DAY 6 – SATURDAY, JANUARY 22: QUMRAN, BETH SHEAN, MEGIDDO, PRECIPICE OF NAZARETH, SEA OF GALILEE
Today was another sunny day, with comfortable temps in the low 60s. After breakfast, we headed to Qumran. We read from Jeremiah 32 as we began this day.
Qumran
The most significant discovery in all of Israel were the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in 1947. We arrived here at about 8 a.m. We walked up to the edge of the cliffs of the Judean Desert to see Cave 6, one of 12 caves in which fragment of scrolls were found. At the site itself we saw many miqvot (plural for mikve, or ritual baths), cisterns, and the scriptorium. In front of Cave 4 (and 5 & 10), we read from Psalm 19 and “151,” an extra psalm found here. Thanks be to God for the preservation of His Word.
Beth Shean
We traveled north from here along the Jordan Valley to Beth Shean. It is an incredibly large site, with many ruins from the Roman Period. We saw colonnaded streets, the bathhouse, agora, public latrenes, and the theater. Some in the group climbed to the top of the OT site. According to 1 Samuel 31, the body of Saul was hung on the walls after he died on near by Mt. Gilboa.
Megiddo
Located along the edge of the Jezreel Valley is Megiddo. This archaeological site was about 25 layers of occupation spanning a period of about 2,500 years! It was a Canaanite and Israelite city. Pharaohs like Thutmose III conquered it in 1468 BC. Climbing the site, we saw 3 series of city gates, Solomon’s stables and palace, a sacrificial altar from the Early Bronze Period, and a grain silo. We left the site be descending down through the water system that was engineered to bring water safely inside the walls of the city. We also had a great view of the Jezreel Valley referred to as the Valley of Armageddon in Revelation 16. In the end, God wins when Jesus returns!
“The regions of the land of Israel are sure unique. We left the desert this morning where it is all dry and brown and arrived in the Galilee tonight where it is all green. And wow… the sunset on top of the precipice of Nazareth was remarkable!”
Precipice of Nazareth
We drove north across this broad valley to get to the Precipice of Nazareth. The visibility from here of Mt Tabor (Judges 4), the Hill or Moreh (Judges 7), and Mt. Carmel to the west (1 Kings 18) was impressive! We considered the life of Jesus as read from Luke 4 and John 1. We listened to Jesus Messiah as the sun set.
Sea of Galilee / Nof Ginnosar
It took us about 50 minutes to drive from Nazareth to the western shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. We checked into our hotel at Nof Ginnosar at 6 p.m. Since we were the only people here (literally!), we were served a massive dinner/feast! We enjoyed it immensely! Following dinner we walked down to the water’s edge to see the lake at night. We look forward to being at this hotel for four nights!
DAY 7 – SUNDAY, JANUARY 23: HIPPOS/SUSSITA, CHORAZIN, CAPERNAUM, MAGDALA, OPTIONAL BAPTISM IN THE JORDAN RIVER
