Up and Down in the Sorek Valley “And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.” Judges 16:4 The two most well-known inhabitants of the Sorek Valley in the Bible were Samson and Delilah. Before he was born, an angel told Samson’s parents that he…
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God’s Work Is Worldwide “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;” Revelation 7:9 It is good to be reminded sometimes that Bible…
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“Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: But as it…
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The Stoning of Stephen “And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord,…
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Salamis “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister” (Acts 13:4-5). The Biblical Significance of Salamis Salamis was…
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Jezreel in the Bible “And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is…
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Bethel “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother” (Genesis 35:1). “Don’t go to Bethel!” That was the advice that I received when I brought up the subject. Most…
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Whose Image? “And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of…
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Friends From Gath “And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail…
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“And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward…
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The Temple Mount “And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house. And Gad came that day to David,…
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The Hope of Israel | Mikveh in Scripture “O Lord, the hope (mikveh) of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 17:13). The desert prophet Jeremiah used some evocative language in his…
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Pillars at Gezer “Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the…
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The Significance of Olive Trees “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1). “For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.Though…
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The Sanctuary at Eleusis “After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;” (Acts 18:1) Acts tells us that the idols of Athens grieved Paul’s soul, prompting him to preach on Mars Hill, just below the Parthenon. Later, Paul’s route from Athens to Corinth would have taken him down the Sacred Way past…
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“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha….And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:1, 43). The biblical town of Bethany is located just east of the city of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. It…
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Where Is The Spear? “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13). When Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, he used imagery that was familiar to residents of the east of the Roman Empire.…
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Deir Alla and Balaam’s Curse “And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam…
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Beersheba “And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged…
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And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to…
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The Arnon “From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did…
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Rebekah and the Camels “And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she…
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The Valley of Achor “And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them…
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Nazareth “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them…
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Hyssop “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God;…
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Jacob’s Well “And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about…
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King David’s Blessing at En Gedi “And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks…
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Emmaus In The New Testament “And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.” Luke 24:13 Jesus liked to hike. That much is clear from the Bible, where He frequently walked from Galilee to Judea, crossed the Rift Valley, and once went up…
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The Samaritan Temple “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” John 4:20-21 The Samaritan temple stood on Mount…
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Paul in Corinth “And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If…
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The Castle of the Servant “When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel” (Nehemiah 2:10). An enigmatic figure of Scripture is Tobiah the Ammonite. He came from a clan that may…
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“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it…
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The Hebrew Bible uses several words for a valley. The largest valley is the emek, which is a wide, U-shaped valley. The valley of Elah, famous for the fight between David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17), is one example from the Bible, the Jezreel Valley is another. (A related valley type is bikah, but that…
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“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). In Mark 11, Jesus…
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“And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will…
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“Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection…Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens,…
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“Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.” Ruth 1:1 Biblical Moab, in modern Jordan, is only about twenty-five miles from…
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“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). As a shepherd from the wilderness south of Bethlehem, David wrote about one of the most salient characteristics of the hills in those barren lands: the magal. Residents of the deserts of the holy land understand it…
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“And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;” Exodus 3:8a Throughout the Hebrew Bible, God referred to the promised land as a land that flows with milk…
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“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.” Psalm 8:10-11 “When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou…
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Jonah and Peter in Joppa “And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” Acts 10:5-6 The city of Joppa, known in modern Hebrew as Jaffa,…
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“For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but…
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“After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of…
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“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:…
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“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter…
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“And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived” (Numbers 21:9). Even in judgment, God provides a means of salvation. When the people cried out due to the fiery…
Read MoreThe prophet Jeremiah grew up in the Judean Wilderness, the large desert on the edge of the Great Rift Valley. As a desert dweller, he often wrote about the animals and plants found there. In Jeremiah 17, he described a person who puts his trust in God as a leafy, fruitful tree planted by flowing…
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“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the…
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In I Samuel 26, we find a puzzling account from the life of David. He recruited Joab’s brother Abishai to go with him on a high-risk night raid into the very center of Saul’s camp. “And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay,…
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The Graveyard of the Old Gods in Shechem “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as…
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Enjoying the Journey has many friends in the ministry who help and encourage us along the way. John Buckner is a real student of God’s Word. He has spent the last several years in Jerusalem completing a Master’s degree in Classical Hebrew and has dedicated His life to the study of God’s Word. Please read this recent…
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Enjoying the Journey has many friends in the ministry who help and encourage us along the way. John Buckner is a real student of God’s Word. He has spent the last several years in Jerusalem completing a Master’s degree in Classical Hebrew and has dedicated His life to the study of God’s Word. We are happy to…
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I will join you in prayer for a spiritual awakening among God's people and the advancement of the gospel.
