i went to hell and back...

Today I woke up at 9:00 am. I did a little reading from one of my books for class. After reading for a while, I showered up and got ready for the day – which of course included a cup of coffee to get me going :-) We left around 11:00 am and went to one of the outdoor shopping center malls in Jerusalem. Keren wanted to find some new clothes for Leor. Before we started shopping, we stopped at a restaurant in the mall for brunch. I had the “Israeli Breakfast.” It included a salad with lots of vegetables, bread with different jellies to dip it in, an omelet, some different kinds of cheeses, a dip of tuna salad, and some avocado. I was stuffed. We were joined at breakfast by one of Leor’s friends. His name is Moran – he leads a ministry here in Israel as a Jewish believer in Yeshua. They seek to reach out to the Jewish people with the message of Jesus – as a result of what Paul talks about in Romans 11. They do outreach through relief work. I hope to network with him in the future.

After breakfast, we shopped for about an hour, and then we went to the one site that we needed to visit today. We went to hell and back…not the literal hell of course, but in Jesus’ day it was the figurative hell. We visited the Hinnom Valley on the west side of the old city. It is also referred to as Gehenna – which is a name for hell that we talk about in Christian theology. The Hinnom Valley was a very evil and wicked place. Throughout biblical history, there were all sorts of pagan worship practices that took place there. Most notably, we read about sacrifices offered to the ancient God Molech in the Hinnom Valley. They were human sacrifices offered to him, mostly in the form of child sacrifices - makes my stomach turn just thinking about it. Again it was a terribly wicked place.

In Jesus’ day, Gehenna served as the local garbage dump. As a result, there was a constant fire burning there that burned up the trash. This is where we get the imagery of the lake of fire. Jesus used it as a visual illustration of what hell, or separation from God looks like – evil, rebellion, wickedness, idolatry, trash, fire, etc.

So that’s where we went today. It felt very oppressive there – which is no doubt a result of all of the evil that has taken place in that valley.

After the Hinnom Valley, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things, and then we came home to meet Kelly who was on her way back from school. We hung out at the house for a while and then ate a late lunch. Then we went back out to shop at another mall. Leor must really need some new clothes :-) It was fun – it is great to get a feel for what life is like here in Israel.

While at the mall we ate some ice cream and had some coffee to go with it, and then we came back home. My ring that I ordered was finished, so the jeweler brought it by. It looks great. The Hebrew on the ring is – mishpat (justice) chesed (mercy) hatzna (humbly) lechet (walk) im (with) Yahweh (the Lord). What a great reminder of the things that God has called good and required of us in Micah 6:8.

Tonight I am trying to get my luggage in order. I leave tomorrow night around 7 pm (Israeli time) to go to the airport. It is such a challenge to get everything to fit in my bags since I purchased or received as gifts so many things while I have been here. I think I have it all in order though. One more day before I head home. Again I can’t wait to see Natalie and Elias (it is almost beyond what words can express), but it will be sad to leave this place that I love so much and friends that I love so much as well.