Israel Trip I
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On November 14, together with about 100 MCWE ministry partners, we met in the Toronto Airport in Canada and headed onto Israel.  We were to attend the Spiritual Warfare Prayer Conference in Tel Aviv on Nov. 19, and take fours days of sightseeing of the Holy Land.  Visiting Jesus’ hometown on earth was the most exciting trip I had ever taken.  It was my first time.  Many partners had already been to Israel two to three times in the past.

 Arriving the Holy Land

 We loaded ourselves onto three buses after landing in Tel Aviv and headed straight to Jerusalem.  Doron was the tour guide for bus number two – the one I was on.  Looking at the watch, it was 6:40 p.m. on 11/15.  This was the Sabbath evening.  Traffic was not as heavy as usual.  Doron began to tell us much about the places we drove by.

We passed by Joppa (Jaffa) where, in the old Testament, the tribe of Dan used to live.  Then when Philistines came Jews moved to northern Israel.  The 80,000 Ethiopian Jews returned to Israel claim to be from the tribe of Dan.  20,000 more of them will return in the next two years.

Joppa is also the place Jonah found a ship to sail for Tarshish, instead of Nineveh, to flee from the Lord. [Jonah 1]  Also, in Acts 9, Peter raised Tabitha from the dead in Joppa and many believed in the Lord.  There, in Acts 10-11, He stayed for some time with a tanner named Simon and had a vision on the roof.  An angel had told Cornelius, a Roman centurion in Caesarea (north of Joppa), to send men for Peter.  He went and witnessed Jesus to Cornelius’ relatives and close friends.  They all received Christ and were baptized in the Holy Spirit.  [Acts 9:44-47]

Doron pointed out Beth-Shemesh and Kiriath Jearim.  As told in 1 Samuel 6 and 7, the ark of the Lord had stayed in the country of Philistines seven months before being sent back to the border of Beth-shemesh.  The men there offered burnt offerings and sacrifices unto the Lord.  And God killed 5,070 men because they had looked into the ark.  Then the men of Kiriath Jearim (east of Beth-Shemesh) came and fetched up the ark and brought it into Abinadab’s house.  The ark stayed there for 20 years. [1 Samuel 6, 7]

We went by the King’s Valley (Valley of Shaveh) where Melchizedek king of Jerusalem and high priest blessed Abraham after he had successfully rescued Lot’s family. [Gen. 14:18-20, Hebrews 5-7]

Jerusalem – City of Zion

Jerusalem means city of peace (shalom).  It has a population of 650,000, with two-thirds being Jews and one-third Arabs.  It is 2,400 feet above sea level and built around few mountains.  The most important three are Mount Olive, Mount Moriah and Mount Zion. 

Mt. Moriah was where we read in Genesis 22, 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." 

Mt. Moriah was also where in 2 Chronicles 3: 1 Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David.

Mt. Olive shows up many times in the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Also, in Books of 2 Samuel and Zechariah.  The Garden of Gesthsemane, where Jesus prayed and was captured on the night of betrayal, is on Mt. Olive. [Matthew 26:30-47]

A Bird’s-eye View on Mt. Scopus

We stopped at Mount Scopus to get an evening bird’s-eye view of Jerusalem.  The Hebrew University with 25,000 students sits right on top of the mount.

After the beautiful night scene, we checked into the Novotel Hotel.  Betty and I had requested to room in together two months ago.  Somehow it was missed.  Both of our assigned roommates were gracious and agreed to switch right on the spot in the hotel lobby. 

We had buffet dinner in the hotel restaurant.  There was lots of tasty food – soup, hot meats, salads and even a variety of desserts.  There were no label by the dish so you might not know what you would eat.  I took almost all the salads and quite enjoyed the few smashed vegetable dishes.