Shephelah!!! June 3, 2013

Shephelah which means "low hills" in the country of Judah. There are 5 valleys in Judean Shephelah 

called Aijalon Valley, Sorek Valley, Elah Valley, Guvrin Valley, and the Lachich Valley...

Beth Shemesh and the Sorek Valley  

Me at Beth-Shemesh, overlooking the Sorek Valley

Beth Shemesh is where the story of Samson took place (Judges 13-16)

Overlook of Sorek Valley 

Random Facts:

Beth in Hebrew means “house” (weird my middle name means house)

Shemesh in Hebrew means “Sun” 

Another of me with Sorek Valley in the background

McCall, Marie and I

Samson Story is so interesting. I knew the plot of Samson, but it wasn’t until I had to read it a couple of times for this field trip and also for Old Testament that I really thought deeply about it. And something that I got out of it was the importance of who you marry. Samson married a Philistine women and that was his downfall. This happen many times in the scriptures…It happened with King David, who was so righteous as a young man and then he had a turning point when he see Bath-sheba bathing on the roof. (Random Thought: Is how this could also be an example in the scriptures of how destructive pornography can be to anyone, even this man who was as righteous as David was. I think that because he wasn’t actively trying to do his best to be close to God, he fell into the laziness that we all do at time when we stop actively seeking the Lord and this is when Satan tempted him with seeing Bath-sheba) There are also so many other examples in the scriptures about how who you marry really matters. Like in the case of Solomon (who was blessed with so much) He was an amazing King as you can see from the story about the baby and the two mothers in Kings chapter 3.  But he married outside of the covenant and that starts his downfall. After reading these stories the past couple of weeks, I have realized the importance of choosing whom you marry, because this really affects you for the rest of your life and how you life will pan out. This worries me but at the same time, I know that the Lord will help me in finding someone who will help me progress in life and someone who has a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Azekah

Azekah

So Azekah is in the Valley of Elah and it is near where the story of David and Goliath occured!

Elah Valley is where David and Goliath story took place! We got to get out of the van and sling stones. (I saved 5 smooth stones like the scriptures say) It was so fun, but I am pretty sure I would have missed Goliath because I am not a very good shot. (I look pretty confused because I am) J

 Maresh/Beth Guvrin

The next place we went was called Maresh/Beth Guvrin, which are ruins that are known for their Olive Oil. (There are a few ancient Olive Oil Presses)  In order to get to the ruins you have to go through the Bell caves. These Bell caves are pretty amazing; they are craved out of Soft Limestone and so large. After going through the Bell Caves you get to the Ruins which are beautiful, We stopped first at this place that was where they used to store pigeons that they would use to sacrifice at the temple. Then we stopped at these Olive Presses… There are Olive trees everywhere (but that is not something new they are everywhere in Israel) Interesting fact…Herod the great was said to have been born in this city. This city used Grid System.

Bell Caves !!! So cool looking!

The light came into the caves really cool looking  and made for really cool pictures. 

This was in the city of Maresh, the place where all the pigeons of the city lived.

One of the Many Olive Presses we got to see...

I love trees... I saw this Olive Tree and I thought it was beautiful, so here is a picture of it. 

 Lachish

Tombs at Lachish, I realized that this picture is flipped the wrong way but I can't fix it right now...

Lachish is this ancient city that was defeated by the army of Nebuchadnezzar and it is also talked about in the bible in the fact that Joshua conquered it in Joshua chapter 10.
Also Lachish was the shephelah’s largest city during the Old Testament times,

One of my favorite things is that I can be reading the scriptures…Like the other night and I was reading in the Old Testament and I saw Lachish in the Scriptures and I was like I have been there! It was super cool to think about and it made the scripture more interesting then what I would have thought at first because I had been there.

Well that is our fun adventure to the Shephelah! Hope you enjoy! And if you have questions comment below or email me!
with Love,
Sierra