Jerusalem Campus
3 Aravnah HaYevusi
Hebron Road,
P.O. Box 1276, Mt. Zion
91012 Jerusalem, Israel
voice: 972-2-671-8628
fax: 972-2-673-2717

North American Office
4249 E. State St., Suite 203
Rockford, IL, 61108
toll free: 1-800-891-9408
voice: 815-229-5900
fax: 815-229-5901
admissions@juc.edu


 

CURRENT NEWS, GALLERIES AND COMMENTARY

March 27, 2006:  It is a busy spring at Jerusalem University College. Students are fully engaged learning and exploring the lands and people of the Bible. Things learned in the classroom are seen in the field. Relationships forged in the dorm and dining hall are deepened in experiences shared outside of the walls of our campus. As always—and by design—it’s the focused time spent outside of the classroom that’s the most enduring. 

The Physical Settings of the Bible course, required for all students, gives our students a solid introduction to the physical reality of the land of the Bible—its rocks, soil, water, natural routes, settlement characteristics and the like. We relate this data to the biblical story to see how the events from the Bible were influenced by the geographical context in which they took place. However, all this is “just so much information” if it also doesn’t become personal—if it doesn’t impact our relationship with God and each other. For this reason, I try to flavor each of our Physical Settings field trips with comments, illustrations or discussions that help us see, experience and know God better. It’s best to either begin or end the field trip day this way. One of our spring graduate students, Aaron Engler (an M.Div. student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) had these comments at the end of our day in the Shephelah, when we made a run out to Ashkelon on the coast in time to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean: 

By far, the most aesthetically pleasing moments of the day were the last.  There is something about moving towards the ocean that awakens people to life.  Perhaps it is the change in the air, with the faint scent of salt now lingering.  Perhaps it is the green all around us, the abundant palm trees, or simply the expectation of the sea.  I was almost giddy as we all poured out onto the coast. Each of us wandered off in our own way, but never alone.  There is a great sense of cohesiveness with our group this semester, a strong sense of community.  This is perhaps one of the things I most appreciate about our time here.  There is a profound need to share the experience, whatever it might be, with another.  And when we see something as monstrously moving as a majestic Mediterranean sunset, it would be almost painful to experience it without the company of a beloved friend.  There are some things just too beautiful to experience outside of community.  This is one truth that has been sadly lost to many Christians, especially in the West, where individualism reigns.  "I don't need church to pray to and worship God.  I can do that on my own whenever I want."  Perhaps.  But in light of the Mediterranean sunset, I am again reminded that this is most likely painfully true at best.  

Relationships forged at JUC are special relationships. Every semester, although “on paper” more-or-less similar to the one previous, has its own character. We don’t know ahead of time what that will be. Every mix of “student” and “happening” is unique. And every bond that forms and remains unbroken after the semester draws to a close, from one year to the next, is strengthened by recalling the special experiences that one had with the next, we together, you and I. “We were there when . . .” “Do you remember that . . .” The content that fills in the sentence is what is lasting, and what best indicates the ways that our students were molded and shaped during their time at JUC.  

At the moment students are finishing up Reading Week—although for most of them, it’s been more of a Spring Break. Some are working on papers and other assignments, but most chose to spend some time out of Jerusalem—in Turkey, Egypt, Galilee or the Negev. Everyone has traveled safely and returned well.  

We are also in the middle of two short-term programs. Our regular spring Pastor-Parishioner program has 37 participants, most of whom are from First Baptist Church of Davis, CA. This program is being instructed by Dr. Glen Snyder, who is our campus pastor this semester. The second program is a group of 27 from Woodburn Missionary Church (near Ft. Wayne, IN), lead by Joel DeSelm and instructed by Dr. Perry Phillips.

ANNOUNCING SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

For the first time, a special and generous donation has allowed us to offer three full scholarships for students enrolled in two of our summer courses, Geographical and Historical Settings of the Bible (in June) and Jesus and His Times (in July). The scholarships are given to support qualified persons whose vocational calling is ministry, missions or Christian Education, and who otherwise would not be able to study in Israel. I am pleased to announce the three recipients of this scholarship: 

• Rebekah Kraemer, a graduate student at Concordia University College of Alberta. Rebekah, a native of Canada, is working toward her long-term of goal of teaching the Bible in a university setting. Rebekah says: “I have great enthusiasm for teaching, equipping and impassioning others to study the Bible. In my experience of teaching at church and in missions, I have seen how much deeper my students can go in their interpretation by researching the historical background of the Bible. This course would enable me to better guide them in their research and insight into Scripture.”
   
• Steven Vance, a second-career Biblical Studies major at LeTourneau University. Steve is a citizen of both Brazil and the US, and he and his wife are preparing to return to Brazil where, among other ministries, he will be teaching in the Seminario Crista Evangelica do Norte. Says Steve, “My passion and gift is in teaching the Old Testament and the history of Israel and the Jews. [Being able to take these courses] would fulfill a life-long dream of mine, but more importantly it would help me teach and prepare future ministers in Brazil.”
   
• Clay King, pastor of Mt. Hermon Baptist Church, Clarksville, TN. Clay has taken a non-traditional path to the pastorate. His ministry is full and his congregation is blessed spiritually because of Clay’s dedication and skill as a pastor, but a short sabbatical “away from the demands of the church to focus on studies [which would otherwise not take place] would be something that I would consider vital.”

We are seeking to build our fund base for scholarships for all of our programs. We have received some individual gifts for one-time scholarship grants for our MA and semester students. Our ultimate goal is to build a scholarship endowment that will provide ongoing support for several worthy students at JUC. This will require sizeable gift income. If you or someone you know is interested in helping the ministry of JUC in this way, we would ask that you prayerfully consider the opportunity. The best investment of a lifetime is the kind that affects lives which in turn affect others.

Riding camel or donkey into Petra, spending the night in the wilderness in a Bedouin encampment, Make the leap and come to JUC!

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Whether they are in the Negev, at Lachish, in the Judean Hills or the Shephelah, or in Bethlehem with Dr. Adnan Musallam studying Islamic Thought and Practice, JUC students are learning through daily experiences and interactions in the field.

Please Click the photo to go to the latest image gallery.

What a view! Standing on Mt. Nebo at the end of his life, Moses was able to peer into the Promised Land, a land that God had forbidden him to enter. Scanning the horizon in a counterclockwise sweep, Moses must have been left breathless. The future of his people lay before him. This was to be their new home. 

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar (Deut 34:1-3). 

While these verses may be a map-maker’s dream, they pose a geographical challenge as well. Some of the places listed--most notably the Mediterranean Sea--are impossible to see from the traditional site of Mt. Nebo, located in the hills of Jordan opposite Jericho. This is because the highest visible point west of Mt Nebo, the Mount of Olives, blocks the line of sight for everything beyond. We are left to wonder how Moses could possibly have seen all that Deuteronomy claims he did. 

Did he? Perhaps another site with a better view was known as Mt. Nebo in Moses' day. Or, shall we conclude that Moses was mistaken in what he saw, falling victim to a bout of wishful thinking? Or should we somehow “spiritualize” the passage, concluding that Moses simply anticipated the extent of the Promised Land without actually seeing it himself? 

While it is not possible to see the Mediterranean from today's Mt. Nebo and no other hill in the area improves the view appreciably, the Mediterranean is visible from the higher hills of Gilead. Over one hundred years ago, long before the air was clouded by industrial pollution, the daughter of Horatio Spafford (author of the hymn “It is Well With My Sould”) reported seeing the Mediterranean Sea from the lofty hills between the ruins of the Crusader castle at Ajlun and those of the once-magnificent Roman city of Jerash, high in the hills of Gilead.  

How is this possible? Looking southwest from the hills above Jerash, she and her fellow travelers peered over a saddle in the central hilly spine of Canaan where the Old Testament tribal inheritance of Benjamin was located (cf. Josh 18:11-28). On a straight line much further southwest they spotted the seaport of Gaza, hugging the Mediterranean shore as it sweeps westward toward Egypt. Their view was improved by gazing through the brilliantly clear skies that always follow a spell of heavy winter rains in the land. 

While we shouldn’t look for Mt. Nebo around Ajlun and Jerash, we should remember that Moses himself had traveled through Gilead on his way to defeat Og, king of Bashan (Deut 3:1-17). Is it unreasonable to think that Moses might also have seen the Mediterranean as he crossed these hills? As he gazed into the land west of the Jordan River seeking to take in with his own eyes as much territory as he possibly could, Moses surely must have remembered the journey of the twelve spies that he had sent into Canaan almost 40 years before (cf. Num 13). It does not stretch the text of Deuteronomy 34 to suggest that, as Moses peered into the Promised Land from Mt. Nebo, God simply brought to mind all that he had already seen from various vantage points east of the Jordan.