Beersheba - Did You Know?

The people of ancient Beersheba dug their well centuries after Abraham’s time. But if we peer down 210 feet to the now-dry bottom of a well outside the gate, or go down into the city’s underground reservoir that channeled water from the stream, we can understand the strength, agility, and perseverance women in Bible days called on, day in and day out, to perform this most essential household task — drawing water. That’s how Abraham’s servant knew the best place to seek a bride for his master’s son.

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Valley of Elah - Reflections

Peering through branches of almond blossoms, I imagine the young David coming from the opposite side of the valley. He is dressed in a shepherd’s tunic, his sandaled feet thump against thick grass, and his staff pierces the ground before him. He seems nonplussed at first — sling hanging loosely from his fist — his goal only to gather five smooth stones from the brook. Kneeling, he chooses them one at a time,
running his fingers over them as though they are fine gems.
And then he stands.

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Tel Hazor - Reflections

The words echo between the hills; they swirl around these ruins of the great Hazor, nearly lost to time and history. They rise up in my heart, and my entire body shivers in anticipation of what I know is near the bottom of this tel. It is the soot, some say, from Joshua’s fire. I am given special permission to touch it, to feel its velvet beneath my fingertips. To see with my eyes the evidence of God’s power in a man — in his soul — that is determined to trust the word and direction of El Shaddai. Be strong and courageous, he said to Joshua.

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Holy Sepulchre - Did You Know?

Down a long staircase, whose walls are covered with tiny crosses etched over hundreds of years by thousands of pilgrims, deep below the church, is a First Temple-era stone quarry. At these foundations of the structure, with which Constantine replaced the pagan shrine Hadrian thought could obviate Christianity, the first of the faithful ever to have worshipped here may have left behind a trace of their existence — an engraving. On one smooth stone, now preserved under glass and visible only to those who can persuade the Armenians to unlock the door, is the carving of a ship.

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