-
I Was Wrong about Egypt
When I had the opportunity this past March to go to Egypt, I was not thinking of the journey as a trip to the Holy Land…. I mean, talk about the “Holy Land,” and most people will think you mean modern Israel, the Palestinian territories, western Jordan, southern Lebanon and even southwestern Syria. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all regard these parts of the earth as holy. But did you notice Egypt was not on that list? For me, too. In fact, I thought of Egypt as being more like the un-holy land. Wasn’t Egypt where Israel lived enslaved for centuries? Wasn’t that where the plagues happened in response to evil? Wasn’t…
-
Jordan: The Other Holy Land
When people think about where God has set His redemption story, they usually think of Israel, as they should. But God also revealed Himself with relative frequency in a less-explored part of the Holy Land—Jordan. In the ancient church, mentors often encouraged believers to visit the places where redemption’s drama unfolded at least once in their lives. Seeing such sites, located as they are in time and space, added to the eyes of faith. I love about Jordan that many of the biblical sites do not have shrines built on them. That makes it easier to imagine these places in Moses’s day or in Jesus’s time. So add Jordan to…
