Israel Trip - Day 6

We had wifi issues at the hotel last night, so this post is a day late. My apologies!

Day 6 was an extremely challenging day that started in Qumran, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes. I had always labeled the Essenes as religious separatists who were totally misguided in their thinking, but our time in Qumran also helped us appreciate the deep dedication they had to the word of God.

Caves 4 & 5 where key Dead Sea Scrolls were found

The Essenes were a priestly group who began as an alternative to what they believed were the corrupt Jewish priests of their day. They were of the line of Melchizedek (see Genesis 14)—the same line from which Christ himself would come. They believed strongly in God's covenant with Israel at Sinai in which He called them to be a Kingdom of Priests who extend God's reign by putting Him on display.

They shed the humanistic influences of Hellenism by giving away everything and sharing with those in need, all in their Qumran community way out in the Judean Wilderness of the West Bank. If would-be Essenes could make it for two years in that setting and prove their dedication, they would be accepted into the group. Their teachings significantly influenced both John the Baptist and Jesus. Everything they did, from their careful memorization and copying of scripture to the way they sought to love their neighbor, was to become the Word in Flesh.

Top of our hike

To get a sense of the Essenes' commitment, we took a long hike up to the mountain top over Qumran where we considered where they got their incredibly strong dedication. It was easy for us to see how Essenes had to be all in if they were going to dwell in this region, climb these hills, and study God's word relentlessly—all in 100+ degree heat! As happens so often on this trip, it was the words from the Bible that left the strongest impression on me from the top of that mountain.

RVL turned away from us, cupped his hands, and bellowed out one of my favorite passages from Isaiah 40:

"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD'S hand Double for all her sins." A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God." Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

The Essenes believed that living as a Kingdom of Priests would bring the Kingdom of God that Isaiah describes. But do we mean it too? Every valley lifted up? Every mountain and hill made low? This will require total commitment! Not just on Sundays. Not just once in awhile. 

But in every fiber of our being and in every single thing we do.

As the echo of God's words dissipated from the air, we were asked if we were really all in.

I am.

It will be incredibly hard, as we are getting the tiniest inkling of with our trekking through the deserts. But it will expand God's territory and allow Him to fill up more and more of the world. Time and time again on our trip, we've seen how a small number of truly dedicated followers can change the course of the world, and I can't begin to imagine the power of a whole community like Holland Christian Schools going all in and the impact it would have.

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After making our way back down the mountain, we had lunch and began our journey north to Galilee. Along the way, we stopped at a collection of wheat fields and shepherding areas to explore some of the metaphors Jesus used and understandings people had for those aspects of life.

The wheat almost ready for harvest

Farm plots were serious business in Israel. After decades wandering in the desert, the people were presented with the opportunity to grow their own food, and each family got a portion of the ground to which they were to bring Shalom. In return, it would sustain them and the whole community. These inherited plots were called nachala, and we've all been given our own versions of a piece of the world to tend: our job, our family, our recreation, and creation itself . . . and it's our job to identify the chaos that exists in that plot and bring shalom to it.

When we do that well, we will say with the Psalmist, "My boundary lines have fallen in sweet places." (Psalm 16:6)—meaning that we feel the satisfaction of living in God's will.

We also talked about the practice of not harvesting the corners of the fields—instead, leaving those for the poor. This implies using what we produce directly for others. It's a first fruits idea.

Not some leftovers.

Something right off the top.

I'm mulling over many ways in which our school can dedicate a portion of what we do to help others. It would be a fascinating opportunity to expand the Kingdom of God!

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A similar "stable" to the one of Jesus' birth

Finally, we hiked up to a cave that would have served as a stable, and we got a real sense of the surroundings into which Jesus would have been born. 

No golden straw scattered about.

Piles of animal dung everywhere.

Spiders crawling on the walls.

A manger of stone with any number of animal bacteria infecting it.

It's a far different picture than the "prettified" version of Christmas we celebrate . . . because Jesus' birth was already a massive expression of Him stepping into chaos to deliver shalom. He left heaven for this? These are the lengths he's willing to go to bring the Kingdom?

I often wondered as a kid why the disciples, who had the Son of God sitting in their midst, had so much trouble understanding what he said to do. In that cave, it dawned on me that it probably wasn't that they didn't understand what to do.

It's just that it's so hard.

To be all in.

To continually put others first.

But when we do . . . the Kingdom of God will come exploding out over the whole world! The Hebrew word for that exploding is pratz. Let's burst forth eagerly in our own walks so that we can take the next step in making space for God.

Space that He will come and fill.