The Holy Land: Connecting the Land With Its Stories – Jack Beck

We’ve got a really neat docuseries to tell you about. It’s called, "The Holy Land: Connecting The Land With Its Stories." Our good friends at Our Daily Bread Ministries have made this series available for all of us to enjoy. In the new season, Host Jack Beck – who has been featured on The History Channel – takes viewers on a journey through modern-day landscapes of key biblical events in Israel. He helps us understand how the settings shaped biblical stories, offering a deeper way to experience Jesus’ life and teachings. 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPOUA7GLxXIHqR3QpAEcMevLwoWWFDuv- 

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:00):
Kurt and Kate mornings. Not just on the radio.

S2 (00:03):
It's a podcast too.

S1 (00:06):
We've got a really neat docu series to tell you about.

S2 (00:10):
It really is. And if you've never been to Israel,
don't think you're going to make it. This is the
next best thing.

S1 (00:16):
It's called the Holy Land, connecting the land with its stories.
Our good friends at Our Daily Bread Ministries have made
this series available for all of us to enjoy, and
it is great in the new season. The fourth season
host Jack Beck, who he's been featured on the History Channel.
He takes viewers on a journey through modern day landscapes

(00:39):
of key biblical events in Israel. And we ran across
this and we thought, oh man, we want to talk with, uh,
with Jack about all of this. And so we invited
him to be with us. You're a biblical geographer. I
think that's cool. You talk about a nichey career. There
aren't too many people who can put that on their

(00:59):
business card.

S3 (01:01):
Yeah, it's true, and most people have no clue what
that means. They think I make maps, or they. They
think that I measure depth of water in the Dead
Sea or something like that. But I'm actually a Bible
student who looks at the role land plays in the
communication in God's Word.

S1 (01:18):
What is it like to go and shoot this series?
You know? What does it really take behind the scenes to?
You've got a crew. How big is your crew? How
long are you gone? How long does it take to
shoot everything? How does that work?

S3 (01:32):
I compare it to sort of the work that I
do for Jerusalem University College in Israel, as a field
education instructor, and the idea was to, as best we could,
replicate some of that on the ground in the field experience,
experience with me. So it involves a lot of prep
before we go, uh, in terms of setting up all

(01:53):
the shot cycles, what we want to say, where we
want to say it, and it takes us about, oh,
let's say ten days to shoot one of the one
of the seasons. And of course, post-production time naturally follows
that as as well. The crew that we take out
varies in size. Um, but there's about 4 or 5
of us that typically are in the field for the shoot.

(02:16):
Every time I come to Jerusalem to teach, I make
this my first stop, because it's a place where I
remember why I've come, why the Lord has brought me
to this place.

S1 (02:31):
Okay, so doctor Jack Beck is with us. Where in
the world are you? I can see because I'm watching
the video right now. But, uh, your first stop when
you go to Jerusalem, where do you. Where do you
end up going?

S3 (02:46):
Yeah. So, um, the first place I always like to
stop on my way to campus is along the western
side of the old city wall, because it's it's there that, uh,
built into a 16th century wall. I'm actually looking at
wall components from the Old Testament and New Testament eras.

S1 (03:07):
This is great. And what we're plugging you guys into
is a docu series that is available. You can check
it out. And actually, it's the fourth and final season of.
It's called The Holy Land connecting the land with its stories.
There's so many wonderful episodes. Season four. Uh, you know,

(03:28):
you've been doing this, you know, for for a little
bit of time here. So we want to finish well, right? So.
So as you finish, uh, you know, season four, um,
what were you thinking? Okay, well, we've done this, this,
this and this previously, but we want to want to
finish strong. What was your thinking for season four?

S3 (03:49):
Well, you know, I probably should start by saying it.
The docu series is organized geographically, so we're moving through
14 different regions. Each episode focuses on a particular region's
geography and the stories that call it home. So the
question is, which of those 14 regions do we stop

(04:09):
in last? We started in Jerusalem, and we chose to
end in Jerusalem, because it's that city that provides so
much information about our forgiveness.

S1 (04:21):
This is this is so valuable for those folks who
may never take a trip to the Holy Land. This
is one way that they can actually go. And I
must tell you, the camerawork, the cinematography. It's beautiful. Again,
whoever's doing that, we give them props.

S3 (04:39):
Yeah, we've got an amazing crew. These are professionals who
have invitations to work in the movie industry. Uh, and
they've chosen to be in ministry with our daily bread.
And I'm just so thrilled to have them at my side.

S1 (04:58):
So when we check out these documentaries, what would you recommend?
We can dip in at any place. Kind of like
reading a book. Uh, you know, some books. You want
to start at the very beginning. Some books. I'm thinking
nonfiction books. You can kind of jump to the middle
or whatever. Don't ever jump to the end, though, okay?
That's against the book rules. You can't you can't start

(05:19):
with the end. Begin with the end in mind. But
don't go.

S2 (05:22):
There. Okay.

S1 (05:24):
For those who, uh, you know, would like to check
out the docu series, they haven't even seen one episode.
Would you say that, uh, maybe starting from the very
beginning is a good idea, or can we jump in anywhere?

S3 (05:36):
Yeah, I think it's a both end. Kurt, uh, you're.
The series was designed, uh, so that when we treat
an individual region and we get to know the geography
of that region, what its topography is like, and how
that land lived, what kind of stories developed within it. Um,
we we really designed it so that you could jump

(05:57):
into a region, particularly if you are doing a study,
Bible study, or you're doing a piece of reading and
you go, I got to know more about that place. Uh,
you can dive in anywhere, but if you really want
to get the full orbed sense or feel for it
from beginning to end, you're right. Start with the first, uh,
with the first episode and work your way all the

(06:17):
way through 34 to the end.

S1 (06:19):
What about some truths that we can grab on to
to transform how we read the Bible? If you could
just kind of lay out some big ideas for us,
that would be awesome.

S3 (06:30):
Yeah. So, I mean, generally speaking, we are all people
of place, right? And, uh, geography is such a dynamic
shaper of who we are and how we communicate. Um,
what many folks have done. And I'll put myself in
that mix, too. I had a geographic conversion of my
Bible reading experience about 30 years ago, and that and

(06:51):
that put me on the track I'm on now. But
for many, many folks, Um, the reading of the text
doesn't take into account the role that place plays, both
in shaping the events and actually being uploaded directly into
the communication process so that it becomes part of the
way God speaks to our hearts. And there there are

(07:12):
just dozens and dozens of examples where I get to
hear God better because I'm listening with geographic awareness.

S1 (07:21):
Yeah, I totally agree. And of all of the ones
that you have done, I know it's hard. It's kind
of a tough question, but I am curious which episode
is your favorite?

S3 (07:35):
Yeah. So I think when when I come to speak
about Jesus and the Garden of Gethsemane, that's always been
one of my most favorite teaching locations. And I think
it's because it has had so much impact on me. Uh,
the Garden of Gethsemane is that place, um, where I
most feel my eternity kind of hanging by a thread.

(07:58):
Jesus is making a decision and the geography plays a
role in that. He's on the two mile ridge called
the Mount of Olives. To the east is the trackless
Judean wilderness. To the west is the city of Jerusalem.
And as he sits at that hinge point, he's making
a decision on which way to go next. If he does,

(08:19):
what's best for him? He's up over that ridge to
the east, and within 40 minutes, he's in a place
where there's just nobody else other than those like him
who are trying to get away from everyone else. If
he walks back towards the city to the west, he
walks to the cross and towards my salvation. Uh, I

(08:40):
feel the tension as I sit at that hinge point
with him in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the geography
helps me understand that the struggle in prayer was not
just the struggle in prayer was not just about the
nearness of the moment, but about the geographic decision that
he needed to make.

S4 (08:59):
Thank you for taking some time to listen to this
episode of the Curtin Kate Mornings podcast. We always welcome
a review with your thoughts and comments, and please feel
free to subscribe and follow us as well.

S1 (09:11):
If you're not able to travel to the Holy Land,
this is one way that you can do that. You
can actually watch these episodes with your Bible in your hand.
You know you're doing your morning devotions and oh man,
how wonderful. It brings the Bible to life. And and
when we see these actual places, for those of us there,
again who have not gone to Israel, there are a

(09:33):
lot of surprises. Like, for instance, you might have pictured
in your mind that the Sea of Galilee is massive. Uh, so.
But it's really not it, Kate. You've been there. It's
like a it's a lake, isn't it?

S2 (09:47):
Like a big lake. Yeah. It's a it's an incredible
place to go. My favorite place. When I went to Israel,
it was on top of Mount Arbel. Looking down on
that and looking into the wadi that Jesus and the
guys probably walked through. I that just really hit home
for me somehow.

S3 (10:04):
For me. Kate. That's one of my favorite views. Favorite
views in the Holy Land.

S5 (10:08):
Yeah. Yeah.

S1 (10:09):
What do we know about the Sea of Galilee? That's, uh,
might be surprising for folks there. Again, maybe it's the size.
It's not exactly what you expect. Anything else?

S3 (10:18):
Yeah. You know, I would say that when we start
putting pins in the map where we know Jesus was,
most of them end up on the northwest side of
the Sea of Galilee. And, um, when we read Matthew 413,
we read Jesus left Nazareth and went to Capernaum on
the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee. And we
might ask, well, what's the intentionality there? Why is he

(10:40):
spending so much time on the northwest shore of the
Sea of Galilee? And when we plot the International Highway,
the international transportation route that connects the three continents of Asia,
Africa and Europe. We find that it goes just through
the western section of where Jesus was. If we plot

(11:02):
those places, we know where he was. It ends up
to be about 2.1mi², just a tiny little postage stamp
of a place. But by positioning what he said and
did in that location, he was granted access to an
international audience.

S1 (11:19):
What about the commercialization of some of these places? Would
that be surprising for folks who have never paid a
visit to Israel?

S3 (11:29):
Well, during the 30 years that I've been there as
a Bible geographer, I'm always on the lookout for those
places where the land looks most like it would in
Bible times. And because of the population continuing to grow
in the modern state of Israel and and development, we
lose some of that feel the places that feel super

(11:51):
urban in nature that once we're very, very rural, including Jerusalem,
including Jerusalem itself. Um, but there are still places we
can go. And the documentary seeks to do that. Places
we can go to see how the land looked and lived, uh,
in Bible times, so that we can better put those
stories and those pieces of poetry we love into those contexts.

S1 (12:16):
Yeah, a lot of Israel is is kind of barren,
isn't it?

S3 (12:20):
Uh, it's highly diverse. You've got everything from mountains that
are 900, 9232ft in elevation that have snow on them
year round to 50, you know, 80,000 acres, sprawling agricultural
valleys to barren wilderness and all occurring within 145 miles
north to south. So it is a it is a

(12:41):
place where you need to know not just one geography,
but upwards of 14 different geographic faces of the Holy
Land in order to make sure you get your stories
in the right place, because my premise is you can't
take a story that is birthed and lived in one
region and move it to another region in the Holy Land,
without changing the story.

S1 (13:02):
Yeah, exactly. How far is Bethany from Jerusalem?

S3 (13:08):
It's about two and a half miles. Um, I've walked
it maybe in 40 minutes.

S1 (13:12):
Okay. That's interesting. What about Bethlehem?

S3 (13:16):
Bethlehem. Five miles to the south. Uh, and again, easily
done within three hours.

S1 (13:22):
What about Jerusalem to Nazareth?

S3 (13:26):
Yeah. So that you're closer to 80 miles there. And
probably a trip that's going to take 5 or 6 days.

S1 (13:34):
Okay, so as you think about this, you know, we
tend to how big is the state of Israel? I mean,
compare it to one of our states here in the US.

S3 (13:45):
Yeah. So in in Bible times Israel is less than 10,000mi²,
so maybe a little bit smaller than even the state
of new Jersey.

S1 (13:54):
Look at that. And yet the world's eyes are on
this tiny little state.

S5 (14:00):
Yeah.

S1 (14:01):
Surrounded by enemies. How in the world could these ancient
people still be around? How in the world could our
eyes be focused on this little speck on the globe?
How in the world could this happen? Oh, well, wait
a minute. What God tells us about Israel is absolutely true.

(14:22):
They are the apple of his eye, aren't they?

S3 (14:26):
It's true, it's true. And, uh, there is intentionality, I think,
about God's choosing this little strip of land to evolve
the story of salvation. Um, first of all, it's a
land that absolutely, uh, demands faith. It is, uh, not
a land that is rich in natural resources. It's always

(14:47):
sort of buffering on the edge of famine in the ancient,
and the in ancient times. Uh, so it's a land
where your eyes are constantly going to heaven, uh, for, uh,
your food and your and your water. Um, secondly, it's
also a place that serves as a podium to speak
to the world, as I mentioned before with Capernaum. This

(15:08):
is a land bridge, a trap between the Arabian desert
and the East and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
And it's through that corridor that the world's economy moved.
And as those merchants moved their their commodities and products,
they moved the news of the day. So it becomes
a very effective podium for making sure that whatever happens

(15:31):
in that land is communicated beyond that land.

S2 (15:34):
Thanks for listening to Kurt and Kate Mornings podcast. Please
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