled soup. The Mediterranean Kosher meals were an exceptional change to our normal high venison diet; a change little envied but delightfully enjoyed. I still like steak and egg for breakfast and interpreting Exodus 23:19, or 34:26 against it is just wrong.

“The Hagoshrim Kibbutz and Resort Hotel

lies in the heart of the Hula Valley. Founded more than fifty years ago, it was first known as HaGoshrim Guest House. During most of the period before the War of Independence this area was held by a Syrian leader, the Emir Fa'ur of the El Fadil tribe. He controlled the region from the beginning of the 20th century. In 1940 he sold his lands to the Keren Kayemet and left his palace, and it was to this site that Hagoshrim Hotel came to be built 13 years later.

“In 1943, a Hapoel HaMizrachi (religious Zionist) group arrived in the area but failed to settle in successfully, looked for a new direction and moved to the center of the country where they can be found today in “Moshav Nechalim” village and Yeshivat Nechalim, one of the largest yeshivas (colleges for religious studies) in the country.

“In the years 1944 and 1945 – three core-groups of youth movement graduates arrived from Turkey for agricultural training in the Land of Israel and named themselves “HaGoshrim”, signifying “a bridge between Israel and the Diaspora”. In September 1948, Kibbutz HaGoshrim was founded and the members settled in the earlier “Nechalim” group's site, interlaced with streams. This was approximately 2 kilometers south of the present location of the kibbutz. The settlers suffered in the inundated area and requested the Jewish Agency's permission to move slightly north to higher ground where they would also gain better access to the main transport route.

“The ruins of the Emir Fa'ur's palace stood at this new site and were then being utilized by the kibbutz members as a storehouse, laundry and various offices. The rear part of the building, behind the stone wall now in the hotel lobby, served as part of the wall of the sheep-pen used by the young farmers.

“In 1952 the idea crystallized of running a Guest House and it was a kibbutz member, Ora Reiss, who was responsible for the idea. It was through her initiative that the Guest House gates were opened.

“ The HaGoshrim Guest House opened in 1953, under Ora Reiss' management, in Emir Fa'ur's abandoned palace. The highlight for the guests was the chance to sit on wooden seats by the banks of the stream and dip their feet in the cool waters – a veritable Paradise!” History of HaGoshrim, from guest house place matt.

Day 4 Friday 30 Jan of our trip started in a national park at the headwaters of the Jordan River. The invigorating hike along the small stream through a beautiful forest of trees revealed springs adding to the flow of the Jordan which supplied 12% of Israel's drinking water. We recalled King David's boast that his kingdom went from Dan to Beersheba[4] and we read his 42 Psalm “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God:”

The name of this park had not properly prepared me for the breadth of what I would take in in the last portion of this walk through an Israeli watershed. Tel- Dan was indeed the telling of Dan, if one could get double meaning from the Arabic word 'tel'. Of coarse the Bible had already told on the Danites, in Judges 18 they left the territory allotted to them by Joshua as also stated in Josh 19:40-48. They proceeded north through the land promised to Ephraim, then through that assigned to Manesseh, Issachar, Zebulon and Asher. They had found a city on Laish in the northern post of the land; a city which dwelt carelessly and isolated. When they left the two cities they had subdued, Zorah and Eshtaol, they stole and kidnapped “an ephod[5] and teraphim[6] and a graven image, and a molten image.” (Jud 18:14) and the Levitical priest which dwelt with an Ephraimite named Micah, and easily conquered and burned the city of Laish. The tribe that abandoned their assigned inheritance, took up with a graven image and settled in the most northern tip of the promised land is not even listed among God's chosen tribes in Revelation 7:4-8. Instead his portion is doled out to Manasseh and Ephraim (son of Joseph) whom he had crossed to get to the city of Laish. It seems he also crossed God in abandoning his inheritance.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol V Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Tel-Dan Cont.

The archeology at Tel-Dan, again 'tel' is Arabic for mound, and descriptive of a conquered and reconquered heap of buried cities, revealed a tremendous Biblical history which indicated the exact truth of God's holy record keeping. Our first exposure to the dig at Caesarea and the tel at Megiddo breathed fresh air on our growing enthusiasm as we first stood at the gates of the city at Tel-Dan. The dig in the highest part of the city revealed the temple worship to the false gods which the Danites had stolen from Micah of Ephriam. But it also went on to reveal the presence of the larger worship area of the false god that Jeraboam had set up in Dan.

Influences of the pagan practices of the Cannanites caused temple worship to be done at the high points of an area and the Danites, with idols first, then with the calf that Jeroboam[7] set up in Dan for worship, continued in such practice. As we descended into the city area of Dan, there were amazing discoveries of houses and palaces in partial exposure from digs, the work of students who dig for 8 weeks per season here at Dan. The recent discovery of the palace was commendable because as our guide, an archaeological enthusiast, told us, “Archeology is 10% finding fact and artifacts and 90% imagination.” Discovery of baths, houses, city gates and even the throne in this city caused them to estimate the population of the 3,000 year old city of Dan to reach about 2,000. We examined an area where a missing stone was carried off to a museum in 1999. It announced the fall of the city to a conqueror and declared that he had killed “the family of David,” thus it was a very first archaeological find that indicates there was indeed a king David of Israel. The excitement of this find caused exuberance in all of Israel. Such finds could not cause me to believe my Bible more or less, but the joy it brought these Israeli archaeologist and the grief it caused their nay-sayers could even cause a Baptist to shout Alleluia!

As we rounded the hill departing from the city of Dan the sheepish grin on our guides face should have told us there was more to this site than we had seen. The city of Laish mentioned in Judges 18 (of the land called Leshem in Josh 19) lay partially exposed in an awesome archaeological dig pavilioned just around the bend of the hill. We cannot imagine what caused anyone to start digging in this location but there before us was the awesome fortified city that was built shortly after Cush and Canaan left their Grandfather Noah's Ark, and settled into this lush beautiful land. Then in Genesis 14:14 Abraham had chased lot's captors all the way to this city. Standing here in the city of Laish changed the pages of my Bible to a familiarity I had never known. We left Tel Dan headed for the city of Caesarea Philippi.

When an Israeli puts his hand to the land that God promised to him the land buds into blessing and prosperity. When Europe refused to accept oranges imported from Israel in order to shore up their own Euro and market, Israel cut down their orchards and grafted mango branches into their stumps. They completely took over a new market in Europe and prospered more than any orange orchard could. God blesses Israel. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” (Psalm 122:6)

The city Caesarea Philippi was first named Paneous after the pagan god pan. At Herod's death the kingdom was divided amongst his sons and Philip built this city and named it after Caesar and himself. “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt 16:13) The word 'coasts' would not imply seacoast but the outer edge of the city. At this outer edge of the Caesarea Philippi there is a mammoth rock cliff with a large cave where the city water supply was expelled. Well we could imagine Jesus overlooking this awesome scene as he declared to his disciples “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter(little stone), and upon this rock (large stone) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.“ (Matt 16:17-18) (Italic Parenthesis added) Here Jesus was declaring that his Church, “the pillar and ground of truth” via 1Tim 3, would be built on the truth that 'Jesus was the Christ', not built, as the Catholics twist this verse, on Peter, the little stone; and certainly not built on the gargantuan rock standing before him at the 'coasts of Caesarea Philippi' as modernists would hope to sway it. Jesus would build his Church upon the truth of who he was, the Messiah, the Christ.

Now a massive rock and cave spewing water did attract a large amount of pagan worship and sure enough the front of the cliff wall was littered with temple ruins of every sort. As Beverly and I explored these temple sites three things mightily moved us. First, that we stood before such a massive rock and cave that stood here 2000 years ago. Second that mankind was so very pagan in its worship of false gods, considering that before all these false temples one day stood “the truth” and their eyes were blind to His presence. And lastly, but most profoundly, by the teachings of Jesus that He was indeed “the Christ, the son of the living God.” and that He would build His Church on the truth that was expounded here on the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. Bev and I got away from the bustle in a quiet moment to read the Scriptures and pray and rejoice. We were in Israel. We were sitting on real estate that God, manifest in the flesh, used to teach his disciples his purpose, to build an 'ecclesia' and 1,978 years later this little part of it sat in awe of what He had done, despite the disobedient paganism of man's heart. Why? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

On the bus preachers of that gospel talked and jested about the trite. I wanted to sing. I wanted to shout. I wanted to read aloud the Scriptures. I wanted to weep. One after another added trite and not a word was spoken about my Lord, who on this location possibly at this very spot where we boarded a bus, had to tell Peter “thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matt 16:23) Three silent tears assured me that there were a few on this tour who savored.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol VI Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Caesarea Philippi and Olive Press

It proved wise to stay in easy earshot of our guide. Wise but difficult. In one sitting something about numbers came up and Ronny's accented answer intrigued me. In the Genesis account of creation the third day accounting, which is captured well by my Jr. Boys class poem of last year “On day three God created the land and the sea, the grass and the tree but not yet you and me,” what we had not noticed in our studies was that for this 3rd day of creation God said, “that it was good.” on two separate times. In Judaism this was not overlooked and all weddings are on Tuesday, the 3rd day of the week. In John 2, Jesus attended a wedding in Canaan of Galilee on what day? ... “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee;” For a Jew the soul stays with the deceased for 3 days. Therefore Jesus delayed and came to raise up Lazarus on what day? ... on the4th day. Over and over you will find that Judaism has captured every significance about every number mentioned in the Bible and it would behoove each of you preachers, Ron reports, to have David Saluda's book “The Jewish Shades of Christianity[8].” Put it next to your B.A.R. subscription[9]. Here at Caesarea Philippi we know that the cultic pagan practice of offering the first born son when he was 40 days old was carried out and thousands of infants were slaughtered on this massive rock that spewed out water and was considered sacred. Jesus said ... not on that rock ... but on 'this' rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matt 16:18b) This cave, laden with infants blood, may have initiated the 'gates of hell' consideration.

We should note here that the giving of all the first born to the Lord on the 40th day was initiated by God as a memorial of the redeeming of Israel from Egypt and the passover of Israel's first born in that redemption. Exodus 13:2 “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.” but the first born sons were not to be sacrificed, they were to be redeemed. “That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD’S. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.” (Exod 13:12-13) On the 41st day of life (cf Lev 12:3-4) “she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:” (Lev 12:6b) Now Jesus, who fulfilled every aspect of every Jewish law, was so offered on this 41st day as recorded in Luke 2:21-24. (This was likely after the wise men left off their lucrative offering and fully payed for a redeeming lamb for “the Lamb of God taketh way the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

And while your Bible is open to Luke 2:22, look at the extreme importance of getting your pronouns correct and not using a modernist bible. Every modern bible translation[10] followed the gnostic ideas of Origen's hexapla (185-254 AD) work broadcast from Alexandria Egypt, which changed the clear pronoun “her purification” to the errant pronoun “their purification” in order to imply that Jesus needed to be purified as well as Mary. Gnostics of the 1st and 2nd century did not believe in the deity of Christ and gathered their writings in Alexandria Egypt. Deists of the 20th century did not believe in the deity of Christ and Bible Societies, both the American and United Bible Societies, gathered their writings from Alexandrian manuscripts into the NIV, ASB, NEV, NASB, etc. etc. Every modernist Bible has this brazen error. You should always check your Bible to know the modernists incursions, and make sure you use the one which follows the true text of the Textus Receptus. In English, always use the proven King James Authorized version.

On our way to the Golan Olive Oil[11] press for a free lunch we stopped at one of the army strongholds atop one of the Golan Heights. We were given enough information to know that the signs, warning of Syrian land mines, were serious and to carefully survey the bombed out shelters under the eucalyptus trees. Some one, who shall remain nameless, suggested that the signs which read “Danger Land Mines” may in Arabic say “Welcome Picnic Area.” The wind and cold at this height made this stop breathtaking but a welcomed rush. The bus took us back down into the valley where an olive farmer had struck onto some genius and prosperity and was offering us a tour of his press.

Genius and prosperity yes, but his marketing skills, especially the film, had room for improvement. I learned that the pit of an olive contains a toxin which prevents plants from growing. That is fine when 500 pits fall under an olive tree and keep other plants from moving in on its territory, but it is another thing when 500 million pits need discarded from an olive processing plant. Mr. Olivepressor's genius solution was to use every part of the olive and discard nothing. It turns out the toxins in the olive pit make a powerful scrubbing soap for men, and a host of awesome skin care products, with almost anti bacterial properties, for women. I think God blesses these Jews with their ingenuity. They are reaching the place where God said “If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid:” (Lev 26:3-6a) How unfortunate they are yet in disregard of His last command: “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” (John 6:39)

“Our Man in Damascus: Elie Cohn”

by Eli Ben-Hanan (Paperback)

The thrilling, shocking, true story of Israel's most daring spy: The story of our priceless most brave spy in Damascus. This book is based on facts and events which took place on the dates and in the places indicated. The dialogs and some of the names have been changed in order to complete the picture, and so as not to prejudice persons still living among us. This book reveals about the personality and deeds of Elie Cohn, Our man in Damascus, is merely a drop in the ocean of his outstanding achievements; the rest we will learn only years from now, if at all. Paperback, 143 pages Price $13.95

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol VII Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Olive Press and Golan Heights

So we learned about olives and olive oils. Remarkably the difference between a green olive and a black olive is about two weeks on an olive tree. The first pressing of the olive squeezes out what they call virgin olive oil. This is the oil that was used in the OT tabernacle and temple worship, very pure, very carefully pressed and handled so as not to crush any pit. It was interesting that I left the Finger Lakes wine capital of NYS to learn that grapes cannot thus be crushed with stone lest they break a grape seed and embitter the wine. The best way to crush grapes is with the naked foot, as seen in the “I Love Lucy” official, and I learned, international documentation of that process. Also it was later noted that in reality there is no such thing, in life or in olive oil, as an “extra” virgin. They tried to make up some line about their pH testing level making their oil “extra” virgin, and labeled their product as such.

The second pressing produces olive oil, a few pits may have been cracked in this press and the oil may be the more bittered by them. The third pressing breaks more pits and produces an oil suitable for burning in lamps. The fourth pressing crushes all the pits and is used for making soap and cleansing creams. The art of crushing olives is indeed an art of several stages. An art which I knew more about now than I would ever need, but it is another stone in the rich mosaic of life and learning.

As the bus wound up the hills and around the switch backs that would expose us to the Golan Heights I could not anticipate the heroic blood we would find on the top. Our guide had previously unveiled the story of Elie Cohn (“Our Man in Damascus, Elie Cohn” by Ben-Hagan) a Jew planted into a Syrian settlement in South America, who became an advisor to the Syrians army, yet remained loyal to Israel. Elie gave the subtle advise of covering each strategic Syrian stronghold with a desert tree called Eucalyptus (non native.) Such a tree provided comforting shade to the watch guard of Syrian soldiers but unwittingly provided a giant Israeli 'bulls eye' over every Syrian strong hold. Perched high above the “Yarden and the Kimeret,” these heights were taken on the 4th day of the 6 day war in June of 1967. With the Syrian shelling ceased, Israeli settlements began industriously building beautiful villages and involving themselves in the agriculture and dairy farming industries that we could see spread out before us from this magnificent vista.

With spunk and vigor our guide explained some of the Yom Kippur War of August 1973, that found him serving in the Israeli army. The Syrians had recaptured most of the Golan Heights and although he would not use the word miraculous, the Syrians mysteriously fled the area leaving only the Druze of their farms in four villages. (Ein Kinya, Majel Shams, Butata and Mas'ada) As we learned earlier of the Druz, they desire to live their agricultural lives peacefully in the nations they occupy, here raising sheep, goats, cows and apples.

Benjamin Netanyahu was born in 1949 in Tel Aviv and grew up in Jerusalem. He spent his high school years in the US, where his father, historian Benzion Netanyahu, was doing research. Returning to Israel in 1967, Mr. Netanyahu enlisted in the IDF and served in an elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal. ... Discharged from the IDF in 1972, Mr. Netanyahu participated in the Yom Kippur War and reached the rank of captain. In 1993 Mr. Netanyahu was elected Likud party chairman and served as head of opposition until his election to Prime Minister of Israel in 1996. During his term as Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu implemented policy that combined fighting terror with advancement of the peace process. Its cornerstone was the conclusion of well-measured agreements with the Palestinians that insisted on reciprocity. During his three year term the number of terror attacks drastically decreased. http://www.netanyahu.org/biography.html accessed 9 Mar 09

KEY EVENTS

From http://news.bbc.co.uk

June 1967: Israel captures Golan Heights during Six-Day War

1973: Middle East War: Syria's military attempt to regain Golan Heights fails

1974: Israel, Syria sign armistice

1981: Israel annexes Golan Heights

1999: Peace talks; Israeli premier and Syrian foreign minister meet

January 2000: Peace talks break down

January 2008: Indirect talks resume through Turkish intermediaries

Although the Golan Heights is outside of the Biblical borders of Israel's promised land and is considered “Ever Ha'Yarden” (the other side of the Jordan) it was good for us to visit this area now. The political savvy we gained as Israel struggles with giving the Golan Heights over to Syria as the “land for peace consideration” provide a deep insight into the heart of the Israeli people. On this mountain height covered with prickly pair cactus, Ronnie likened the Israeli people to ”Saberous” , the fruit of this cactus, which was prickly on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside, you could see forever. In 1999 Benjamin Netanyahu talked with then Syrian president Hafey Assad about withdrawal from the Golan Heights for peace. Ehud Barak continued the talks with Assad's son Hashar. Days before the Israeli elections Syria's attitudes towards peace may indeed be turning. All have opinions that way too much responsibility now rests on an inexperienced token US president named after Mohammad's horse, Barrack. I am reminded of an old Chinese curse I once heard “May you live in interesting times.” 'B-B' as Netanyahu is called here, would be a right wing hawk in next weeks Israeli election, but whether he or the 'centrist' party leader gets in, they will be at odds with our very left wing selection and his very left wing congress.

Coming down from the mountain tops we passed a fortress high atop a mount and visible from 'everywhere.' Nimrod was always thought to have been built by the Crusaders fending off the Muslims. Recent archaeological digs there revealed it was probably built by the Muslims to fend off the Crusaders. We did not explore there, but the whole history of the crusaders and their impact on Israel as Catholics slaughtered Jews from Europe to Jerusalem would make another tour emphasizing that period enlightening. However, I already have a plate full of reading I want to do on Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David and Ahab, on the 6 day war, the Yom Kippur war and Sulaman the Magnificent[12] (1522-1566) The wealth of things I did not know loomed before me as we headed back to HaGoshrim for supper and rest. Doubtless I would taste every kind of olive that was there offered.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol VIII Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: The Sabbath Day

I awoke well before dawn on 'shevet' (sometimes 'shabbat') the Jewish weekly day of rest that we call 'sabbath'. The Hebrew letter 'Bet', b or B, found in your Bible at Psalm 119:9, is the first of the BeGaD KePhaT letters carrying two pronunciations. It is pronounced 'v' as in 'vine' unless there is a dot, called a Daghesh Lene[13], in its center, which clues us to pronounce it 'b' as in 'boy'. Hebrew Bible manuscripts did not have vowel marks or Daghesh Lene dots until added by the Massoretes[14] in the 8th century[15]. Thus there are numerous English pronunciations and we often differ from the modern Hebrew tongue. The various pronunciations aside the Massoretic text did capture every word of the Old Testament Scriptures[16]. Even the famous ben Asher ('son of Asher' group of Massoretes) manuscripts and the ben Naphtali ('son of Naphtali' group of Massoretes) manuscripts only differ on a few vowel marking methods with no consonant differences. Modernist textual critics play up these differences in an attempt to change the Bible to 'correct' manuscript errors that they themselves manufacture. Thus, for our short Hebrew Lesson here, the Hebrew letters B G D K P T, would be pronounced B-G-D-K-P-T, while Hebrew letters b g d k p t, would be pronounced V – Gh – Dh – Ch - Ph - Th. But that is in old Hebrew, not modern. Being in Israel was a tremendous encouragement to my Hebrew studies. I hope yours will be set aflame; anyone who is 'someone' was multilingual and pursued linguistic studies, a Christian should at least strive to become cognizant of the languages his Christ communicated in.

Christians with a rudimentary Bible knowledge also know that Sunday is not the sabbath, nor the 'Christian Sabbath' that has been errantly marketed by the Roman Catholic Church who “think to change times and laws” and to “wear out the saints of the most High” (Dan 7:25) A slight Bible knowledge here will also defeat the false teachings of the Ellen Whitists, called Seven Day Adventists, who will not recognize that we worship the Christ on the day that he rose from the tomb. On the first day of the week Christians have been so worshiping in the morning and evening for 1,978 years now; ever since the apostles found the tomb open in the AM, and found the Saviour amongst them in the PM. Don't be fooled about the importance of the first day of the week, it has nothing to do with the last day of the week, except that Christians are in a perpetual rest from their labors (Hebrews 4) and need not observe the Old Testament Law concerning the sabbath.

Anyway, we were told to watch out for 'shevet' elevators the night before. Since Orthodox Jews and all other Jews courteous of the strange Orthodox rendering, were not allowed to press an electrical button on 'shevet', for it would constitute causing work to be done, 'Shevet' elevators automatically stopped at every floor, on the way up, and on the way down. Of course there was even more work being done in this, but no Jew initiated the work after sundown on Friday. They were also not allowed to cook after sundown which made the aspect of our breakfast this morning intriguing I have not yet mentioned it, but indeed every morning we had a very interesting Kosher breakfast.

Each Mediterranean Kosher breakfast consisted of vegetables a plenty, olives, peppers, salad, everything you could make from crushed chick-pea or crushed sesame seeds, fish, eggs fried, scrambled or boiled, pancakes without syrup, olives, bread a plenty, lots of fruits, cereal, yogart, cheeses sliced, cottaged and scrambled, and did I mention olives Never, never, never did they mix dairy and meat together, not even egg with meat. The 'shevet' breakfast had all that less what needed cooked fresh, no egg, fish or pancakes. They could serve meats on 'shevet' but not cook them. The trip must have been designed to get more exciting each day. It was so for Bev and I, and today we were headed for the sea of Galilee.

We got our bags around a half hour early and secured front seats on the bus so as not to miss a word that Ronnie, our guide, would say. The back of the buss was littered with incessant side conversations, jesting and a garbled speaker system. In this ten days I was far more interested in what we were experiencing in Israel, than in a pastors programs, problems, persuasions, learning or wit. This was not, however, a majority opinion amongst these 12 Baptist preachers. Elbowing their way to the front seats was first the Carlsons and Carpenters, then us and the Picketts. Our pending first glimpse of the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Beatitudes and Capernaum had us almost giddy as we waited for the others to board the bus.

Cameras were clicking madly as we rounded the hill that offered us a view of the Sea of Galilee nestled in the valley below. Living in lake country and fishing on lake Erie and Ontario of the Great Lakes heightened my expectation for seeing this 'sea', it seemed larger at C-3 of Plate 9 in my Scofield reference Bible than it was in person. It was awesome to see it just the same and our first stop was at the Mount of Beatitudes Monastery

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol IX Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: The Sea of Galilee

Tourism zealots have outlined thousands of places where George Washington slept. When you cross a tourism zealot with a religious zealot and give them 10 times the time to enhance their version of events it has quite an amazing result. Somewhere here on the Sea of Galilee Jesus “Seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth, and taught them.” (Matt 5:1-2a) We read the Sermon on the Mount Scriptures while overlooking the sea and before going to the Catholic Church where nuns were shushing everyone that entered. Beverly and I by passed the octagonally shaped ornately domed Church to see the cone shaped hollow funneling down to the sea side. It was likely just such a place where Jesus delivered the 9 Blessed 'R's that are recorded in Matthew 5. As we paced down the path that circled the vineyard which now occupied ths hollow the dome of the Church suddenly erupted into 3 part male harmony as three Baptist Preachers sang several songs of the faith. The sea resounded echo blended with the amplification of the dome to cause the birds to hush. We stood in awed silence with shivers of excitement in my spine as I considered that ours, indeed is the Kingdom of heaven, not because of our meekness or our mercy, but because of the Nazarene who walked on this sea of Galilee. I wish now I had overlooked the Catholicness of the Church entry and cast my rough voice into the mix with the three singers. Indeed if a few more Baptist inhibitions had been broken the whole lot of us could have made the mountainside echo with the joyous Gospel message in song, it would have been enough to make the shushing nuns blush.

Hindsight always brings to view the things one could have done or should have done. Bringing each thought or action into conscious consideration in the present tense and making them subject to the review they will receive in hindsight is a life skill that few attain, but a journal is a most helpful tool for attaining that skill.

I scanned through Matthew 5, 6 and 7. We were at the mount of Beatitudes where Jesus taught not just the 9 Blessed 'R's but 3 chapters of practical lessons on living for God; on salt and light; on alms and prayers; on riches and trust; on judgment and A.S.K., (Asking, Seeking, Knocking); on straight gates and false prophets' on false professions of faith; and on being both a hearer and a doer. As I considered the depth of his teaching in the brevity of our stay here the shallowness of man was in constant reminder in the shrines all around me. I knew I would be here today but had not prepared in the least; even by rereading these three chapters in the quiet of my morning devotions. In hindsight, I should have. It started to rain as the bus ambled down the slope to where we were to board the boat and launch out into the deep... with no nets, (cf Luke 5:4) but an expected drought of precious memories.

The water levels on the Sea of Galilee were down about 15 feet below normal, and about 50 feet from levels when the son's of Zebedee fished here. Slippery docks lead us down across dried beach front to the Worship Tours Ltd. Fisherman's replica boat moored at the end. The rain drizzled and the engine chugged to life amid claims that this was only the second fisherman's boat owned and operated here by believers; the first was owned by those couple of son's of Zebedee. As the boat drifted to a halt centered in the norther tip of the Sea of Galilee, and as Aneil, the boat owner, sang several contemporary Christians songs and spoke of his Lord and Saviour Jesus the Messiah, I was again struck by the smallness of the sea and[17] the greatness of our God. As Baptist voices blended with the Messianic Jews in praises to the Son of God, who had walked on and calmed this troubled sea so many years ago, the reality that God became flesh and dwelt among us gripped hearts in a way that I had not experienced in any old fashioned souther camp meetings nor stoic awestruck worship service of Yankees (or even Canadians as I suppose.) My military ventures across the face of the USA had brought me into rich contact with both Southern and Northern and also exposed the ever present hypocrisy of each. It is noted here but not developed that the sincerity of each of these two 'poles' loves the other, while the hypocrisy of these two backgrounds despises and speaks ill of the other. This tour had a strange unbalanced combination of each pole but, praise the Lord, no perceived hypocrisy. As Matthew took the microphone and Sue the keyboard and great songs of the faith rang out from this 'mixed multitude' nestled on a replica fisherman's boat adrift in the Sea of Galilee, this preacher of the Gospel of Christ flooded with an excitement and reverent awe that reached deep into my stoic Baptist upbringing which quelled any shout or run that my flesh wanted to do as my eye moistened with more than the misty rain that fell on this worship service.

As songs echoed from either shore I refreshed the Scriptures of Jesus calling Simon and Andrew to follow him and become fishers of men, of calling James the son of Zebedee and John his brother from their net mending; of his sleep and calming of the sea from Matt 8, Mark 4, and Luke 8; of his walk on this stormy Sea of Galilee in Matt 14, Mark 6 and John 6; and of Peters stepping out of the boat and walk on the water with him in Matt 14; and of the drought of fishes in broken nets that marked the beginning of his earthly ministry as well as the drought of an hundred and fifty and three great fishes in unbroken nets that marked the end of his earthly ministry and provided the epilogue of John's precious gospel. I had waited 46 years of my Christian life to sit here on a replica fisherman's boat and read these Scriptures and sing these songs and the power and effect of this hour can be captured in life but not fully expressed in a photo or journal. As I grasped Beverly's hand on the slippery dock and we made our way to the boat museum, our eyes connected and I knew of two who knew the presence and power of worshiping a Saviour Redeemer on the very sea that he created and then walked upon.

Before heading to lunch we visited the boat museum where the 2000 year old boat was on display. The video of its recovery and transport to the museum displayed the zeal and excitement of the Israeli Archaeological Society and the students that participated in the laborious project. After years of oil treatments and care the 2000 year old water soaked wood, which would vaporize into dust if allowed to dry, was finally able to support several coats of varnish and be on display.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol X Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: Peter n Capernaum

The restaurant where our lunch was to be served was large eloquent and empty . The olive press in the reception area caught our attention because of our rigorous tour of Golan Olive Oil Inc. The title of our lunch “Peters Fish” caught our attention as well because our guide laughed at the thought of us eating it. And the decor of this restaurant intrigued us because it was just out of Capernaum where Peter caught fish before he walked on water. The arrival of our entries seemed to meet every expectation of our guide. Peter's Fish was all cooked and all there, staring at us through the whole meal and very delicious. Beverly opted for the “Peter's Chicken”. All had a marvelous time.

Peter's 1st century house was excavated out from under another building supported on 20th century beams. It was located at the outskirts of Capernaum, and positively identified as where Peter once lived. Here the loudest of Jesus' apostles taught some of the earliest converts of Christianity, which would “continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers.” Walking into the excavated city of Capernaum gave one the very Roman sense of being there in 30 AD when Jesus had his abode amongst the streets we now stood upon. We examined in detail the synagogue and as our guide clarified and explained the means of telling a 1st century synagogue from a 2nd century synagogue to one of our number who was disposed to doubt, my mind went off to Jesus' reading and teaching in the synagogue “and they were astonished at his doctrine for his words were with power.” (Luke 4:31) The size of the synagogue in a town can be used to determine a rough estimate of a towns population. We entered the side court of the synagogue and the guide pointed out the markings etched in the stone floor. Children did their studies in the synagogue and this courtyard served as a playground where they played 'hopscotch' and 'tic-tack-toe' type games. Capernaum was quite a distance from the sea. I had heard talk of the lagoon which had dried up and obviously the sea's level had dropped significantly in the past 2,000 years even as it had in the last 20 years[18].

I looked out over the ruins of Capernaum, the city where Jesus came to dwell (Matt 4:13), here the centurion of great authority and great faith came to Jesus for his sick of the palsy servant. (Matt 8:5) He came to Peter's house where we had stopped earlier and He had found Peter's wife's mother sick of a feaver. (Matt 8:14, Mark 1:29, Luke 4:38.) Here, in the ruins of an unoccupied, dried up, sea forsaken, man forsaken, once bustling city I recalled the words of the Christ:

“And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:23-30)

On the bus we traveled south toward the Jordan river outlet, the terrain grew rugged and the hills steep and jagged. As we passed by Genessar you could imagine the old sea level up to the edge of these steep hills and easily picture a herd of swine plunging down the side of any one of these slopes (Matt 8, Mar 5, Luke 5) and drowning in the sea. In the oldest of these accounts Matt 8 mentions a pair of devil possessed men while Mark and Luke's account gives all the emphasis to just one of the two. Also Matthews account gives a various spelling for the country of Gergesenes (Matt 8), of Gadarenes (Mark 5), of Gadarenes (Luke 8). It was not uncommon for a country to have several various labels and it was not uncommon that those with a Hebrew tongue would spell and pronounce names at odds with those with a Greek tongue, ... and it is all too common that modernists Bible translators think nothing of changing God's words in order to synchronize these variations. It is all too common that Christians today are hood winked into accepting and using these modernist deviations from the actual preserved Greek text. Use an accurate, albeit old translation of God's holy Scripture; use a King James Authorized Bible. It translates God's Words, not mans corrections to them.

Some of the Nigerian tours were gathered to leave the Jordan River bank as our bus pulled in. There white robed bare foot 'chieftons' had drawn curious questions from our group as we had encountered them several times at our previous stops. The Nigerian government had sponsored so many free pilgrimages to Mecca for its Muslim population, that somehow they were persuaded to sponsor any Christians or Jews pilgrimages to Israel free of charge. They were here by the bus loads. Several bought jugs of Jordan river water and rushed off to their bus with with their magic holy water, ... I expected that made them more Catholic/Protestant than Baptist but I had not found one that spoke English yet.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol XI Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: Baptist n Baptisms

I did not know where all John the Baptist Baptized in the Jordan River, but this spot, where the river poured from the Sea of Galilee was as likely as any. Several were 'baptizing themselves' in the Jordan River as we approached a rounded ramped area that sloped down into the water. I was not sure what I thought of this practice. Coming from a 1,900 year historic line of believers who had been burned, drowned and martyred over baptizing believers by immersion, and understanding that baptism was an ordinance for the local Bible believing Church caused me to approach such trivializing of baptism with skeptical care. Others seemed to carry none of this concern or question. The errant teachings of the Presbyterian Church, and all Protestants came to mind. Error on infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, election of souls by TULIPs, separation of Church and State, and the idea that Knox or any other Protestant 'spawned' any Baptists, AnaBaptist, Waldensians, Albigenses, Arnoldists, Henricians, Donatists, Paulicians, or Montanists, who long preceded any of these 'Protesters' to Catholicism, and represent the 1,978 year old perpetuity of Baptist doctrine, especially that of salvation by grace alone and certainly that of believers baptism by immersion. Baptist ancestors who had been drowned by Presbyterians because of their practice of baptism of believers by immersion looked without humor upon such trivializing of Baptism done here. They mourned my silence as well. It was such a rich opportunity to teach about the Baptist distinctive that gave us our name, to clarify this keen error of Catholic, Episcopal, Presbyterian and Methodist faith, to point out that baptismal water may have here washed leprosy off of one Naaman, (2Kings 5) but had never washed off a single sin, original or otherwise. The thing done here before us was more than a ceremonial lifetime experience, it was a singular issue of the doctrinal error that had cost us blood and name.

Twelve Baptist Preachers watched the Presbyterian Minister baptize himself in the Jordan River. Pictures were taken, Preach was set aside, martyred ancestors wept, and I took no opportunity to correct the error. At our first meal together, supposing him a baptist, I had openly rebuked this brother for his stand in the error of Calvinism. The next morning, when I found he was a Presbyterian Minister, not a Baptist, I openly apologized for rebuking him, but not for attacking his doctrinal error. Some of my drive to clarify Presbyterian error on baptism was thereby kept in check, but inexcusable just the same. A Baptist should not take lightly the re-baptisms, baptisms or self baptisms of people in the Jordan River for recreational entertainment or 'emotional experience' or even 'once in a lifetime experience'. Baptism is an ordinance given to the local church and should never be trivialized, especially by Baptists on the banks of the Jordan River. When Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Knox finally made their protest against Catholicism and affirmed that salvation is by faith without works or indulgence, they got the grace of God into the proper perspective, ... the perspective that Baptists, by various names previous, had then been preaching for 1,400 years! But these 'protesters' never got the doctrine of baptism even close to the Biblical doctrine. The whole glorification of baptism in the Jordan River was herein a missed opportunity to preach the message “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! Oh, precious is the flow that washes white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” In hindsight, again, all the Baptists preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ should have united their voices and sang it from the baptismal steps at the Jordan River. Twelve Baptist preachers, only spectators, some clicking cameras, some jesting where baby sprinkling Protestants now baptize by immersion without understanding. There was ample meaninglessness unchecked and unmentioned. What a shame. What a silence.

Driving through the little towns on our way back up to Kibbutz Ginossar was delightfully relaxing as our long day drew to its close. Even in Israel we detected our coffee and donut stop by the two police cars in the lot. Starbucks Coffee had attempted a go in Israel but Jews were accustomed to a richer roasted coffee than they offered. 'Aroma' coffee shops had taken over the market. Their prices didn't rival Starbucks. The stop, the coffee, the donut, and the Christian fellowship topped off a very busy, but superb day in Israel.

In our new room at the Kibbutz of Ginossar, Bev and I discussed what we had seen. I revisited my own baptism in Ford's pond by Faith Baptist Church in Gang Mills NY, 47 years ago, Bev's 35 years ago. It would be folly and error to be re-baptized in the Jordan River. I had opportunity to clarify Baptist baptism today but I denied him thrice. It is only his blood that can wash away sin. No water from a Jordan River could. After an exceptional supper and exhausting day our talk with our Lord and reading of His word together closed day 5 of our tour with a peace that passes all understanding. Tomorrow was the the Lord's day, the first day of the week, the day God raised his son from the grave, and we would get to worship him here in Israel. Expectation remained peaked as we crossed the half way point of our time here.

Day 6 Sun 1 Feb: Kibbutz Ginossar on the shore of Galilee was just too nice a place to spend only one night. Supper was an especially fancy buffet meal in a packed dinning room. Ron and Brian had intended that we all sit together for a formal dinner but some of us arrived early and the overwhelming crowds for dinner had foiled the plan. The meal was exceptional just the same. We awoke at the edge of dawn intent on walking on the sea shore before breakfast. Armed with these intentions a New Testament and a harmonica we started on our quest for the path that would get us to the sea. We met Greg and Janise Johnson on the same quest and eventually the four of us met with success. The sun rose to find us worshiping on the Lord's day, on the Sea of Galilee.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol XII Day 6 Sun: Gideon Springs, Bet Alph

We boarded the bus, filled from breakfast, and I was anticipating a surprise stop at Gideon Springs. Brian, the Christian Journeys coordinator, had asked me to be ready to preach at our Sunday service today and had mentioned an anticipated visit to the spring where the mighty man of valor, Gideon, had his 32,000 man army narrowed down to 300, so God's mighty hand would be visible, against the oppressive Mideonites. I had started the year preaching a sermon about possessing God's promised land and its application of a Christians possessing God's promised life. I have enjoyed the few times I have gotten to preach to preachers and found one does not need to fully develop the points of a message, just make them and move on. As the bus pulled into Gideon Springs, I was pondering the possibility of preaching from Joshua to Gideon since both Joshua and Judges started with approximately the same verse.

The rain increased as we went down the scenic trail to the spring where Gideon's men would have either bent to the knee or gone down to the belly to get a refreshing drink of water. I tried to visualize that just over the hill there were armies of Midionites thicker than grasshoppers and riding about on camels. God wants to fight our battles for us. He wants to hand us victories on a platter and watch enemies of our soul flee in total defeat. To often we would rather war against them in our own might or compromise and let the oppressive destructive habits of life hold us in bondage.

The sprinkle turned to rain as Ronnie gave us some ancillary details about the area and about Gideon. But for the rain it would have been an excellent location for a Sunday morning worship service. Bev and I had quietly worshiped already, but believers had been uniting with other believers on the day that Christ arose for 1,978 years now and we did not intend to make this one an exception. This Lord's day, however, was more in the hands of the agenda carefully, tactfully driven by our guide. Although I thought the early morningness of worship on the Lord's day more important than creature comfort and considered 1st thing in the morning more fitting than the 'convenience' of moving to a more convenient time, the leading of the wet masses outweighed a single preference and we headed for the bus. Bev and I wore an even coating of rain afforded by no umbrella. We each turned down several offers to share one, and I saw seveal dry left arms contrasting right arm soaked to the bone. Sharing umbrellas is not often practical and wet thanksgiving should accompany rain in a droughted land. We were driven to Beit Alpha to see another mosaic.

Two thousand years ago Israel was a tourist wonder of the world for three reasons. The synagogue at Beit Alpha was an apparent encroachment of compromise into one of those wonders. I had no idea how so, even as we viewed the ancient ruins at Beit Alpha. We were ushered into an enclosure which housed the mosaic floor of a sixth century synagogue. We spread out on the platform which encircled the mosaic and our guide asked us to observe, analyze, and think about the synagogue floor before us. We contemplated. I mused. I had just recently considered how little people think for themselves these days because we let every one else do our thinking for us. (Usually horrid liberals like Katie Couric or Ted Koppel) It was refreshing to ponder the floor before us. Beverly pointed out the child sacrifice in the lower right corner, I picked out the 12 signs of the Zodiac and neither of us could follow the apparent story line in the mosaic before us. The drawings looked 3rd gradish and I couldn't comprehend the importance of this examination.

Our guide finally stated the obvious for us. After 70 years of Babylonian captivity the Jews had so learned the first and second commandment that there was no graven image or likeness of man or beast found anywhere in the land, and especially not in the temple or any synagogue. Yet here, in mosaic, in the floor of this 6th century synagogue lay the image and likeness of several, ... to include even the signs of the Zodiac. The story line was less sinister than Bev and I had imagined. The child sacrifice was actually supposed to depict Abraham's offering up Issac. The likeness of a ram caught in a thicket was pointed out. The angel who prevented Abraham's knife from its sacrifice was supposedly there. The servants left with the donkey were also depicted. Menorahs and a building with other creatures were poorly depicted on the other side but central was the pagan Zodiac rotated so Cancer rather than Aries was at the top. This rotation, and the counterclockwise depiction of the signs indicated either ignorance or purpose. It looked to me like the former.

The presence of the Zodiac in a Synagogue was especially amazing. The Zodiac was developed by Babylonian astronomers to denote the annual cycle stations along the apparent path of the Sun across the heavens through the constellations that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude. Although the term Zodiac means 'circle of animals' the constellation assignments[19] were not all animals. Astrologers construed that movement of the naked eye planets[20] through the zodiac, called wandering stars, was a means of exploring and predicting what their gods were doing on Earth, even, eventually, imagining that the stars positions at ones birth determined their personalities and destinies. Such pagan polytheistic tomfoolery was now on display on a Synagogue floor... it also made its way into our society and is portrayed in every newspaper in our nation! Woe be to any Christian that falls for such anti-God paganism.

The tremendous compromise of this mosaic and the blundered Zodiac and poor quality of the art work was imaginatively portrayed as possible in a short interactive video. When I understood the enormity of the compromise that was made here I feared that there was not enough made of the inclusion of images and paganism and too much made of the child like art that showed up on a Synagogue floor.

Beit Alpha was in interesting stop on our Lord's day in Israel. It illustrated how worldly compromise infiltrates our faith. Modernists welcome the compromise, expecting that Judaism had finally begun an 'evolution' and incorporate Grecian-Roman culture into its faith and practices. Lester Roloff, the great Texas, Independent Baptist preacher and founder of the Rebekah Home for Girls (1968) said “This world wants mixers, but God wants separators.” He still does.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol XIII Day 6 Sun 1 Feb: Bet She'an

The first book of Samuel closes with the death of Israel's first king. I cannot read that last chapter without sacred pause and a quake in my voice. There the valiant men of Jabeshgilead periled life and crossed the valley to the then Philistine stronghold in Bet She'an. On Sunday we stepped into the ancient ruins of that city nestled on the western edge of the Jordan valley below mount Gilboa. Just off the Jezreel valley, Bet She'an in ancient time was called the gateway to the Garden of Eden. Although not specifically mentioned in the life of Christ, it was the capital of Decapolis, which stretches up the eastern edge of the Jordan valley and is mentioned in Matthew 4:25 and Mark 5:20. When I saw the immense spread of Roman ruins scattered out beneath the massive tel of the trade controlling fortress, I found it hard to imagine that Christ did not walk these streets and harder still to imagine that had he, the Bible would remain silent about it. Though he did not visit this stronghold of Roman culture, the word of God's presence in the flesh, and the miracles that he did, surely did enter Bet She'an.

The ruins of a once populous city lay naked before us. It was mentioned that archaeologists love natural disasters that promote the destruction and abandonment of major civilizations. Not in present but in past, and not for the destruction, but for the fresh ripe historical evidences. The 749 A.D. earth quake which rolled the streets and leveled Beth Shean was a fitting example of such disaster.

But before examination of these remains, our guide, who was blessed with a very readable expressive personality, was excited to demonstrate for us a theater which still had a sounding wall in the back of the stage. We stood at the top right hand corner of the huge semicircular theater. We were reminded of the mere 2,000 seat theater which we visited on day 3 at Caesera, that an amphitheater has two half circles of seats connected, and that this particular theater would allow a whisper on stage to be heard throughout. Ronnie turned off his talking mic and gave us these reminders as he talked in a normal voice and descended down the stairs to the stage below. From our perch in the top row of this 10,000 seat theater we could plainly hear his footsteps and his whisper as he crossed the stage below. What an awesome, ingeniously designed theater for worldliness.

My children's generation were taught from kindergarten that these were cave men just steps ahead of the primeval creatures that crawled from a primeval sea. In reality the construction of Beth Shean revealed the truth that mankind is 'DE'volving not 'E'volving. Knowledge is increasing, as God said it would in the last days (Daniel 12), but the capabilities of man, and certainly his wisdom is not increasing. Yeah, I fear, especially as a high school math teacher who promoted Euclidean Geometry[21] as necessary, that capabilities and wisdom are decreasing in our day and age. I think it was Mark Twain who said “Common sense is not as common as it used to be.”

As I stood on Beth Shean's “42nd St. and 5th Avenue” intersection, and listened to our guide describe the 1st century's hustle and bustle of the market place, the elaborate goods from Asia, Europe, and Egypt that would be offered as wares, the open gambling and lottery sales, the liquor and drug market, and open prostitution that was rampant in the Roman culture and on the streets of Beth Shean. We marveled how similar America is. Man is not evolving! By His own words the world, at Christ's second coming, will be as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was not moral at his first coming.

The tell tale waves of shock that still stood in the wrinkled streets and the dominoed toppling of the pillars of Ron's “5th Avenue” were evidence of the earthquake that broke this cities back 1,259 years ago. Almost wholly excavated in the past 12 years, the ruins of the city spread out over what looked like a 30 acre field I once plowed. As some of the more exuberant in our group headed off to climb the immense tel that over looked the city, Ron mentioned that the very wall where King Saul was hung may have been uncovered at the far end of the city. That thought loomed in my mind so that I did not hear or note all he said about the Roman baths used for Church baptisteries or the several third and forth century Churches found in the city, or how they had prompted the abandonment of the massive theater and the rampant immorality. Instead I recalled the valiant men of Jabeshgilead and their noble quest to rescue the dead body of their cherished king.

In the close of 1st Samuel the stage is all set for Saul's final battle with the Philistines. David, in exile, was united with the wrong side! and the providence of God, who had already removed His spirit from Saul, caused the Philistines to send David back to his southland city of Ziglag. There he becomes occupied with his own dilemma. The Philistines incursion deep into the north of Israel and their permanent occupation of Beth Shean caused our guide to mention speculation that they may have been directed by Egypt as a guard to the trade route of the Mesopotamian valley. If that be the case, these Philistines would be the earliest foreign legion. Beth Shean was previously controlled and built up by Egypt. The Bible, however, has always been a most accurate final authority for speculation, and it gives clear indication that God's chosen people, Israel, had readily done “evil in the sight of the Lord and made and served Baalim, Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.” (Jud 10:6) This acceptance of pluralism caused “the anger of the LORD to be kindled against them” because they were elect and commissioned by God to teach the whole world that “The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deut 6:4) Indeed in Judges all their captors brought their gods into Israel's heartland and set up their temples there. The Philistines here.

To speculate that the Philistines occupied Beit She'an under Israel's first king because of an unrecorded influence from Egypt is likely unwarranted. But such speculation keeps archaeologists shovels busy and those shovels have always substantiated the truth of God's Record keeping. So 1st Samuel closes with Saul's lost battle at Mt. Gilboa and his death. The Philistines take his beheaded body and hang it on the trophy wall of their god, and the valiant men of Jabeshgilead risk their lives to rescue and bury the dead body of their king. Why did they do this? And why these men in particular? Before you read chapter 11's answer, let me point out two things about the Lord Jesus Christ, our living king. First, He said it is better to have your right eye gouged out than to enter into hell fire where your worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched! (Matt 5:29, Mark 9:43-49) And, second, He said “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” (Luke 19:27) Now go too, read 1Samuel 11, learn of valiant men, and consider your own right eye, and the soon coming King of kings; find the reason for these valiant men of Jabeshgilead, and find purpose to be every bit as valiant for a living king, who has redeemed your soul from hell.

A major portion of our day was consumed at Bet She'an. It could have consumed much more with no loss of interest. I should have hiked to the top of that tel.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol XIV Day 6 Sun 1 Feb: The Lord's Day

As our bus leaves Beth She'an we could click pictures of the amphitheater with a blood absorbing 'arena' (Latin for sand floor) at the outskirts of the city. Built for the Roman gladiator battles against man and beast these theaters, four found in Israel[22], were used in the 1st and 2nd centuries for cruel persecutions of Christians. The studies of that period afforded no more resource than several pictures clicked through a bus window and a sobering reality added to our Lord's day excursion. Ten days affords but a brief taste of voluptuous pages of precious history. Now off to Qumran.

Although I was very excited to see Qumran there was more to imagine there than there was to see, and the Dead Sea scrolls unearthed there around the year of my birth, have stirred and directed more than imagination in their 56 years of new life. We stood on the rock precipice where the Qumran community was found and Ron, our guide, pointed to a distant peek containing what was called 'Cave 4.' There in 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy cast a rock down into a cave and went to explore the breaking porcelain he heard below. As Ronnie's peculiar accent and intriguing skill unveiled the long untouched jars that the Bedouin's removed, the seven scrolls found inside, and the authentication process riddled with excitement and adventure, we each realized why for 10 years Bedouins were the less shepherds and spelunkers and became full time scroll hunters. Without question the Israeli government paid the Bedouins $10,000 per scroll and as the realization of what they had found bloomed, that was a small price.

On this craggy eastern slope overlooking the dead sea, 15 miles from the temple of Jerusalem, God had provided a below sea level, deep basin desert environment that could preserve Hebrew scrolls for 2,000 years! Untouched by human hand and sealed in ceramic jars the Bedouin desert wanders discovered thousands of scrolls and fragments from 11 caves around Qumran. These scrolls and fragments were archaeological gold and were bought and sold, smuggled and stolen for the 10 years of their discovery from 1947 on. But when the Israel Antiquities Authority inventoried the collection they found intact every book of the Hebrew Bible, (except Esther) all the Apocryphal (pseudipigraphical) books, (books that provide inter-testament history which Jesus, Jews and Baptists never called Holy Scripture, but Catholics, and ergo many Protestants, errantly did.) Disagreements among scholars about the 'who, where, why and hows' of such a collection will continue to ebb and tide, but two things are firmly settled with this find. History, linguistics evidence, paleographic and carbon-14 dating establish the date of the actual scrolls from 200 BC to 68 AD, just 100 years after the prophet Malachi wrote, and just two years prior to the Roman ransacking and destruction of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem. But more marvelously than man's dating is God's preservation! Not the preservation of rolled up animal skins in a dry desert, high evaporation environment but the preservation of His words so that not one jot or one tittle would pass away! (Mat 5:18) For there was no letter difference found between the whole of the discovered Hebrew Bible and that found in the Massoretic copies put to print in 1524 (and put in English in 1611).

God had, for over a millennium of hand copying, exactly preserved His words just as He said He would. God's words are 'Preserved': “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” (Psalm 12:6-7) They are 'Perfect' words: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 9:7) They are 'Pure' words: “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” (Psalm 9:8) They are 'Powerful' words: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12) They are 'Pleasant' words: “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.” (Prov 15:26)

The little I knew about the 1,000 scrolls found around the Qumran ruins stimulated to a new life as our guide so aptly pointed out caves and aspects of the discoveries that only a visit to the Qumran ruins could illustrate. He explained how the Essene community, once thought to occupy Qumran, were found much further south; that Essenes, being passivist, would never have built a fortress and did not use a refectory,[23] both found in the Qumran ruins. Levitical Jews would not likely use a refectory either. Evidence leans to some “priests of the house of Sodack,” or some sect of Jewish zealots, or, perhaps, the Qumran ruins had nothing to do with the guard and defense of the treasury of hidden Hebrew scrolls secured against Roman invasion. Surely visiting Qumran offered little to see but much to learn.

Clearly, the Jewish Bible had been extremely well preserved but not well followed. “We Jews do not live according to the Jewish law, but according to the 'interpretation' of the book of law, the Mishna, or '2nd book,' is the 1st book of interpretation, first made in Tiberieous, with corrections published late in the Talmud, or '3rd book' and 2nd interpretation, which was then later called Shulhond Alhugb, or 3rd interpretation. ... So Judaism, today, is just as man made as Catholicism.” The bus loaded and headed down the east coast of the Dead Sea. One more stop before dark. We need to worship at Engedi.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol XV Day 6 Sun 1 Feb: Ein Gedi

The shoreline of the Dead Sea was a surprisingly lush and productive strip of agriculture. When an Israeli puts his hand to the plow their promised land yields its bounty, even near the Dead Sea. The rows of fig trees and truck farms opened periodically to make room for some tourist attractions. Where the Jordan valley connected to the sea was especially rich in each. There was even one attraction that allowed visitors to tour a swampy reserve full of alligators. Our guide, who was as much enthralled with linguistics as with archeology, relayed the time they hastily hung out an English translation of their sign which read “Come feed yourself to the alligators.” Turns out word order is important for some languages and they meant “Come to feed the alligators yourself.” Thirty years as a multi lingual tour guide provided Ronnie with enough wit and wisdom to relate such linguistic snafus one after another, and his accent so duplicated the Pink Panther's inspector Cluso, that Jeff Carpenter and I could likely have kept him going for hours. The account of getting a 'vrroom' in France had us in stitches, and some intimate phone conversations with 'ken' and the question about being kutchy-kutchy should not even be mentioned in this journal. Inspector Cluso, if you don't know, is the heroic source of wisdom for all modern spiritual giants and Israeli guides, credited for authoring the lines “It is just another dark stone in the rich tapestry of life” and “It is just another piece of fabric in the rich mosaic of life.” and ... enough. The bus turns off the valley road and heads up into the hills toward Engedi.

While First Samuel is a book about the rise and fall of king Saul, and 2nd Samuel about the rise and perpetuity of David, Ein Gedi, and Saul's hunt for David, is the overlap between the two. We stared at the rugged terrain around us. The trickling stream before us did not seem to be a significant water source for David and his 600 men, (1Sam 23:13) as they camped and hid in these surrounding hills. From our leveled hill of the Israeli National Park we overlooked the stream, several ibex, and fleeting conies on the opposite bank. The excitement of seeing the sure footed mountain creature overtook the fact that we were at Engedi, where David was justified and Saul vilified. In a cave near our position David and some of his men were hidden when Saul came in to take a nap. Scholars like to discover hidden meanings in the Bible and then show off a superior intellect by teaching these, often invented, 'hidden meanings' to their followers. Many are taught in our seminaries that Saul “covering his feet” in a cave is one of those profoundly discovered secret meanings whereby Saul went into the cave to defecate. Such a hairbrain interpretation of Scripture is popular around Bible colleges and seminaries but just a little practical understanding of camping and cave dwelling portrays these show-off scholars as the prideful fools engrossed with bathroom talk that they are. Saul was in the coolness of the cave to take a nap and man had covered his feet for such a task for 2,942 years previous and for 3,070 years since. Don't let 'scholars,' so called, twist you up when it comes to logic, clarity, and literalness of the Holy Bible.

David could have slain Saul in the cave. David's 600 against Saul's 3,000 could have prevailed at Ein Gedi. Instead his speech turned Saul back to sane and responsible behavior for two years. If God does not turn the heart, the best arguments of man can only turn it temporarily. Saul would soon be seeking to destroy God's anointed again. The natural heart of man is desperately wicked and pitted against a Holy God. The supernatural that the secular educators are vehemently denying before our children, is the only one that can change the heart of man.

In the park area at Engedi, after suitable pictures of the ibex and connie, our group gathered to worship on this Lord's day. After our Sea of Galilee service, Matt Dowdy was the majorities choice for a song director and he lead in several old hymns of the faith. When a group of leaders, who are peers, meet without an assignment of leadership, the dynamics of the group is always an interesting study in personalities, humilities, and presumptions. I had been asked by the Christian Journeys coordinator, Brian Watts, to preach to this group of preachers on this Lord's day. There were a dozen more qualified and all were stimulated by our presence in God's promised land. In my mind I backed together three outlines I had preached this year about conquering and dwelling in God's promised land for Christians. It will take being strong and of good courage, a continual presence in God's Word, and an absence of compromise and perpetual presence of faith as depicted in Joshua 1-10. God expects that we will conquer vices and put them out of our life as much as he expected Joshua to put out the Hittite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite. Preaching to preachers allows skipping many ancillary explanations and illustrations because most have already preached my text. Although it was a rushed worship time it was precious to gather with other believers and praise God for His Son, our Lord, our Saviour, and our Deliverer. The bus headed down the slopes and pointed to the Moriah Classic Motel at the southern tip of the Dead Sea. It was also super bowl Sunday back in the states, and some in our number were expecting to see the game tonight.

The Dead Sea was deader than usual. Not because of its 36% salt content (the Great Salt Lake of Utah has only 6%) but because it had receded over 100 feet in depths from the 1920s. Israelis were now using most of the water from the Jordan River in agricultural ventures and cyclic climate changes, that the world fears and labels 'global warming' as their scare tactic, and blame tactic, has decreased rainfall in the area. The result was, large spans of sink-hole-riddled, high-salt-laden soil which was being made productive with Israeli ingenuity. It was interesting that they had to dredge a channel to the southern end of the sea to keep a 'healthy' content 'salt' water at the foot of the Moriah Classic Motel. There they offered a variety of spa, mud. and beauty treatments at very reasonable prices. Had we not had very reasonable exhaustion after the longest day our journey, I might have noted some of those prices. We enjoyed an excellent buffet meal at an excellent 5 star motel. Bev and I would likely sleep well tonight. It sure was nice to find our comfortable bed. I can't believe I'm in Israel. I can't believe we planned an early dawn swim in the Dead Sea.

The Half Shekel Journal by Ed Rice

Vol XVI Day 7 Mon 2 Feb: Masada

Day 7, Monday, 02 Feb 2009, Every day built with anticipation for us. On this day we would finally enter Jerusalem. But between us and it lay the history books and works of Josephus accounts of the tremendous hallmark of Judian patriotism, Masada. The second reason that Israel was a 1st century wonder of the world was now up to my knee caps. We were up at dawn and found our way to the salty beach of the dead sea before breakfast. Pastor Carpenter demonstrated the improper way of entering in as he ran from the shore and jumped head first into the sea. The mineral content of the Dead Sea is so high and the water so dense that even Baptist Preachers float, but getting it into your eyes and mouth made for an ordeal not to be repeated. Bobbing on top of the water, being very careful not to get any in our eyes or mouth was an awesome, indescribable experience. We swam/walked out to where the water was over our head and could continue 'walking' because our heads and shoulders were still not under the water. Those of us who had the courage to relax and lay back found we could bob on only about 3 inches of water. The even braver rolled over and floated on their belly with their head and face still completely out of the water. The second wonder which made Israel a 1st century wonder of the world was this sea, where 'everything floats'. Back at our room we showered, rinsed and reshowered my sweats and Bev's swim suit in a futile attempt to remove all the salt. We hung the wet cloths and sneakers in the desert sun on our balcony and went down to our Mediterranean Kosher breakfast.

Ronnie, had recommended we remove all jewelry and not shave before jumping into the Dead Sea. The later was not a problem, in that I had not shaved since my 1995 retirement from the military. There I was required to be clean shaved and in a tie for my 13 years as an officer, the shave was gone, but I kept the tie for my service in the Lord's army. It took me half an hour of grease laden string stretching pulling to get my wedding ring off. My beard had been on for only 11 years, but that ring had been on my finger for 34 of my 37 years of married life. I had lost my original while working under my car in Tuxedo Trailer Park, as an E-3 in the USAF at Rome NY. We scrounged around enough to buy a new one the year my second son, Shane was born and I had not removed it since. Now it was clamped into my 3 ring notebook until I could get it resized to fit it over my arthritic swollen knuckle, which still throbbed from trauma. The white ring left encircling my tanned finger looked like a wedding ring still, as Bev and I renewed our vows over the gold band, now in my note book. The dream of a life time unfolding in these 10 days and the 1st removal of the band, made an appropriate atmosphere for repeating again “until death do us part.” I love being in love, and the 'empty nest' has been more blessed than Bev and I had ever planed or imagined, although we had throughly done both.

The ascent up the shear 1000 foot edge of Masada would take 45 min of dedicated hiking and still not get us above sea level. Our dawdling at the Moriah Classic of the Dead Sea necessitated our taking the 62 second ride in the cable car instead, that plus I think Ronnie and Brian were concerned that we had no cardiologist on standby. The usual excitement in our guide was subdued into a serious graveness as we approached Masada and he told of the military recruits pre-dawn ascent... pp39

Appendix

Dlrice#####8@aol.com wrote:

I missed volume viii. Could you please send it again? We were away for a week and had a big buildup of email which I zapped. Probably half shekel viii got zapped in the process. Why is it a half shekel? Is that equivalent to a penny? And it seems as though the trip had to cost more than a half shekel, whatever a shekel is worth. Happy Easter to you and family.

> In a message dated 4/11/2009 11:01:53 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time.

Edrice4@linkny.com writes:

Dear Uncle Don and Aunt Linda,

Thanks for asking, Vol VIII is attached. The shekel is the base unit of Israeli money like the dollar is ours. With their economy as it is it exchanges for one of our quarters, although it is the size of a nickel. The half shekel is twice as large as a shekel but half its worth, about 12 1/2 cents or 1 US once-upon-a-time 'bit'. We called these Half-Shekel Journals because it is twice as large but half the worth of the real thing, OR it represents my little 'bit' of info, OR it cost me a half shekel to get it printed, OR, since a cup of Aroma Coffee over there cost 16 shekels, the half shekel is almost as worthless as our 2 cents, and the journal is my 2 cents. We pray that you too had a Happy Easter, we had the most blessed Easter ever as we presented our slide show of the empty tomb in three Churches, and one was in Cajamarca Peru! God Bless.

Love

Ed n Bev

1The Uzi (Hebrew: עוזי‎, officially cased as UZI) is a related family of submachine guns. Smaller variants are considered machine pistols. The first Uzi submachine gun was designed by Uziel Gal in the late 1940s. The prototype was finished in 1950, and initial service issue began in 1954. Over its service lifetime, the Uzi was manufactured by Israel Military Industries, FN Herstal, and other manufacturers.

2Our guide, being very cognizant in the latest tools of archeology, was quite insistent that a new carbon-14 dating method which uses atomic particle analysis can date dead plant life to within 2 years of it's dying. Therein the date of the oldest wheat grains, lodged back in the rock crevices of the excavated grain silo at Megiddo, came to be 900 BC in Ahab's reign, and not 990 BC in Solomon's reign. Carbon-14 dating must still rely on the assumption that the C-14 levels 3,000 years ago were roughly equivalent to those found today. Today C-14 is formed when cosmic radiation strikes nitrogen, is about 1 part per trillion, and decays back into nitrogen through beta decay, with a half life of 5,730 +- 40 years. At the death of a plant or animal the ingestion of carbon ceases and the levels of C-14 begins this measurable decay.

3Not their ignorance of linguistics as much as their brazen ignorance of God's almighty power to preserve his inspired words through the last 2000 years of dauntless attack.

4Am 8:14, Jud 20:1, 1Sa 3:20, 2Sa 3:10 17:11 24:2,15, 1Ki 4:25, 1Ch 21:2, 2Ch 30:5, Am 8:14

5Something girt, a sacred vestment worn originally by the high priest #Ex 28:4 afterwards by the ordinary priest #1Sa 22:18 and characteristic of his office.

6Givers of prosperity, idols in human shape, large or small, analogous to the images of ancestors.

71 Kings 12:32-33, 2 Kings 10:29 Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. Cf Jeroboam's sin 1Ki 13:34 14:16 15:30,34 16:2,19,26,31 21:22 22:52, 2Ki 3:3 10:29,31 13:2,6,11 14:24 15:9,18,24,28 17:21,22 23:15

8No such book author or title were found in an amazon.com search

9 Biblical Archeology Review http://www.bib-arch.org/

10Except the New King James that had a couple born again translators who promised not to use the Alexandrian dribble in their work

11“The encounter between ancient tradition and quazi futuristic technology gave birth to the amazing Golan Olive-oil Mill in Qatzrin, capital of the Golan. www.golanoliveoil.com

12Sultan Sulayman the Magnificent, as he is known in the West, is known by the more noteworthy title of al-Kanuni, the Lawgiver, to his Muslim nation. He was responsible for bringing the Ottoman Empire (al-Dawlat al-‘Uthmaniyyah) to its zenith of territorial possessions as well as cultural, religious and political prestige. His rule lasted from 1520 to 1566 and he was a contemporary of the Hapsburg Empire's Charles V, England's King Henry VIII and France's King Francis I. From http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/MiddleEast/Sulayman.html accessed 9 Mar 09

13Practico, Gary D., and VanPelt, Miles V., “Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammer”, Zondervan

14The Massoretic text is named for a group of Hebrew scholars called the Massoretes. They had schools in Babylon and Tiberius by the Sea of Galilee. They flourished from 500 to 1,000 A.D. The word "Massoretic" comes from the Hebrew word "massorah" which means "tradition". The idea is that of both preserving something and passing it down to the next generation. The Masoretes both preserved the Hebrew text and made accurate copies to hand down to succeeding generations. http://www.lightforisrael.org/history/histTnach.htm accessed 03/17/09

15The Massoretes main concern was safeguarding the Hebrew consonantal text. Originally the Hebrew text was written only in consonants as there were no vowels. The Masoretes added vowel markings underneath the consonants called ‘matres lectiones' meaning "mothers of reading". The vowel markings allowed those not familiar with the text the chance to read it. They also provided explanations of ambigious words, and counted the verses, words and letters of the Old Testament. The standardization of the Hebrew text was completed between 600 - 700 A.D. Ibid

16Daniel Bomberg first printed the Hebrew text in 1516-17. This was called the First Rabbinic Bible, Daniel Bomberg edition. Bomberg published the Second Great Rabbinic Bible in 1524-25. It was edited by Abraham Ben Chayyim and is also called the Ben Chayyim Massoretic text. This became the standard Massoretic text for the next 400 years. This is the Hebrew text that the King James English Old Testament was translated from in 1611. [Biblical Criticism Historical, Literal, Textual by Harrison, Walkie, and Gutherie, 1978, p. 47-82.]

17The Greek word for 'Messiah' is 'Christ'. Since he was expressed and expected in Hebrew before the Greek expression, Hebrew believers call them selves Messianic, not Christian. In the Hebrew NT Bible Acts 11:26b will say “And the disciples were called Messianic first in Antioch.”

18I had often missed the fact that this Sea of Galilee size difference even showed in the plate maps of my Scofield Bible. The maps from the OT period always showed a huge sea, while the NT ones showed a much smaller one.

19Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn (us), Aquarius, Pisces

20Wondering Star Planets visible with the naked eye are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

21“Civilization owes a great debt to Euclid, the Greek mathematician who organized three centuries of Greek mathematics into a deductive system. His completed work, the Elements consists of thirteen books and for more than two thousand years has been the basic text used for teaching geometry to high-school students. The Elements progresses methodically from the simple to the complex: it begins with precise definitions and unquestionable axioms which lead to profound consequences. ... Abraham Lincoln, at the age of forty, studied the first six books of the Elements as a training for his mind. ... Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher and mathematician who founded the modern theory of probabilities in the seventeenth century, said, “I think geometry the finest training the human mind can have. The whole art of reasoning is contained in its precepts.” ref. “Plane Geometry, a Traditional Approach” ABeka Book, Pensacola Christian College, Pensacola FL 32523-9160 pp 52-53.

22“Very few amphitheaters have been found in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, and most of these are in Israel. Besides Beit She'an, amphitheaters have been discovered in Caesarea, Beit Govrin, and Nablus.“ Ref “Natural Parks of Israel, Beit She'an, Capital of the Decapolis” ERETZ Ito-Tzvi Inc. © 1996

23re·fec·to·ry n., A room where meals are served, especially in a college or other institution.

Table of Contents

Vol I Day 1-2. Tue 27 Jan: Toronto Canada to Tel Aviv Israel

Vol II Day 3 Thu 29 Jan: Caesarea,

Vol III Day 3 Thu 29 Jan: Carmel, Megiddo

Vol IV Day 3 30 Jan: Nazareth - Tel-Dan

Vol V Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Tel-Dan Cont.

Vol VI Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Caesarea Philippi and Olive Press

Vol VII Day 4 Fri 30 Jan: Olive Press and Golan Heights

Vol VIII Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: The Sabbath Day

Vol IX Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: The Sea of Galilee

Vol X Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: Peter n Capernaum

Vol XI Day 5 Sat 31 Jan: Baptist n Baptisms

Vol XII Day 6 Sun: Gideon Springs, Bet Alph

Vol XIII Day 6 Sun 1 Feb: Bet She'an

Vol XIV Day 6 Sun 1 Feb: The Lord's Day

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