Cove of the Sower

On the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee, just below the Church of the Beatitudes, is a small inlet of water about 100 yards wide. This inlet is often called the "Cove of the Sower". Consider the following verses:

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” - Matthew 13:1-9

Over the years, many people have come to believe that this event happened at this small inlet, hence the name "Cove of the Sower". The inlet, along with the sloping land going up the hill, creates a natural amphitheater.

A number of years ago, a gentleman by the name of Cobby Crisler conducted an experiment here to see if a large group of people could listen to someone without the use of modern sound equipment. He concluded that it was possible and estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 people could easily listen to someone sitting in a boat just off shore.

Todd Bolen, who runs the BiblePlaces.com website, has taken students on a number of occasions to this site to demonstrate this phenomenon. In fact, if you go to his website, you can hear a recording of one of his tests.

Do we know that this is the exact location of this event? No. But, when you visit the area and analyze it in light of Scripture, it quickly becomes a likely candidate.

The picture at the top of this post is of the Cove of the Sower. The hill behind the cove is the Mount of the Beatitudes. NOTE: If you are reading this post from an email, you will need to click on the title to view the page from the web browser to see the picture.

Understanding the Land

It is important to understand WHERE the Biblical places are. But, it is just as important to understand HOW the lands of the Bible operate. The land of Israel is a very small area, but has a wide variety of geographical regions. And, what happens in one portion of the land can have dramatic affects in other parts of the land. Earlier today, I saw a video posted to YouTube a few days ago of a flash flood in the Wilderness of Zin. As you can tell from the video, the immediate area is completely dry. But, water from a nearby storm comes barreling down the wadi with fascinating results.

Enjoy.

Early Dig Season at Tel Burna

The Tel Burna Excavation Project posted information this morning on their Spring Dig Season. This is a little unusual in that most dig sites only dig during the summer months, mostly due to finances and schedules. But, they will be digging at Tel Burna in about a week. Tel Burna is one of the possible locations of the Biblical site of Libnah. The tel is located about a mile or so north of Beit Guvrin in the Shephelah.

When Jehoram was king of Judah, the inhabitants of Libnah revolted against the king because he did not follow God.

So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. At that time Libnah also revolted from his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers. - 2 Chronicles 21:10

The image at the top of this post is of Tel Burna. I took this picture in September 2012. NOTE: If you are reading this post from an email, you might need to click on the title to view the post from the web page.

Tis The Season

Just before the nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan River to begin their assault on the land of Canaan, Moses spoke to the people and described to them the land they were about to inherit. In Deuteronomy 11, Moses says:

And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you. - Deuteronomy 11:13-17

In general, the land of Israel has two weather seasons: the wet season and the dry season. The wet season starts in mid-October and lasts until mid-April. Moses mentions this when he says, "He will give the rain for your land in its season." This rainy season is bookended by periods of heavy rain in October/November and March/April. Moses even mentions this when he says "the early and the later rain".

Earlier today, I was looking at the weather app on my phone. In that app, I have programmed in a number of cities that are of special interest to me. Of course, one of those cities is Jerusalem. I noticed that the five-day forecast for Jerusalem predicts rain for four of the next five days. The later rains of this wet season is about to begin. The same way that it has for thousands of years.

Wonderful Stones

As you tour Jerusalem, it is easy to see the fingerprints of King Herod everywhere. King Herod was a terrible man. He would stop at nothing to strengthen his political position. And, just a fleeting glance at the other members of the Herodian Dynasty shows that he taught his wicked ways well to his family. But, he was also a builder. And, not just an ordinary builder. He built structures that have literally stood the test of time. The picture at the top of this blog is of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. King Herod and the people under his oversight built this wall nearly 2000 years ago. And yet, it still stands.

But take a closer look. See those fine etchings around the borders of many of the stones? King Herod had those etchings cut as well. It wasn't enough for King Herod to just build a wall. He had to make it look nice as well. And, when you look at this, it is hard not to be impressed. Even Jesus' own apostles were impressed:

And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” - Mark 13:1

But, Jesus was quick to bring them back down to earth. He responded by saying:

And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” - Mark 13:2

And, of course Jesus was right. In 70AD, the temple and most of Jerusalem was destroyed.

The apostles were so in awe of the physical structures that King Herod had built, they forgot what a terrible man he was. They forgot that King Herod had once ordered all babies of an entire city killed in hopes that one of those babies would have been the man that they were currently talking to.

I can relate to the apostles. Often, I found myself dazzled by an actor's performance in a movie, or a sportsman's performance on the field of play and I forget that they are often not very good people.

I need to always remember to keep looking at Jesus and be in awe of everything He has done.

Treasure Found at Abel Beth-Maacah

I would like to follow on a previous post of mine about the ancient city of Abel Beth-Maacah. In that post, I conclude by saying "This year’s excavations are about to start at the site. So, I’m looking forward to seeing what they find." Well, now we know. LifeScience.com has a report today of a great find at the archaeological site at Abel Beth-Maacah. Recently, the crew at the site found a small juglet with a number of pieces of silver jewelry inside. I noticed that FoxNews has also picked up the story. The city of Abel Beth-Maacah is in a beautiful location in Northern Israel, just a couple of miles south of the current border with Lebanon.

In 2 Samuel 20, the city came under seige by David's army as they were hunting down a man by the name of Sheba. A "wise woman" of the city made a deal in which the city would be saved and in return, they would deliver the head of Sheba to David's army. She did as she promised and the city was spared.

The dig season will soon begin at this site for this year. Let's see what this year will bring!

(The above photo was taken by Gabi Laron, and is on the LifeScience.com website.)

Snow

I live in North Alabama, so we are all thinking about snow tonight. In this area of the country, we get a small snow (an inch or so) a couple of times a year. However, occasionally, we get a larger snow. I guess we will wake up tomorrow morning and see if it is actually going to occur. But, it makes me think about times in the Bible in which winter and/or snow is mentioned. I have written about these a couple of times, and I encourage you to take a look:

• Jerusalem In Winter
• First Major Snow of the Season
• Snow at the Israel Museum

If you need me, I'll be glancing out the window waiting for the snow.

New National Park Possible

The area of the Shephelah is very interesting. It is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament and is often called the "Judean Foothills". It is a series of lowlands with hills and valleys that stretches 10-15 miles wide between the Coastal Plain and the Central Mountain Range. During the time of the conquest, this land was allotted to the tribe of Judah. By the time of the United Kingdom, this land had become a buffer area between the mountains (where the Israelites lived) and the plains (where the Philistines lived). One of the east-to-west running valleys in the Shephelah is the Valley of Elah, which was the sight of the epic battle between David and Goliath.

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. - 1 Samuel 17:1-3

Recently, there has been some discussion about expanding some neighborhoods from the town of Beit Shemesh southward, possibly impacting the area around the Valley of Elah. I have been trying to follow this story closely in that I was not in favor of destroying the landscape around this site. Recently, there has been some wonderful excavations taking place at Khirbet Qeiyafa, which overlooks the valley. These excavations might have also been affected.

Luckily, it appears that a hold has been put in place on the neighborhood construction. In addition, they are considering protecting the area by making it a national park. (NOTE: You might have to use Google Translate to translate the web site from Hebrew to English.)

UPDATE: The article is now in English!

The picture at the top of this post is from Google Maps and is looking east down the Valley of Elah. From this perspective, the army of Israel would have been on the left ridge with the Philistines on the right. David slew Goliath in the valley near the stream bed. (NOTE: If you are reading this post from an email, you might to click on the title and go to the web page to see the picture.)

Byzantine Era Church Found In Israel

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about a rolling stone tomb that was found near Megiddo. It was found accidentally by a construction crew while they were widening the road. This morning, FoxNews.com of a Byzantine Era church building that was found in Israel recently. In the story, I thought one paragraph was interesting.

The discovery was made during a routine salvage excavation conducted by the IAA prior to the construction of a new neighborhood in the area. (Emphasis mine.)

Again, another historical discovery found accidentally while doing something else...in this case, clearing for a new neighborhood.

Interesting.

(Photo courtesy of Yoli Shwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority.)

Digging In Israel

I live in North Alabama and occasionally you will hear of someone digging up an arrowhead or some other small piece of history. In Israel, it is very difficult to turn over a shovel full of dirt without digging up something of interest. A little over a year ago, I heard a story of a gentleman that lived outside Jerusalem who was tilling in his backyard for a garden. He had just barely started and he dug up an old piece of pottery. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) were called out and an inspection was done. They found a few more things, but nothing major of interest. But, the gentleman was delayed a week or so getting his vegetables in the ground. Sometimes, larger objects are found. A number of years ago, a construction crew was expanding a road just north of Megiddo. They were using a backhoe and scraped some large boulders. However, it did not turn out to be boulders. It turned out to be an ancient rolling stone tomb with four inner chambers. The backhoe had broken into two of the inner chambers before they realized what they had stumbled upon. Luckily, the rest of the tomb was able to be saved.

Now, when we travel over there, we can drive right by it and gain valuable insight into Biblical times.

I took this picture in 2010. Unfortunately, since that time, the highway department in Israel has had to install a guard rail between the road and the tomb. While it probably protects the tomb, it makes nice pictures of the tomb much harder to get.

(NOTE: If you are reading this post from an email, you might need to click on the title in order to see the picture of the tomb.)

The Immovable Ladder

In the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, sits the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This ancient building has been built and destroyed a number of times over the centuries. It sits on the traditional location of Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified) and the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. The building is maintained by seven different religious groups (Roman Catholic Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church and to a lesser degree the Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox Churches). They operate under a "status quo" understanding in which each of them maintain their own areas and do not venture into other group's areas. However, in common areas, tasks are performed by all groups, but only if all seven groups are in agreement with the course of action.

Just above the main entrance, there is a second floor window with a wooden ladder underneath it. Although the exact date is unknown, that ladder has been in the same place since, at least, 1854. Why is it still there? The location where the ladder sits is in one of the "common areas" that I mentioned earlier. And, unfortunately, there is not consensus agreement on who actually owns the ladder. Because of this disagreement, the ladder remains in the same location until such a time all groups can agree on who should move it. (That is not likely anytime soon.)

Why do I bring this up?

First, the ladder is one of a thousand little things that I look forward to seeing every time I visit Jerusalem. It is always interesting to see. I don't really know why. It just is.

Second, it is a reminder to me to keep things in perspective. As I said, this building sits on the traditional location of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Arguably, the most significant event in human history. On this same location, a group of men (God's own creation), can not agree on who should move a simple, wooden ladder. It is sad.

Do we have ladders in our life that should be moved, but due to our own arrogance they remain immovable? Just something to think about.

(Would you like to see this ladder and many other sites in Jerusalem? Then, join me next June for my Bible Study Tour of Israel. Be sure to read the description and watch the video about the tour. I would love to have you join me!)

Let Your Light Shine

During Biblical times, small oil lamps were used to light the inside of a house. But, in order for them to be most effective, the lamps needed to be placed in a location where they could light the entire room. This was accomplished by building small niches into the interior walls. These niches were above head level and were just large enough to hold a small oil lamp. From that location, a lit lamp could provide light to an entire room. As Jesus spoke in what is commonly called the "Sermon on the Mount", He said:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 5:14-16

The picture at the top of this post is of a couple of small oil lamps very similar to what Jesus would have been referring to as He spoke. Knowing the details helps you to better understand the Bible accounts.

(I took this picture of the lamps while visiting the Israel Museum in Jerusalem last year. If you are reading this post via email, you will probably need to click on the title to view the post from the web page to see the image.)

2014 New Year Resolution

Last year on January 1, I showed a picture of a reconstructed First Century synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus read the Scriptures from a synagogue in Nazareth that was similar to this. The resolution was to look at the example that Jesus gave and to take every opportunity that we can to read the Scripture. This year, I want to show a different picture. The picture at the top of this post of is of Jacob's well in modern day Nablus (near ancient Shechem). The well can be accessed by entering the Greek Orthodox St. Photini Church at Bir Ya'qub monestary. Once you are in the church, you can descend some steps to a small crypt where the well is located. While you can not be 100% sure, there is fairly significant geographical and historical evidence to say that this is the actual well that was dug by Jacob. (Of course, until recently, this well would have been outdoors and not in a cramped small room.)

In John 4, we read the account of Jesus stopping by this well and speaking with a local woman who had come to draw water.

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” - John 4:1-14

So, what is this new year's resolution? How about this: Let's take every opportunity that we can to talk to people about Jesus. Did Jesus plan His entire day forcing this opportunity to happen? I don't know. But what I do know is that he did not let the opportunity pass when it was offered to Him. He saw the woman coming and He saw the water. He then created an opportunity to talk to her about things that she needed to hear.

Let us all strive to see opportunities and to not let them pass by.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Do you want to travel to Israel and see great sites like this? I would love to have you join me. Take a look at the trip details and contact me for more information.

Raising the Water Level in the Dead Sea

For the past 50 years, the water level has been dropping in the Dead Sea.  Some of this has been caused by the natural climate oscillation over time.  However, some of the drop has been caused by the population growth that has taken place in Israel and Jordan. The citizens of those two countries have been diverting water for drinking and irrigation.  Water is not reaching the tributaries leading to the Jordan River and consequently, not reaching the Dead Sea.  During the past few years, the level of the Dead Sea has been declining at a rate of nearly one meter per year. For many years, there have been efforts made to reverse this situation.  The most common proposal is to pump water about 100 miles from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea (commonly nicknamed "Red-to-Dead" plan).  This plan has been hashed and rehashed a number of times.  As you can imagine, this would be a major undertaking.

A couple of weeks ago, the Washington Post reported that a tentative deal has been put in place to achieve this goal.  The plan would pump water out of the Red Sea, where it would go through a desalination process.  The clean water would be used by Israel, Jordan and the West Bank for human consumption.  The left over water would be pumped into the Dead Sea.

(On a side note, remember that you look at a map of the Bible Lands, you really must think in three dimensions.  If you do this, you will notice that the Red Sea is HIGHER than the Dead Sea.  So, overall, the process of pumping the water to the Dead Sea is an activity of gravity itself as the water will be flowing downhill a majority of the way.)

As you can imagine, this would be a very expensive operation and would take many years to complete.  But, it is an interesting concept.

The Dead Sea is mentioned a number of times in the Bible.  As a young man, David fled and hid from King Saul at En Gedi, along the banks of the Dead Sea.  While in the area, David fled to a "stronghold", that could possibly be Masada.

(NOTE: The picture at the top of this post is from Jordan, looking northwest across the northern part of the Dead Sea. Across the sea, you can see Jericho and at the top of the hill, you can see the outskirts of the Jerusalem area.)

HT: Todd Bolen

First Major Snow of the Season

People often do not think of snow when they think of Israel. But, there is snow every year is parts of Israel. On the northern boundary of Israel sits beautiful Mount Hermon, which is over 9000 feet in elevation. Mount Hermon receives a good bit of snow every year, and even has a few ski slopes on it. Even the city of Jerusalem gets occasional snow. The city sits in the central mountain range and is just under 3000 feet in elevation. (Trivial time: How many US States have a highest point of less than 3000 feet? The answer will be at the end of the post.) The Jerusalem Post reported this morning that the area of Galilee and northern Israel received some thunderstorms and snow in the higher elevations. Consequently, the Sea of Galilee recorded their first rise in water level since April.

When I read stories like this, I am reminded of a few verses in the Bible. Scriptures refers to the rains that come in the autumn as "early rain". (The "latter rain" falls in the spring.)

“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. - Deuteronomy 11:13-14

Also, as I said, Jerusalem is around 3000 feet in elevation. It does turn much cooler during the winter.

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. - John 10:22:23

Oh...and the answer to the trivia question? It is 17. There are 17 states that have a highest point that is less than the elevation of Jerusalem. And nearly all of those states record snowfall every year.

(NOTE: The picture at the top of this post was posted last year by the Israel Museum on their Facebook page during their heavy snow fall.)

HT: Todd Bolen

Traditional Site of Golgotha

Often, when I am teaching a Bible class, I try to incorporate as much Biblical geography in it as I can. Sometimes, that is not a problem. With the exception of the urban sprawl of the city of Tiberias, I think that the Sea of Galilee probably looks very much like it did in the First Century. So, it is beneficial to show pictures of the sea while discussing Jesus walking on the water or Him living in Capernaum. The Valley of Elah is very similar. It is very easy to show pictures of the Valley of Elah and discuss, with a fair amount of accuracy, the famous battle between David and Goliath.

Other places are not quite as easy to discuss with pictures. Jerusalem is high on that list. That is what makes the picture at the top of this post so interesting. It was created by the people who produced the Jerusalem movie.

The picture is an aerial image looking southeast over the city of Jerusalem. You can easily make out the Temple Mount with the temple sitting on top of the platform. Beyond the Temple Mount, you can see the Mount of Olives and the Kidron Valley running off into the Wilderness of Judea. In the foreground, you can see a rock outcropping outside the city walls. This outcropping is to represent the Biblical site of Golgotha.

So, how did they come up with this? Well, they probably used three things: 1) historical writings of the time, 2) archaeology and 3) a bit of artistic license to fill in the gaps. Is this picture completely accurate? No. But, I think that it is close enough to allow us to study and benefit from it.

But, not only is the image beneficial for understanding what the city looked like during the First Century, it is also beneficial for understanding the city today.

In the second image, we see a picture (somewhat dated) of the modern city of Jerusalem from approximately the same location as the first image. We are looking toward the southeast. You can see the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, with the Mount of Olives and the Kidrom Valley in the background. The big difference is the addition of the large number of buildings that make up the current Old City of Jerusalem.

Among those buildings, you see a large grey dome adjacent to a smaller, bronze colored dome. (In more recent pictures, these domes are blue in color.) These domes cap the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The third picture is of the front of that church. When you visit the church, you will be told that it sits upon the traditional site of Golgotha. Standing there, it is very hard to visualize. But, that is what makes the first picture so interesting. You can take the first picture and combine it with what you currently know about the city and it helps you to understand what you are seeing.

(The picture at the top of this post was taken from the Facebook page of Jerusalem - The Movie. The second picture is the property of the user "striderv" and was found on his FlickRiver page.)

Jewish People Want To Pray On Temple Mount

Last week, when I wrote a post about the movie "Jerusalem", I made the comment that if I could use one word to describe Jerusalem, it would be "confusing". I say that sarcastically, of course. The city is absolutely beautiful and every time I go, I find many more new and exciting things to see. However, when I say "confusing", it is usually in response to a question that someone asks when I know all they want is a 20 second response. In reality, it would take several hours to properly explain Jerusalem to someone who has never been there. And even at that, you would have only talked about the city at a very high level.

Case in point: the Washington Post had a story today discussing the desire of some Jewish people who want to publicly pray on the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount area is under the oversight of the Muslim people and prayers by any non-Muslim is strictly forbidden. I encourage you to read this story. It is a very difficult situation for everyone involved. For better or worse, everyone who lives over there is very passionate about their own beliefs. And, when they feel that their beliefs are being threatened, they become defensive. Over time, this defensiveness builds up and finally someone takes action.

This is not unique to Jerusalem, for situations similar to this arise in every country on the planet. However, in Jerusalem, it seems to be different. For instance, here in the United States, we have our own struggles. But they are things that we have been struggling with for a few decades and perhaps a century or two. In Jerusalem, they have been struggling with some of the same problems (or variants of the same problem) for thousands of years.

Will they be successful in their desire to pray on the Temple Mount? Only time will tell. But, it will be interesting to watch.

The picture at the top of the post is of me standing in front of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. NOTE: If you are reading this post from an email, you might need to click on the title and see the post from a web page to view the picture.

Benjamin Plateau Video

Tonight, I am going to conclude my series on the Benjamin Plateau. However, since there are so many other things that I could write about this area, I am sure that I will pick it up again in the near future. In earlier posts on this series, I have written about the plateau itself and the four cities that guard its passages, Gibeon, Gibeah, Geba and Mizpah. I encourage you to go back and read those.

To bring it all together, I invite you to go and watch a video that was produced by Bill Schlegel and the folks associated with the Satellite Bible Atlas. The video covers the Benjamin Plateau and does a great job of graphically showing the many different aspects of this region in light of Scripture. This video is the fourth in a series of (currently) seven videos that accompany the Satellite Bible Atlas.

Ironically, Todd Bolen posted some information about the Satellite Bible Atlas today. Do you know someone who is interested in Biblical geography? If so, I would recommend that you purchase this book for them. Along with it, you get digital copies of all of the maps and you have the option of also purchasing a wall map the land of Israel. It is well worth the money.

Being Thankful

Now it happened as Jesus went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” - Luke 17:11-19

Leprosy was a terrible disease. Outside of the disfiguring physical effects, the social effects were even more disheartening. Lepers were completely ostracized from society. No one cared for them and they were forced to stay away from everyone else. You can even see that in the passage above in the fact when Jesus first saw the lepers, they "stood afar off". So, when this man realizes that he has been given a great gift, he immediately stops what he is doing to turn around and say "thanks". What a wonderful and appropriate thing to do.

I'm thankful that I live in a country that pauses for a day to say "thanks". And, we have so much to be thankful for. Sometime today, in between the parades and the football games and the turkey and the naps take a few minutes to list the things that you are thankful for. It will be a humbling and satisfying experience.

Happy Thanksgiving.

(The picture at the top of this page is of the Jezreel Valley and the Hill of Moreh from the tel at Jezreel. In the passage, it is mentioned that Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem in the midst of, or on the border of, Galilee and Samaria. While we do not know for sure exactly where Jesus was, it was probably in the general area of this picture. Just beyond the Hill of Moreh is the hills of Galilee and the mountains of Samaria rise behind the picture in the opposite direction. NOTE: If you are reading this post from an email, just click on the title and view this post from a webpage to see the picture.)

Mizpah

Today, we are going to continue our series on the Benjamin Plateau. We have discussed three of the main cities that guard entrances to the plateau (Gibeon on the west, Gibeah to the south and Geba to the east). Today, we will take a look at Mizpah, which guards the plateau to the north. There are two different locations that are identified as Mizpah: Nebi Samwil and Tell en-Nasbeh. However, associating the site of Mizpah with Nebi Samwil is probably not correct. For a good analysis of this, I encourage you to read an article on Todd Bolen's blog from 2008.

Tell en-Nasbeh is located about 8 miles north of Jerusalem along the "Road of the Patriarchs". It is in the central mountain ridge. Considerable Iron Age artifacts and construction have been found at the site. The city of Mizpah is typically identified with the prophet Samuel.

It is at Mizpah that Samuel prayed for the children of Israel after they had been worshiping Baal.

And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” - 1 Samuel 7:5-12

Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah again to identify Saul as their king:

Then Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah, and said to the children of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.” And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. - 1 Samuel 10:17-21

In some upcoming posts, we will discuss some more aspects of the Benjamin Plateau.

The map at the top of this post comes from the Satellite Bible Atlas, a fantastic resource for Bible geography. I have written about this book before and I encourage you to purchase it. (NOTE: If you are reading this post from an email, you might need to click on the title to view the post from a web page in order to see the map.)