I Have Not Been Type-Casted After All

     The highlight of today was visiting Neot Kedumim. It is a biblical landscape preserve that also has a Torah scribe on staff. The founders of this reserve have a passion for the Scriptures and preserving all species of flora and fauna that are named in the Bible.

     Since the weather was still very much wet and cold today, we went inside to learn about the work of a scribe, from how to make ink to how to cover mistakes. It takes about one year for a scribe to copy the entire Five Books of Moses.
     One thing I learned: As a Torah scribe, you DO NOT want to mess up the name of God. In fact, when it comes time for this scribe to write the name of God, he first pauses, puts down his writing implement, and prays.
     He says he makes writing errors every day, but has NEVER messed up the name of God.
     There is a lesson in here somewhere about reverence and intentionality.

     After Neot Kedumim, we journeyed to Valley of Elah, the site where David squared off against Goliath. There are "degrees of probability" that each of the sites we visit are the actual sites identified in Scripture. It is a certainty that the place where the David-Goliath battle occurred is within 500 yards of where we stood today. We marked the occasion with a re-enactment, with members of our tour group playing various roles.

     For ONCE in my life, I was NOT picked as Goliath. I was certain that I had been type-casted into this role for life, but apparently not.

     Tomorrow is a free day. I think I will pay $5 to walk around the ramparts of the Old City Walls. You can apparently walk the entire perimeter and get a bird's eye view of things.

     Sounds pretty cool.

     Missing the family pretty bad. We are past the half-way part of the journey. Tomorrow is definitely a laundry day, if I am gonna make it the next few days.

     Still on our agenda: Masada, the Dead Sea, Qumran, the Jewish Quarter, and a few other places.

     We held a Lord's Day worship service this morning at the hotel. We prayed for each of our congregations. As pastors, we are extremely grateful to serve congregations that continue the work even when its pastors are away.

     At Grace, of course, Pastor Bryan and I work together, and for that, I am grateful.

A Torah scribe demonstrates his craft. Amazing!

Our tour guide, Mike, prepares Russell (a pastor in Harrisburg)
and Amy for their roles in the big David vs. Goliath drama
Sunday afternoon in the Valley of Elah.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Tomb of Jesus).

A Beautiful Stations of the Cross mosaic
inside of the Holy Sepulcher.