A Breakfast Rant

OK, this is about a clash of preferences more than anything else. I fully realize that the American way is not the only way but it is the way I'm used to. Therefore, this breakfast rant.

Now I like many things about the lunch and dinner foods served here in Israel. I love the hummus, falafal, shwarma, babaganoosh, tabuli, lamb, turkey, rice, pita, etc. No problems there at all. Nothing really exotic, but different nevertheless. I can eat it all. The problem is breakfast. A Mediterranean breakfast is a sight to behold. It begins with a big bowl of salad. That's right, lettuce (Pic 1). The meal continues with a delectable selection of tomatos, bell peppers, cucumbers, two kinds of olives, and raw onions. Then comes the meat course: tuna fish, and sliced herring! For crying out loud, onions and herring for breakfast? You see the problem for me is that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about how good those pancakes with maple syrup are going to taste in the morning. If I'm on the road and I know I'm going to eat at a restaurant for breakfast, I wake up more quickly and with more excitement. I love breakfast. Maybe that's why I'm such a morning person. But I must confess that during my time in Israel breakfast has been an unwelcome necessity. I walk to the cafeteria with shoulders slumped wondering how I'm going to be disappointed today.

I guess I should have known. Last time I was here, in 2001, the same thing happened. Everyday I hoped for something "American" and everyday my dreams were shattered. Once during our trip in 2001 the hotel we were supposed to stay at bumped us to a different hotel. We were upgraded to a very, very nice hotel in Haifa. I was so excited. Dinner was fabulous. I thought to myself, Self, this is a quality hotel. This hotel serves Americas. This hotel will have real scrambled eggs, waffles, muffins, and maybe even bacon for us unclean gentiles. What did this high class hotel serve for breakfast? High class salad, high class tomatos, and you guessed it herring. It was high class too! I was devastated.

Last week we were in Eliat, a resort town on the Red Sea, and I found a McDonalds. Now I reasoned, McDonalds serves breakfast. Here's my chance. Maybe I can get an egg McMuffin. Guess what McDonalds doesn't serve breakfast in Israel. I guess they couldn't find a supplier for their McHerring. Disappointment strikes again.

Then again maybe some good has come of this. Could this help me understand the Bible better? Consider this, when Jesus met his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection he saw them in their boat and called to them, "Friends, do you have any fish?" When they finally pulled their boat onto shore and ran to the Lord on the beach he had a fire prepared and breakfast laid out on it (John 21). What was on the menu? A typical Mediterranean breakfast. Herring anyone?

Steve

On the horns of a dilemma

The breakfast rant will have to wait until tomorrow. I need pictures to illustrate it. I'll get those in the morning.


Until then consider this picture from my travels today (Pic 1). You are looking at one horn from an altar that had four horns. The Bible mentions altars with horns on multiple occasions, but what makes this horn special is that is was part of a very infamous altar. When the Davidic kingdom split in 931 BC, Jeroboam became king in the northern kingdom of Israel. Although God gave him his kingdom Jeroboam was nervous about hanging on to it. Remember that although the people of Israel chose of their own accord to separate themselves from Judah there was one problem as Jeroboam saw it. You see God had commanded all of Israel to appear before him in Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate the major feasts. This meant that three times a year Israelites from Jeroboam's kingdom would have to cross the border into Judah's territory to worship and rejoice before God at the temple. Jeroboam reasoned that if the people went to Jerusalem they might remember the good old days when the kingdom was united and they would be tempted to press for reunification. So Jeroboam cooked up a plan. He decided to set up golden calf idols at two cities: Dan and Bethel. The horn in the first picture is a piece of the altar that stood before that calf idol in Dan. Archaeologists found it at the same highplace! From that one piece they were able to construct a replica of the altar which shows how big it would have been (Pic 2). This is one of the few instances where we can identify a precise location mentioned in the Bible with certainty. I don't mean identifying a city: Jesus was born in Bethlehem, for example. I mean something along the lines of indentifying the exact spot where Mary laid her baby in the manger. In the case of Jeroboam's high place we know exactly where it was and we have a piece of the altar!

So what should we make of Jeroboam's folly? First and formost it is clear that his plan to lure the people of Israel away from Jerusalem was disastrous. Israel never really recovered from his error. But let's also realize that Jeroboam's actions resulted from a lack of faith. God gave Jeroboam his kingdom after taking it away from the line of David. Jeroboam didn't win a kingdom for himself. God gave it to him. Jeroboam didn't raise up an army and take the kingdom from Rehoboam. God decided to punish Solomon by taking the kingdom from his son and giving it to Jeroboam. If God took half of the kingdom from David and give it to him, surely he would be able to preserve the kingdom for him. Jeroboam should have trusted God to preserve his new throne for him. Instead he trusted his own devices, and advisors, and led his people away from the Lord. Fear coupled with a lack of faith led to a devestating error.

Fighting for faith with you from Israel,

Jeroboam

Back from the Galilee!

Jerusalem, Israel - Wow, for a place as western as Israel it is almost impossible to get a wireless internet connection anywhere outside of Jerusalem! Sorry for the long gap between posts. I'll be in range for the next few days so keep checking.

For those of you who have tried to post a comment and couldn't I've fixed that feature, I think, so give it a try.

I'm back from a 6 day tour of the Galilee region. This was the final major leg of the trip. Although I was tired and ready to go home there was still a see. Galilee is home to major OT sites like Mt. Carmel, Hazor, and Dan, as well as important NT sites like Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin. The Sea of Galilee is the crown jewel of the region and we spent three nights at a kibbutz located right on the shore.

While we're there the sea was quite calm. Hardly any waves at all. It was hard to believe that this was the same body of water that caused the disciples, experienced fishermen, to fear for their lives. Of course we took a boat ride, and during our ride the captain of the boat told us a story that vividly illustrated the power of storms on the Sea of Galilee. Here's what he told us.

Three or four months ago a rather large boat was abandon on the sea. It was a pleasure craft. The kind that people rent to have large parties on the water. He said it was too large a boat for this body of water, and should never have been allowed in. After it was abandoned, it drifted around the sea and threatened to create problems so the authorities tied it up at the small port near Capernaum (Jesus' base of operations). Soon after it was tied up there, the sailors began to warn the government that the boat was too big for that port. They complained that if a storm came up the boat would damage the dock. Sure enough the threatened storm arrived, and according to the captain 10 foot waves lifted the boat onto the dock and ruined it. He said the boat weighed 300,000 tons (that seems too big to me, but he obviously thought it was a huge boat.) Regardless of the precise size, he took us to see the boat dock and sure enough it was out of commission (Pic 1). It must be damaged more severely that it looks because none of the boats in the area were using it at all. The captain said repairs were simply too costly for the goverment to undertake now. The derelict boat was cut up and sold for scrap metal (Pic 2).

I mention this story to illustrate the power of a storm on this famous sea. Of course, what is most important to remember is that during one similar ancient storm Jesus stepped up and told that rowdy sea to pipe down. And the sea listened! We must exclaim with the disciples, “What sort of man is this, even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27). Just what sort of man is this? I hardly know him like I should. Oh Lord, grant me the desire to delight in your Son more than in anything else.

From Israel, thanks for your prayers,

Steve

Tomorrow: A breakfast rant!