What was Israel like? For me, the tours of the Holy Land was a highlight. Suddenly these names and places from the Bible were real. We saw many grand churches. We explored old stone ruins and tunnels. It was incredible to remember that Jesus is a real man, he walked this land and he is God. The churches we saw mark important events & are a place to reflect on God's greatness. It was great to read scripture in these cathedrals and pray.
My two favorite places were the Western Wall & Hezekiah's tunnel. The Western Wall is so beautiful and sad. His people are so devoted to him and yet they are crying out for a savior that already came. I loved seeing how the Jewish people can so strongly rejoice at the wall during a Bar Mitzvah and mourn at the wall for Messiah. These people feel deeply.
Hezekiah's tunnel is also remarkable. There was a time when Jerusalem was going to be attacked and under siege, so Hezekiah had men start building a tunnel to divert water into the city. These men started building the tunnel from opposite ends and they met in the middle- perfectly. You can read the story here: 2Chronicles 32. We walked through knee deep water in the 2,000+ year old tunnel! It was incredible.
The picture above is the Golden Gate. It's one of the gates oin the old city of Jerusalem. And it's where Jesus said he will walk through when he comes back. If you notice, the gate has been closed up. Muslims have shut up the gate and placed graves in front of the gate because any good rabbi will never walk through a graveyard. It's their way to keep Jesus from walking through gate, which I find interesting since they don't believe that he is the son of God. When Jesus returns, how amazing it will be.
These tours and times of reflection were such a blessing. I believe that God gave me a real treat in ending my school leading by bringing me to this land.
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