On to The Golan

As Amy Manns wonderfully observed, today was a day that blended Biblical, social, political, cultural, economic, geographic and military elements.  That probably could be said about the whole trip, but it was especially true today.

Our first stop was the Naot shoe factory at Kibbutz Naot Mordechai.  This allowed us to see a working Kibbutz and also contribute to the Israeli economy (the 11th commandment), as well as simply buy some very comfortable shoes at half the cost of the same thing when sold in the US.

Next, we visited Tel Dan.  The Danites were given land around what is now modern Tel Aviv as their inheritance.  But when they could not conquer it, they came north and conquered this city and named it after their forefather.  The spring here is one of the sources of the Jordan River.  This city was one of two places (Bethel was the other) where Jeroboam set up a worship center to golden calves so the people wouldn't return to Rehoboam by worshipping at the Temple in Jerusalem.  We also viewed a mud brick Canaanite gate which may have been used by Abraham when he was chasing those who took His nephew Lot and family in Genesis 14.  The back side of the site of Dan sits just a few hundred yards from the Lebanese border, close to the area where two Israeli soldiers were killed a few weeks ago.

Caesarea Philippi or Banias was our next stop.  It was in the area of this pagan city where Jesus asked His apostles, "Who do men say that I am?   Who do you say that I am?"  This happened in an area where people were demonstrating faith in whatever god they wanted.  And they were sacrificing their children as a part of the process.

We ate at a Druze restaurant on the edge of a volcano.  No, it was not active.   The meal was delicious.  Following lunch, Reuben gave us a clear and concise view of the political/military situation along the Syrian border.  It was evident that Syria is no longer a solid state.  For Israel, that means that the battle is not against a state but a group of people.  It is not a good circumstance.  A cup of coffee to warm up sent us on our way to the town of Qatzrin.  There we toured a village that was excavated including a nearly intact first century house.  It was amazing to see how people lived in Jesus' day.

A stop by the Olive shop and we were on our way back home for supper.

A Day By The Sea

Today was our day to tour around the Sea of Galilee, the area where Jesus spent most of His time in ministry while on earth.  We began at Nof Ginosar, the place where they display the first century boat that was discovered in the mud in 1986.  Then came the boat ride on the lake.  We experienced tears, joy, worship, Pastor Marty talking about Peter's walk on the water to Jesus, and calm silence, all in one short boat trip.  It was powerful. 

From there we drove to Korazin, one of three cities that Jesus cursed because they failed to acknowledge Him as Messiah.  The ancient synagogue and ritual bath (mikvah) made it seem like this was strongly religious Jewish town in Jesus' day.  But there was evidence of compromise as their decorative stones included Medusas.



The Mt. Of Beatitudes, where Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, was our next stop.  We could picture 10,000 to 15,000 people from the surrounding area sitting and listening to the Master teach.  After briefly studying part of that Sermon, we walked the quiet garden areas.

For the brave of heart, St. Peter's Fish served as our lunch.  As Jesus was teaching on paying the Temple tax, even though the son should be exempt, He sent Peter to the lake to catch a fish, and in its mouth was a coin which would pay the tax for both Peter and Jesus.

Capernaum was our next stop.  This was Jesus' town, meaning He carried out His three years of ministry from here.  He healed Peter's mother-in-law here.  He called the apostles here.  He did miracles in this town.  You could feel that we were truly walking a place where Jesus walked.

 We closed out our day at the new excavation happening at Migdal or Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene.  The first century synagogue along with the shops and houses excavated so far indicate this was a Jewish town, not a mixed town as some believe.  It was a joy to walk through and realize that Jesus can free us from our demons as much as He did Mary.  The town sits right at the base of Mt. Arbel.

A good night's rest will prepare us for our climb up the Golan Heights tomorrow.

 

 

Following The Via Maris

We didn't allow the chilly rain that greeted us in the morning to dampen our spirits as we departed the Island Hotel and followed the Via Maris (the way of the Sea).  We visited the theater in Caesarea,  the seaport that Herod built and place of his summer palace.  It was in Caesarea where Peter came from Jaffa to share the Good News with Cornelius and those he gathered together.  It was here that Paul gave his defense before Felix, Festus and King Agrippa before being taken to Rome.  Paul also used this as his port for sailing to or from his missionary journeys.  Philip the Evangelist, one of the deacons, lived here. We drove to view the aqueduct that Herod built to bring water to his city.

We then made our way up the Carmel Range of mountains to Mukraqa, or Mt. Carmel.  This is the traditional location where it is believed that Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal.  We got our first limited view of the Jezreel Valley or the Valley of Har Megiddo or Armageddon.  Following our lunch at a Druze Restaurant, we climbed the tel at Megiddo.  This chariot city stood guard over the northern part of the Via Maris.  Any invading army had to come past Megiddo.  At least 32 major battles have been fought in this valley throughout history and the last great battle of history will also be fought here according to the Revelation.

The last part of the day was spent in Jesus' hometown of Nazareth.  We stood at the top of the Precipice where they wanted to throw Him to His death for blasphemy.  We toured Nazareth Village, a recreation of First Century Nazareth, complete with a shepherd, weaver, carpenter, watchtower, olive press and synagogue.  And we walked the old streets past the Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation to the Synagogue where Jesus read the words from Isaiah 61 and then told them the prophecy had been fulfilled in their hearing.

The team did well but all were glad when we arrived at the Scots Hotel in Tiberius, our home for the next couple days.  

We're in the Land

After our long flight (10 1/2 hours), we arrived in Israel around 2:40 in the afternoon.  After clearing passport control and retrieving our luggage, we boarded our bus with Reuben our guide and Adi our bus driver.  The predicted rain parted long enough for us to stop by Jaffa on the way to our hotel in Netanya.  Jaffa is the seaport town where Jonah took off on a ship going the opposite way from God's command and where Peter saw a vision of a sheet from heaven that took him to Caesarea the next day.  And that is where we are headed, after a good night's rest.

Here are some initial pictures from the area of Jaffa (which is a neighborhood of Tel Aviv):

Tower of St. Peter Church

Skyline of Tel Aviv

Sculpture of Three Stories at Jaffa

A Birthday Surprise

While waiting, we celebrated Nathaniel Mann's 15th birthday!

We Are All Here

We have all arrived in Philadelphia and are waiting to board our 9:15 pm flight to Tel Aviv.  We are all excited to land in the Holy Land.