Field Study on Saturday went to Beth Shemesh, Azekah, Lachish, and to Ashkelon. Beth Shemesh was amazing for its views of Zorah and Eshtaol. Zorah was where Samson was born. Samson was born into a Jewish family and was raised up in the Nazarite Vow to become a judge. However, he chose to do something that few men would do, he married outside the tribe and family to a philistine woman, Delilah. Delilah lived around the bend of the Elah Valley at a Philistine village. It would not have been far for Samson to travel to have seen her. This was not a common practice at the time because the Israelites did not want their inheritances to be shared with other people groups, but Samson was determined. After Delilah betrayed him and handed him over to the Philistines, he died from a caved roof. He was then buried between Zorah and Eshtaol at the saddle of the mountain in the Elah Valley. Our next stop was Azekah. This is where the Philistine Army had a large fortress that held the Elah Valley. Elah Valley is where the Israelite army of Saul’s time was camped. This is the place where David fought Goliath! It blows my mind to think about the situation. Little David with great faith, and big foolish Goliath. Goliath was taunting God and the Israeilite army day after day and no one was stepping up to the plate. David was just bringing his brothers food from home and saw what was going on during his visit. He was disgusted that someone would speak out against his God and decided that he would be the one to do something about it. He did not fit into Saul’s armor, and realized, that putting it on just implied he was not trusting God, so he took it off and went to battle Goliath. As we read the story aloud and looked down upon the valley below us from Azekah I could see the story unfold. Something, this time, stuck out. Every person, it seems, has heard a David and Goliath sermon about faith. But it never really hit until I was standing there, literally. It says that David RAN toward Goliath. RAN! Can you believe it?! That is faith! No holding back, but instead barreling down toward his enemy knowing God has already taken care of it. Amen! Also at Azekah we climbed down into the caves in the area. We crawled through them. Scripture mentions that David would hide in the caves and would find booby traps in them. It was cool to see those traps. They were random holds along where you crawl so the enemy would fall into them to slow them in their pursuit. After climbing around in the caves we were able to see ancient Gath from the top of the hill which is where Goliath was born. The next site we visited was Lachish where the Assyrians and Israelites fought over the Shephelah or lowlands. This was vital to controlling the international trade of the Coastal Plains. It was so neat to be able to walk up the fortified city and see where a once great palace was, a wall, etc… It is funny how buildings deteriorate over time. Finally, we went to Ashkelon on the coast where the oldest arched gate can be found. It was built in the bronze age which is the same time as the patriarchs (Abraham/Isaac). It is remarkable that is was still there because it was made of mud brick. While we were there we were also able to dip our feet in the Mediterranean Sea. It was absolutely beautiful! It was really warm, too! One thing I forgot to mention that on one of our stops we say Roman Mile markers. They looked a lot like standing stones.
