Israel has her sins, sins for which Yahweh holds her accountable for daily, and forevermore so long as this temporal existence continues. Her judgment is as much a part of the promise of God as her prosperity. For whom God loves He corrects.

That's exactly the feeling that I got when I went there. There is no question that Israel messes things up from time to time. Yet on balance, the Jews get it remarkably right, and there is no better proof of just how much they get right than the land of Israel itself.

To see the direct result of Yahweh's influence in that Land is something that I really, quite simply, cannot fathom.

It's impossible to understand unless you've been there, as I discovered too. Even when I got there, I had a hard time understanding why the Israelis would live as they do, with enemies on all sides and with nothing but rock and sand and swamp to work with. Now I get it, and I have immense respect for them as a people.

It is unquestionably a God-blessed land- because He works His blessings through His chosen people.

It would be cliche to say that I have longed to see Israel myself. It would also be me lying if I said otherwise. Who are these people whom Yahweh made His covenant with? How do they live? What motivates them? Not difficult to answer from an intellectual level, from outside. But one day, I hope to see it like you have. To see the direct result of Yahweh's influence in that Land is something that I really, quite simply, cannot fathom.

Congratulations on the trip and thanks for the post.