The Land & The Book
16 articles
I Want To Be A Green Olive Tree
God will handle it! He will deal with the gossiper, the informant, and the evil worker. When the time is right, He will uproot the evildoer and establish His faithful as a “green olive tree in the house of God”
As the Mountains Surround Jerusalem, God Surrounds His People
By John W. Moore "For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place." — Psalm 132:13 "As the mountains are around Jerusalem, so the Lord is around his people." — Psalm 125:2 It is early morning on the Sabbath during Ramadan, and a peaceful calm blankets the Old City of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish and Muslim communities are locked away at home, and many shops lie closed inside their respective quarters. It's my favorite part of the day. At the Western Wall, you mostly...
What Can You Learn From the Desert?
Would it surprise you to know there are actually three wildernesses in the proper boundary of Israel (not to mention the ones that are mentioned outside of the traditional boundary of Canaan)? In this article, we will examine three of the main wildernesses in the Bible. What happened in each? What can each teach us about God and how he wants us to live?
When the Sky Went Dark: How a Modern Locust Plague Proves Joel Was Right
“Has anything like this ever happened?” This is a paraphrase of the question that God asked the people of Israel through his prophet Joel. The question is in response to a locust plague that had affected the people of Israel. The answer to the question is a rhetorical “no”; nothing like this had ever happened. Joel is trying to get the people of Israel to wake up, consider the plague that was sent from God, and see it as a sign of the coming Day of the Lord. Nothing like this had ever...
MILETUS: THE PLACE WHERE PAUL MADE A MISTAKE
Saying good-bye to those we love is always difficult. Saying goodbye for the final time is often hard to bear. From the top row of this theater, a spectator could have easily seen the ancient harbor of Miletus and the place where the elders of Ephesus walked with the apostle Paul to a ship headed for Judea (Acts 20:38). The ancient harbor of Miletus, once a thriving maritime center, no longer exists. Silt from the Meander River closed its access to the Aegean Sea, and the city eventually...
THE WIND WAS AGAINST THEM
A Helpful Look at a Powerful Story The Sea of Galilee from Mount Arbel and the Plains of Gennesaret below The Sea of Galilee from Mount Arbel and the Plains of Gennesaret belowThe disciples of Jesus rowed painfully throughout the night to navigate their ship. In the early morning hours their battered vessel was still some three miles from the shore. When night seems its darkest, the unthinkable gradually unfolded before their eyes. It was a ghostly figure moving upon the surface of the deep,...
LIFE IN CLAY JARS
The Dead Sea from the Judean Wilderness with the Mountains of Moab in the distance The Dead Sea from the Judean Wilderness with the Mountains of Moab in the distanceIntense rays from the sun shimmer through a haze in the skies, glittering on the placid surface of the Dead Sea. An enormous basin of scrabbly pebbles and jagged stone, all baked to a uniformly scorched brown, jumble together and rise to form the mesas and peaks of the Judean mountains in the west and the hills of Jordan to the...
Judean Iris: Bloom Where You are Planted
BP IMAGE INSIGHT: I can’t believe I’m writing this. I’m not really a flower enthusiast, but this delicate flower from Israel has an important lesson for living life. It’s known as the Black Iris, and it is a part of a rare and legally protected family of irises found only in an area east of the Mediterranean. Judean Iris of the same Family of the famous Gilboa Iris in Israel Judean Iris of the same Family of the famous Gilboa Iris in IsraelAmong the most popular and well-known is the Gilboa...
SON OF A DEAD GOD at CAESAREA PHILIPPI
It’s NOT what you might expect. Instead of a dry, dusty place, northern Israel is lush and abundant with vegetation, especially in the area of the Dan Nature Preserve. Nestled at the base of Mount Hermon, the spring and tropical environment of ancient Panias (pictured above) is situated along the geographic region of the fertile crescent near the Golan Heights. It was an ideal location for settlers, farmers, and traders who took advantage of not only the moderate temperatures, but also the...
GOD OUR MASADA - PSALM 144
IMAGE INSIGHTS: In the rocky terrain northwest of present-day Ein Bokek, a large rugged escarpment known as Masada stands defiantly in the desert territory of the Dead Sea. Located in the lowest region on earth, this natural defensive outpost towers some 1,424 feet above the dry and barren creek-beds below. The word masada is found in the Hebrew Bible and is often translated in English as “stronghold” or “fortress.” This uniquely shaped escarpment was only approachable by a crooked, narrow...
"The Lord Surrounds His People"
IMAGE INSIGHTS: The ancient city of David and Jerusalem’s temple mount (Mount Zion), where Islam’s Dome of the Rock rest today, is lower than the adjacent hills. Biblical Jerusalem is surrounded by three valleys and sits at an approximate elevation of 2,428 feet above sea level. This Bible Land Passages photo was taken from the slope of Mount Scopus which is nearly three hundred feet higher than where the Temple once stood. To the south lies an even higher hill, Eztel Hill (Hill of Evil...
Souls Longing to Connect with God: Seeing the Church of the Sepulchre in a Different Way
In the early morning hours of Shabbat, there is a calming stillness that lingers over the city of Jerusalem. You can hear the chorus of singing birds, the murmured intonations of worshippers at the Western Wall, and, if you use your imagination, you can hear the sound of human hearts yearning to connect with God in a city known for its religious ardor and aura. As you make your way to the traditional site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, you can hear the eager voices and hurried steps...
BEYOND THE HEIGHTS OF CARMEL, AND TO THE VALLEY BELOW By John W. Moore
Elisha could see the anguished Shunammite woman moving rapidly across the valley. What was troubling her? Was something wrong with her husband, he wondered? Had something terrible happened to her only child? As she made her way across the valley and to the base of the hill, her singular focus drove her to scale the heights of the historic hill where the prophet of God had lodged. Dismissing the inquiries of Elisha’s servant, she maneuvered her way to the feet of this powerful and beloved man...
A MOUNTAIN OF TEARS
Head covered, barefoot and weeping, King David climbed the Mount of Olives in hurried flight. The Kingdom was in turmoil.
FINDING PEACE ON A ROCKY CRAG
On a rugged, isolated mountaintop, despite the darkness of a cave, David grew in faith and composed some of the world's greatest poetry.
Jesus Wins Every Time - Hope at Armageddon
The word Armageddon is a Greek amalgamation of two Hebrew words, Har meaning “hill”, and the name for the biblical city known as “Megiddo”.