the ShfayLAH

Although most people have never even heard of the Shephelah, it is by far one of the most important places in the Bible. In Old Testament times, having control over this region symbolized power and military strength. The Shephelah is usually translated into English as “rolling foothills” or “lowlands,” and acted as a buffer zone between the Coastal Plain and the Judean Hill Country. However, not only did Israel need this zone for purposes of protection, but also for its agricultural benefits. Because of its geographical location and importance, all throughout the Bible we see the Israelites and the Philistines fighting over it.
We traveled through the Shephelah via the diagonal route, which goes southwest from Aijalon to Lachish. We started our field trip in Beth-Shemesh, or “house of the sun.” Since the Sorek Valley is famous for being the setting of most of the story of Samson, we mostly talked about his life. We all know that Samson took a Nazirite vow and could not drink wine, but being there and realizing that the Sorek Valley is famous for its vineyards makes this vow much more admirable. In fact, Sorek means “a choice vine.” Judges 13:25 tells us that the Spirit of the Lord began to move in Samson between Zorah and Eshtaol, both of which we could see from Beth-Shemesh. From this city we were also able to see Timnah, the place where Samson meets his Philistine girlfriend. To take vengeance on the Philistines when they give his wife away to his friend, he burns the vines, the grains, and the olive groves. This was a major blow to the Philistines, because the olive groves took years to plant and grow. Later, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon Samson and he killed a thousand Philistine men with a “fresh jawbone.” We had a chance to re-enact this story at Beth-shemesh with a real jawbone, and we realized how incredible this feat was.
While we were there, we also talked about how the Ark of the Covenant returned from Ekron to Beth-shemesh via the Sorek Valley (1 Sam. 6:10-7:3). The Israelites lost the Ark when they tried to manipulate God, and it is somewhat ironic that God used two cows to bring it back. When the Israelites from Beth-shemesh run out to the cart, because of their presumption, God kills many of them. Finally, the men of Kiriath Jearim came down to the Sorek Valley and brought it back to Kiriath Jearim, where it stayed for twenty years.
Next, we traveled to Azekah in the Elah Valley, where David defeated Goliath. We saw where the Philistines spread out across the south side of Elah Valley, in the hills of Socoh and Azekah, and the Israelites camped on the hills on the other side of the valley. We were able to visit the Brook Elah, where David gathered five smooth stones, and re-enact the story with an ancient slingshot and a stone from the brook. We also passed by Adullam, where David hid when the king of Gath pursued him. David would have traveled via the Valley of Elah when he went from Gath to Adullam.
Mareshat Gath, hometown of the prophet Micah, was the next on our itinerary. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, who prophesied about the Assyrian threat as the punishment for Judah’s sin. However, there was still hope for the nation; as he looked up to the Judean Hill Country, he prophesied that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem Epaphrah. We also got to visit some amazing caves at this city. After lunch, we visited some more caves at Mareshah, where King Asa of Judah stops the invasion of Zerah and the Ethiopians and has victory over them.
Our next stop was Lachish, one of the cities which attacked Gibeon after Joshua made a treaty with the Gibeonites. The Lachish Valley is famous for grapes, which is evidenced by the grapes in Sennacherib’s relief. We were able to pick delicious grapes at Lachish, and see the tell there, which is one of the biggest Iron Age structures in Israel. We discussed Isaiah 10 and 37, which discuss how the Assyrian siege affected King Hezekiah, and how the Lord gave him a miraculous victory. We also learned about the Lachish letters, which name both Lachish and Azekah and mention that Azekah had been captured during the Babylonian conquest. Lachish was to follow shortly. It is always interesting to see how archaeology and the biblical account so often perfectly correlate; at a gate in Lachish they have found potsherds mentioning Lachish and Azekah.
As a grand finale to our Shephelah field trip, we visited the Philistine city of Gath, which guards the mouth of the Elah Valley. Many important biblical events took place here (such as the Ark stopping here), but we mostly talked about the account of David fleeing here and pretending to be a madman so that the king of Gath would let him live (1 Sam. 21:10-22:2). David flees to Gath thinking that he will find refuge from Saul and at the same time trying to protect his people from having to betray him. 1 Samuel 21 says that David was very much afraid of King Achish, but when David writes psalms 34 and 56, we see that a complete change has taken place in David’s heart. “When I am afraid,” David cries out, “I put my trust in You, in God whose Word I praise...What can flesh do to me?” David has learned to praise God through His Word rather than put his trust in men. He also writes Psalm 34 during this time and talks about fear again, but this time in a different context: “O fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack.” David’s fear of man has been channeled into a righteous fear of the LORD. At Gath, we were given a chance to look at the sunset and spend time praying and reflecting on these passages. I thought about how Psalm 56:4 was my favorite verse as a little girl, and how it comforted me countless times growing up. Understanding the context behind this verse and attempting to put myself in David’s shoes for the first time brought this passage into a whole new life. God was faithful to David and continues to be faithful “to those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.” How can we do anything but praise Him through His Word and fear and worship Him?

P.S. sorry there aren't pictures... hopefully I'll get some up soon.
Shalom :)