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Israel Journal - Day 1

February 18, 2010

ISRAEL
January 24-February 2, 2010

Day 1: TEL AVIV

Leaving Toronto and 11 hours later being in Tel Aviv is amazing.

I absolutely love learning about cultures that are unfamiliar to me. It seems my antennae are more sensitive some how when I’m in a new or chaotic environment. I find that when there are people from wholly different world views than my own I feel challenged to hone my thinking. At the same time the flight disrupts the body clock. I’m alert right now but my body feels like it’s been in a boxing ring.

Meeting our guide Schmulick (we called him Samuel) was a real treat! This silver haired 65 year old had lived in Israel all of his life – raised in Tel Aviv while now living in Jerusalem and refers to himself as a “secular Jew”.

Our group consisted of 18 people with most of them being senior pastors from all over Canada. This is one very diverse group of people – should be interesting.

Driving through Tel Aviv Jaffa/Joppa really gave me the contrast of the old and the new just as the name Tel Aviv means. Jaffa being a 5000 year old port city on the Mediterranean sea grew to eventually spill into the official making of a new city Tel Aviv in 1909 with today having a population of 3 million forming Israel’s biggest metropolis.
We were told that the national bird of Israel was the crane 

The history of the city is rich. After Joshua conquered the new land, Joppa became part of Dan. King Solomon used Joppa as a port to bring in timber from Lebanon for the Temple, and Ezra also had cedar trees brought into Joppa from Lebanon.
2 Chron 2:6 Send me cedars, evergreens, and algum trees from Lebanon, for I know your servants are adept at cutting down trees in Lebanon. My servants will work with your servants.

The prophet Jonah sailed from Joppa on a ship going to Tarshish, but ended up in Nineveh.
Jonah 1:3 Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the LORD. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish.

As we leave the airport we were traveling down the highway where Peter probably traveled on his way to Jaffa. This is where Peter stayed a long time in the house of Simon the Tanner.
Acts 9:43 So Peter stayed many days in Joppa with a man named Simon, a tanner.
It was here that Peter saw his vision of the beasts on a sheet, coming out of Heaven (Acts 10:5–17). As well, it is here where the resurrection of Dorcas took place (Acts 9:36–43). St. Peter’s Church commemorates both of these events.

We were able to see the house that Simon the Tanner lived in – actually it is now a 15th century building but I like to think of it as the original.. and I’m sure that the guy that is living in this house wishes the same. :)

So many battles have taken place in this area over time. This is the home of the Philistines of old. It is also this territory that Napoleon conquered leaving so many killed and lying in the ground that it was said that there were more dead then people alive to bury the dead so the dead were left to rot on the streets. The tension over this country 450 km by 150 km called Israel is still alive and well. Presently Israelis are called to serve in the army for 3 years beginning when they are 18 years old (women serve for 2). They are then apart of the Israeli reserve army until they are 42 years old.

The foundation of the country of Israel is built upon being a land for the Jews to return to. This raises the question of what is a Jew? This became our dinner conversation with Samuel our tour guide. It appears that there are 3 ways that a person becomes a Jew.
1. Anyone born of a Jewish mother.
2. Anyone converting to Orthodox Judaism – Hard complex process.
3. Anyone converting to Conservative Judaism – Easy process.

My devotions for the day found me in Deut 30:3,6 where is says..
If you turn your hearts to the Lord fully – then I will be gracious to you and free you and I will gather you from all the peoples from where you are all scattered… when you turn your hearts toward the Lord GOD WILL cleanse your heart so that you can love Him fully!

As I write out these verses I am sitting in the foyer of my hotel in Tel Aviv with a fresh cappuccino in my hand. I was struck by the initiation of God in 2 ways;
1. to gather His people that are scattered.
2. to change the hearts of his people.
It seems from this passage that all people need to do is to fully lean toward God so that the great work of God can begin. But even the beginning work has God written all over it. There is something about the timing of this reading just as Teresa and I embark on this journey as pilgrims through Israel. This land was promised by God as a GATHERING PLACE for His people from all the peoples. God loves His people and God wants to be loved by his people – yet God sees the intention of people’s hearts and it’s not good. But God is even committed to change the problem in people’s hearts. How gracious – How giving – How does one refuse this loving gesture?
I asked Samuel what it is that he does with the person of Jesus and why he does not accept Jesus as messiah. His response was “When the messiah comes the land will be completely beautiful – full of flowers – and the Dead sea will be sweet”. The difference between Samuel and Myself.. Samuel believes the Messiah comes to make the Dead sea sweet whereas I believe it is the followers of Jesus that are to make the Dead sea sweet. It is the mission of followers of Jesus to bring good news to this broken world. Big difference.

I love being able to do this trip with Teresa – we have dreamed for a long time to be able to. Life is filled with adventure and wonder and I want to keep pushing to move in and out of the box of my life. It’s a dance so dance well Mike!!

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