Day 3 – Saturday, June 8: Caesarea, Megiddo, Beth Shean, Mt. Gilboa, Precipice of Nazareth, Tiberias
Today was our first full day here in Israel and a great start to our trip. Our group size is only a total of 12, making it ideal for traveling. We already enjoyed new friendships! Already on this first full day, we have made many biblical connections all day long. We had a bright and hot sun all day long, with high temps around 100.. It really wasn’t that bad in the shade! We read from Psalm 44 and 106 as we left the hotel at 7:30.
Caesarea
Our first stop here in the Sharon Plain was Caesarea. This was an impressive coastal city built by Herod the Great over a 12 year period (22-10 BC). In the theater we read from Acts 8 (Phillip), 9 (Paul), 10 (Peter), Acts 12 (Agrippa 1), Acts 21 (Philip), and Acts 26 (Paul). From here we walked across the city to see the palace, hippodrome, the location of the grand harbor, and the Crusader gate, wall, and mote. We also saw an impressive porphyry (purple) statue, probably that of Hadrian. Before we left the site, we saw the aqueduct that brought water into the city.
Mt. Carmel
Our second destination of the day was to Mt. Carmel, a mountain range overlooking the Jezreel Valley on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other. Here we visited a Carmelite chapel called Muhraha. We enjoyed a wonderful view of there Jezreel Valley below. Here we could see Mt. Gilboa (1 Samuel 31), the Hill of Moreh (Judges 6-7, 2 Kings 4), Mt. Tabor (Judges 4-5), and Nazareth (Luke 1,4). We read passages such as Isaiah 35, Amos 1 & 9, 2 Kings 4, Songs of Songs 7, and 1 Kings 18 that reference Mt. Carmel. This last narrative captures the confrontation that took place between Elijah and the prophets of Baal! Nearby we ate lunch at a Druze restaurant.
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 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! Lastly, we walked to the top of the water system that was engineered to bring water safely inside the walls of the city. Unfortunately it was closed because of safety concerns for rock slides.
Tel Jezreel & Mt. Gilboa
Further east is Tel Jezreel. Since there is really not much to see archaeologically here, we simply passed by the site as we referenced 1 Kings 21 and 2 Kings 8-9. These stories reference Naboth (who had a vineyard), Joram, Jehu, and Jezebel. High up on the slopes of the Gilboa Range nearby we walked to a wonderful view of the Harod Valley. Looking east we could see Beth Shean. We read from 1 Chronicles 10 about Saul and his three sons dying on Gilboa. Their bodies were hung on the walls of the town square at Beth Shean.
“It was a great first full day here in Israel. We already made so many biblical connections with the land of Israel and the sites and regions we visited just today! It was also perfectly safe, with a quiet Shabbat here in Israel! We also heard of the four Israeli hostages recovered from Gaza today. This is great news!”
Precipice of Nazareth
To end the day we drove north across this broad part of the Jezreel Valley to get to the Precipice of Nazareth. The visibility from here of Mt. Tabor, the Hill or Moreh, Gilboa, and Mt. Carmel to the west was impressive! To the east we could see the Hills of Gilead across the Jordan Valley (in Jordan today). We considered the life of Jesus as read from Luke 4 and John 1.
From here we drove to our hotel on the southeastern shores of the Sea of Galilee (Ein Gev). Upon arriving, we enjoyed dinner, a wonderful sunset, and a free rest of the evening. What a great first full day!
Day 4 – Sunday, June 9: Gamla, Qatzrin, Hippos/Sussita, Khirbet Cana
