Hazy East Winds

The East Winds hit us today, leaving it very hot, very windy, and VERY dusty. You may notice that all the pictures have a yellowish tint to them--that's all the dust we were wading through. Nevertheless, even the East winds could not stop us. So, we started the day at Tel Beer-sheva, the city where the king of Gerar sent Abraham and his 318 fighting men in Genesis 21.

The well at Beer-sheva

Lectures among ruins

A cool blue light in the cistern at Beer-sheva

Although Beer-sheva does not seem like much, this was the main fortification along a main spice trade route in the Biblical Negev area. Thus, Abraham took advantage of his position in the land (and his horde of fighters), offering protection services to those passing through along the trade route. Essentially, Father Abe was The Godfather of the Negev. Later kings followed suit with great success. Thus, Beer-sheva has always been a key administrative center for Israel.

After Beer-sheva, we hit Arad, which is the site of the only excavated Israelite temple.

Interestingly, in the Holy of Holies, they discovered two incense altars--one larger and one smaller. At a nearby location, someone found a plaque that said, "To YHWH and his Asherah." Syncretism, much?

Jesse was able to muster enough energy to smile for the camera despite feeling sick.

Whew, barely made it out alive!

CIU students get the privilege of hearing two sets of lectures. The legit ones by Aubrey, and then the bogus ones by Jon. =D

We also made a quick stop at the tomb of David Ben Gurion--Israel's first prime minister--and his wife.

We then came to the most breathtaking sight of the day: the Wilderness of Zin, where the Israelites wandered for forty years.

Stewie's ready for the hike.

So is Nick. (Way to take advantage of a buddy, there.)

It was hazy, but it was still gorgeous.

Family portrait =P

Stewie recording a video of himself on his iPod--haha.

A small stream flowing through the nahal (another word for wadi)

Caves really are so much fun on hikes like these (because they're a chance to take a break!)

We made it to the top!

Just when we thought the hike through Zin was it, they threw in one final stop at Makhtesh Ramon, or "The Super Bowl." This was the historic border of Canaan and what we know in the Bible as Sinai. Here, we took a few minutes to pray and meditate on our own. Vernon, Aubrey's husband, made a good point when he mentioned Romans 10:15, "...How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (A quote from Isaiah 52:7) Our feet were absolutely disgusting after hiking through the desert all day. But, the filthy feet of those who are sent are beautiful. That's our call--to dirty our feet in the preaching of the gospel and the serving of others.

Not sure who this is a statue of, but I say Moses is as good of a guess as any.

An ibek--these things are all over the cliffs. When Habbakuk talks about hinds feet in high places, he's talking about these guys. They will walk right over a cliff and balance on the tiniest of rocks with the surest footing you've ever seen.