Friday, March 6, 2009

The Valley of Elah







After leaving Jerusalem for the final time we drove through the Wadi Elah Valley. This is the place where David would have been prior to and then during his battle with Goliath.

We walked down a path to look for some stones (similar to the ones that David would have used in his battle). I actually have some, none are any bigger than the palm of my hand. There are tons of stones along this path and from what we understand lots of tourist groups stop here to pick them up. I'm not sure how there are still so many available.

Anyways, Scott and Corey had fun seeing who could throw their stones the farthest. It was fun to watch them. I wonder how far they could get them if they had a sling shot?

Then we drove up onto Tel Azekah where we could see the entire valley. We could see where Goliath and his army would have been coming from, where the Israelite camp would have been, and approximately where David would have defeated him.

It was special to be there with my dad, his name is David too. I was praying this morning for him to develop and seek after God's heart like David in the old testament, praying for God to continue to use him and thanking God for how much he has already been used in my life and in the lives of others. I have often put my dad on a pedestal, thinking that he was perfect. Well, I know now that is not true. He has lots of faults. But, the cool thing is that we all do and David (even one of the most famous people in the Bible) did too. We just keep seeking forgiveness, accepting grace, and following Jesus one day at a time... then we are changed from the inside out :)

*A side note, on Tel Azekah there was a small group of Israeli men training for the army. Lots of guns around, it was also surprising how young they were.

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