Holy Land Tour: What to Read Beforehand

“I’m taking a Holy Land tour,” a friend explained. “What should I read before I go?”

I had to think because I was so busy prior to our trip, I didn’t do much reading preparation.

Oh, we had books–gifts from friends and family members.

But, I wasn’t planning this trip. I just took it.

So what did I read?

Well, a review of blog posts over the last few years showed–quite a bit!

Read the Holy Land tour schedule first!

When we received the tour schedule, I first examed the list of locations we’d visit on our Holy Land tour.

I turned the schedule into a word document, looked up all the places on the list, and added the appropriate links.

After 40 years of leading Bible studies, I recognized many, but here’s a list of places I needed to check out–and my reaction when I realized what they were:

• Caesarea Maritima–The Romans jailed Paul there. “Right near the Mediterranean Sea? He could hear the waves from this hole in the ground!”
• Mt. Tabor–Elijah and the prophet confrontation. “What an awful place. And then he killed them all in that little river down there.”
• Beit Igal Alon–a 1st century Galilean ship. “I read about the discovery of this boat in the National Geographic.”
• Tabgha–Loaves and fishes shore, anyone? “Right here. Jesus built a fire right here!”
• Gamla–My husband knew of this fortress because he’s read Josephus (and Eusebius, too.) “Maybe the hill does look like a camel’s hump.”
• Tel Dan–Abraham went through the gate while retrieving Lot. “This is the oldest thing I’ve ever seen.”
• Tel Hazor–“Ahab lived there?”
• Beit She’an–“Saul and his sons’ bodies were hung on the wall?”
• Maayan Harod–To the nine year old boy with us: “Do you drink water with your hands or lap like a dog?”
• Nimrod’s Castle–Crusader fort. My husband pointed out the killing field.
• Banias–the Gates of Hell. (Jesus in Matthew 16:18)
• Western Wall and Tunnel–the underground extension of the Wailing Wall, as well as the closest place to the former Holy of Holies–or the temple home of the Ark of the Covenant. “Just past that wall?????”

A Holy Land tour book and a devotional

Thirty Days in the Land with Jesus: A Holy Land Devotional by Charles H. Dyer. I bought this after I visited the country, and I love it. It’s full of insights I never knew. (Nazareth comes from the Hebrew word “netzer,” which means shoot or branch! See Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; and Zechariah 3:8.)

(This Dyer book also looks promising: Experiencing the Land of the Book.)

The Holy Land for Christian Travelers by John A. Beck. An illustrated guide which includes maps! Just about all the places we visited were in this book.

Novels about Old Testament Events

The Cities of Refuge by Connilyn Cossette. This series of novels covers the book of Judges and how the cities of refuge worked.

My friend Atessa Afshar also writes about Old Testament events. I wrote here about how she applies her imagination (combined with her years as a pastor) with Biblical stories.

The first temple period stories by Lynn Austin. Her Chronicles of the King series provided insight into the years leading up to the destruction of the Temple.

I appreciated the background she provided in her Keepers of the Covenant series when I taught on Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zechariah.

Austin’s books, in particular, came to mind as we wandered around old Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and when we visited an antiquities dealer.

Memoirs, Non-fiction, and History

I didn’t realize how many books I’ve read for a Holy Land tour, and the one I missed–Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad.

But each gave me background and, in the case of Jerusalem, echoed when I walked through gates I knew others had passed before.

We didn’t go into Jordan to visit the site of Sodom–though I thought about the land when I stood in Jericho.

I learned a lot about Biblical archaelogy from  Discovering the City of Sodom by Dr. Steven Collins and Dr. Latayne Scott.

I knew all about Hezekiah’s Tunnel from reading both Eric Metaxas’ Is Atheism Dead? and Bertha Spafford Vester’s Our Jerusalem. (Lynn Austin’s The Strength of His Hand is about digging the tunnel.)

Doug Hershey’s two books, Israel Rising, and Jerusalem Rising, also came to mind many times.

Even Derek Prince’s biography describes life in Jerusalem–from WWII and beyond-Appointment in Jerusalem.

I could not walk on the Temple Mount without remembering Dr, Jeanne Constantinou’s The Crucifixion in all Jesus’ Glory.

My own writing

I’ve written more than 70 blog posts about Israel, the Bible, and other related subjects. The list starts here.

My head swiveled when we passed Huldah’s tomb.

I had tears in my eyes when I walked through the Jaffa gate–just like General Allenby did in December, 1917.

As I looked over the landscape, I recalled both Biddy (with Kathleen; 1919) and Lettie (with her husband Charles, Oswald Chambers, Elizabeth Howells, and others–over many years).

Israel really is the crossroads of the world–spiritually, emotionally, and literatur-ally.

Of course I don’t expect my friend to read all of these books–it took me years to get this far–but any one is a good introduction to the wonderful place she’ll soon visit.

Shalom!

Tweetables

A suggestion of books for a holy land tour. Click to Tweet

Read ahead for a holy land tour: Twain, Metaxas, Josephus, Austin, Hershey, and others! Click to Tweet