IN THE DUST OF THE RABBI
John & I went to Israel for 2 weeks on an intensive study tour of the Bible! We went with Ray Vander Laan (That The World May Know Ministries). It was unbelievable! What were learned in two weeks will forever change the way we read, study & enjoy the Bible! Two of the main things RVL (Ray Vander Laan) teaches are reading the Bible in context & reading the Old Testament just as passionately & intentionally as the New Testament. It's amazing how beautifully the two fit together and hearing his insights & gleanings from other scholars/teachers gave us a new passion for the Word! It's incredible to think that our story is a continuation of the story that started so long ago and that we have just as important a role as the Biblical figures did!
My picture descriptions are basic - I realized I was getting way too into detail so I kept them basic & if you have a question about one, let me know!
Our inflight magazine included Tel Aviv...the city we were headed to!
These are actual bricks made in the ancient Egyptian method thousands of years ago from the time of Hezekiah! Notice the little pock marks from where the straw used to be!
An olive press or "gethsemane." We learned that the place where Jesus and his disciples stayed on the Mt. of Olives was probably one of these!
The olive press.
This was the site of the tel (archaelogical site) my mom worked at for two weeks this summer.
The dig site is called Khirbet Qeiyafa and it's amazing! It's been identified as Jewish, dated to the time of King Saul or David and even more amazingly probably is the city mentioned in the David and Goliath story: Shaaraim (1 Sam. 17:52). Until this was discovered secular scholars often regarded this story as myth or folklore because the literal name of the city, Shaaraim, means "two gates." (During this period of history cities were NEVER built with two gates.) After finding this distinctly Jewish city in the exact valley mentioned in the Biblical account it is hard not to be overwhelmed with the precision of the story!!
Green pastures...
yep...they're eating from "green pastures"...
When the Psalmist mentions green pastures our American minds conjure up this dark green valley of grass where sheep eat their fill...but actually the only "green pastures" in Israel look like this. The amazing teaching we received about this was that God is always just enough for us...we often want to be led to a trough of feed but He faithfully gives us just what we need.
Just enough.
It's so easy to want to cushion ourselves "just in case"...but what He wants us to do is trust in Him for our "daily bread."
The sheep started to get curious about this large group of people - sweaty, hot & wearing weird hiking clothes/shoes! HA!
Continuing on the "just enough" teaching we entered into the depths of the Negev desert. We received a quick geography lesson & plants lesson. We learned that this broom tree gives just a little shade but when it's 120 degrees outside that little bit of shade is just what your body needs to feel like it can go on. We hiked for hours through a "wadi" - an area where water rushes through in the rainy season...but it certainly wasn't rainy season - it was HOT...and we hiked & hiked & hiked and soon learned what "just enough" feels like. Water & a little shade here & there were all we began to care about!
Hiking up the canyon of the wadi. It's so difficult to imagine the heat - ever been to Lake Havasu in the middle of summer? Now take away the lake & start hiking for hours in the direct sun! HA! Sounds miserable but it was actually amazing! It was so cool to see what Biblical figures experienced...wandering around for 40 years in this? Awful!
WATER! The group went through a LOT of it! Funny the name of the water is En Gedi - a beautiful spring of water we'd visit later in the trip!
John helping clean up the bus!
Another amazing teaching was "Shalom to Chaos" - meaning being a bringer of peace to the chaos of someone's world. He encouraged us to think of small things we could do each day to carry out this important lesson.
Another day hiking in the desert - here are Jan & Russ. Russ is legally blind and did every hike! He was amazing and they were both so fun to be with!
Another inspirational person - this is Don...I think he's in his 70's or 80's but you would never know it! He did every hike-even in the front or middle of the pack!
The landscape looks more like the moon than planet earth!
A teaching on top a small mountain (in the middle of the desert) similar to Mt. Sinai...it was an amazing teaching about the 10 Commandments being like God's marriage covenant with us. Life-changing. Again, the small breeze up top was "just enough" to keep us cool!
When we hiked down & continued to hike through the desert we were all happy to have a large cloud cover the sun for a small bit of time. Ahhhh!
The Dead Sea at sunrise.
We also climbed Masada - one of Herod's humongous palace/fortresses. It was incredible to see something built on top of a mountain in the middle of the desert with no water for miles...Herod was an evil man. Here's my mom walking down from taking a picture of it!
Inside one of the many cisterns Herod dug out inside of Masada.
Up on top looking out toward the Dead Sea.
Stones from the walled city of Hezekiah's time! Isn't it so pretty? I like to think the guy that laid this stone also thought it was pretty.
One day we went out to the Bedouin people - a nomadic people that up until a few years ago still lived in tents. The gov't now provides housing for them so they don't settle on land that doesn't belong to them. The boys rode in to the settlement with us on donkeys.
The kids were all so cute & happy to see us.
How I wish I knew Arabic...it would be so cool to talk with this sweet little girl! I love that girls are girls everywhere - pink & sparkles are always loved!
This sweet little one "helped" as her mom made us pita-like bread & hot spiced tea.
Their kitchen.
This little one was a little more leery...she warmed up but she really studied us all at first. I don't blame her...here comes a group of 60 people wearing barely nothing compared to them and we all plop down and start eating and drinking their tea. She will learn the beautiful gift of hospitality from her mom, aunties & relatives.
The waterfall that David was most likely at while he was running from Saul! RVL did a teaching on being someone's stream in their desert. He then encouraged us to take a picture with the "someone" who has been your stream...John hands down has been my stream these last two years!!! It's really tough to put into words what John means to me-he's my cool water in the desert!
And then we continued to hike! The breeze was "just enough" to cool my armpits, ha!
Not hard to see where David gets his inspiration for Psalm 42.
We hiked to En Gedi...the most beautiful spring of water! We all jumped in! We were SOOOO hot from hiking in the desert...when we got out RVL said, "This is a great way to get a picture of what it's like to be someone's stream while they're going through the desert"! It was so true! It's amazing how the water refreshed us enough to hike back out into the desert!
Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found! We hiked to them of course! Ha!
As we headed out of the desert and looked west we could see the Mount of Olives in the distance - it was so pretty...it's the 3 spires on the mountains in the distance.
Again, incredible teaching...here are some "shepherds out in the fields at night (day)"! Christmas was most likely in September or October...when the Bible is read in context it would make the most logical sense - shepherds in this area are only out with their flocks in the fields at that time of year gleaning the last bits from the harvest. Complicated to mention so briefly here but send us an email!
John looking out across the Judaean wilderness.
A spot similar to where Mary would have given birth to Jesus - this is a "shepherd stable." When you enter there's a spot for the shepherd/shepherdess (most likely shepherds were girls) and then the sheep sleep outside the opening of the cave.
RVL giving us some amazing teaching about having "prats" - gusto to go out there and tell the world the amazing news we have of Jesus Christ!
Lunch. Falafel, pita & Coke....ahhhhh....soooo delicious!
This was a special lunch - other lunches were also delicious but were pita with turkey, hummus, tomatoes & cucumbers in it.
This sign made me chuckle!
This is the 4th century octagonal church that was built directly on top of what is believed to be the site of Peter's house in Capernaum. Apparently archaeologists found graffiti with Christian themes and also a bunch of fishing gear deep down inside.
We hiked to the top of Mt. Arbel and looked out over The Galilee. This is looking north toward Gennesaret and Chorazin.
Now a little more to the west out across the Sea of Galilee toward Capernaum, Bethsaida and the mountains of Bashan on the right.
And of course the hike back down.
John looking on during a teaching at Gamla, site of the Zealot holdout before Rome squashed them.
Lunches were often on the move - notice Heather is holding her pita, a coke, some grapes, two bags of chips & her camera...oh & her backpack!
They say that during the Roman era the olives and their oil from Galilee were prized as some of the best in the world. It's pretty tasty stuff in 2010 too...
A running phrase we heard throughout our time of following RVL were the brief words, "Come. Let's go." We would all traipse along dutifully not knowing where he was leading us or even really how long we'd be on a particular hike. Most of the time we usually found ourselves entering areas that were fenced off, closed, or otherwise completely off the path...like this one.
...and this one.
The plant known as "crown of thorns."
The Jordan River near Bethsaida.
An original Roman road from about 2000 years ago!
In the Greek-influenced Decapolis city of Scythopolis their latrine was a public experience...
Room for plenty of folks needing relief!
The beautiful gift of a rainbow above the hills!
Looking west across the Sea of Galilee we were treated with this "pillar of clouds." Later that night it rained (look at Jesus' words in Luke 12:54 - looks like the environment hasn't changed much!)
Now looking the other direction over the fields with their rock-walled boundaries. Mt Arbel is on the right.
Us!
The frequent Biblical lessons about "boundary lines" is so culturally significant because these fields were handed down from generation to generation.
Across the fields and olive groves looking at modern day Nazareth.
Olive trees are truly amazing. They live for literally hundreds of years and require a lot of maintenance and pruning to keep them producing. Yet another powerful teaching focused on the image of Israel being the base of the tree and all of us Gentiles being branches grafted in. The branches are called "netzer" and you can spot them easily on a hundreds-of-years-old tree like this one. We have a rich heritage to remember!
Mom & Dad enjoying a moment of rest.
Us too!
Olive trees in a "gan." The Hebrew word "gan" (see Isaiah 58:11) means garden. The well-watered garden doesn't look like Central Park in the Jewish mind - it looks like this!
Look how far they've terraced the gan up the hillside.
Jerusalem - a monster mash of culture, religion and history.
These steps leading out of the south end of the Temple Mount are almost certainly the exact location where Peter preached his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:14).
Beautiful sunny weather!
One of many "stepped streets" that would be similar to the kind Jesus walked on in the city.
Isn't this graffiti cool?
We loved walking through the winding marketplace. These two boys were happily enjoying their walk home from school munching on a bag of chips.
The modern reality of Israel and Palestine.
Bethlehem is not quite as tranquil as you may have thought...
Just past Bethlehem is the Herodium. Herod the Great built this mountain in order to put a palace on top. Yup - BUILT it. I think it's safe to say Jesus might have used this as an object lesson in Matthew 21:21. A few years ago they also found Herod's tomb in the side of it. Naturally, we hiked to the top.
Looking down from the top of the mountain to Herod's swimming pool - the biggest one in the world at that time. In a dry part of the world, this guy definitely wanted his conspicuous use of water to showcase his power.
Here I am inside that same swimming pool.
Back in Jerusalem at the Western "Wailing" Wall.
This famous area where the faithful come to pray has the original stones from the 2nd Temple era. (20 AD)
For lunch on our last day we had authentic Israeli bagels dipped in hummus and olive oil. Delicious!
Clockwise from bottom: John & Kathy, Paul & Melody, Kim & Jeremy
Melissa & Bev.
Don & Colly.
Jeannie & Toni.
...wait, I think I have a call...
Jon enjoying his personalized bagel.
Down near the base of the Temple Mount again with the original stones from Herod's construction.
How did they build this???
On top of the Temple Mount in the corner was the location where one of the priests would blow the shofar to signal the times of sacrifice - 9am and 3pm. This stone still bears the original inscription, "The place of trumpeting..." It is so crazy to think that around 2000 years ago a real person was standing right here blowing the shofar for the 3pm (read: 9th hour) sacrifice the moment when Jesus died on the cross... Wow.
We met some awesome people on the trip. It was great to share an experience like this with couples at similar stages of life, children, ministry, etc.
Jewish tradition teaches that a disciple needs to stay so close behind his/her rabbi that one literally gets dusty from following along while walking together. As disciples of Jesus may we always follow him so closely that we are constantly covered in his dust!
Love, Laura, John, Jack & Violet.
My picture descriptions are basic - I realized I was getting way too into detail so I kept them basic & if you have a question about one, let me know!
Our inflight magazine included Tel Aviv...the city we were headed to!
These are actual bricks made in the ancient Egyptian method thousands of years ago from the time of Hezekiah! Notice the little pock marks from where the straw used to be!
An olive press or "gethsemane." We learned that the place where Jesus and his disciples stayed on the Mt. of Olives was probably one of these!
The olive press.
This was the site of the tel (archaelogical site) my mom worked at for two weeks this summer.
The dig site is called Khirbet Qeiyafa and it's amazing! It's been identified as Jewish, dated to the time of King Saul or David and even more amazingly probably is the city mentioned in the David and Goliath story: Shaaraim (1 Sam. 17:52). Until this was discovered secular scholars often regarded this story as myth or folklore because the literal name of the city, Shaaraim, means "two gates." (During this period of history cities were NEVER built with two gates.) After finding this distinctly Jewish city in the exact valley mentioned in the Biblical account it is hard not to be overwhelmed with the precision of the story!!
Green pastures...
yep...they're eating from "green pastures"...
When the Psalmist mentions green pastures our American minds conjure up this dark green valley of grass where sheep eat their fill...but actually the only "green pastures" in Israel look like this. The amazing teaching we received about this was that God is always just enough for us...we often want to be led to a trough of feed but He faithfully gives us just what we need.
Just enough.
It's so easy to want to cushion ourselves "just in case"...but what He wants us to do is trust in Him for our "daily bread."
The sheep started to get curious about this large group of people - sweaty, hot & wearing weird hiking clothes/shoes! HA!
Continuing on the "just enough" teaching we entered into the depths of the Negev desert. We received a quick geography lesson & plants lesson. We learned that this broom tree gives just a little shade but when it's 120 degrees outside that little bit of shade is just what your body needs to feel like it can go on. We hiked for hours through a "wadi" - an area where water rushes through in the rainy season...but it certainly wasn't rainy season - it was HOT...and we hiked & hiked & hiked and soon learned what "just enough" feels like. Water & a little shade here & there were all we began to care about!
Hiking up the canyon of the wadi. It's so difficult to imagine the heat - ever been to Lake Havasu in the middle of summer? Now take away the lake & start hiking for hours in the direct sun! HA! Sounds miserable but it was actually amazing! It was so cool to see what Biblical figures experienced...wandering around for 40 years in this? Awful!
WATER! The group went through a LOT of it! Funny the name of the water is En Gedi - a beautiful spring of water we'd visit later in the trip!
John helping clean up the bus!
Another amazing teaching was "Shalom to Chaos" - meaning being a bringer of peace to the chaos of someone's world. He encouraged us to think of small things we could do each day to carry out this important lesson.
Another day hiking in the desert - here are Jan & Russ. Russ is legally blind and did every hike! He was amazing and they were both so fun to be with!
Another inspirational person - this is Don...I think he's in his 70's or 80's but you would never know it! He did every hike-even in the front or middle of the pack!
The landscape looks more like the moon than planet earth!
A teaching on top a small mountain (in the middle of the desert) similar to Mt. Sinai...it was an amazing teaching about the 10 Commandments being like God's marriage covenant with us. Life-changing. Again, the small breeze up top was "just enough" to keep us cool!
When we hiked down & continued to hike through the desert we were all happy to have a large cloud cover the sun for a small bit of time. Ahhhh!
The Dead Sea at sunrise.
We also climbed Masada - one of Herod's humongous palace/fortresses. It was incredible to see something built on top of a mountain in the middle of the desert with no water for miles...Herod was an evil man. Here's my mom walking down from taking a picture of it!
Inside one of the many cisterns Herod dug out inside of Masada.
Up on top looking out toward the Dead Sea.
Stones from the walled city of Hezekiah's time! Isn't it so pretty? I like to think the guy that laid this stone also thought it was pretty.
One day we went out to the Bedouin people - a nomadic people that up until a few years ago still lived in tents. The gov't now provides housing for them so they don't settle on land that doesn't belong to them. The boys rode in to the settlement with us on donkeys.
The kids were all so cute & happy to see us.
How I wish I knew Arabic...it would be so cool to talk with this sweet little girl! I love that girls are girls everywhere - pink & sparkles are always loved!
This sweet little one "helped" as her mom made us pita-like bread & hot spiced tea.
Their kitchen.
This little one was a little more leery...she warmed up but she really studied us all at first. I don't blame her...here comes a group of 60 people wearing barely nothing compared to them and we all plop down and start eating and drinking their tea. She will learn the beautiful gift of hospitality from her mom, aunties & relatives.
The waterfall that David was most likely at while he was running from Saul! RVL did a teaching on being someone's stream in their desert. He then encouraged us to take a picture with the "someone" who has been your stream...John hands down has been my stream these last two years!!! It's really tough to put into words what John means to me-he's my cool water in the desert!
And then we continued to hike! The breeze was "just enough" to cool my armpits, ha!
Not hard to see where David gets his inspiration for Psalm 42.
We hiked to En Gedi...the most beautiful spring of water! We all jumped in! We were SOOOO hot from hiking in the desert...when we got out RVL said, "This is a great way to get a picture of what it's like to be someone's stream while they're going through the desert"! It was so true! It's amazing how the water refreshed us enough to hike back out into the desert!
Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found! We hiked to them of course! Ha!
As we headed out of the desert and looked west we could see the Mount of Olives in the distance - it was so pretty...it's the 3 spires on the mountains in the distance.
Again, incredible teaching...here are some "shepherds out in the fields at night (day)"! Christmas was most likely in September or October...when the Bible is read in context it would make the most logical sense - shepherds in this area are only out with their flocks in the fields at that time of year gleaning the last bits from the harvest. Complicated to mention so briefly here but send us an email!
John looking out across the Judaean wilderness.
A spot similar to where Mary would have given birth to Jesus - this is a "shepherd stable." When you enter there's a spot for the shepherd/shepherdess (most likely shepherds were girls) and then the sheep sleep outside the opening of the cave.
RVL giving us some amazing teaching about having "prats" - gusto to go out there and tell the world the amazing news we have of Jesus Christ!
Lunch. Falafel, pita & Coke....ahhhhh....soooo delicious!
This was a special lunch - other lunches were also delicious but were pita with turkey, hummus, tomatoes & cucumbers in it.
This sign made me chuckle!
This is the 4th century octagonal church that was built directly on top of what is believed to be the site of Peter's house in Capernaum. Apparently archaeologists found graffiti with Christian themes and also a bunch of fishing gear deep down inside.
We hiked to the top of Mt. Arbel and looked out over The Galilee. This is looking north toward Gennesaret and Chorazin.
Now a little more to the west out across the Sea of Galilee toward Capernaum, Bethsaida and the mountains of Bashan on the right.
And of course the hike back down.
John looking on during a teaching at Gamla, site of the Zealot holdout before Rome squashed them.
Lunches were often on the move - notice Heather is holding her pita, a coke, some grapes, two bags of chips & her camera...oh & her backpack!
They say that during the Roman era the olives and their oil from Galilee were prized as some of the best in the world. It's pretty tasty stuff in 2010 too...
A running phrase we heard throughout our time of following RVL were the brief words, "Come. Let's go." We would all traipse along dutifully not knowing where he was leading us or even really how long we'd be on a particular hike. Most of the time we usually found ourselves entering areas that were fenced off, closed, or otherwise completely off the path...like this one.
...and this one.
The plant known as "crown of thorns."
The Jordan River near Bethsaida.
An original Roman road from about 2000 years ago!
In the Greek-influenced Decapolis city of Scythopolis their latrine was a public experience...
Room for plenty of folks needing relief!
The beautiful gift of a rainbow above the hills!
Looking west across the Sea of Galilee we were treated with this "pillar of clouds." Later that night it rained (look at Jesus' words in Luke 12:54 - looks like the environment hasn't changed much!)
Now looking the other direction over the fields with their rock-walled boundaries. Mt Arbel is on the right.
Us!
The frequent Biblical lessons about "boundary lines" is so culturally significant because these fields were handed down from generation to generation.
Across the fields and olive groves looking at modern day Nazareth.
Olive trees are truly amazing. They live for literally hundreds of years and require a lot of maintenance and pruning to keep them producing. Yet another powerful teaching focused on the image of Israel being the base of the tree and all of us Gentiles being branches grafted in. The branches are called "netzer" and you can spot them easily on a hundreds-of-years-old tree like this one. We have a rich heritage to remember!
Mom & Dad enjoying a moment of rest.
Us too!
Olive trees in a "gan." The Hebrew word "gan" (see Isaiah 58:11) means garden. The well-watered garden doesn't look like Central Park in the Jewish mind - it looks like this!
Look how far they've terraced the gan up the hillside.
Jerusalem - a monster mash of culture, religion and history.
These steps leading out of the south end of the Temple Mount are almost certainly the exact location where Peter preached his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:14).
Beautiful sunny weather!
One of many "stepped streets" that would be similar to the kind Jesus walked on in the city.
Isn't this graffiti cool?
We loved walking through the winding marketplace. These two boys were happily enjoying their walk home from school munching on a bag of chips.
The modern reality of Israel and Palestine.
Bethlehem is not quite as tranquil as you may have thought...
Just past Bethlehem is the Herodium. Herod the Great built this mountain in order to put a palace on top. Yup - BUILT it. I think it's safe to say Jesus might have used this as an object lesson in Matthew 21:21. A few years ago they also found Herod's tomb in the side of it. Naturally, we hiked to the top.
Looking down from the top of the mountain to Herod's swimming pool - the biggest one in the world at that time. In a dry part of the world, this guy definitely wanted his conspicuous use of water to showcase his power.
Here I am inside that same swimming pool.
Back in Jerusalem at the Western "Wailing" Wall.
This famous area where the faithful come to pray has the original stones from the 2nd Temple era. (20 AD)
For lunch on our last day we had authentic Israeli bagels dipped in hummus and olive oil. Delicious!
Clockwise from bottom: John & Kathy, Paul & Melody, Kim & Jeremy
Melissa & Bev.
Don & Colly.
Jeannie & Toni.
...wait, I think I have a call...
Jon enjoying his personalized bagel.
Down near the base of the Temple Mount again with the original stones from Herod's construction.
How did they build this???
On top of the Temple Mount in the corner was the location where one of the priests would blow the shofar to signal the times of sacrifice - 9am and 3pm. This stone still bears the original inscription, "The place of trumpeting..." It is so crazy to think that around 2000 years ago a real person was standing right here blowing the shofar for the 3pm (read: 9th hour) sacrifice the moment when Jesus died on the cross... Wow.
We met some awesome people on the trip. It was great to share an experience like this with couples at similar stages of life, children, ministry, etc.
Jewish tradition teaches that a disciple needs to stay so close behind his/her rabbi that one literally gets dusty from following along while walking together. As disciples of Jesus may we always follow him so closely that we are constantly covered in his dust!
Love, Laura, John, Jack & Violet.
Greetings! i love your post ate laurie! this encourage me to study more about the Bible, I have not read it as deep as you did but your subjects made it a lot interesting. And your shots are well detailed, can't help my admiration! i love the black and white, the warm colors, the visible textures in the stones and brick-works are precious,beautiful framing,and the aerial shot, wow! color contrast are very good, good sharpness lighting and i love the notes. Nice Composition!
Thanks for sharing.
Best regards.
And advance happy birthday from your Filipino Family.