Chronicles of Israel ~ Days 1 and 2

Day 1 ~ Flight woes and wins

Due to the snow in Chicago, our original flight (from ORD to JFK to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv) was cancelled. What followed a small moment of disappointment and asking God for His will to be done, was an amazing turnaround. We called the airlines, and were told that our flight was rescheduled. As it turned out, we were flying from Chicago to Amsterdam to Zurich to Tel Aviv. All the new arrangements were made in less than 30 minutes!
Thank You God for using modern day technology to work all these things out for us. What a blessing that things are so convenient today. Some ways in which technology is a boon rather than a bane. :)

And so we got a more comfortable flight on KLM, and landed briefly in Europe. Visiting the airports made me want so much to step outside to see the tulips in the Netherlands, and the Swiss Alps. Next time perhaps!

After 18 hours of flight and transitions, we finally arrived in Tel Aviv. Driving along the modern well lit highway, I was reminded of my dear Singapore; though the Americans thought of Florida and Miami. At the end of the day, I was struck by the fact that this is a “normal” modern city where people lived and work. It’s easy to forget as tourists that people here lead “normal” lives!

And so we were told that in Israel, the reputation of its 3 most important cities are: Jerusalem studies, Haifa works, and Tel Aviv plays. And TelAviv was voted the most gay friendly city in the world last year.

After dinner, we walked along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is just so refreshing to smell the wind blowing in from the sea. So refreshing.

Day 2

Our first stop is Joppa (or Jaffa). It is a modern day living ancient city. It has always been an international center, at the center of trade routes, and prized by many a conquerors (like the Egyptians, David, Solomon and Alexander the Great). What was most striking for me is to see the layers of history of how God worked in this city.

Jonah was called in Joppa to go preach to Nineveh, to bring God’s message of judgment to the Gentiles. And then Peter had the vision of eating unclean food in Joppa, where God convicted him that He had indeed ordained the Gentiles to receive His Gospel. Joppa is a testament of God’s heart and plan for Gentiles like me, and to be in the place where He started to plant those seeds in the hearts of His people, amazing!

The rest of our day was spent in the Shephelah, which meant low plains.

We made stops at Beth-Shemesh and Aijalon Valley. Beth Shemesh is known to be the place where Samson the Nazerite came from. He was part of the faithful Danites who stayed in the land that God gave to the tribe.

The valleys are so green and beautiful, something that was not part of the picture of Israel in my mind before coming. It takes more than a little imagination to think how a peaceful place as this, was once a place of fighting, bloodshed and strife. It made me wish that Peter Jackson will shoot a couple of the biblical stories, to help me with my (lack of) imagination

Next up was Maresha, the Sidonian Tomb and Maresha bell caves. The trek up the Maresha lookout was kinda steep! I’m glad I did not roll down the hill.:p
The bell caves used to be a quarry supplying the rocks for building. They then became a place where the Crusaders came through and the early church worshipped. The caves were beautiful, so majestic looking. To contemplate about how the early church suffered for their faith in these caves was just heart-breaking. How has the Gospel gone out from my life, since God spared me such persecution?! It was beautiful to sing hymns in the caves. May the music touched the hearts of those who heard it.

And then we went to a lookout that oversaw the Elah Valley, where David fought Goliath. Appreciating the landscape, and imagining the interplay of the forces and power there, David was not being simple-minded or fool-hardy at all! He knew what he was doing, and had the Lord of Hosts behind him. Who can stand against me if God is for me?! The cheap thrill in this leg was picking up a few stones :)

Our last stop for the day was Lachish. This is the second most important city for Judah after Jerusalem. There was much excavation treasures, and you can see the layers of the city that had been buried there. We saw 2 boulders that used to be part of the palace foundation, and even found pottery remains. I wih I can see the city alive in its hey day.

These sites made me miss my time in Turkey with my little moo moo, and looking forward to the time when I can revisit the relics from the early church with Arthur! Ok.. Till next time!