Where the elders met at the gate - where Eli would have fallen off the bench when he heard the news that the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant.
Qumran - the caves where all but two books of the Old Testament were found.
Dennis and I standing on a cliff where Herod would throw off his enemies. Galilee in the background.
Wilbur Williams, our tour guide is 78 years old. Our journey in Israel was Wilbur's 132nd trip. He has an amazing wealth of knowledge gained over the past 50 years when he began taking hundreds of people on what he calls a spiritual odyssey. These tours, the fact that he is an Old Testament professor and an archeologist who excavated at many of the various places we visited, makes Wilbur a credible and incredible guide. He wanted the Israel tours to be more than just a history lesson, though it is that, he hopes that those who go will experience the God who is involved in history.
Wilbur prefaced the trip with this helpful insight: "Don't let your heart get ahead of your mind. Don't let your mind get ahead of your heart. Let them function in tandem." I thought about this often as I saw sites that I had only read about in the Biblical accounts. I wanted to understand as many of the historical facts as I could, but I also wanted the experience of these places to penetrate my heart in a way that only God could.
I plan to post several blogs over the next few weeks that share the spiritual odyssey that it was for me personally. More than anything, the trip demonstrated to me the credibility and authenticity of the Bible. The places and people we read about are not just myth or fantasy, but real people in real places. The science of archeology gives evidence to history - an amazing thing to see. To look out over the lowlands of Beth-shemesh and picture the return of the Ark of the Covenant from the Philistines (1 Samuel 6) and then to see the valley where David took down Goliath will forever change the way I read my Bible.
Heart and mind in tandem . . . a good thought for all of life.
1 comment:
I am hoping to go on this tour with Wilbur, he was my OT professor at IWU. Do you know where I can get information about his tours? I can't find a website about them anywhere! Can you help?
Post a Comment