The One Year Bible: Prophecy as Performance Art

 This week my reading has been primarily in the book of Ezekiel.  When we think of books of the Bible filled with fantastic beasts, mind-blowing imagery, and mystifying prophecy, we look to Daniel and Revelation.  But Ezekiel holds its own with terrifying descriptions of angels, vivid visions of the Divine coupled with the same prophecies of doom we've come to expect from Jeremiah.

One artist's rendering of Ezekiel's fantastic vision of the cherubim with their four faces (that of a human, a lion, an ox and an eagle) and wings covered in eyes, the wheels (and the wheels within each wheel), and the surface above which sits the throne of God.  After growing up with images of golden haired Ken-doll angels, Ezekiel's eye-popping description  of angels is a bracing reminder that God is bigger, higher, and stranger than we can begin to imagine.

While Jeremiah was holding it down back in Jerusalem, Ezekiel is embedded with exiles in Babylon.  These early arrivals to captivity are, according to both prophets, are the lucky ones.  The unrepentant people of Judah left in Jerusalem are as doomed as doomed can be.

One of the things that really sets Ezekiel apart is the way he delivers his prophecies.  Ezekiel is a performance artist. He shows rather than tells the impending disaster facing Israel. He does crazy things like lie on his left side for over a year and eating food cooked over human feces (Ezekiel 4:4-12).  The human feces was too much for Ezekiel and God relented and allowed him to cook his food over cow poop instead. In Ezekiel 12, the prophet is instructed to publicly pack a bag and pretend he was going on a long journey into exile. He would conclude his little one-act play by digging a hole through a wall with his hands.  

When Ezekiel wasn't putting on performances, he was prophesying through parables.  He tells the story of the useless vine (Ezekiel 15), the two eagles (Ezekiel 17) and somewhat icky parable of the unfaithful wife--a story replete with rather lurid imagery (Ezekiel 16).

I've often said that Ezekiel is my least favorite book in the Bible--I have found it at various times to be confusing, disturbing and boring. But this time around, I'm coming around to Ezekiel and his bizarro performance art, perplexing parables, and surreal visions. 

The One for Mr. Viar

 

Few teachers have had a bigger impact on me personally and professionally than Dr. Paul Viar. Much of the teacher I am today, I owe to him.

I had no idea of that impact when I slunk into his 7:00 AM Biology I class on the first day of my sophomore year of high school at Forest Lake Academy.  Not only did I have no intention of becoming a teacher, I lacked the skills I needed to be even be a good student!  

I had always earned top grades.  School had been easy for me. I had never really had to "study."  I read the book, took the test, got an A. Simple.  Well, all that was about to change.

I was stunned when the first F on a test came back.  What happened?  I was doing what I'd always done--I read the book, I took the test.  Granted, the test had not seemed as familiar as I was used to but an F? I continued to struggle, barely scraping by the first semester with a D- in the class. It took me that first semester to figure out how to really be a student and it was Mr. Viar with his high standards and rigorous instruction that taught me.  I learned to listen in class (not just read the book) and take detailed notes. I learned the value of finishing work on time--even early---but never late.   And I learned how to study.  All of this, I learned from Mr. Viar along with so much more.  The secrets of biology and anatomy and physiology came alive to me in his classroom.  We went bird watching at his direction and followed him on an adventurous rain-soaked trip to the Keys our junior year.  By senior year, I was in good shape in Mr. Viar's class and was even able to indulge in talking all through class to my friend and lab partner Chandra. Well, for a little while anyway, until Mr. Viar pulled us aside for a stern talking to--after that we limited our communication to writing notes.  We weren't mad at Mr. Viar for reprimanding us though--we both had a deep respect and admiration for him and we wanted to make him proud.

I carried the lessons Mr. Viar taught into college where I sailed through A & P.  And when I entered my own classroom only a few years later, I leaned heavily on his example.  I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew what a good teacher looked like. While I found my footing, I simply mimicked the best teacher I'd ever had.  No-nonsense, high standards, serious business. Even today, now that I've been teaching as long as Mr. Viar had been during our senior year, he remains my role model.

At the end of my 2007 tribute to Mr. Viar as one the most influential people in my life, I noted that I needed to write another letter to him letting him know of his impact on my teaching (I'd written a thank you note to him in college).  I wish now that I'd actually done it. 

For now I look forward to the day when I'll see him again and I'll tell him all about it then.  Until then, rest well Mr. Viar. Your legacy lives on in my classroom, in my students, and in countless others too.

From the Colorado ski trip our senior year: From L to R: Geri Haupt, Dr. Paul E. Viar, and Chandra Maloney. Hard to believe two of the three in this photo are gone. When I first heard that Mr. Viar had passed, the first person I wanted to call was Chandra.  If there are ski slopes in heaven we'll have to have the three of them recreate this classic pic when we all get there.

The One Year Bible: "The Bad News of the Gospel"

 

"Hey guys, letter from the prophet Jeremiah back in Jerusalem and. . .oooh, looks like there's some good news and some bad news."

It's probably one of my favorite Bible texts, an oft-quoted promise of comfort and encouragement found in Jeremiah 29:11-13:  

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord.  'They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.' "

We tend to take this as just a general promise of goodwill towards any seeker of God, and I don't think it's wrong to read the Scripture that way. But I do think that it's important to know the actual context of this promise. It doesn't mean it can't be applied generally--but knowing the specific application matters. 

God's plan for good and not disaster are part of a letter written to the Jewish exiles in Babylon.  Judah had been effectively conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar, and the king of Judah, members of his family and royal court had already been shipped off to Babylon.  Among them were Daniel and his three friends who would make their own mark in the Biblical canon.  But Jerusalem was not yet destroyed and there was still a good number of people still living in Judah.  

God's message to the exiles in Babylon was essentially "I've got bad news and I've got good news." The bad news was that they were going to be in Babylon for awhile.  This was no temporary blip before they got to go back to "regular life" in Judah.  God instructed the exiles to settle down in Babylon, get married, have kids--make a life there.  Furthermore God warned them not to listen to false prophets among them who might suggest that they'd be freed from Babylon in short order.  In vs. 10 (right before the big verse 11): "This is what the LORD says: 'You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. . ." and well you know the rest.

This is not just a general promise of favor.  God is letting his people know that they are going to be in this season of captivity for quite some time, but they should never think that God has forgotten them--it may take awhile, but God's playing the long game and He knows what His ultimate plan is for His people--and it's a good plan, a plan for restoration.

Just is fascinating: to the people in Babylon this promise was not seen as good news.  There were other prophets directly opposing this message and advocating for Jeremiah's arrest and torture for suggesting that God wasn't going to free his people anytime soon.  While God counsels patience and offers encouragement for those already in captivity, Jeremiah 29 concludes with a severe message of certain destruction for those still "free" in Jerusalem, with specific dire consequences for the false prophet Shemaiah.

We tend to like to hear good news, and we balk at bad tidings. But God's plans are long term and may include bad news in the near future.  In another pragmatic promise, Jesus put it this way: "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because I have overcome the world." 

The One Year Bible: "Bad Things, 'I May Destroy You', and Something Beautiful: A Review of my Summer Bible Reading"

"Bad things
It's a lot of bad things
That they wishin' and wishin' and wishin' and wishin'
They wishin' on me" 

                                 --Drake, "God's Plan"

Take out the odd cuss word here and there and Drake's "God's Plan" could easily be a psalm of David. Heresy, you say?  Take some time and read the Psalms that are attributed to David and you'll find that most of them are consumed with David's enemies.  Yes there's the famous Psalm 23 and David's beautiful confessional Psalms 51.  There's the wonderful comfort to be found in Psalm 139 and my personal favorite, Psalm 40:1-3, which U2 put to modern music.  But beyond these and a number of other uplifting Psalms, David is focused on his haters.  And even in many of these "positive psalms" David just can't seem to help returning to his favorite theme. Note Psalm 40: 14-15, Psalm 139:19-22, and of course we all know the line from the twenty-third Psalm: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies."  He just can't let it go!

Well, wait. . .that doesn't seem quite right.  Yet, that, more often than not was David's prayer. (Image credit: This comes from the cover of tattoo and graffiti artist Michael Sweater's comic book. I'm not familiar with his work but the image was too good to pass up).

David's psalms are a window into an internal struggle that we don't see in David's outward behavior. When it came to his conduct, David was all about letting God fight his battles for him.  He did not seek vengeance and resisted acting dishonorably even when his enemies weren't playing by those rules.  Inside though, it would appear David was seething.  He was eager for God to lay waste to all those who were wishing bad things on him.

Other psalmists found in the book of Psalms include Asaph, Solomon, and the "descendants of Korah".  Many of the psalms we tend to think of when we think of the psalms--songs of praise and glory to God are among those with no author listed.

Here's some highlights from my summer in the Bible:

The Reign of Solomon and The Kingdom Divided: 

The tribes of Israel were only united through the first three monarchs: Saul, David, and Solomon. After that they were divided into two rival kingdoms: Judah (along with Benjamin) headquartered in Jerusalem and Israel, compromised of the remaining ten tribes, and headquartered in what would become known as Samaria. My reading from the remainder  of May through June, July and the first few days have August have focused on this period.  The readings bounced between the parallel historical accounts found in the 1st & 2nd Kings and Chronicles (check out this helpful article on why both sets of books are included in the Bible even though they seem to tell mostly the same stories).  Also included were readings from the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah and several of the minor prophets including Amos, Micah and Hosea.  Also mixed into the period of the reign of Solomon were Ecclesiastes and oft-ignored sensual gem, the Song of Solomon.

"And Joash Lived. . .Miserably ever after and was murdered in his own bed."

My summer readings included the famous stories of Elijah and Elisha as well as other lesser known prophets.  Ahab and Jezebel make their appearance as do the good kings Asa and Josiah.  One shocking "Did You Know" was the horrible end of Joash. I was familiar with Joash's early life from the Etta B. Degering Bible story of my childhood--the boy king hidden away by his Uncle Jehoida and then placed on the throne at the tender age of seven. I read how as a young adult King Joash crowdfunded the money needed to restore the Temple which had fallen into disrepair under previous wicked kings.  What dear Mrs. Degering failed to mention was that Joash would end up becoming one of those wicked kings himself, even going so far as to murder his dear Uncle Jehoida's own son.  There was no happy ending for Joash--he was assassinated in his own bed. I suppose I understand why Degering chose to end Joash's story on a high note.  The rest of it isn't exactly a good bedtime story.

"I May Destroy You"

This entire period can be summed up as a cycle of God's people (in both Israel and Judah) abandoning God, chasing after the local gods, being dominated by their enemies as a result, and God then coming to their rescue and taking them back.  The prophets carry this theme as well, lambasting the people for their idol worship and warning them of the dire consequences of rejecting God.  These consequences are not vague, or "spiritual."  The nature of their destruction is described in graphic detail--scenes of lurid suffering and agony.  I found some of the prophetic passages a bit disturbing--and not because I wanted to have my ears tickled with positive prophecies of "peace and safety" when there was none to be had (Okay, maybe I wanted my ears tickled a little bit).  But mainly, the whole dynamic of "Love me or I will destroy you" just feels a little. . .toxic to me.  Especially, in the book of Hosea--a book that in past seemed kind of redemptive (especially after Francine Rivers gave it the Old West romance novel update)--the image of God as spurned lover who will torment you if you don't love Him was a bit hard to take.  Certainly the lover/destroyer model would not be acceptable at all in a relationship between two humans. But again, it's important to remember that the original authors and audience did not share our modern sensibilities on what constitutes a loving relationship between humans and their Creator. 

What Makes God Mad 

One thing that is clear from reading the Old Testament prophets is exactly what sins God was angry about.  Yes, there's the above mentioned idol worship.  But beyond that, God was also infuriated by injustice towards the poor, the widow and the orphan. God was enraged by the shedding of innocent blood especially as a means of selfish gain. God's wrath was unleashed on those who engaged in greedy fraud and deceitful business practices.   It's also interesting to note what sins go unaddressed--a lot of the ones modern believers tend to get in a twist about--the sexual "sins" (premarital sex, homosexuality etc) and abortion among them.  The OT prophets give these modern hot button issues nary a mention. 

I also find it interesting how little reference God makes to the afterlife and eternal punishment in this part of the Bible. All of the punishments (and rewards) God threatens in these Scriptures are very much temporal.  God doesn't warn of consequences in the afterlife, but in this life.  And the things that anger God? Well, he wouldn't be a very good God if those things didn't make him mad.  They should anger us too.

What Stood Out to Me

• Ecclesiastes:  This is probably one of my favorite books in the Bible.  I love it's contrarian spirit and how it seems to go against all the ways we believers sometimes try to make sense out of what is often the senseless nature of life.  Solomon looks back and says, "Listen, most stuff doesn't matter--enjoy your life while you can and don't worry too much."  I love it.  Perhaps later on, after the end of the year, I'll go back and reread Ecclesiastes and blog on it.  

• The Last Third or So of Isaiah (Ch.40 to the end):  I had begun to wonder about this whole Bible thing.  I was growing so weary of the numbing cycle of "I will destroy you/I will heal you."  I'd heard  about this or that spiritual seeker (usually the type that becomes an Adventist) sitting down with the Bible, reading for hours and hours for days and days at a time, like a thirsty traveler coming upon water in the desert, and emerging transformed by what they'd read.  What are they reading that I am not, I wondered. Are we reading the same Bible?   I already knew that you have to "ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance" before reading and all that.  I'd faithfully been doing that but I didn't feel I was having the transformative experience that I was supposed to.  Was there something in me, some sort of bad attitude on my part that was preventing me from being blessed? 

And then I hit Isaiah 40 and it was like water in the desert. Something--Someone--outside of that tiresome cycle of  judgement and conditional acceptance enters the scene. There is a change in tone and themes appear that we've never seen before--themes of salvation, of grace, of permanent restoration and heart change.  Jesus is present in these chapters, perhaps more than at any time in the Old Testament so far.  Through Isaiah, we get a glimpse of what's coming. It's beautiful.

The Quarter Century Mark: Our First 25 Years

 

Twenty Five Years Ago today, Sunday, July 27, 1997

Our ten year anniversary, July 27, 2007

Our twenty year anniversary, July 27, 2017

It's been twenty five years since we said "I do" and Babs and I are still doing this thing called life together.

Our first ten years--1997 to 2007-- together were commemorated in this post.

Our next ten years-2008 to 2017--can be found here.

It's only been five years since our last marriage milestone, but I decided to not to wait until 30 years in to recap our journey. Twenty five is a big deal--a quarter of a century!

Year 21 & 22: A Home of Our Own

Our 21st year of marriage, 2017-2018, was one of momentous change for our family and a major new first. We bought our first home!  Sure lots of folks had probably paid two thirds of their mortgage in the time it took us to start out on ours. but better late than never right?  We closed on our home exactly one week before our twenty first wedding anniversary.  

Our family in front our old apartment  in 2018 about a month before our 21st anniversary

Year 22 was all about settling into our new home. Barbara and I had been all around the world together, but now were embracing that American Dream ideal--owning our own home.  Our evenings and weekends were full of "house projects" and lawn care.  The headaches and expenses of home ownership were more than made up for by seeing our children play in the spacious backyard and taking pleasure in the many beautiful spaces inside and outside our home.  In the summer of 2019 we were pleased to host my mom, siblings, and nephews for their first visit to Ohio.

Year 23: Pandemic Partnership

It can seem like time ceases to pass as one year cycles into another--as if we are living in a comforting and familiar loop. But that illusion was shattered in our 23rd year of marriage with the arrival of the COVD-19 pandemic. On March 12, 2020 life was we knew it was radically altered. We went home from school, not to return. Like the rest of the world, we entered into isolation--days turning into weeks and then into months of the four of us hunkered down in our home, trying to wait out the viral storm.  It was a tough time. It wasn't that we clashed so much--but for whatever reason during year 23, I often felt distant from Babs even though we were often in close physical quarters.  Still, we managed to keep our partnership solid, even in the midst of the pandemic.

A few weeks after our 23rd anniversary, on August 13, 2020, Barbara celebrated her fiftieth birthday

Year 24: Refuge

For much of our twenty-fourth year, Babs was a a source of comfort and care as I dealt with the sudden death of my friend Chandra. In many ways, I never felt closer to Babs than I did during my time of grief.  Some of my post precious memories from this sad time, are of the ways in which Babs provided refuge and understanding. I will be forever grateful for that.

Halfway through our 24th year, in February of 2021, we headed up to Michigan to recreate my favorite photo from our dating years, about 25 years after the photo was taken.

Year 25: Enduring Love

And now here we are at year 25. Ours has proven to be a love that endures, and I'm so grateful. For the past year we've tackled the challenges of raising a teenager, navigating a post pandemic work world, working through grief, and committing to continued growth as a couple. It's a lot but our marriage has "good bones"--a foundation of deep friendship that remains constant through all the highs and lows.  We were walking on the beach last weekend when a couple in front of us overheard us talking and asked where we were from.  It turned out that they were also from Columbus, Ohio!  When I mentioned that we were celebrating our 25th anniversary they asked us what the secret was to an enduring marriage. We thought for a moment and then told them that it boiled down to two things--a fundamental mutual respect for each other and a willingness and ability to communicate honestly.

Life is hard. There's no way around that. And there's no guarantee that sharing life with another person will make it any easier.  But in our case, doing life together has been a huge blessing and has brought so much joy to our journey. We don't know what the next twenty-five years will hold, but we know that we will hold each other through whatever joys and sorrows lie ahead.

* * * *

"I'd go anywhere with you
I know you feel the same thing that I do"

                                             --Mat Kearney, "Anywhere With You"

One thing that really surprised me is that in the last five years of our marriage: we stopped celebrating our anniversaries.  During the first decade we splurged on romantic getaways to La Jolla, Huntington Beach, and Hawaii. In the second decade, the celebrations were humbler affairs--maybe just a nice dinner out, or perhaps a night or two at a fancy hotel in Cincinnati.  But in the last five years, the anniversary celebration seems to have withered to nothing.  There's no record of any type of celebration in the last four years.  And in 2021, I wasn't with my wife at all on our anniversary (I was in Alaska)!

So this year, it was time to get back on the romance track and make up for those lost years. 

We knew we'd be in Florida the week before our anniversary and we opted for an early celebration so my mom could watch the kids while we were away.  We had decided earlier in the year that we would surprise ourselves. We could go anywhere and we knew we'd have a great time as long as we were together, just like the song says.  We'd pick a destination at the last minute--it just needed to be a cheap, non-stop ticket to somewhere we'd never been before.  With those parameters, on Friday morning, July 15 we spent a couple of hours scouring the internet and settled on Miami Beach as our destination.

On Friday, July 22, we took the short flight from Orlando to Miami, arriving around 10:00 AM.  Our room at the Hilton Bentley Miami Beach/ South Beach wasn't ready when we arrived but we were able to have a nice brunch by the pool and hash out a plan for the weekend.  By 1:30 our room was ready and we headed up to our romantic digs.  Like any long-time married couple finally free of the kids, we immediately hopped into bed and. . .fell fast asleep!   That nap was delicious, let me tell you.  At this stage in our lives uninterrupted sleep is a luxury to be treasured.   After whiling away the afternoon in glorious slumber, we finally roused ourselves for a walk on the beach before setting off to explore South Beach on foot. Barbara ended up indulging in a pedicure and we went to Publix for snacks and drinks.  Then it was back to our hotel for a late dinner to round out the day.

The Sabbath was truly restful.  We slept late, and then spent most of the day on the beach.  We shifted back to the hotel pool in the late afternoon, and had dinner poolside cracking ourselves up as we people-watched. 

Sunday morning we got up a little earlier and walked on the beach for a bit, ending up at Starbucks for morning coffee and sandwiches.  Then it was back to the hotel to soak up the last of our room before checkout.  We spent a good chunk of Sunday out sightseeing and shopping in Miami Beach's famous Art Deco district.  We closed out the day with some more time at the hotel pool.  We showered and dressed at the hotel gym, and by 7:30 PM were in our Uber on our way to the airport for our flight back to Orlando.

It was a perfect weekend away.  It was wonderful to have no responsibilities, no schedule, nothing to do but be together in a beautiful and luxurious setting. It echoed our honeymoon in so many ways (including frantic shopping right at the end!)  This time of closeness, relaxation, and intimacy was much needed and both Babs and I resolved that we shouldn't allow future anniversaries to go neglected in the years to come.

A Day on the Dig

The view from the sift pile. It's peaceful work. Sometimes I'll put in my headphones and listen to music while I sift since I'm usually there alone. The playlist I had intended to listen to for the trip never downloaded properly (data is too spotty for regular streaming) but I had an older, smaller playlist of about 60 songs from my trip to Texas last November that was still on my phone. So that ended up being the only music I listened to this whole trip.  A lot of nostalgic tunes from years long gone by attached to some special memories. It was nice.

 I've been here in Jordan for just over two weeks.  My days settled into a fairly predictable and peaceful routine.  I get up around 5 AM, do my Bible reading and try to knock out Wordle for the day. Breakfast is at 5:30 AM.  It's the exact same tasty spread every day and so far I haven't gotten tired of it.  I always have two falafels, some chicken sausages, zaatar bread, olives, and a pita sandwich with hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cold cuts--all washed down with a glass of orange drink.  I then follow that up with a pancake or two topped with preserves and a cup of tea, which I usually have to gulp down because the bus arrives at 6:00 AM sharp.

This is our breakfast spread every morning at the Salome Hotel. It's always the same every day but there are enough options that you can mix it up for variety

The tea station

The drive out Tall Hisban is about 20 minutes. Once we arrive we pile off the bus and grab a tool from the trunk of Dr. Bob Bate's car.  Dr. Bates is the chief archaeologist for the dig this season.  He arrives at the dig site early to take photos and prepare for the day.   We carry the surveying equipment and other tools up the tall to their designated spots.  Then we go to our squares where we will receive instructions from our square supervisor and field supervisor. There are three "fields" on this season's dig:  Field T, Field C and Field M.  Field M and C have two squares each (although only one of the squares is currently being excavated in Field C) and Field T has one square.  I work in Field T. My field supervisor is Liz, a graduate archaeology student with seven years of dig experience under her belt. My square supervisor is Colton, a  senior at Andrews University. Both are great to work for.  Also on our team is Farah, a Jordanian university student, Christen, a sophomore from Andrews U, and two local Jordanian workers, Blaal and Ahmad.

The Great Leader (Field Supervisor Liz on left) and Dear Leader (Square Supervisor Colton on right) as I jokingly call them

Left to Right, Stacie Hatfield observes as Liz listens to instructions for the day from Dr. Bates

Jordanian university student Farah carrying the surveying equipment

Andrews University student Christen

Our work basically consists of excavating or sifting.  We'll have one or two people down on the sifts, two or three people excavating the square, and the workers ferrying the dirt-filled gufftan  (that's the plural of guffah)  from the square to the sifts (thought they will occasionally excavate or sift as well).  We tend to trade off jobs every hour or two so that no one gets too tired. 

Sifters at the sift pile waiting for more gufftan of dirt to be brought over for sifting. You can see an overturned guffah on the ground in front of the wheelbarrow in the foreground

The other task we have is the pottery washing and reading.  Pottery reading is done by the square supervisor under the guidance of Dr. Bates.  They sort through the pottery, categorizing and cataloging everything that is found.  But before the pottery can be "read", it needs to be washed. Washing is basically exactly what it sounds like.  The pottery collected during sifting from the a day or two previous is stored in buckets, filled with water.  Our job is to clean each piece of pottery in preparing for reading.  We basically scrub each pottery piece with either a wet bristle brush or a toothbrush removing as much dirt and grime as possible. 

Thanks to "hand models" Dr. Stacie Hatfield and Isabel Srour

In my opinion, it is the most arduous task in the field.  I've washed pottery four times over the course of the dig.  The first day I did it, it was rough.  My back was so sore I could barely stand when I was done, and my hands started hurting early into the process from the scrubbing and gripping.  Since then I  have stopped sitting in a chair to wash pottery.   Instead, sit on a low wood stump or cinderblock with pottery bucket almost even with me so I don't have to lean over the whole time. I also take care to vary my hand positions as I clean so  that I don't put too much strain on my hands. It's still not my favorite task, but it's bearable now.

There is one other thing that made that first round of pottery washing arduous.  When we were working the sifts we were instructed to save only pottery sherds that were larger than Dr. Bate's thumb.  Well, I was so worried about throwing away something of value that I tended to use my own (considerably smaller) thumb as a guide and tended to err on the conservative side when it came to ballparking the "thumb size."  As a result, when it came time to the wash the pottery--much of which I had likely sifted--I was bedeviled by a seemingly bottomless bucket of tiny pieces of pottery. By the time I finally got to the bottom of the bucket I was seething.  I swore then and there to become a new man on the sifter, ruthless in dispensing any pottery sherd that I would later hate if I had to wash it. And that benefited not just me but everyone up the line--the square supervisors and Dr. Bates reading the pottery.  Nobody wants to deal with a bunch of tiny, essentially useless body sherds.   A small diagnostic piece could be valuable (any sherds with distinguishing characteristics--a rim or base, a handle, designs or glaze, or engraving) but beyond that the little sherds needed to be left in the sift to be discarded.

Washed pottery goes here.  Body sherds and tesserae go in the main basket. Diagnostic pieces go in the mesh bag. All pieces will be "read"--counted, inventoried and recorded--later by Dr. Bates and the square supervisor

A nice diagnostic piece

Pottery washing starts after breakfast and can take all of the rest of the morning.  If you finish early you go back to your square to work for a bit before lunch.

We wrap up our work on the squares around 12:30 PM and then take a short bus ride over to the local women's center.  The ladies there prepare us a delicious lunch and then we take the bus back to our hotel in Madaba.

Dr. Labianca holds forth before lunch is served.  Some of us ate inside in the dining area, while others of us preferred to eat out here in the courtyard.

The first thing I do when I get back is take a shower.  Then I might read for a bit, maybe nap. Both Mondays I did laundry--which is done by hand in a bucket.  I might walk to the store, do some souvenir shopping, or write in my journal or on my blog before supper, which is provided by the hotel at 6 PM.  I often spend the evenings in a leisurely fashion, chatting with team members out on the hotel's lovely outdoor patio area until the sun goes down. I turn in early most nights, after maybe talking with Barbara on the phone via WhatsApp.  I might read a few pages of my book before turning out the lights.  My goal is to be in bed before 10 PM.

This is life in on the dig in Jordan, and it's not bad!

Living It Up at the Dead Sea

 

Living my best life at the Dead Sea

Friday is the Muslim day of worship, and that means the weekend for us!  We didn't go out to the dig site on Friday, June 24 and were free to do what we wanted for the day.

I decided to join Dr. Stacie and Mr. Aaron Hatfield, and two of the Andrews University college students, Christen and Isabel on a jaunt to the Dead Sea.

We stopped off first at the Memorial Church of Moses located on Mount Nebo, the place where the Bible says the Lord took Moses to see the Promised Land before his death.

Moses had to hike.  We just drove right up.

The view from Mount Nebo. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure you are not looking at the Promised Land. I think I took this photo facing east instead of west.  But I could be wrong.

My rudimentary knowledge of Latin leads me to believe the inscription on this sculpture reads:
One God
Father of All
Above All

It was really cool to see these pottery vessels that looked similar to the types of sherds we'd been finding the day before at Hisban.

A Roman mile marker found near Hisban.  Here  we see the marker itself and the transcription in Latin. Below is the English translation

Some of the floor murals at the Memorial Church of Moses. The bottom one is my favorite.

This is an artist's interpretation of the image of the serpent on a pole that Moses made for the people of Israel when they were plagued by deadly snakes in the wilderness.  All who looked at the image were healed.

This is the Promised Land as seen from Mt. Nebo

After visiting we Mount Nebo, we continued on to the Dead Sea.  The Dead Sea is lined with high-end resorts and we decided our best bet was to find what we hoped was the cheapest option among them to access the beach.  In the end we settled on the Oh Beach Resort on the Dead Sea.  The fee was $20 JD (Around $30 US) and included access to the changing and shower rooms, the resort pools, and of course beach access.  For $10 JD more we could have had lunch included as well, but we decided to hunt for cheaper eats when we were done for the day.

Technically the Dead Sea is "under the sea."

The Dead Sea was amazing! You've heard that you can float easily in the Dead Sea. Well, I can report that is false. It's not that you can float in the Dead Sea; it's that you must float in the Dead Sea. You have no choice; it's literally impossible to sink.  It's to the extent that when I tried to float vertically, my body tended to tip over, either forward or backward.  The reason you see people joyously showing themselves floating with ease on their back isn't because they are showing off--it's because that's all you can really do. 

The water feels normal when you first get in--it's not cold at all. But you soon notice that it has a somewhat viscous quality--to me it's kind of like Jello that hasn't quite begun to set yet. It tastes terrible. I got just a few drops in my mouth and it had a strong taste that I liken to batteries (although I've never tasted batteries).  Any cut, no matter how slight will sting like the dickens.  I was fortunate not to have any wounds and I've been vigilant about trying to avoid any scratches this week since we'll be going back there this Friday.  However, even without wounds, you may experience what I call a "sting-y, sting-y" sensation at the openings of your private areas.  I heard that women in particular experience this, but I can attest that men can experience it also (although I have talked to some guys that say they haven't felt anything).  You don't feel it at first, and while it is a bit uncomfortable, it's not unbearable. I find the stinging sensation is actually worse when you  get out.  But as soon as you wash off in fresh water, you're fine.  Thankfully they had showers right on the beach so we didn't have to suffer too long.

The salt left behind by the evaporated water of the Sea leaves a briny coating that has the look and feel of hardened cake frosting. If you zoom in on the picture above you'll notice a green beach towel on one of the rocks, left behind and now encrusted with a glaze of salt.  Below, if you zoom in you'll see little droplets of a salt on the shorter strands of Isabel's hair.

Once we'd had our fill of the Dead Sea, we rinsed off and headed to the pools, where we lolled about in luxury for a few hours.  The Oh Beach Resort reminds me so much of the Mandi Resort and Spa where Barbara and spent so many idyllic hours during our Saipan years.  From the multitude of infinity pools to the spaces for quiet relaxation, to the richly appointed (but also somewhat musty) changing rooms and showers, the Oh sparked a lot of memories.

A relaxing little nook. Looks perfect for a nap!

Hanging at the pool with Isabel, Christen, Stacie and her husband Aaron

Walking back to the car. Those flowers remind me of Saipan too!

We wrapped up our day with lunch at nearby "mall" and then headed for home.  It was a great way to kick off the weekend.