Most of our field work at IBEX focused on ancient Israel, but modern Israel has an interesting story to tell too. On Thursday, April 13, 2000, we visited some of the locations relevant to Modern State of Israel.

Just as Americans have their Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Jews have their own Independence Hall in Tel Aviv.

The exterior is nothing special, but on May 14, 1948, the Jewish people made history here by signing their own Declaration of Independence:

“The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious, and national identity was formed…We appeal to the United Nations to assist the Jewish people in the building of its State and to admit Israel into the family of nations.”

The United States granted de facto recognition the same day, and the Soviet Union officially recognized Israel as a sovereign nation on May 17, 1948.

Inside Independence Hall is a picture of Theodore Herzl, one of the nation’s founding fathers. Herzl was a Hungarian Jew born in 1860 who was alarmed at growing anti-Semitism and believed it was time for the Jews to return to their homeland.

In 1896, Herzl published a pamphlet called Der Judenstat (The Jewish State). He appealed, “Let sovereignty be granted us over a portion of the globe large enough to satisfy the rightful requirements of a nation; the rest we shall manage for ourselves.”

Sadly, it would take two world wars, a bumpy British occupation, and the Holocaust before his dream became reality.

As a Political Studies major, I took special interest in the Modern State of Israel and its political development. Israel decided on a parliamentary form of government – similar to the British system – with a Prime Minister, President, Supreme Court, and unicameral (one-house) legislature known as the Knesset (Great Assembly). They have no formal constitution, but are guided by a set of Basic Laws and western jurisprudence.

The country’s first prime minister was a man named David Ben-Gurion, who served from 1949-1953, then again from 1955-1963.

We visited Ben-Gurion’s desert home last month during our Negev trip, and here in Tel Aviv we could see the home where he spent much of his time as Prime Minister. The international airport is also named in his honor.

Recent history – and my Bible – tells me God is not done with his chosen people yet.

After our little history lesson, we headed to Ashkelon beach for a picnic and games!

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 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!