Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, wrote this article concerning the ways in which archaeologists promote their work. It is a good reminder that, as a former professor of ours said, “Archaeology is the random discovery of randomly preserved objects.”

V

Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion;
to you that answer prayer shall vows be paid.

To you shall all flesh come to confess their sins;
when our misdeeds prevail against us,
you will purge them away.

Happy are they whom you choose
and draw to your courts to dwell there.
We shall be satisfied with the blessings of your house,
even of your holy temple.

With wonders you will answer us in your righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
O hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.

In your strength you set fast the mountains
and are girded about with might.

You still the raging of the seas,
the roaring of their waves
and the clamour of the peoples.

Those who dwell at the ends of the earth
tremble at your marvels;
the gates of the morning and evening sing your praise.

You visit the earth and water it;
you make it very plenteous.

The river of God is full of water;
you prepare grain for your people,
for so you provide for the earth.

You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;
you soften the ground with showers and bless its increase.

You crown the year with your goodness,
and your paths overflow with plenty.

May the pastures of the wilderness flow with goodness
and the hills be girded with joy.

May the meadows be clothed with flocks of sheep
and the valleys stand so thick with grain
that they shall laugh and sing.

May the richness of your creation, Lord,
and the mystery of your providence
lead us to that heavenly city
where all peoples will bring their wealth,
forsake their sins and find their true joy,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Since moving back to Israel, I have been struck by the “in-your-face” manner of life here. For the past two years, we’ve lived in Portland, Oregon, Perkins, Oklahoma, and Durham, England. None of these locales are known for their overly exuberant ways of being. Portland is usually quite chill, given the rain and addiction to hanging out in coffee shops (a generalization to be sure). Perkins is what you would expect of a small, rural Oklahoma town: pretty sedate except on
Friday nights during high school football. Durham is English: things only get heated if there is cricket, football (soccer to you Americans), or cursing Margaret Thatcher (that too is a generalization).

Jerusalem is utterly other. The only time it is quiet is at night. Late at night. Everyone (local) here is loud, argumentative and pushy, regardless of ethnicity, religion or politics. The place teems with energy and emotion. If you aren’t willing to throw elbows and yell at someone, it is difficult to get things accomplished around here. There are always folks on the street, cars honking and swerving in said street, and well, controlled chaos.

There is an interpretation which says that Genesis 1 is the creation account of the Land of Israel specifically. This is centered around the name Gihon as one of the four rivers which flow out of the Garden. Gihon is the primary spring for the ancient core of Jerusalem. If this interpretation holds water, then I’d be quite happy to reapply the image of “teeming” created life to the current scenario. It’s not as pretty a picture as Genesis 1, but still an apt adjective.

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised,
in the city of our God.

His holy mountain is fair and lifted high,
the joy of all the earth.

On Mount Zion, the divine dwelling place,
stands the city of the great king.

In her palaces God has shown himself
to be a sure refuge.

For behold, the kings of the earth assembled
and swept forward together.

They saw, and were dumbfounded;
dismayed, they fled in terror.

Trembling seized them there;
they writhed like a woman in labour,
as when the east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish.

As we had heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts, the city of our God:
God has established her for ever.

We have waited on your loving-kindness, O God,
in the midst of your temple.

As with your name, O God,
so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is full of justice.

Let Mount Zion rejoice and the daughters of Judah be glad,
because of your judgements, O Lord.

Walk about Zion and go round about her;
count all her towers;
consider well her bulwarks; pass through her citadels,

That you may tell those who come after
that such is our God for ever and ever.
It is he that shall be our guide for evermore.

The sites in question are the ancient site of the city of Samaria, the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel (1 Kgs. 16.24) the site of Shechem which is featured in many stories from the Patriarchs in Genesis (12.6; 34.2, 4-6, ff.), as well as some stories in Joshua (e.g. ch.24) and Judges (ch.9). The final site I’d not been to was Jacob’s Well which is the probable site of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4.4-42.

This was a fantastic day as these sites had been essentially closed due to the political dynamics in the West Bank. JUC had not been able to send a study tour to Samaria in approximately 12 years. Samaria boasts a wall dated to approximately the era of Ahab (9th century BC), which is the finest example of Israelite masonry found in the land. Part of the fun was driving through modern Nablus. Our bus driver quipped that it was just like Jordan. He was right. All the Western site seers were quite the attraction to the locals as they hadn’t seen many in years.

The site of Shechem is being cleaned up and prepared for tourism and to offered as a candidate for a UN World Heritage Site. That is really amazing and will be a boon for the local economy.

The church over Jacob’s Well is essentially a new building, as it has been under renovations for years. The Orthodox Christians there have suffered greatly, to the point where their priest was murdered within the church itself. The icons are vibrant and the church itself is immaculate. Aubrey’s students were able to draw water from the well and most took a tentative sip. The water is extremely pure, coming directly from a spring nearby.

Never a dull day in the Holy Land.

Israelite wall, Samaria

Pantokrator icon, Church of Jacob’s Well

Possible remains of the Temple of El Berit (Jdg. 9.46)

Eph. 5.14