(Post by Seth M. Rodriquez)

“Why go to Israel?”  Perhaps you’ve asked yourself that question before or someone else has asked it of you.  If you have been to Israel (or live there now) then you can probably think of several reasons why someone should go.  But for someone who has never been, this is a valid question.  After all, for most people in the world, it is a serious investment of time and money (and a certain amount of risk) to travel to the Holy Land.  Why go through all the trouble?

My favorite way to answer that question is to tell people that the Bible comes alive and somehow becomes more real when you go to Israel or any of the other lands of the Bible.  From our armchairs in what the Bible refers to as the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), it is all too easy to fall into the trap of reading the Bible like you would read a fictional book.  Even if you believe every word is true, those times and places are so far removed from your everyday life that it is difficult to remember that the heroes in the Bible were real people who faced real challenges and who had to exercise real faith. 

However, traveling to biblical lands removes much of distance between you and the people in the Bible.  You see the biblical places with your own eyes and you become aware that you are standing in the same spot as David or Ruth or whomever.  Suddenly it hits you … “This is where it happened!” … and a biblical story will jump off the page into real life.

In my experience, such moments happen in different places for different people when they visit Israel.  Our picture of the week is of one of the places where it happened to me.  It comes from Volume 1 of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands which focuses on Galilee.  It is a photograph of the High Place at Dan.  In the foreground is a reconstruction of a horned altar that once stood at that spot, and behind it are steps leading up to an elevated platform where one of Jeroboam’s golden calves once stood.

I was familiar with the story of Jeroboam’s idolatry when I first visited the site and could even point out for you on a map where Dan and Bethel were, the two places where Jeroboam erected golden calves for the Israelites to worship.  But it wasn’t until I was standing there, close to the spot where this picture was taken, that I ever stopped to think that there was an actual place on the globe where a golden calf had stood and where sacrifices were offered to it.  The absolute certainty of the place drove home to me the reality of 1 Kings 12:26-30.

Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.  If this people go up to offer sacrifieces in the house of the LORD at Jerualem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”  So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, “It is too much for your to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.”  He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.  Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. (NASV)

So why go to Israel?  Well, for one thing, the Bible will come alive for you in ways you don’t expect.

This photograph and over 1,100 others are available in Volume 1 of the Pictorial Libary of Bible Lands which is available here for $39 (with free shipping).  Additional photographs of Tel Dan and links to more information about the site can be found on the BiblePlaces website here.

(Post by Seth M. Rodriquez)

Last week, a link was provided on this blog to some fascinating 360-degree panoramas of the remains at Laodicea.  So our “picture of the week” comes from Volume 10 of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands which focuses on Western Turkey.  The image captures the remains of the main street in Laodicea.

It is worth noting the biblical significance of this site, which is mentioned six times in the New Testament.  Paul refers to the city four times in his letter to the Colossians (Col. 2:1; 4:13; 4:15-16), and Jesus addresses the city in his Revelation to John:

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Rev. 3:14-22, ESV.)

The cultural background of this passage is discussed in the PowerPoint notes included in the PLBL collection.  (As a side note, in my humble opinion, these notes are one of the most valuable features of the Pictorial Library.  They are a handy, concise source of reliable information about biblical sites.)  The notes in the Laodicea PowerPoint file state this:

Laodicea in Revelation

1. The church in Laodicea was the last and southeasternmost of the Asian churches addressed by John in Revelation (3:14-22). It was the only one of the seven letters written to churches of Asia Minor bearing no commendation …

2. This letter to the Laodiceans is filled with local allusions which would have brought his message to life for the people of the city.

   a. The church is said to be “poor,” contrasting with Laodicea’s role as the banking center of the province of Asia. Laodicea was famous for its wealth, changing money and minting its own coins since before the 1st century AD. Even when an earthquake destroyed their city in 60, the Laodiceans refused aid offered by Rome and rebuilt the city at their own expense.

   b. John also says that they are “blind”; Laodicea was the chief medical center of Phrygia. Nearby a temple and great medical center/school was dedicated to the Roman god Men Karou (identified with the Greek god Zeus), famous for its production of eye-salve from “Phrygian powder,” said to cure weak eyes. The irony is that these people, who took great pride in their medical skill, were unaware of their own spiritual blindness.

   c. The church is also said to be “naked,” a local allusion which relates to the major industry of the entire region: the manufacture and preparation of textiles. Laodicea’s glossy, black wool earned her a grand reputation, and her citizens wore black garments with pride, contrasting John’s advice to the Christians of the city to buy “white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed.”

So, like so many of the prophets in the Bible, Jesus uses the cultural environment of the hearers to drive home spiritual truths.  Understanding that cultural background leads us to a deeper understanding of the text.

This photo and over 900 others are available in Volume 10 of the Pictorial Library of the Bible Lands and is available here for $34 (with free shipping).  Additional images of Laodicea and links to other pages that discuss the site are available on the BiblePlaces website here.  Images and information about textile industries are available on the LifeInTheHolyLand website here.