DAY 7 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6

gamla synagogue

Sitting in the 1st century synagogue at Gamla (in the Golan Heights)

Today we headed north to the Golan Heights. It was another sunny and beautiful day, with temps around 80. Departing after breakfast at the hotel, we drove to the NE corner of the Sea of Galilee and up the Golan to where we made our first panoramic stop. With Bethsaida below us, we read from Mark 8 (blind man healed) and Matthew 14 (also John 6). The Feeding of the 5,000 took place right below us! From this corner, Jesus also walked on the water in the middle of the night to His disciples’ boat (Mark 6).

Our first site we visited was Gamla. This was the predominate Jewish city on this NE corner of the lake. Here, the 1st Jewish Revolt took place against the Romans. Here is also a 1st century synagogue. Even though not mentioned, there is a high probability that Jesus taught here (Mt. 9). For this reason, it was special to actually sit in this synagogue! The indirect reference to Gamla is Acts 5 (e.g. about a certain “Judas the Galilean” who may have been from here). Josephus (who was in this battle) records the details in his Jewish Wars.

Rabbi Abun's house katzrin

A reconstructed house at the Katzrin Village (Golan Heights)

Continuing to drive on the plateau of the Golan, Katzrin (also Qatzrin) was our next stop. We visited this Talmudic village where we sat in a reconstructed stone house similar, no doubt, to the houses in Jesus’ day. While crowded in this stone house, we read from Mark 2 about the paralyzed man being lowered down through the flat roof to Jesus below. Jesus not only healed him physically, but also spiritually. Praise God for the “authority” (S’mekah in Hebrew) of Jesus to forgive sins! There is also a synagogue here as well.

Driving now north and east, we stopped at the border with Syria. Shlomo shared some modern history about the 1967 and 1973 wars against these northern neighbors. We actually were able to look over the border into Quneitra, Syria! We prayed for those innocent victims of the civil war in this war-torn country.

Caesarea Philippi

Caesarea Philippi

Grabbing lunch “on the go” (e.g. bananas, pretzels, and snacks), we spent the afternoon at two more national parks. The first one was Caesarea Philippi. This was a pagan city during Jesus’ day. But it was in the “region” of this city where Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” It was Peter who replied, “You are the Christ!” (Matthew 16) Here we saw the cultic grotto used in pagan worship, including the niches used for Pan. The Banias spring here serves as one of three tributaries of the Jordan River. The transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17) also may have taken place here too!

Coming down off the Golan now our last stop of the day was Dan. We first walked through the nature preserve. Here is the largest of the tributaries of the Jordan. The walk along the river was beautiful! We enjoyed Shlomo’s recorder playing. We also considered Psalm 42 and sang together. The path leads into the archaeological part of Dan. We sat on the steps of the high place as we read from Judges 18 (the Danites conquered this city, called Laish, and relocated here) and 1 Kings 12. Jeroboam set up a false worship center here, including an altar and golden calf. We also saw the mud-brick gate of Dan, dating to around the time of Abraham.

Dan nature preserve

The Dan Nature Preserve

Since we still had ample daylight, we ascended the hills of Naphtali to Misgav Am. Here we had a tremendous view of Mt. Hermon to the east and Lebanon to the north. We literally were about 1/2 mile from the border. Shlomo shared some modern history about Lebanon. We also heard the story from the Bible (2 Samuel 20) that took place at the tel of Abel Beit Maacah below.

Driving back south through the Huleh Valley, we arrived at our hotel for dinner. We enjoyed an optional gathering down at the water’s edge to conclude the night.

DAY 8 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 – MT. ARBEL, JORDAN RIVER BAPTISM, MT. CARMEL, CAESAREA, JERUSALEM

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