Category Archives: Old Testament

The weather changes every few days (or hours?) in Israel. One day may be hot and hazy, and another day may be cool and clear. The day our group went to the Sorek Valley and Beth-shemesh the sky was thick with haze. Two days later it was clear. Elizabeth and I went back to try to get a few photos to share with our group. We drove into the village (kibbutz) of Yishi to locate a good vantage point for the photo.

It’s true that there are a lot of rooftops in the foreground, but it still gives us a nice view of the mound.

Beth-shemesh from the west. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The Israelites took the ark of the covenant from the tabernacle at Shiloh to the battle field at Ebenezer when they were fighting with the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). The ark was captured by the Philistines and taken to Ashdod, then to Gath, and finally to Ekron before they decided to get rid of it. The ark was returned to Beth-shemesh (Beth Shemesh, Bethshemesh; 1 Samuel 4-6).

Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it. The cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. (1 Samuel 6:13-14 NAU)

There is a small grain field between the row of trees and the first buildings of the kibbutz. This makes it easy enough to visualize the biblical event.

Today we drove along the entire length of the Dead Sea on the western shore. Even places like the terrain of the wilderness of Judea and the Dead Sea have a beauty all their own.

The acacia is one of the few trees seen along the shore of the Dead Sea and in the wilderness of Judea, and in the Sinai.

A lone acacia tree on the shore of the Dead Sea. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

You doubtless recall that the tabernacle was constructed while Israel dwelt in the Sinai wilderness. Many of the pieces of furniture, including the ark of the covenant, were made of acacia wood.

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it. (Exodus 37:1-2 ESV)

Tonight we are on the shore of the Sea of Galilee on the north side of Tiberias.

Our tour of Israel and Jordan came to an end this evening as the group went to the Ben Gurion International Airport for departure to the United States.

We visited a variety of sites today, but spent most of our time in the Shephelah (lowlands).  We are informed in 2 Chronicles about the activity of King Uzziah (792–740 B.C.) in the  Shephelah.

And he built towers in the wilderness and cut out many cisterns, for he had large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the plain, and he had farmers and vinedressers in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil. (2 Chronicles 26:10 ESV)

Wheat fields are in abundance in the Shephelah today.

A Wheat Field in the Shephelah. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Elizabeth and I said goodbye to our tour group and turned to Jerusalem. We plan to visit several more sites in Israel before returning home. By now the group should have begun their 13 hour flight home.

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Update: May 11. Last evening before going to bed I began tracking the flight of our friends returning home. When I checked it this morning I noticed that they have been routed north across Turkey, Eastern Europe, and north of Iceland. The flight continued across Greenland. Now they are headed south over Canada toward the Great Lakes area. The flight is delayed by 2 hours. This is because of the Iceland Volcano. A friend returning from Greece to the USA told me a similar story about his flight.