"A Chosen People" Novels by Robert Whitlow

So, last year I read a contemporary Christian novel by Robert Whitlow called Chosen People, and I recently discovered that there's a second book in this series called Promised Land.

(I love that this photo has them with Jerusalem stone!)

What is so interesting to me about this series is that the main character, Hana, is a Christian Israeli Arab woman from Galilee who is living in Atlanta. She speaks Hebrew, Arabic, and English fluently, and through the course of these 2 books, travels between Georgia and Israel. In classic Robert Whitlow style, these legal thrillers are full of adventure set against the backdrop of legal drama. And, you get to do all of this while visiting some of the biggest historical sites in Israel—does it get any better?

It was fascinating to see the world through Hana's eyes, especially as a Christian Israeli Arab woman, to see her love for Israel and for the Lord. I feel like I'm going to need to read these books again in order to grasp the depth of her insight into the conflict in the Holy Land.

Reading these books only made me more excited for my trip! I'll be in Israel is just over a month! I can't believe it!

Reading through the Bible Chronologically

A few years ago, I decided to read through the Bible chronologically, which is something I've never done. I've always just read it in the order it exists in the modern-day Bible, or read specific sections or books at a time.

But this time, I wanted to understand the Story of the Bible even more.

So I found this plan online and purchased the mac daddy of study Bibles. I love this Bible because it has an overview of every book, as well as in-depth content on translations, cultural information, historical information, cross-references, and so much more. It has maps, charts, graphs, and even photos of the confirmed ancient places. I got new highlighter pens and soon, my Bible was psychedelic in the best possible way.

I once lived with a cat, and he loved the book of Leviticus most of all

I learned soooooooo much from this study. It took me a year and a half, but it was soooo worth it. Since I started right after I returned from Israel, I was able to see so much more in my mind than I had before. I was able to connect people and stories to places in ways I hadn't before. It gave me a big thrill to mark with a bright blue * all the places I'd been! I wasn't in a hurry, so it took me about a year and a half to complete, but it was 100% worth it. The benefit of reading chronologically is that you are reading in 'real time'... like, you read about David hiding in the caves of En Gedi in 1 Samuel and then the Psalms he wrote while there. You're able to match what prophets were alive during which king's reign.

There were so many moments that took me by surprise, even though I knew what was going to happen. For instance, as the Old Testament counted down to 586 BC and the destruction of Israel under King Nebuchadnezzar, I was unprepared for how heartbreaking it was to finally get to that part and see it happen. There were so many moments of small verses or phrases that took my breath away, like in Joshua 21: 43-45, where it says that God fulfilled His promises and gave the Israelites rest in their own land, as well as instructions on how to live... only read just pages later about their rebellion.

Perhaps the most exhausting part was reading of the different kings who followed the Lord and the ones who didn't. It seemed like almost every other one put up altars to false gods in the high places, and then the next tore them down. It made me tired to read even though I knew it happened over generations, and wonder about the people putting them up and taking them down. Didn't anyone say, "Wait, I built this like 60 years ago, then I was commanded to take it down, and now I'm building it again?"

Anywho...if you've never read the Bible chronologically, I highly recommend it. The plan is free (see above), and you don't need to buy a new Bible. I just wanted more contextual info than my regular Bible could give me. Reading through this plan was the best thing I've ever done, and I can't wait to do it again one day.

Have you ever read through the Bible chronologically? What did you think? Please let me know in the comments below!

Isaiah's Daughter by Mesu Andrews

Isaiah's Daughter is the first book of Mesu Andrews that I've read. I really enjoyed it! Andrews was able to take the reader through so many historic moments through different eyes—this time through King Hezekiah's Queen.

While my favorite retelling of this story is Lynn Austin's series The Restoration Chronicles and Chronicles of the Kings, I thought that Andrews did an amazing job. Her attention, not only to literary detail (and an enthralling story!) but also to historical/cultural accuracy (even more important in a Biblical retelling) is impressive. 

I think what I loved most of this story is that it is about a time in Israel's history that isn't as commonly known, but there's so much incredible truth about God and his power there. It makes me want to go back and re-read those accounts in the Bible—which is the best compliment I can give any book. Any story that points me back to the truth of God's Word needs to be shared!

I loved this story, and cannot wait to read another of Andrews books. To purchase it, click here!

Discovery at Magdala

So, while I was in Israel in 2017, I learned something very interesting about the land itself.

Because there are so many unexplored archaeological sites (and many that no one knows about because they are buried so deep), people will just randomly stumble on ancient artifacts. When that happens, everything shuts down and they need to call in officials. When people buy property, they can build on the land, but anything found in the land (or under the earth) belongs to Israel. It's like how in Texas you can buy property and own land, but not own the mineral rights (so if you find oil, it's not yours').

In fact, my tour guide had a friend in that very predicament. He bought property to build a house, and when they started, the remains of a Philistine settlement were found. So the friend had to stop construction while archaeologists moved in. Fast forward many years later and everything has been excavated and the friend finally has his house—on top of a museum of Philistine artifacts. 😂

Something similar happened at Magdala a few years ago. In 2009, Fr Juan Solana purchased land in Magdala, Israel, in order to build a guesthouse for pilgrims. During the mandatory archaeological testing, they discovered something amazing—the remains of "the only first century synagogue on the Sea of Galilee – one of only seven synagogues from this period in the world – along with the archaeological remains of the 2,000 year-old city of Magdala" (quote and photo from here).

In Israel, there are 4 kinds of places: places with no official record of Jesus officially being there, places where Jesus was in the area so it likely could be where you were standing, places where we know it happened either "here" or "there", and places where we know without a fact that Jesus was there.

The discovery of the synagogue is the latter—with a certainty we can say that Jesus was here, and likely taught in this very synagogue. WOW!

When I was there in 2017, this location wasn't available for me to visit. It is, however, open to the public. Needless to say, it's now on my list! Maybe on my trip in March? That would be awesome!