Giving Cuts on the Kibbutz

My German neighbor Dirk picked me up some electric clippers from  Sederot, a nearby Jewish town. Since then, I've cut Jordan's hair, my hair, and several other guys have been using my clippers to cut hair:) Another month or 2 and we'd have our on barber shop set up on the kibbutz:)

My Homeboy Jordan

Tel Dan, Northern Isra'el: Abrahamic Gate (Genesis 14:14)

Why do I refer to this Bronze Age, Canaanite gate as the "Abrahamic Gate"? Well, let me tell you briefly. This mud brick gate was excavated at Tel Dan, and it dates to within the time in which many scholars place Abraham, around 2,000 BCE. That is around 2,000 years before Jesus was even born! It is amazing that this city gate has even survived in any form. There are some reconstructions present, for example the wood around the door of the gate. Also, some of the mud bricks have been covered with new material for preservation and then polished. However, so much of what you see is original and authentic. This ruin is quite impressive. Genesis 14:14 tells us that Abraham traveled as far as "Dan" in pursuit of his relative Lot who had been taken captive during war in Canaan between 9 kings. This city gate of Dan was in use during the time Abraham traveled "as far as Dan", leading 318 of his trained men that were "born in his house" with the goal of rescuing Lot. It is very plausible that Abraham walked through this very gate as he came to Dan. No one can be certain about this, but it is very possible, if not likely. For this reason I have referred to this gate as the "Abrahamic Gate". Old, old stuff. Very old.

Nain (Luke 7:11-17) : "Fear gripped them all..."

A family in Nein that greeted me with "salaam alaikum"s and showed me love as I was walking up the hill toward the old church. We all sat down on their patio and visited for a while. They gave me a cup of cold water to drink and Arabic coffee and filled up my water bottle with cold water.

Good People

Mt. Tabor

I sat by the old church and read the stories about Elijah and Elisha both raising mothers' sons from the dead (1Kings 17, 2Kings 4). This was the view down into the Yezreel Plain/Valley with Mt. Tabor standing out in the landscape as I sat by the church and read the stories of Elijah, Elisha, and Jesus raising the dead, actually sitting in the location of Luke 7:11-17. Elijah also raised a widow's only son from the dead, exactly parallel to the miracle that Jesus performed here in Nain, also raising a widow's only son from the dead. Elisha raised a mother's son from the dead also, but she had a husband. However, near Nain is Mt. Moreh. Nain is positioned on the northern side of Mt. Moreh. On the southern side of Mt. Moreh is the location of Shunem. Shunem is the village where Elisha raised the woman's son from the dead. So, the site of Elisha's miracle is very near Nain. All of this considered, there is little doubt that some in the crowd remembered the stories of Elijah and Elisha when Jesus raised the widow's son in Nain. This might be partly what they were thinking about when they exclaimed after Jesus' miracle, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" Elijah and Elisha were considered 2 of the greatest prophets Israel had ever known. And also, this and other parallel miracles of Jesus almost certainly explain why Jesus' disciples told Him that some of the crowds believed Him to be Elijah come back, as He conversed with them in the area of Caesarea Phillipi (Matthew 16) about who people considered Him to be and then who His disciples believed Him to be. As we know, Peter immediately declared, "You are the Messiah (the Anointed One, the Christ), the Son of the living GOD!"

I walked down this road to Nain from the highway, where the public bus dropped me off. "Nain" is called "Nein" today (Arabic) and is a small, completely Arab village, mostly or completely Muslim I think.

Headed on My Own to Nain, Searching for the Lord (Luke 7:11-17)

It is early Sunday morning here at the Sea of Galilee. I am about to walk to the Tiberias Central Bus Station and catch a bus to Nain (Hebrew), which is now a completely Arab village called Nein (Arabic), population of around 1,600-2,000. This is the location of a very interesting miracle of Yeshua (Jesus), recorded only in Luke (7:11-17). When Edward Robinson (the father of modern Biblical Geography) came to the Holy Land during the first half of the 19th century, identifying Biblical sites through his intimate knowledge of the Biblical languages and Arabic, he came to the village that is now called Nein in Arabic and identified it as being the location of Nain of the New Testament. He described it as a tiny village, having at that time a small, Muslim mosque called The Place of Our Master Jesus. The following is the account of Yeshua's miracle in this place:¹¹ Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, ^[g]accompanied by a large crowd.¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, ^[h]a dead man was being carried out, the ^[i]only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ Whenthe Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her,“^[j]Do not weep.” ¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ The ^[k]dead man sat up and began to speak. AndJesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶  Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has ^[l]visited His people!” ¹⁷  This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

The Sea of Galilee: What do I say? This is the real deal. This is the location of so many of the events described in the Gospels, the location of so much of the Lord's ministry.

Caesarea Maritima (Caesarea by the Sea) : The Book of Acts

The Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Shore and Ruins of Caesarea Maritima in the Background

The Mediterranean Shore and Ruins of Caesarea Maritima in the Background

My friend Jordan and I are standing on the shore of the Mediterranean at the site of Caesarea Maritima.  Jordan is an Orthodox Jew, a student from New York.

This is a replica of an original stone bearing an important inscription. The stone was found in secondary use in construction at Caesarea Maritima. It says: "(Po)ntius Pilatus, the prefect of Judaea, (erected) a (building dedicated) to (the emperor) Tiberias." Pontius Pilate lived in Caesarea Maritima while serving as prefect of Judaea. The city of Caesarea was the governmental seat of Rome in Judaea at that time. Of course, Pilate would travel to and stay in Jerusalem during Jewish festivals such as Passover, in order to immediately address potential riots, etc. This is why Pilate was present in Jerusalem during the Lord's final week.

Ruins of Caesarea. Caesarea is referenced throughout the book of Acts. Read Acts 10 particularly. Peter and Cornelius were here. Paul was imprisoned here. Pontius Pilate was here.

First Stop in the Galilee: Nazareth

By the way, in Hebrew, "Galilee" is "Galil". This is where my son's name comes from, and I chose it because "the Galil" is where the Lord was from. I miss my little boy.