Tuesday, February 27, 2007-Day 2
It might be more accurate to say this was still day one. We left Newark around 1:30 PM and flew east changing 7 time zones along the way. When we arrived we simply stayed up and kept going. So is it just one long day or is it really Day 2?
Tel Aviv is built around the oldest port in the world--Joppa, which can be dated back to the days before the Romans. Named after Noah's son Japhet! It was at Joppa that the cedars were unloaded for the building of the first temple of Solomon. It’s also the place that Jonah left in his attempt to disobey the Lord in his command to go to Ninevah. We know that didn’t work. He was thrown overboard by his shipmates in the midst of a storm and was swallowed by a large fish, perhaps a whale. It was in Joppa that Peter saw the vision in the home of Simon the Tanner and realized that Gentiles as well as Jews were intended to receive the Good News (Acts 10). Peter also raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:32 ff) and then went to Simon's home and stayed with him "for some time". We were able to stop and take a few photos of the old port and some other ruins. In the early part of the 20th century (1909), some desert was purchased by Jewish businessmen and they expanded some desert dunes which were Tel Aviv and now it is a city of over 1 million, and the largest city in Israel.
Actually before Joppa we met our guide, Micha Ashkenazi, at the airport. Micha was born and raised in Jerusalem and was an archeologist before starting his own business, Bible Oriented Tours. Micha is 70 years old and full of life, humor and boundless energy. Right from the start he called us “Family.” Whenever he wanted our attention he would say, “Family, gather around. I want to tell you something.” We boarded our bus with our driver Avi and drove to Emmaus, the town Jesus celebrated Holy Communion with a few of his followers right after his resurrection. We visited a 5th C. church ruins there. This is the reference from Luke to the event at Emmaus. “28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.”
Then it was back to Joppa / Tel Aviv and all that. A 7PM buffet dinner at the hotel and then a good night's sleep was our evening. We were going to be covering a lot of ground tomorrow. After that very full day we were beat.
And there was evening and there was morning – the second day.
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