Travel to Israel: Experience THE BOOK, Part 8

To read about the beginning of our Experience THE BOOK Tour to Israel CLICK HERE. Or simply start with today’s post and catch up later!

Is there a place you want to visit or an activity you want to do before you enter eternity? After we visited Israel in 2000, my only other “dream” location was Hawaii. In 2015 my dream came true when my bestie and I met another bestie on Kauai—at her daughter’s home. What a glorious trip with zip-lining and coffee shops and “local” beaches!

Have you seen the movie, Bucket List? It explores this question of “lifetime dream vacation/activity” from the perspectives of two very different men with extremely different lifestyles. But, of course, Hollywood can’t sufficiently plumb the faith depths, so let me ask:

What place or activity might have a profound impact on your faith while here on earth?

Israel, The Easy Answer

Israel seems to be the easy answer, but WHERE in Israel? If you’ve followed our previous seven posts, you know there are lots of interesting places to see. But is there a location or activity that might have an impact on your faith? Or your relationship with our God?

Want to hear my faith-impact? It’s a part of trip-day #10 and our last day in Jerusalem. Let’s see if you can pick it out of my descriptions below…

The Lord’s Day

On Sunday, March 15^th, 2020, we’ll enjoy another wonderful breakfast at the Gloria Hotel and share a short worship time together before beginning our day of exploring.

First stop: City of David. Wait…aren’t we already in Jerusalem, the City of David? Yes and no. Jerusalem has many names (CLICK HERE to see the list), but 3,000 years ago, when David left Hebron to unify all twelve tribes under his reign, he conquered a strategic piece of property from the Jebusites and named it the City of David.

“On that day David had said, ‘Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft…’ David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.” 2 Samuel 5:8-10

A Little Book Love

Some of you might remember that the conspirators in Love’s Sacred Song lived in the City of David. They held deep-seated allegiance to their tribe (Judah). You might also remember the historical detail that Solomon included the whole City of David in his “royal household,” exempting them from the monthly taxation levied against the other eleven tribes (that he had re-formed into twelve districts).

“Solomon had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year.” 1 Kings 4:7

Sacred Spring & Miracle Tunnel

Our tour continues underground to the Gihon Spring, the location where every righteous king of Israel/Judah was crowned. For centuries, it was the single source of water for God’s people and continues to flow today.

For the more adventurous in our group, y’all can follow me through the knee-deep water of Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Remember this last-minute miracle in Isaiah’s Daughter, when Eliakim’s brilliant engineering met God’s unyielding faithfulness?

“As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?” 2 Kings 20:20

With Assyrians approaching to attack the city, Eliakim ordered one team to start digging outside the city walls and a second team to start digging within—through a mountain, y’all! And by God’s amazing grace, they met in the middle.

Yes, I’m walking through knee-deep water to experience this tunnel!

Pool of Siloam

We’ll emerge on the Herodian Road and visit the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus told a man born blind to wash off the mud He’d smeared on his eyes.

“The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” John 9:11

Such simple faith for a lifelong illness. I haven’t struggled with illness all my life, but in 1997 I endured a high fever for six days—and have endured a myriad of chronic illnesses since. What a wonder to witness the very stones where a man experienced the healing power of the Son of God!

Planting Roots

As our final memory of Jerusalem, we’ll travel outside the Old City to a spacious place—and plant a tree in Israel’s fertile soil. Though some of us will be leaving for home the next day, each of us will have planted roots of hope for Israel’s future.

And who knows? Perhaps you’ll come back someday to see your tree has grown! I have the certificate of the tree I planted twenty years ago and am hopeful we can at least find the general vicinity where it’s growing!

Did You Figure It Out?

Could you guess which spot is my anticipated “faith-impact location” on this last day in Jerusalem? If you find it, tell me! Honestly, this whole day is the one I’m most looking forward to.

When we traveled to Israel in 2000, digging had only just begun on the City of David site, so no tours were allowed to see any of the findings. I’ve seen none of it! And I can’t wait to experience the rich realities I’ve only written in my novels.

Want to Experience It With Me?

If you’re feeling drawn to these amazing experiences, please join us for “Experience THE BOOK Tour” on March 6-17 (or 19 with Petra extension) in 2020! The relationships and spiritual experiences we share on this trip will change our hearts, deepen our faith, and enrich our lives in so many ways.  

To see the full itinerary and more details, go to: http://bit.ly/theBOOKtour. Have specific questions? Please contact tour director, Bev Henry. Phone: 714-512-8167 Email: bhenry@luxetm.com. 

To read Part 9 of our “Experience THE BOOK Tour” posts, CLICK HERE.

Tweet-Ables!

• Is there a place you want to visit or an activity you want to do before you enter eternity? Discover some of mine in this post. #theBOOKtour #Israel2020
• See THE CITY OF DAVID described in #LovesSacredSong while touring Israel with me! #theBOOKtour #Israel2020
• See Hezekiah’s Tunnel described in #IsaiahsDaughter while touring Israel with me! #theBOOKtour #Israel2020