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Gezer sat an important geographic juncture between the Coastal Plain (the Plain of Philistia and the Sharon Plain) and the Aijalon Valley. It guarded a stretch of the international coastal highway that connected Egypt with Damascus and Mesopotamia; this was the most important route in the Ancient Near East.

The Aijalon Valley offers an east-west corridor from the Coastal Plain through the Judean lowlands into the Central Hill country. Gezer sat at this juncture protecting the international coastal highway as well as the inland route into the Judean highlands. It was an important regional hub.

According to the book of Joshua, Joshua defeated the king of Gezer (10:33). Gezer remained a Canaanite city throughout the period of the Judges (Joshua 16:10; Judges 1:29). David fought against the Philistines near Gezer (2 Samuel 5:25; 1 Chronicles 20:4). The Egyptian Pharoah gave Gezer as a dowry to Solomon for marrying his daughter.

The biblical text mentions Gezer most prominently with Solomon’s building efforts (1 Kings 9:15-17). Solomon fortified Gezer along with Megiddo and Hazor; all three cities guarded stretches of the international coastal highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia. By the biblical writer mentioning Solomon’s building up of these three cities, he communicated the strength of Solomon’s kingdom along this very important international highway.

Like Megiddo and Hazor, Gezer, which was a very significant regional hub within the Levant (modern day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank), was not mentioned often within the Bible. The lack of mention of these cities within the biblical text does not correspond to their regional importance; rather, it reflects the reality that the Israelites rarely exerted control over these cities.

The site of Gezer consists of two hills, an eastern hill and western hill connected by a low saddle. Excavations reveal that Gezer reached its zenith in the Middle Bronze Age (1950-1550 B.C.). The city had large walls and fortifications during this period. Excavations uncovered a high place of ten monolithic standing stones, which could be used to commemorate an event, as burial markers, or a covenant relationship (see Genesis 28:18-22; 35:9-15, 19-21; and Exodus 24:3-8); these monoliths stand in the saddle that connected the two hills.

In the 10^th century B.C., Gezer was refortified with a six-chambered city gate attached to the city wall. Each chamber of the gate contained plastered benches. This underscores that gates within Iron Age cities were not merely for entering and exiting the city, nor solely the city’s defense, but they served as a meeting place, a place where the city elders sat to judge the affairs of the people, as well as a market and gathering place of the people (see Deuteronomy 21:19; Ruth 4:1-11; 1 Kings 22:10; 2 Kings 7:1; Amos 5:10, 12; Isaiah 29:21; Jeremiah 38:7; 2 Chronicles 32:6).

The Iron Age settlement also had a water system hewn into the bedrock with stairs also hewn into the rock descending into it. The campaign in Judah of Pharaoh Sheshonk I apparently destroyed Gezer in the late 10^th century B.C. The city was rebuilt, but was destroyed again in the 8^th century B.C., probably as a result of the campaign of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (733 B.C.). Gezer remained settled in the Persian and Hellenistic periods, with its final period of settlement being during the Hellenistic period.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com  
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever” (Psalm 125:1-2 NKJV).

Psalm 125 is the sixth psalm of the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120–134). Pilgrims sang these psalms as they approached the Temple at times of pilgrimage, especially the festivals of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles).

The psalmists often used realities that people knew to illustrate and articulate what God or people were like. The Bible and the biblical mind functioned in concrete ideas and images instead of abstract ones, as we tend to do. The psalmist in Psalm 125 described those who trust in God as unmovable as Mount Zion. What provided such surety?

When David conquered Jerusalem and made it his capital, the city resided on a hill known as the eastern hill; the Bible refers to the northern part of this hill as Mount Zion. The eastern hill is surrounded by hills higher than it. People settled on the eastern hill instead of one of the higher hills due to a water source, the Gihon Spring, a karstic spring that continues to produce water, at the base of the eastern hill. The city remained on the eastern hill until the eighth century B.C. 

The population grew and began to settle on the western hill—what today is referred to as Mount Zion—which was included in the walls of the city toward the end of the eighth century B.C. At that time, the western hill rose above several of the surrounding hills. Thus, Psalm 125 was written when the city only existed on the eastern hill, for only then did the mountains surround Jerusalem. 

It sounds beautiful. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people.” That is, until you stand on the eastern hill and realize that strategically all the other hills look down on you. The position is vulnerable. Attacking armies could position themselves on the higher hills looking down into the city. In such a vulnerable position, what made Mount Zion unmovable; what would protect it? God served as its protection, and therefore, Mount Zion cannot be moved. He defends Jerusalem—and those who trust in Him. 

Trusting God sounds easy. Our world often makes it difficult. The question gets asked to us many times a day, “Has God really said?” “Can God truly protect and deliver?” “Can I really trust God?” 

The inhabitants and pilgrims to Jerusalem when it sat on the eastern hill were confronted by similar questions. It seemed too vulnerable. Yet, God protected. He takes care of those who do good and choose to obey Him. Trusting in God is not a mere mental exercise. It means that we do what He commands, confident that He will prove true to His word. 

PRAYER

Father, we trust in You. You are our defender and protection. You repay those who obey You and choose to do good. Amen.

As we continue seeing tragic news reports about the war in Israel, you have been a true blessing—offering vital aid through CBN Israel to those who were trapped on the frontlines.

Many living by the Gaza border were forced to flee. Their homes were destroyed, they suffered trauma, lost loved ones, and they feared the possibility of Hamas terrorists still roaming nearby in Israel. In the midst of all this, our partners helped these victims escape to safety.

Sara and her family were among those evacuated from the Gaza border. She initially panicked, saying, “We didn’t know what we were going to do. Where are we going to go?” But friends like you brought her and other evacuees to Eilat, one of the most peaceful places in Israel right now.

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One of the largest and most important sites within the land of Israel during the Old Testament period is the city of Hazor. Along with Gezer and Megiddo, Hazor watched over the most important roadway within the Ancient Near East that connected Egypt with Damascus and Mesopotamia; for this reason, according to the book of Kings, Solomon fortified these three cities (1 Kings 9:15).

The international significance of Hazor is attested by its mention in Egyptian execration texts (from the 19^th-18^th centuries B.C.), as well as the Mari documents and el-Amarna letters, which indicate that Hazor served as a major commercial center within the Ancient Near East.

Hazor is located in the Jordan Valley, nine miles north of the Sea of Galilee, an area referred to as the Huleh Valley. It sits at the foot of the mountains of the Upper Galilee. This international highway that connected Egypt with Damascus and Mesopotamia ran past the mound upon which Hazor sat.

According to the book of Joshua, Joshua conquered Hazor (11:10-13). Deborah and Barak confronted the forces of Jabin, king of Hazor, and his general Sisera (Judges 4-5). The scant references to Hazor in the Old Testament do not reflect its importance within the land of Israel.

Quite often Hazor, like Gezer and Megiddo, found itself, because of its international significance, under the influence of greater foreign powers. In general, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah only controlled these major cities during times when the empires of Egypt and Mesopotamia were in decline.

Excavations of Hazor uncovered a destruction layer of the city during the Late Bronze Age, which some archaeologists identify as the destruction of Joshua. The city consists of two areas: an upper and lower city. The lower city was founded in the Middle Bronze Age. The city reached its zenith in the 14^th century B.C. when it was the largest city in Canaan. Excavations of the upper city uncovered a palace, temples, and well as the water system of Hazor.

One of the temples excavated follows a similar pattern in layout to the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. Archaeologists discovered a gate complex at Hazor that consisted of six chambers. Similar gate complexes were discovered at Gezer and Megiddo, which led some archaeologists to identify these as connected to Solomon’s fortifications mentioned in 1 Kings.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com  
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

Do we allow ourselves to be disappointed with God? To give voice to our frustrations with Him? For many of us, even the thought of being disappointed or frustrated with God smacks of arrogance or a lack of faith. “God is always good; how dare we express disappointment with Him?” we reason.

Yet the biblical authors routinely expressed their frustrations and disappointments with God. Such honesty expressed the depth of their faith.

Jeremiah often reflects the gamut of emotions regarding his relationship with God. In two instances, he articulates these emotions using the image of water. In chapter 2, he describes God as “the fountain of living water” (2:13 NLT), referring to the flowing water of a spring, which brings life and vegetation wherever it flows. Within the climate of the Middle East, Jeremiah notes that God is like a flowing spring of living water—bringing life-sustaining water to lands and people that can suffer under the summer heat.

Several chapters later, however, Jeremiah describes God much differently: “Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You [God] be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail (literally, unfaithful waters)” (15:18 ESV).

The landscape of Israel is scarred by canyons that descend from the hills toward the coast in the west or the Jordan Valley in the east. As rain falls in the hills, it flows into the canyons, so that during the rainy season these canyons will have water in them that animals and humans can drink. When the heat of summer arrives, the water in these canyons evaporates, making them dry stream beds. A weary, thirsty traveler wandering through this landscape will “see” water in these stream beds—only to find them dry when he reaches them.

Jeremiah uses this image of the deceitful stream bed to describe his feelings about God. On the one hand, Jeremiah feels that God is a source of living, life-giving, water: a never-ending spring of faithful water. On the other hand, he finds himself disappointed with God and feels that He is a deceitful stream bed with unfaithful water.

It doesn’t matter if Jeremiah’s latter description accurately describes God. What matters is that Jeremiah feels this way about God and expresses his disappointment with God. Do we allow that kind of honesty with ourselves toward God? Do we have a view of faith that enables us to be brutally honest about our frustrations and displeasure with God? The biblical authors did; in fact, that was a dynamic part of their faith.

God often receives greater honor in the voicing of our honest frustrations than in dishonest praises.

The Bible certainly encourages us to praise God in the midst of difficult times, but it also encourages the honest expression of our frustrations and disappointments with God. And the expression of each is equally the voice of faith. In our personal lives and in our communities of faith, we need to allow both to be heard as part of our expression of our journey with the Lord.

PRAYER

Father, You are worthy of my praise, and You are big enough for my disappointments. Be God to me in the midst of both today. Amen.

David, the leader of a kibbutz near Gaza, was one of the first to realize that his community was under attack from Hamas on October 7. Early that morning, following a massive bombing, David was walking his dog. Suddenly, a caravan of 15 trucks, filled with heavily armed Hamas militants, was headed his way. As a trained soldier, what he saw shocked him.

He observed, “They were very equipped, they knew the area—they understood exactly what they were doing. They’d come to kill and slaughter. I’ve been in fighting; I’ve been in combat. This was not that. This was complete madness.”

Waiting for the Israeli army to arrive, David spent the whole day fighting terrorists, protecting his neighborhood, and putting out fires. Miraculously, he and his family survived. But their kibbutz needed help—and we are so thankful friends like you came to their rescue!

Through CBN Israel, caring donors rushed emergency relief, food, and water to these grateful families. And as the war in the Holy Land rages on, your gifts can provide critical aid—evacuating many to safety, supplying nourishing meals, and offering trauma counseling.

Your donations can also bring relief and encouragement to single mothers, immigrant families, elderly Holocaust survivors, and others battling poverty. Your care and support can enable them to survive in today’s challenging conditions.

And at this time of great upheaval, you can offer those in crisis a friend they can count on. You can deliver crucial supplies to battle zones, while still distributing groceries, financial assistance, and more to those in need.

Please consider a gift today for such a time as this!

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Tel Ashdod is located almost four miles south of the modern city of Ashdod. The Bible identifies it as one of the five cities of the Philistines along with Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath.

It appears most prominently in the story of the capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines (1 Samuel 5:1-7). The Philistines brought the ark to the Temple of Dagon in Ashdod. The statute of Dagon is struck down twice, and on the second occasion, its head and hands were broken off. The people of Ashdod were struck with tumors.

According to 2 Chronicles, king Uzziah of Judah made war against the Philistines and destroyed the walls of Gath and built cities in the territories of Ashdod (26:6). The prophet Amos spoke of the destruction of Ashdod in his oracle against the nations (1:8). Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah also prophesied the destruction of Ashdod in their oracles against the nations.

The city’s prominence declined in the 7^th century B.C., and it may have even fallen under the control of king Josiah of Judah for a time towards the end of the 7^th century B.C. Ashdod, like Ekron, Ashkelon, and Gaza, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar around 600 B.C., which was mentioned by the prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah. During the Persian period, Ashdod was Persian province; the book of Nehemiah mentions the Ashdodites conspiring against the Judeans (4:7). 

The Hasmoneans conquered Ashdod, which was called Azotus at that time, in the 2^nd century B.C. When the Roman general Pompey entered the Hasmonean kingdom in 63 B.C., he removed Ashdod from Judaea; Pompey’s successor Gabinius reconstructed it. Caesar Augusts granted Ashdod to the kingdom of Herod the Great (the Herod of Matthew 2).

Excavations at Ashdod have revealed that in Iron Age I (1200-1000 B.C.) Philistine material culture appears, as the Philistines settled in the land from the Aegean area. The archaeology of Ashdod illustrates the connection of Philistine culture with sites on Cyprus and Mycenae.

Even foodways and cooking traditions show the connection between the Philistines and the Aegean world. Evidence of pottery workshops were uncovered by the excavators. Excavations reveal that Ashdod reached its peak in the late 9^th to 8^th centuries B.C. During the late 8^th century B.C., however, Ashdod was destroyed by the Assyrian king Sargon II.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. … Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him” (Deuteronomy 8:2, 6 NKJV).

Do we allow God to challenge us to trust Him? As Moses gave his final instructions to the children of Israel, he reminded them of God’s provision for them in the wilderness. He also identified that God led them in a manner that tested them, to see if they would obey Him regardless of the circumstances.

Does our faith allow that God can place us in trying situations to see if we will obey Him no matter what?

It is very in our world to let the things in our lives distract us, or to let situations overwhelm us. In those moments, do we focus more on the distractions and circumstances than on trusting God and walking in His ways?

God taught the Israelites to trust Him and His provision throughout their wilderness wanderings. He provided, but not always immediately or in their timing. He wanted to know if they would keep His commandments.

The temptation to sin often begins with the question of the serpent: “Has God really said?” It entices us to take matters into our own hands, do things in our own way, or reject God’s prohibitions.

The essence of biblical faith is believing and trusting God despite the circumstances, to choose to obey Him regardless of distraction or difficulty.

The reality of the Bible is, however, that sometimes God places us in those situations to see if we will obey Him regardless of the challenges around us.

Do we allow God to challenge us to trust Him? Do we truly believe, no matter the circumstances, that He remains by our side—and that while we may feel pressed, stretched, and at our breaking point, He will never allow us to be crushed?

May we recognize in these difficult moments that our circumstances become the opportunity to build and show our trust in God.

PRAYER

Father, in whatever circumstances I find myself today, may I demonstrate my trust in You by obediently keeping Your commands and walking in Your ways. Amen.