April/May 2003 En-Gedi Newsletter

April/May, 2003

Shalom Friends!

In our area we have had rain all this week. We thought of the rain when we sent out this month's director's article on "Living Water", and how God uses the image of rain and springs to teach about Himself. Check the website soon for the director's article with many pictures of living water in Israel and also an illustrated version of this newsletter.

In Israel this year, they have had record amounts of rain this winter, which is a true source of joy for them. Years of drought had caused the Sea of Galilee to fall to record lows, even past the "red line" that the country had considered its emergency low point. It is the source of much fresh water in Israel, and must support an ever growing population. It is now close to its all time high, even with them pumping out as much water as they can for storage in other aquifers.

When the rainy season ends this week or next, Israel will not see rain again until October, so when it comes again, it seems nearly miraculous. The ancient Jewish prayer of blessing for rain is, "Blessed is He who is good and gives good things!" They truly appreciate the life that God brings them through living water. God does the same thing for us in America, He just does it so abundantly that, believe it or not, we consider a day blessed with rain as a bad day instead!

Here is an update on our activities:

The King and His Kingdom Series and Passover Celebrations

We just ended a six week series at Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Wyoming called "The King and His Kingdom". It focused on Jesus as our Messiah, what His message sounded like to the people in His culture, and how his mission was related to the Kingdom of God. We talked about the biblical feasts and how they point toward Jesus and His messianic Kingdom. Finally, we ended with a celebration of Passover on the actual night of Passover -corresponding with the celebration by Jewish people all over the world as they gather to remember their redemption by God from Egypt.

We also led a Passover celebration with the seventh graders at Zeeland Christian School. About 70 students sat at cloth covered tables, lit candles, and took part in the various elements of the traditional Jewish Passover while we explained Jesus' use of the imagery of Passover and what it said about Him.

As we celebrated the traditions of the Jewish celebration, we noticed an interesting thing. At the meal, a cup is poured for the prophet Elijah, and at the end of the meal, a child goes to the door to look for him. They look for Elijah because according to Malachi 4:5, he will come before the coming of the Messiah. At this feast that celebrates their redemption from Egypt, they look forward to God's promise of a coming redeemer. It is ironic that the Lord chose that very day of Passover for the Messiah to come and achieve His redemption! Somehow they know this is the day of deliverance, they just don't know their deliverer.

En-Gedi Article on Jerusalem Perspective Site

En-Gedi has sponsored several seminars by scholars and authors that publish articles in the journal called Jerusalem Perspective. These scholars are investigating the gospels in their first century Jewish context. They include archaeologists, linguists, and textual scholars, some of whom have won awards for their research. We are honored that one of our articles was recently published on that site, called "What did Jesus Mean by, 'Do Not Judge'?" Please check it out at www.jerusalemperspective.com.

Dead Sea Scrolls in Grand Rapids - One Month Left!

We have heard many say that you have gone to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Van Andel Museum in Grand Rapids, if you live in this area. If you haven't yet, time is growing short! They will be at the museum until June 1, and then will return to Israel. This will be the last time for a while that the scrolls will be publicly viewable anywhere, because the Shrine of the Book, the museum where they are on display in Jerusalem will be closed for the next year for renovations.

The Grand Rapids Museum will be extending its hours until 9 PM every night from now until the exhibit closes. Call ahead for tickets to get a viewing time to see the exhibit - the museum is fully booked for some times, especially on weekends. Their website is www.grmuseum.org, and phone number is (616) 456-3977. More info on the en-gedi calendar and at this link.

Last Pastor's Breakfast for the Spring:

The En-Gedi Resource Center sponsored its last pastor's breakfast for the spring last week, with a presentation on "Looking at Both Sides of the Jewish Roots Movement". About 25 pastors joined us to have a discussion on the current wave of both scholarly and lay interest in the Jewish origins of Christianity, and its positive developments as well as its dangers. The directors of En-Gedi led the presentation, sharing their experience with various organizations in this area. We are now planning for another strong season of presentations beginning next September - please tell your pastor if you think they might be interested.

Executive Director's 50TH Birthday!

Today, May 3rd, is our executive director's 50th birthday! If you want to send greetings, his email is at okkema@egrc.net. We are rejoicing with him and his family, and wishing him many more years of serving the Lord.

Many blessings from En-Gedi,

Lois Tverberg, Director
Bruce Okkema, Executive Director