Why Egypt?

Why did God decide to use Egypt as the “birthing room” for his new nation, the nation of Israel?  Why not send Joseph and the rest of Jacob’s family to the fertile crescent (the area later known as Babylon) instead?  Why not Asia (present-day Turkey) or some other location around the Aegean Sea?  Or, come to think of it, why not leave Jacob’s family in Canaan and skip the whole migration-to-another-land thing?  Surely God could have found other ways to provide for his chosen people during the famine than send them to Egypt! 

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Jerusalem’s Business District— On one of our last days in the Middle East we walked through the business district of Jerusalem, a part of which you can see in this video.  This “street” is very narrow, obviously, with shops on either side.  Above it there could either be open air or a covering of some kind.  In any case, the scale of this setting is very similar to one that Jesus would have encountered as he made his way from the Antonia Fortress to Calvary, on his way to crucifixion.  We were encouraged to try to picture Jesus trying to carry a cross through streets like these— exhausted, bearing many injuries to his body, careening into the shops and merchandise along the way.  The site of Calvary was most likely an old quarry on a busy street.  The Romans liked sites like it because many of their subjects would pass by and get the message:  “This is what happens to all who get in the way of Pax Romana— the Roman peace that is the setting for all of the trade, commerce, and industry that feed the city of Rome.”  Crucifixion was about more than killing criminals, in other words.  It was also about sending a message to the living:  Don’t mess with Rome! 

THE AMAZING ACACIA TREE Connie and I arrived home yesterday afternoon, after traveling for close to thirty hours from Tel Aviv, Israel.  It is great to be back— to see two of our three kids (Rachel is on a mission trip this week), sleep in our own bed, and see a landscape of vibrant green again.  It is also nice to not have to hunt for bathrooms anymore!  We have learned so much in the last few weeks.  I started to go through some of my notes this morning and realized that I have already started to lose track of some things that we’ve picked up along the way.  My notes brought me back to the Jeep ride that our group had in the Sinai.  Faraq, our Bedouin host, stopped the Jeeps long enough to teach us about the amazing acacia (pronounced ah-KAT-sya) tree, pictured above.  He described the tree as only a keen-eyed wilderness lover like a Bedouin would. The acacia tree is mentioned frequently in scripture, and Faraq called it one of God’s greatest gifts.  As all Bedouins know, the seeds that fall plentifully to the ground from the acacia tree make a wonderful food source for camels.  The sap that bleeds profusely from any wound on the acacia tree often falls in clumps to the ground, and it can be pounded into a salve that has healing properties when applied to the skin.  Acacia wood burns long and hot since it is so dense (acacia trees grow very slowly in such an arid climate— the tree in the picture is several hundred years old), but the Bedouin never cuts down an acacia tree.  To do so would be to put an end to many of the benefits of the acacia tree.  Bedouin do collect branches and twigs which fall from acacia trees and use them for cooking and for heat in the winter.  Acacia trees are often found in wadis (the mountain valleys through which torrents of water flow in the rainy season), and their roots can go down seventy feet in search of water.  If you see an acacia tree that is reliably green for a number of seasons then you know that a good place to dig a well would be nearby.  The Bedouin love the acacia tree.  They have learned what it offers and how strong it is.  They have eyes to see what God has done and what he has given in this deceptively simple-looking plant.  Click for high-res photo

THE AMAZING ACACIA TREE

Connie and I arrived home yesterday afternoon, after traveling for close to thirty hours from Tel Aviv, Israel.  It is great to be back— to see two of our three kids (Rachel is on a mission trip this week), sleep in our own bed, and see a landscape of vibrant green again.  It is also nice to not have to hunt for bathrooms anymore! 

We have learned so much in the last few weeks.  I started to go through some of my notes this morning and realized that I have already started to lose track of some things that we’ve picked up along the way.  My notes brought me back to the Jeep ride that our group had in the Sinai.  Faraq, our Bedouin host, stopped the Jeeps long enough to teach us about the amazing acacia (pronounced ah-KAT-sya) tree, pictured above.  He described the tree as only a keen-eyed wilderness lover like a Bedouin would.

The acacia tree is mentioned frequently in scripture, and Faraq called it one of God’s greatest gifts.  As all Bedouins know, the seeds that fall plentifully to the ground from the acacia tree make a wonderful food source for camels.  The sap that bleeds profusely from any wound on the acacia tree often falls in clumps to the ground, and it can be pounded into a salve that has healing properties when applied to the skin.  Acacia wood burns long and hot since it is so dense (acacia trees grow very slowly in such an arid climate— the tree in the picture is several hundred years old), but the Bedouin never cuts down an acacia tree.  To do so would be to put an end to many of the benefits of the acacia tree.  Bedouin do collect branches and twigs which fall from acacia trees and use them for cooking and for heat in the winter.  Acacia trees are often found in wadis (the mountain valleys through which torrents of water flow in the rainy season), and their roots can go down seventy feet in search of water.  If you see an acacia tree that is reliably green for a number of seasons then you know that a good place to dig a well would be nearby. 

The Bedouin love the acacia tree.  They have learned what it offers and how strong it is.  They have eyes to see what God has done and what he has given in this deceptively simple-looking plant. 

MASADA VISIT— Today Connie and I climbed to the top of Masada and back.  Masada was one of three palaces that Herod the Great built as getaways (or places of escape when he was afraid).  About seventy years after its construction, during the first Jewish revolt (66-70 AD) a number of Zealots inhabited the site and held off a Roman siege for a number of months.  It is an amazing tale— one with a very dramatic ending.  Most of the Jews killed themselves in order to avoid being taken by the Romans.

Tomorrow is our last day in the Middle East already!  Tomorrow we board a plane at midnight and land in Grand Rapids early afternoon on Sunday.  We are eager to be home and filled with thanks to God for an amazing journey!  I’ll be posting more about this journey during the weeks to come…

CLIMBING MOUNT SINAI— On June 1 most of the people in our group climbed Mount Sinai.  That’s the peak that you see in the first photo of this set— where the little white dot is.  That dot is a small shelter that sits on the peak of the mountain.  It took us seven hours to climb the mountain and four hours to come down.  Afterwards we had dinner with a Bedouin family— a very interesting experience!

Jerusalem

Today was the last day with our traveling buddies on the tour.  We spent our final day together in Jerusalem, seeing the sites related to the last few days of Christ’s earthly ministry:  The Mount of Olives, the Via Dolorosa, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre— built over the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and Jesus’ burial.  Most of the people who’ve been with us on tour will get on the plane late tonight, to go back home in the states.  Some of us, Connie and I included, are staying behind in

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Sorry about not posting for so long!

We are well into our time in the Middle East and I’ve posted only one blog during our entire time of traveling.  I’m sorry about that!  It’s been hard getting time online.  Reliable internet connections aren’t as common in the Middle East as they are stateside.  In addition, our days on the bus are long:  We get on at 7 AM every morning and we’re not been getting into our hotel rooms until about 9 PM.  After cleaning up from the day and making sure that everything is ready for the next day it’s 10…we’re exhausted…so it’s off to bed.

At any rate, we have traveled up and down the Nile in Egypt, been through the

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We’re in Egypt!

After a full day of traveling and plenty of months’ waiting we are finally in Egypt!  Today we spent the day in Cairo, viewing the three great pyramids on the Giza Plateau.  We have also come to see very clearly how the Nile River made abundant life possible in Egypt.  Only a culture with abundant resources could build such monuments as the pyramids!  If there was no Nile there would be no prosperity in

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Our Prayer List

We go in two days!  For all of you who would bless us by lifting us up to God in prayer, here are some specific things that we would love for you to ask God for:

1.  Justice, peace, and understanding for the land of Israel and the entire Middle East.

2.  Health and strength for all of the participants on the trip.

3.  Safe travel to, from, and within Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.

4.  Fellowship among the participants.

5.  The ability of our leaders to make good choices, to communicate well, to be sensitive to needs and opportunities, and to have patience.

6.  Growth in knowledge of the bible and a deepening of our faith in Jesus Christ.

7.  Help to be faithful witnesses while on the journey.

8.  The glory of God in all of this.

9.  Safety and peace and joy for our children while we are gone—and strength for Grandma and Grandpa as they look after our three!

Thank you for your prayers!

Coming soon…

Our departure date (May 26) is coming soon!  Since we’re leaving for Egypt in a few days I decided to check the weather in Cairo.  Tomorrow it’s supposed to be 93 degrees.  That’s going to take some getting used to!  I also checked again to see how much of a time difference there is.  Egypt is seven hours ahead of all of us who live in the eastern United States.  That means that calls home will have to be carefully planned.  If we call at the end of our day in Egypt it will be the middle of the night over here in Michigan!  For a preview of where we’re going check out the video that I include with my first blog (see below).