When it is the day of departure from Ben Gurion Airport Psalm 122 is a good Psalm to read. It speaks of the joy of going to Jerusalem. Several times the last two days someone said something about “next year in Jerusalem.” We have had a wonderful time together, seeing wonderful and encouraging places in Israel. For many people, one trip to Israel, done on a shoestring budget and a credit card, often begets another trip to Israel done the more proper way, on a shoestring budget and saving up ahead of time.
What is also in Psalm 122 is the familiar encouragement to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That is a good idea, even for those of us who know that true peace can never happen apart from the peace of God through Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth; and that Israel will never know true peace apart from a national consensus concerning her Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth.
As we have noted throughout these postings, we have been posting on Facebook (RonCindy Youde). As we arrived in Salt Lake City yesterday and turned off the airplane mode on the phone, there was a message from someone saying it looked like we got out of Israel just in time before things got a little wild. We were unaware so from our hotel in Helena I checked Ynet and the Jerusalem Post and sure enough, rockets from Gaza and the expected IDF response. Schools were closed in southern Israel, there were pictures of a playground that had been destroyed by a rocket, and other photos of people hiding in the shelters. On our drive from Tel Aviv to Beersheva we had driven right through this area including Sderot and Netivot, two farming communities within a stone’s throw, or better, a rocket launch, from Gaza. Just a reminder that the peace can be and is frequently broken in Israel.
We could have taken a different route but, if there is no compelling reason not to, I always like this route. We also drive along the Israel/Sinai (Egypt) border on Hwy. 12 and this time we kept to the route in the Golan Heights that most closely follows the Syrian border. We don’t do this because we are daredevils or stupid. We do it because it is safe to do so. And we do it because we want the people with us to have some knowledge of these areas. So, for the people with us they just might look up the Jerusalem Post and Ynet News when they get home and hear of these communities and remember that they were there.
Now let us be clear, that in all things, Psalm 122 reminds us of the great blessing of a personal relationship with our God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Pilgrimage is NOT about going to Israel; it is about drawing near to God. I was glad when they said unto me, let us go unto the house of the Lord. For us that is bound up in James 4:8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. We, our bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-10) and local churches (not the building, the people, 2 Cor. 6:16) are the temple of the living God. God dwells with us today and we are in need of drawing closer to Him daily. May that be the goal. A trip to Israel opens one’s eyes up to things in Scripture that we might tend to overlook. But a trip to Israel does not make you a better Christian. Celebrating the Lord’s Supper in Israel is no better than remembering the Lord at our home fellowship of believers. In all things, every trial and circumstance, the need is to draw nearer to our Lord and to walk faithfully in faith, in the Spirit.
May it be so!
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