Spiritualizing geographical Israel?

I am a friend of the nation of Israel as a chosen people of God and as an ally of the United States. Nevertheless, I think that there is a lot of false “spiritualizing” of the geography of Israel. This morning I heard a preacher on the radio claim that “a trip to Israel is a spiritual experience.” He made that statement in the context of promoting his ministry’s tours of Israel. If you go to Israel “you will invest in your spiritual walk” and “your Bible reading will never be the same.” The trip “enhances your entire biblical view and personal Christian perspective” and “will be a source of inspiration and spiritual growth.”

I will not criticize anyone for taking a trip to Israel, neither will I assert that a person going there will learn nothing. But, pardon me for thinking that this spiritualizing mumbo-jumbo sounds more like a sales pitch than sound theology based on God’s Bible!

If you have an opportunity to visit Israel and can afford to do so – go. Enjoy the vacation, see the sights, and learn all you can. Do not come back thinking you are a spiritual giant towering over the Lilliputians who can only afford to buy an imitation leather Bible and can only learn of Jesus and his ways by faithfully reading it, while praying and seeking God’s face and the leadership of his Spirit. 

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.