Day 6 – Sunday, November 6: Beth Shean, Shiloh, Jericho, Dead Sea
Today after breakfast we loaded the bus and headed south. Visiting three sites along the way, our ultimate destination tonight would be the southern end of the Dead Sea. The weather was once again sunny, with highs in the 80s. We read from portions of Matthew 5-7 as we departed at 7:30 a.m.
Beth Shean
To begin the day, we drove south of the Sea of Galilee through the Jordan Valley to Beth Shean, the only city of the Decapolis on the west side of the Jordan. This is a massive archaeological site, primarily Roman. Here we saw the bathhouse, walked the colonnaded street, sat in the public latrenes, and sang in the impressive theater. Some in the group hiked up 190 steps to the top of the Old Testament site where Saul’s body was hung on the walls of the town square (1 Samuel 31, 1 Chronicles 10).
Shiloh
We continued south along the Jordan Valley about 20 minutes before ascending into the Hill Country of Samaria. We saw a few shepherds with their flocks on our way to Shiloh (located about 20 miles north of Jerusalem). This was the location of Tabernacle for over 300 years until it was destroyed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). At the site we saw an impressive video presentation. By the ruins we read from 1 Samuel 3 (“Hineni” – “Here I am” was said here by young Samuel!), and Jeremiah 7.
Judean Desert & Parath
We continued our drive south towards Jericho. To get there we took a unique windy road down through the Judean Desert and specifically to the area of the Pareth (Parat in Hebrew) where Jeremiah once hid a linen belt (Jeremiah 13). The views were incredible. We spotted a number of gazelles along the road.
“We traveled to the southern regions of Israel today. Leaving the Galilee we drove through the Jordan Valley, Samaritan Hill Country, and the Judean Desert all the way to the southern end of the Dead Sea. We saw amazing sites that included Beth Shean, Shiloh, and Jericho.”
Jericho
We arrived at Jericho at the southern end of the Jordan Valley in time for a late lunch. We then climbed the site of ancient Jericho. We first looked east across the Jordan to recall a few biblical connections (e.g. Moses, Mt. Nebo, Dt. 31; Joshua crossing the river (Joshua 3), Elijah & Elisha (2 Kings 2), and Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3). We then saw an old stone tower that predates even Abraham and a small portion of the city wall on the southern end. Mud-bricks and a burn level could also be seen in a few places. We recalled the Joshua 6 story how the city was defeated (and burned) by the Israelites. Praise God for the historicity of the Bible as it happened just as recorded!
Ein Bokek/Dead Sea
In the late afternoon we made our way along the western shoreline of the Dead Sea to Ein Bokek. We first stopped as a Hebron glass store within Jericho before driving south. We passed Qumran, Ein Gedi, and Masada along the way (we’ll see these sites tomorrow). Once we arrived at our hotel, most in the group enjoyed dinner while others ventured down to the Dead Sea for a “float” in this unique body of water. Others chose to wait until early morning tomorrow to experience this.
Day 7 – Monday, November 7: Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Wilderness of Judah, Jerusalem
