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Alina’s family was always prepared to deal with missile attacks, living in Ashkelon near the Gaza border. But when terrorists invaded their streets, they were all evacuated right away. 

Alina said, “It’s scary, and I still have nightmares because of everything we’ve seen. Inside, I’m shaking—but I have to show my kids that everything is okay to put them at ease.”

When their community was still under fire from Hamas, Alina said, “I’m not ready to go home. Being cooped up in an apartment is psychologically difficult on the kids. They are afraid.” Yet, residing day after day in temporary housing was not easy—even though it was a safe refuge.

For Alina and her husband, there were also financial concerns. She says, “I work at a kindergarten, and I didn’t make any money this month. My husband is also working part-time. We’re trying to be very frugal right now, even though the kids keep asking for things.” 

So how could they survive? Fortunately, caring donors came to their rescue. Through CBN Israel, they provided lodging, meals, supplies, counseling—and hope, during this difficult time. Alina shares, “It’s been such a blessing. We can eat here, and not have to worry about spending money we don’t have. We are so thankful. It’s been like a breath of fresh air. God bless you!”

Your gifts to CBN Israel can bless so many in the Holy Land who worry about survival—by delivering food, emergency aid and ongoing assistance. The war has taken a huge toll across that nation. Your support is crucial in bringing vital help to terror victims, Holocaust survivors, single moms, and more.

Please be a part of this important outreach to Israel’s people!

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By Marc Turnage

The Western Wall refers to the western retaining wall built to support the Temple Mount platform. In the first century, this wall faced the city of Jerusalem, and as such, it had four gates in it that led onto the Temple Mount platform. 

The gates alternated in their access lower and upper. A street ran along the western wall in the first century. The two lower gates offered access to the Temple Mount from this street. The two high gates were accessed through a bridge and a stairwell supported by a massive arch. 

Today, we refer to these gates by the names of the modern explorers who rediscovered them and identified them. From north to south, they are Warren’s Gate, named after the British explorer Charles Warren. The next gate, accessed by the bridge that led from the Upper City of Jerusalem is Wilson’s Gate, named for the British explorer Charles Wilson. 

The third Gate, which today can be seen on the women’s section of the Western Wall prayer area, is Barclay’s Gate, named for the American missionary doctor, James Barclay. The final gate was named after the American explorer, Edward Robinson. Robinson identified the spring of an arch protruding from the western wall, which was the remains of a large arch that supported a monumental staircase that led onto the Temple Mount. 

Today visitors to Jerusalem encounter three areas of the Western Wall. The most famous in the Western Wall prayer plaza. This has served as a place of Jewish prayer for hundreds of years. It was a small area of the western wall of the Temple Mount retaining wall that was left exposed where Jews could come and pray. 

The Western Wall was not considered holy when the Temple stood but developed into a place of Jewish prayer centuries later. Today it functions as a synagogue and is the most holy site for Jews around the world. Men and women have two separate areas designated for their prayers. 

North of the Western Wall prayer plaza, one can go through a tunnel created by construction in later periods of buildings up against the western wall that follows the Western Wall. In these tunnels one sees the pillars that supported the bridge in the first century leading to Wilson’s Gate; one can even see Warren’s Gate, which is sealed up. 

Following along the tunnel, the first century street is visible in places, as are the massive hewn stones used to build the Western Wall. On the northern end of the tunnel, one encounters a pool, which was an open-air pool in the first century known as the Struthian Pool (or “Sparrow’s Pool”). 

South of the Western Wall plaza, one can walk along the first century street that ran along the Western Wall. On the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount, the spring of Robinson’s Arch is visible as are the small shops where vendors sold sacrifices for the Temple and changed money in the first century. 

The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans can be seen in a pile of large hewn stones from the Temple Mount, which remains where they fell in the first century. So too, the buckling of the street from the collapse of the walls of the Temple attest to the destruction inflicted by the Romans. 

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

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16 NKJV).

God’s covenant always comes with a condition: “If.” If you will do this, then this will be the result. If you do not do this, then that will be the result. Within the Bible, our relationship with God depends upon our living up to the “if” statements. 

He tells the Israelites that He placed before them the way of life and death. He then calls upon them to do several things: listen, love, walk, and observe.

In fact, listening to God is defined as loving Him, walking in His ways, and observing His commandments. 

The evidence that we have listened to God is determined by how we obey Him and walk in keeping with His commands. This also is the biblical definition of loving God: observing His commandments. 

The promise God gave to Israel is if they would do this, then they would live and multiply and God would bless them. We hear people today talking about God wanting to bless us, and He does. He’s a good father. But, in the Bible, God’s blessing is always the then of an “if-then” statement. 

Too often, we want blessing without obedience; we seek relationship without repentance. We want life and fulfillment without necessarily having to commit ourselves to walking in His ways.

The Bible often connects God’s commandments and obedience to them with the way of life. 

We have a daily obligation to listen to God’s commandments, to love Him by walking in His way and observing His statutes. If we do this, then He has promised His blessing; He has promised life and goodness. So, today, choose life. 

PRAYER

Father, today we choose to listen to Your voice, to walk in Your ways, to observe all that You command, and to love You. Amen. 

When World War II started, Mila was only 6 years old. She remembered her father leaving for the army, and evacuating with her mother and siblings to survive, saying, “There were bombs exploding all around. God spared us.”

Mila eventually married, and since she and her family were Jewish, they immigrated to Israel. Over the years, she made a life for herself there, but it became more challenging when her husband passed away. She says, “My budget is very limited—I cook very simple food.”

After years of financial struggles and loneliness, Mila was emergency rushed one night to the hospital with very high blood pressure. She says, “I felt very ill, and thought I was going to die.” Insurance did not cover all her expenses, and she said, “I owed a lot of money. The bill was very high. And I have to take expensive medicine.” Where could she turn for help?

Thankfully, friends like you were there for her. Through CBN Israel, caring donors paid Mila’s costs for the ambulance, hospital, and medicine that her insurance didn’t cover—plus, they got her a new blood pressure monitor. And they brought her bags of groceries, and invited her to join other seniors to socialize and eat healthy at a center supported by CBN Israel. This precious Holocaust survivor exclaimed in tears, “I feel honored by your kindness… May God bless you!”

Your gifts to CBN Israel can help so many elderly, single moms, terror victims, Holocaust survivors, and others struggling to survive. With thousands of lives in crisis since the war, your support is crucial in bringing food, housing, and emergency aid to Israelis in need.

Please join us in blessing others in need!

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By Marc Turnage

In the northeastern corner of the Jezreel Valley sits the dome shaped hill of Mount Tabor. The steep slopes on all sides of the solitary mountain lead to a plateau on top, 1000 meters by 400 meters in area. The tribal territories of Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali meet at Mount Tabor.

Mount Tabor played a prominent role in the story of Deborah and Barak. They gathered the Israelite forces at Mount Tabor prior to their battle with the Canaanite forces of Jabin, king of Hazor, that were led by his general Sisera (Judges 4). The Israelites used the steep slopes of Tabor to their strategic advantage against the Canaanite chariots. So too, their gathering at Tabor prior to the battle may have to do with the connection of the mountain to cultic worship (see Deuteronomy 33:18-19; Hosea 5:1).  

Mount Tabor served as the site for several battles during the Hellenistic and Roman eras. Josephus, who became a historian of ancient Judaism, fortified the mountain as part of his efforts in the Galilee during the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (A.D. 66-73). 

Christian tradition, from the time of the Church Fathers, identified Mount Tabor as a possible location for the site of the event of the Transfiguration. The Gospels do not specify the location of this event, simply calling it “a very high mountain” (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2). The earliest tradition identifying Mount Tabor as the location of the Transfiguration comes from the Gospel according to the Hebrews. 

This work no longer exists, but Church Fathers quote passages of it in their works. Origen, citing the Gospel according to the Hebrews, identified the location of the Transfiguration as occurring on Mount Tabor. If this was written in the Gospel according to the Hebrews, then this tradition dates to the late first or early second century A.D. Cyril also knew the tradition that placed the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. 

Both Eusebius and the Bordeaux Pilgrim do not mention the mountain being a sacred mountain. Thus, while some early Christian traditions located the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, it was not treated as a sacred mountain or site within the early Byzantine period. Today, visitors to the mountain find a church on its summit.

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

“For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away. It is not in heaven, that you could say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may follow it” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14 NASB).

Did you ever play hide-and-seek as a child? The goal, of course, was not to get caught. Playing it outdoors with a group of friends during summer nights was the best.

We sometimes act like we’re in a game of hide-and-seek with God—as if He hides Himself and His will from us.

The book of Deuteronomy contradicts that notion. God’s commands are not too baffling or distant. His Word is near; it’s in our mouth and heart to do it. God does not seek to confuse us or hide His will from us. He wants us to understand what pleases Him and what He desires from us. That’s why He gave us His Word.

Deuteronomy not only states that His Word is near us, it also describes the nature of its nearness, in our mouth and heart.

Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, the children of Israel are told to “repeat these words” that they are being commanded. This reflects the oral repetition common in ancient cultures. Repeat these words. The repetition of God’s commands makes His Word come very near.

Within the Bible, the heart was not seen as the seat of human emotion, as we understand it today. Rather, the heart was seen as the seat of reason and cognitive function. The action of the heart, then, was to think—to meditate instead of feel.

God’s Word being in your heart means that you think on it, meditate on it. This brings His Word near to us.

The repetition of His Word brings it near, which reminds us to observe it and to do it. God’s Word is not esoteric or abstract. In fact, we perceive it when we repeat it, meditate upon it, and obey it. We cannot know God’s Word and meditate upon it if we do not take the time to learn it.

Devotionals are helpful in stimulating our thinking and understanding; yet to bring God’s Word near us, we must continually speak God’s Word, meditate on it, and live it out each day.

PRAYER

Father, Your Word is life—it gives life; it instructs us. May we know You better as we study it, meditate upon it, and do it. Amen.

Life in northern Israel just got harder. As tensions rise, attacks from Hezbollah are escalating on the nation’s northern border with Lebanon. And the threat of an all-out war looms large.

Hezbollah has already fired over 5,000 missiles and drones from Lebanon into Israel. This Iranian-backed terror group is well-armed, with an estimated 150,000 rockets, drones, and other weapons that can be launched from land or sea—and target any point in Israel.

With that stark reality in mind, Israelis face the prospect of spending the summer in bomb shelters for weeks—possibly months. As a result, both the military and civilians have increased preparations. Israel’s food industry is stocking warehouses, and gearing up supermarket chains to be open 24/7 during emergencies.

But if rockets batter the north, and people can’t leave their bomb shelters to replenish food and necessities, how will they survive?

Thanks to friends like you, CBN Israel has partnered with the country’s largest distribution center and created an emergency preparedness box, with critical supplies needed in a bomb shelter. The box contains “combat rations,” with enough canned goods to last a few days. Plus, it includes electrical chargers, a transistor radio, batteries, and items for children and babies.

And CBN Israel staffers helped pack these and other crucial essentials, while increasing support for tackling food insecurity. Donor gifts have provided thousands of food packages to those in need in just the first months after October 7.

Your support can deliver meals, lodging, and essential aid to thousands whose lives have been devastated by the war. In addition, you can bring ongoing help to immigrants, Holocaust survivors, single moms, and others who are vulnerable.

Please help us reach out to Israel’s people with God’s love at this crucial time!

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By Marc Turnage

The city of Hebron played an important role, particularly within the Old Testament narratives. The city features prominently in the stories of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Joshua and Caleb, and, eventually, David, who reigned for his first seven years at Hebron. 

The prominence of Hebron within the Bible stems from its location along the major north-south road through the central hill country of Israel. Located 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem, Hebron sat at the juncture of two roadways that ascended from the basin of the biblical Negev. One came from Beersheva in the west, and the other came from Arad in the eastern Negev basin. These two roadways came together at Hebron, which sits at 3,050 feet above sea level, the highest point in the southern hill country, in the heart of the tribal territory of Judah. 

The hills and valleys around Hebron offer a fertile region with iron-rich soil that enables the growing of grape vineyards, olive trees, fruits, and terraced land for growing wheat and barley. Also, sheep and goats can be grazed in the surrounding region. 

The ancient site of Hebron (Tel Rumeideh) sits on roughly seven and a half acres. A spring on the lower east slope of the tel provided the water for the city. To the east of the biblical tel sits the ancient shrine of the Machpelah, or the Tomb of the Patriarchs. 

The building, whose basic structure dates to the first century B.C./A.D., is built over the cave that traditions ascribe that Abraham purchased to bury Sarah (Genesis 23). Tradition ascribes it as the burial location of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah. For this reason, the site has been revered since ancient times, and is a place of prayer for both Jews and Muslims. No significant excavations have taken place at the Machpelah. 

Hebron played an important role in the stories of Abraham, who lived at Hebron, pitching his tent at the “oaks of Mamre.” Sarah died at Hebron, and Abraham, who was a nomad, purchased land in order to bury her there. The Israelite spies spied out the land near Hebron (Numbers 13). 

The last reference to Hebron in the Bible is as the place of David’s initial reign as king of the tribe of Judah. When he was made king over all Israel, he moved from Hebron, where he had reigned for seven years, to Jerusalem where he ruled over the twelve tribes of Israel. David’s son Absalom instigated his rebellion against his father at Hebron (2 Samuel 15:7-10).

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