JACK BECK: DO YOU THINK EVERYTHING IN THE BIBLE
IS THERE FOR A REASON?
EVEN ITS UNRECOGNIZABLE PLACE NAMES?
I'VE SPENT NEARLY 30 YEARS STUDYING THIS QUESTION.
JOIN ME TO EXPERIENCE HOW THE REGIONS OF THE HOLY LAND
ARE PART OF A STORY.
I'M JACK BECK AND THIS IS THE HOLY LAND.
HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT
MEDITERRANEAN VACATION DESTINATION?
THIS 190-MILE-LONG COASTLINE HAS IT ALL:
SUN DRENCHED BEACHES,
THE REMAINS OF ANCIENT EMPIRES RISING FROM THE SAND,
LOCAL CUISINE, SHOPPING,
AND SEAFRONT VIEWS THAT STRETCH FOREVER.
THIS CAN ALL BE YOURS.
THIS IS THE HOLY LAND.
(WAVES CRASHING)
SURPRISED?
WELL, YOU'LL ALSO BE SURPRISED THAT IN BIBLE TIMES
EVERYONE WANTED TO BE HERE
ON THE COASTAL PLAIN OF THE HOLY LAND,
AND I DO MEAN EVERYONE.
AS THEY SAY IN REAL ESTATE,
IT'S ALL ABOUT LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
I HAVE NO WORDS EQUAL TO THE VIEW.
THIS IS THE COASTAL PLAIN.
(WAVES CRASHING)
THE COASTAL PLAIN DOESN'T HOST A LOT OF BIBLE STORIES,
BUT IT HELPS ME ANSWER
A QUESTION ON WHICH THE BIBLE IS SILENT.
WHY WOULD THE LORD CHOOSE THIS AS THE HOLY LAND?
WHY HERE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN,
RATHER THAN IN NORTH AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA, EUROPE,
WHY, WHY HERE?
IT HAD TO BE MORE THAN JUST THE MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE
AND GOOD FOOD.
NEARLY 40 CENTURIES AGO, GOD FIRST SPOKE TO A MAN
NAMED ABRAHAM ABOUT THIS LAND ALONG THE SEA.
AT THAT TIME, ABRAHAM LIVED SOME 2,000 MILES AWAY
IN WHAT TODAY IS MODERN DAY IRAQ.
THERE, GOD PROMISED A LAND TO ABRAHAM,
DESCENDANTS TOO NUMEROUS TO COUNT,
AND THEN INCONCEIVABLY, GOD PROMISED THAT THROUGH HIM
ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH WOULD BE BLESSED.
BUT AGAIN, WHY WOULD GOD CHOOSE THIS SLIVER OF LAND
AS THE STAGE FOR SUCH AN EPIC STORY
OF BLESSING FOR THE WORLD?
THE GEOPOLITICAL NEIGHBORHOOD GIVES US A MAJOR CLUE
AS TO WHY GOD CHOSE THIS REGION.
THE HOLY LAND, ALSO CALLED THE PROMISED LAND,
IS A LAND BRIDGE CONNECTING THE CONTINENTS
OF AFRICA, ASIA AND EUROPE.
EVERY ANCIENT EMPIRE WANTED TO CONTROL THIS STRIP OF LAND.
BUT WHY?
THE ANCIENT COASTAL CITY OF ASHKELON CAN TELL US MORE
ABOUT WHY OTHER EMPIRES WANTED TO BE HERE.
THIS 150-ACRE CITY WAS BUILT BY THE CANAANITES,
ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO OCCUPY THE COASTAL PLAIN.
WELCOME.
WELCOME TO THE CITY OF ASHKELON,
A CITY THAT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST COASTAL CITIES
IN THE ANCIENT WORLD IN THIS LOCATION.
A CITY OF MERCHANTS, A CITY THAT WAS BUILT
AT THE TIME OF ABRAHAM AND THE TIME OF JACOB.
THE STORY OF THIS PLACE, IN SO MANY RESPECTS,
IS FOUND IN ITS NAME.
ASHKELON, IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY,
ASHE-KELON, HAS THE WORD SHEKEL IN IT.
SHEKEL IS THE CURRENCY WEIGHT THAT THE CANAANITES USED
IN ORDER TO CONDUCT THEIR TRADE ENTERPRISE.
THAT WAS THE ECONOMICS OF THIS PLACE.
THEY BUILT A MASSIVE CITY BASED ON THAT ECONOMY.
THIS CITY... THIS CITY
IS 20 TIMES LARGER THAN THE AVERAGE COMMUNITY
IN THE INTERIOR, IN THE MOUNTAINS.
AND MAN, IF YOU'VE GOT THE MONEY, EVERYBODY WANTS IT.
SO WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO?
PROTECT YOURSELF, AND LOOK AT THIS!
LOOK AT THIS.
THEY HAD BUILT A SECURITY FENCE AROUND THEMSELVES
CALLED A RAMPART.
INSIDE THE RAMPART, YOU HAVE SOME STONES THAT ARE BUILT
AND THEN DRAPED WITH SOIL IN ORDER TO PREVENT PEOPLE
FROM GETTING TO THE INTERIOR.
BUT A GREAT WALL IS ONLY AS GOOD AS AN EXCELLENT GATE,
AND WHAT THEY DID HERE IS CONSTRUCT THE OLDEST
SURVIVING MUD BRICK, ARCH GATE IN THE WORLD.
AT THE TIME OF ABRAHAM AND JACOB,
THE CANAANITES HERE INVENTED THE ARCH.
THIS IS THE WAY INTO THE MERCHANT CITY,
THE CITY THAT'S BUILT BIG AND PROTECTED CAREFULLY.
CAN'T HELP BUT THINK HOW A SHEPHERD LIKE ABRAHAM
OR JACOB MUST HAVE FELT IF THEY SAW A PLACE LIKE THIS.
THEY WERE LIVING IN TENTS,
MOVING FROM PLACE TO PLACE TO PLACE
IN THE MOUNTAIN INTERIOR,
AND THE CANAANITES OUT HERE,
THEY BUILT THIS MASSIVE URBAN CENTER,
20 TIMES LARGER THAN ANYTHING
ABRAHAM HAD SEEN IN THE INTERIOR.
AND THE DIFFERENCE: BOTH ARE PART OF THE PROMISED LAND,
BUT THE DIFFERENCE HERE ON THE COASTAL PLAIN
IS THE ADVANTAGE OF GEOGRAPHY.
(GENTLE MUSIC)
THE COASTAL PLAIN THAT INCLUDES ASHKELON
IS A GENTLY ROLLING PLAIN THAT STRETCHES FOR 190 MILES
ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
BUT THE MOUNTAINOUS INTERIOR
IS WHERE ANCIENT ISRAEL SETTLED.
AS A RESULT, THE COASTAL PLAIN HOSTS FEWER BIBLE STORIES.
AND SO, WHEN WE READ OUR BIBLE WE MIGHT ASK,
WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS REGION?
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THE COASTAL PLAIN ALL ABOUT?
IN TWO WORDS, IT'S ABOUT TRANSPORTATION AND ACCESS.
GOD MADE MAPS TO BE FLAT AND LAPS NOT,
SO THIS IS THE CHALLENGE.
IF THE PROMISED LAND IS A LAND BRIDGE,
A LAND BRIDGE BETWEEN THE CONTINENTS OF ASIA
AND AFRICA AND EUROPE, THEN THE EASIEST WAY
TO MOVE BETWEEN THOSE CONTINENTS
IS HERE ON THE COASTAL PLAIN.
IN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN ZONE HERE,
YOU SEE VERY LITTLE BY WAY OF ROAD SYSTEM.
BUT LOOK AT THIS, LOOK AT ALL OF THE ROAD SYSTEMS
THAT ARE RUNNING THROUGH HERE,
IN COMPARISON TO WHAT WE SEE UP IN THE MOUNTAINS.
IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE COULD TRAVEL
IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS,
BECAUSE THE TERRAIN DIDN'T PREVENT THEM FROM DOING SO.
IT'S THE COASTAL PLAIN THAT CARRIED
THE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC, AND PORT CITIES
ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA
FOR DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS
AROUND THE ENTIRE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN.
IF YOU HAD TO PICK A PART OF THE PROMISED LAND
THAT WAS THE MOST DESIRABLE,
THIS IS THE PLACE THAT I WOULD PICK.
IT IS THE PLACE TO GROW FAT AND WEALTHY.
(MUSIC)
TODAY THE MODERN CITY OF TEL AVIV
IS ALSO A PLACE TO PROSPER ON THE COASTAL PLAIN.
IT IS THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN THE HOLY LAND.
ASHKELON MUST'VE HAD
CROWDED MARKETS AND SHOPS JUST LIKE THIS.
I'M EVERYONE'S FRIEND WHEN I HAVE MONEY TO BUY SOMETHING.
TEL AVIV IS THE FINANCIAL CENTER OF THE COUNTRY
AND GUESS WHAT, JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE OF ASHKELON,
4,000 YEARS LATER THEY STILL USE THE WORD SHEKEL
AS THE NAME OF THEIR CURRENCY.
WOMAN: 45 SHEKEL.
JACK: YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD WAY OF MEETING PEOPLE.
I LOVE IT.
MAKING MONEY IN THE COASTAL LIFESTYLE,
DRIVES THE VIBE OF TEL AVIV.
THIS IS MORE SECULAR THAN JERUSALEM.
IN FACT, SOME SAY PEOPLE PLAY IN TEL AVIV
AND PRAY IN JERUSALEM. AND THAT SEPARATION
BETWEEN PEOPLE OF FAITH LIVING UP NEAR JERUSALEM
AND THE SECULAR LIFESTYLE OF THE COAST
WAS EVEN MORE DRAMATIC THROUGHOUT BIBLICAL HISTORY.
THAT LOOKS SO GOOD.
MAN: SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE
GOOD?
JACK: OH, MY GOSH.
(MAN LAUGHING)
(GENTLE MUSIC)
WHAT'S SO SURPRISING TO ME
WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE STORY OF THE BIBLE,
IS EVEN THOUGH THE COASTAL PLAIN
IS PART OF THE PROMISED LAND,
IT'S ALMOST NEVER CONTROLLED BY THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
IT'S A WORLD BEYOND THAT CONTROLS THE COASTAL PLAIN.
THROUGH THE CENTURIES, FROM THE CANAANITES TO THE EGYPTIANS
TO THE PHILISTINES, ASSYRIANS, BABYLONIANS, PERSIANS
AND THE ROMANS, IT'S ALWAYS SOMEBODY ELSE IN THIS LAND.
AS FOR GOD'S PEOPLE,
BEING CLOSE TO SO MUCH ANCIENT PAGAN INFLUENCE,
IT COULD MAKE IT LOOK LIKE GOD CHOSE THE WRONG NEIGHBORHOOD.
BUT THAT IDEA WOULD BE WRONG.
WHY WOULD THE LORD ALLOW THE WORLD TO LIVE IN THAT SPACE
WHEN HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE ARE TUCKED AWAY
UP IN THE HILL COUNTRY?
I THINK IT'S BECAUSE HE WANTED TO KEEP THE WORLD CLOSE.
THE PLAN OF SALVATION MATURES WITH THE CRUCIFIXION
AND THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF JESUS,
AND WHEN THAT STORY HAD MATURED TO ITS FULLEST POINT,
THEN THE STORY WAS MOVED FROM THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS,
OUT INTO THE COASTAL PLAIN.
IT'S THE WORLD AT ISRAEL'S DOORSTEP.
(WAVES CRASHING)
IN THE FIRST CENTURY THE GOOD NEWS OF FORGIVENESS
REVERSED THE TIDE OF PAGAN INFLUENCE
ON THIS HOLY LAND ALONG THE SEA,
AND SPREAD THAT LIGHT ACROSS THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
WHEN WE READ THE BIBLE, IT'S NOT ABOUT THE ABSENCE
OF STORIES IN THE COASTAL PLAIN.
IF WE FOCUS THERE, WE WON'T GET IT.
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE ABSENCE, IT'S ABOUT THE ACCESS
THAT THE COASTAL PLAIN GIVES TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD
THAT ALLOWS THEM TO REACH THE REST OF THE WORLD.
HAVE YOU STOPPED TO THINK THAT WE LIVE WHERE WE DO,
BECAUSE GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR OUR PLACE?
GOD HAS A HABIT OF PUTTING PEOPLE
IN EXACTLY THE PLACES HE NEEDS THEM TO BE,
JUST LIKE HE DID BY BRINGING ABRAHAM
TO THIS LAND BETWEEN THE CONTINENTS.
(RHYTHMIC MUSIC)
(WAVES CRASHING)