It’s already dark as our 747 thunders in over the Israeli coast at Tel Aviv. I’m here on a ten-day trip with thirty-five others to explore and learn in the land that is like no other.
I never intended on coming even once (pre-rapture), but here I am on another journey to the “holy fields” of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. My first trip to Israel, with my wife, was a gift from friends who wanted to invest in our ministry. I had no idea what it would do for my Bible study. But once I saw the help I could gain from being there, I was quick to encourage others to go.
As we traverse the dusty hills and crowded bypaths of the land, I can almost see Nehemiah walking the ramparts of old Zion or Elijah praying down heaven’s pyrotechnics at Carmel. And there are just some things you can’t put into words: like the brook chortling its way over the rocks at the Spring of Harod where Gideon’s minutemen were selected, or the wind in the myrtles still growing along Emek Rephaim, a sound that was the sure sign of victory for David in his hour of need.
And how can you, without having been there, catch the lively smells of the spices wafting from an Arab souk, or believe the blazing reds and purples of Moses’ Nebo at sunset, or understand the thrill of walking by Galilee or musing at Gethsemane, or–dare I say it–singing at Calvary?
In spite of the shortness of the trip ahead, the dizzying pace, and the information coming at you so fast you feel you’re trying to drink at a fire hydrant, the whole experience is nothing less than exhilarating.
Meeting the Christians who live there, breaking bread with the assembly in Jerusalem on the Lord’s Day, witnessing to Jews and Arabs, locals and pilgrims–it is the journey of a lifetime.
Of course, you don’t have to travel seven time zones away to understand your Bible. It is far more important to walk as our
Lord walked than where He walked. Much better to look forward to being where He is than seeing where He was. True, all true. However…
Come with me on this journey to get a taste at least of such a tour through the land of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, from Joppa to Jericho, from Bethlehem to Olivet. It is, as I say, only a taste. But it might stimulate your appetite, if not for a journey to Israel, at least for a more serious study of the geography of the Bible, a more vigorous prayer investment for the people who live there, and a greater desire to see the Lord reign there, from the very city whence He was taken to be crucified.
Of course you should go to Israel, and you will go–sooner or later. The way world events are looking, it probably will be sooner than later. As one worker in the land said to me, “The only answer for Israel now seems to be the Antichrist. Jerusalem is a cup of trembling; her leaders are giving away her hard-fought-for land; there could be a civil war. The Lord’s coming is surely soon.”
Maranatha. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!