Jerusalem

Psalms of ascent were to be sung when the children of Israel came to Jerusalem and ascended to the top of Mount Zion three times a year, where they would hold a feast before the Lord. Psalms 120-134 are psalms of ascent.

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.  Psalm 121

Words fail me and tears come when I try to describe our entry into Jerusalem. We read a psalm of ascent and then we listened to the grand old hymn, “The Holy City,” as we went through the Mt. Scopus tunnel and turned to the left to see the city for the first time. It is an incredible sight and experience. Welcome home!

 

 

I believe that this is Hebrew University.

After our initial view of the city from Mt. Scopus, we checked into our hotel, the Hotel Inbal.

This courtyard in the middle of the hotel was where we ate all our meals.

And here we are at dinner the first night.

The salad table…

We were on the fifth floor.

The two ladies in the left of the picture by Bob were also sisters. One was from Laredo.

A home across the street from the hotel…

This is the YMCA of Jerusalem.  We passed by as we were walking to Danny Eliav’s jewelry store. He is a friend of Precept.

 

Tomorrow is a big day…the Temple Mount.

On the Way to Jerusalem: The Wilderness

We followed the ancient road that Jews living in Galilee used to travel to Jerusalem for annual feasts. However, they crossed over to the east side of the Jordan to avoid Samaria. They crossed back over the Jordan at Jericho.

We saw these encampments along the sides of the highway which Kenny told us were modern-day Bedouins.

As you can see, some of them are rather large.

One of the stories that Kenny told us was that the Bedouin males were known for their hospitality. We were then told that we were to have a surprise for lunch. So we turned off the main highway to Jerusalem.

We were greeted by some better-looking camels that we could have ridden for free, instead of the $6 we paid at the truck stop. As an aside, a lady from one of the other buses got sick on the trip with a rash similar to the one I had on my legs from the sun(?) She started running a fever, so the bus host called a doctor. He came to the hotel and asked her if she had ridden a camel. She answered that she had and he told her she had “camel fever” and gave her an antibiotic.

We found out that we were at Genesis Land and were to have lunch with “Father Abraham.” This is his servant, Eliezar.

He explained to us exactly where we were on Abraham’s journey to the Land of Canaan. I wish I had taken notes.

Then we donned our Bedouin robes and set out for lunch.

The camel pen…

Our destination, the Bedouin camp…

We are looking toward the east. The sunrises must be spectacular. It was on one of these mountains that The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. Genesis 12:7-9

And we met our host, Father Abraham.

And here we are taking our places on the cushions around the low table.

Father Abraham is welcoming us to his tent.

We had meatballs and rice…(Delicious!)

Chicken with a sauce similar to barbecue sauce…

The roof of the tent…

We helped ourselves to hot tea from the tray that this young man was carrying and the tea was accompanied by dates for dessert. It was such a unique and fun experience.

Allison, me, Pattie, and Judy…