On April 12, 2000, IBEX headed to the Mediterranean coast for an overnight in Tel Aviv. Our first stop was Neot Kedumim, a 625-acre biblical garden, where we learned about Jewish culture and life in Bible times. We’d already seen examples of life in an agrarian society scattered across the land such as olive presses, walls, fields, towers, and sheepfolds. Here at Neot Kedumim we could interact with some of the farm equipment and learn about the native plants and Jewish culture in general.

A Torah Scribe helped us understand how copies of the Bible were made. Long before the printing press, God’s Word had to be copied manually. A single sefer (scroll) could take a year to copy. Ink was made with a mix of coal, pomegranate powder, resin, and gall nut. Writing was often done with a feather or reed on parchment. Scrolls were good for continuous reading, while a book was better for finding a specific passage. It’s also worth noting the original Hebrew contained no punctuation, chapter #s, verse #s, or vowel points.

In the Bible, rain is talked about as being “in season.” It has a predictable pattern of early rain that arrives in September/October and softens the soil, preparing the land for sowing season. Then the latter rain comes around March/April and helps nourish and grow the plants to prepare them for harvest. This is described in Deuteronomy 11:14, “he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil” (cf. Ps. 1:3).

After a grain like wheat reached maturity, it was mown with a sickle, then stalks were crushed and broken down using a threshing sled on a threshing floor.

Next, the grain was winnowed (tossed and sorted) using a winnowing fork, and the kernels were gathered and sifted. Then began the process of grinding the grain into powder using a millstone or mortar and pestle to produce flour.

This grinding process had to be done every day, as flour did not keep long. Once the flour was fine, water could be added and dough could be kneaded and baked. It was a labor-intensive process that required constant dependence on God. No wonder the Lord’s Prayer says, “Give us this day, our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11).

Another interesting exhibit was Archimede’s Screw. This device was named after the ancient Greek mathemetician Archimedes. By hand-turning the crank, the screw can collect and move water up a shaft to a higher level like a pump. It was sometimes used to transport water from one location to another, such as filling a mikveh (large purification bath) with water.

The Mediterranean climate is unique and found only certain places around the globe. Plants in Israel are specially suited for this climate, and many are mentioned in the Bible. The date palm, for example, needs water below the surface, but hot temperatures above the surface. It is a symbol of victory, even appearing on ancient and modern coins such as the 10 NIS (New Israeli shekel).

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, it was date palm branches that were waved and placed on the road to honor the Messianic king. “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13). Palm branches have also been associated with the resurrection.

Neot Kedumim reminded me that the people of Israel were interwoven with the land, its weather, even its plants and animals. God in his providence used all these things to teach us who he is and how to be in right relationship with him. There were many fresh insights, so I bought two books in the gift shop to help me learn more: Desert and Shepherd in our Biblical Heritage and Nature in our Biblical Heritage, both by Nogah Hareuveni.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

April 7, 2000. We were back on the road for Day Seven, stopping first to overlook the entire Sea of Galilee from a ridge just east of Ein Gev. It was the clearest day we’d had all week, and finally, we were able to see from one coast all the way to the other.

Then, we journeyed down to the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee, where it empties into the Jordan River.

Many centuries ago, the Jordan was a dangerous river, but today, only a small stream trickles all the way to the Dead Sea (sixty miles south). Instead, most of the water is dammed and purified for the State of Israel.

Subsequently, we drove to Beth Shean, later known as Scythopolis, which boasts some of the best-preserved Greco-Roman ruins in the whole country.

Our tour of the Hellenistic city included a stadium, theater, bathhouse, temple, and cobblestone street, lined with intricately decorated pillars. These guys were very advanced! But they were also very pagan.

Just to the north, we climbed Tel Beth Shean, which dates even further back, to the Canaanite and Israelite periods. From the top of the tel, we could look back down and see much of the Hellenistic city below us.

Since Palestine was first settled more than four thousand years ago, Beth Shean was situated on an important crossroads, guarding the east-west highway between the Jezreel Valley and Transjordan (Gilead). After the great earthquake of 747 AD, the city was largely abandoned.

After lunch at McDonald’s (kosher, of course), we took a refreshing dip in the springs of Gan HaShelosha along Nahal Harod.

Then, we headed home along the Jordan Rift Valley, passing Abel Meholah (Elisha’s birthplace), Zaphon, Nahal Jabbok (where Penuel, Mahanaim, and Succoth sit), Adam, Wadi Faria (which leads all the way to Tirzah in Samaria), Jericho, and Jerusalem.

Whew! What a trip! Our week in Galilee was the experience of a lifetime.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

On April 5 & 6, 2000, we had two free days at the Ein Gev Resort along the Sea of Galilee. On Wednesday, April 5, half the group went to a sports complex, while the rest of us read, slept, relaxed, played frisbee, and swam at the beach.

Personally, I didn’t have a lot of money since I was saving up for a wedding in three months. I also wanted to soak up the experience of being in Galilee, so I mostly just lounged at the beach. I wanted to read the entire Gospel of Luke while there, so I pulled up a beach chair and spent some time doing that. This was my view as I read Luke’s Gospel:

It was on this same body of water that Jesus of Nazareth called twelve men to follow him — men who turned the world upside down with their message of salvation.

“On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.…And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men'” (Luke 5:1–2, 10).

Wednesday afternoon, I attempted to hike to the remains of a Decapolis city called Hippus. I did some exploring, but was unsuccessful in reaching the city itself.

Thursday, April 6, was another free day. It almost felt like a vacation. In the morning, while some of the students went river rafting, I finished reading the Gospel of Luke and then read most of the Acts of the Apostles. It really brought together the whole Gospel narrative!

In the afternoon, we hiked Nahal Yehudiyeh, one of my favorite hikes of the semester. Descending into the deep canyon along a dirt path, we eventually reached a waterfall, where we spent half an hour cliff-diving from a ledge about 25 feet up!

Then, we followed a trail downstream, where we jumped and climbed, admired plants and birds, and even had to swim through several sections of the river.

Tomorrow, we wrap up our time in Galilee and head back to the Moshav in the Hill Country of Judah.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!

April 4, 2000. The scenic Golan Heights were our destination for day four of our Galilee trip. Israelis acknowledge this as the most beautiful region of the country, so you can imagine my disappointment to see the mountains enshrouded in a thick fog.

Despite the lack of view, we still enjoyed our visit to the Golan, known in antiquity as “Bashan.” In the morning, we stopped at Quneitra, just long enough to look eastward toward the foreboding land of modern Syria. The kibbutz of Quneitra sits just a few miles from the Syrian border.

Then, we traveled north to Nimrod’s Fortress, situated not far from Mount Hermon. (This is the one exception to my previous comment about the Israeli mountains being large hills. Mount Hermon rises 9,000 feet, making it the highest peak in the country.)

The heavy fog prevented us from seeing down into Galilee, but offered a glimpse of the scene of Christ’s transfiguration, when “a bright cloud overshadowed” the disciples Peter, James, and John. After reading Matthew’s account of this momentous event, we climbed eagerly up into the Byzantine fortress to explore a labyrinth of walls, staircases, cisterns, and tunnels.

Next, we drove to Caesarea Philippi to view some remnants from a temple to the Greek god Pan (the cute little half-man, half-goat that plays the flute). It was near here that Peter gave his heartfelt confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:13-16).

Shortly after, we took some pictures at the mighty Banias Falls.

At a beautiful nature center near Tel Dan, we ate lunch and then hiked to the site where King Jeroboam the First set up one of his two golden calves (1 Kings 12:28-29). I found it ironic that one of the other tourist groups here were part of the Church of Latter Day Saints. They too have invented an outward form of religion but do not know the true God.

We also saw a Middle Bronze mud brick gate (the only one intact!) dating to the time of Abraham, as well as an extravagant system of gates built by Jeroboam II.

Breaking momentarily from our biblical studies, we visited the “Good Fence” at Metulla, guarding the northernmost border between Lebanon and Israel.

Then, we drove down the western edge of the Hulah Basin to Tel Hazor, the largest tel in all Israel. Despite the size (over 200 acres of ruins!), we didn’t spend a lot of time here, for only a few spots have been extensively excavated and open to the public.

Much of the tel has been covered over and transformed into verdant farmland. Points of interest included Solomonic gates (like those in Megiddo and Gezer. See 1 Kings 9:15), a giant cistern built by King Ahab, and an Israelite palace.

Last but not least, we visited Chorazin, the third city in the “Gospel Triangle” (along with Capernaum and Bethsaida) where Jesus carried out much of His ministry.

Here, archeologists found the only remaining “seat of Moses” in a Byzantine synagogue. It is a decorated basalt chair which mentions Yudan, who donated his wealth to the building of the synagogue. Jesus mentions the seat of Moses as a place where the religious leader would often sit. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice” (Matthew 23:2–3).

Interestingly, we saw some pagan depictions in the synagogue, including a relief of Medusa. No one knows why these mythological figures and pagan deities were carved into these places of Jewish worship.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos.Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!