A restaurant, the Herodium and a vineyard

Our time in Israel was wrapping up.

On this day, we were driven back to Bethlehem and 

stopped at the Shepherd's Tent Restaurant.

From Tulsa, Diane and Marcia

Amy and Jan, North Carolina and Neal and Carol, Wisconsin

This was a local restaurant - not so much a touristy type place

 They enjoy their hooka bars.

"One elderly patron of an establishment in Turkey describes the advantages of the hookah lounge as follows:

"The important thing is not what you put in the pipe, but who is with you while you're smoking...it's a complete experience...in a cafe like this one, you find the good people, the old people, the interesting people. As long as there is a need for company and friendship, as long as people want to stop and think, there will be nargile cafes."

A disposable mouthpiece is provided for each user for hygiene reasons.

Leaving Bethlehem

This home belongs to one of the wives of King Hussein of Jordan.

This is the Herodian, the only fortress Herod named after himself.  It was to be his burial place. King Herod got his builders from Bethlehem, which is but 3 1/2 miles southeast.

He had it built by shaving off the top section of an oval-shaped hill and moving the earth to the adjacent hill, forming a volcano shaped base.

On top there was a Roman bath complex, banquet room, living quarters and colonnaded portico.

 Pat, from Texas

Those in Bethlehem who were victims of Herod's viscous murder of their babies, were daily reminded of this evil ruler.

On our way back, we stopped at a vineyard.

 "I am the vine - you are the branches"    He prunes us, He does not cut us off.  He wants each branch to be healthy, to bear fruit.  It is the work of the vine dresser to do what needs to be done to produce fruit.

"I will lift you up"  - see the rock?  The vine dresser is protecting the vine from moisture and rot.

Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

I will never forget how Steve F. taught us how to memorize the 9 fruit.  The 1st 3 have 1 syllable, the next 3 have 2, and the last 3 have 3 syllables.  I found that very helpful.

I guess it could be argued that it really was originally written like this:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love; which looks like this - joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.     That seems quite interesting to me.