Page 34 - Holyland Magazine - 2019 Edition

as you goLearn the Bible

Immerse yourself in a biblical study tour

By Omer Eshel Discovery of a 1st century AD Roman coin
during a Bible Comes to Life study tour
Why did King David choose Jerusalem as his capital? The ancient gate of Dan. Dated to the
Apart from the explanation that it was the site of time of Abraham
Mount Moriah (where Abraham was willing to
sacrifice Isaac on the altar), he had other options. Participation in an active dig
He could have rebuilt the ruins of Shiloh and
restored the place of the original Tabernacle, or he could have
transformed his old capital, Hebron (where he began his reign),
as the capital of his new kingdom.

How many times have you read the Bible, stopped for a
moment and tried to understand why things happened the
way they did?

Why Jerusalem?

When I was a boy, my father used to take me to biblical sites
in Israel. He would open the Bible, read a story to me and say:
“Close your eyes and put yourself in the shoes of the heroes
of the story. Put yourself in the shoes of Gideon, breathe in the
air - you can smell the fear of the Israelite from the Midianites
on the eve of the battle. Listen carefully, you can hear the
sound of the breaking jars and see the flames from Gideon’s
warriors!” I would close my eyes and go back in time, deep
into the events of the Bible. By being there, I could imagine
what really happened.

Surrounded by History

As time passed by, I found myself doing the same thing with
my daughters, asking them the same questions, challenging
them with the same discussions. It was then I understood: the
best way to learn the Bible is by being in the places where the
stories actually took place.

Israel is probably the most visited place in history. Millions
of people want to see the Land of God, whether the sites of
Abraham, the trail of the Crusaders, or the return of Zion as a
modern nation. Why?

Because in Israel, one can see the fulfilments of God’s
promises, the truth of the Scriptures and the undeniable proofs
affirming the stories of the Bible. But to visit Israel on a typical
tourist tour is not enough. A different approach to those sites
will make a vast difference. On either type of visit, the sites,
hotels, and buses will be the same, but there will be a dramatic
difference in what you experience and learn.

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