Day 7 – Sunday, May 4: Beth Shean, Shiloh, Jericho, Al Mog
We checked out of our hotel in Tiberias today. It’s been a great three full days and four nights here in the north end of the country. Following breakfast, we loaded the bus at 7:20 and departed at about 7:30. We read from Luke 15 as we departed. Our final destination for the day would be the southern end of the Dead Sea. The weather was about the same as the last few days, with partly sun skies and highs around 80 again (a little cooler at Shiloh). In the afternoon, however, we actually had a few sprinkles of rain. It would actually rain hard in other parts of Israel, including the Negev and Dead Sea areas. More about this below! 🙂
Beth Shean
We drove south through Tiberias and then through the upper Jordan Valley to Beth Shean, the only city of the Decapolis on the west side of the Jordan. Beth Shean is a massive archaeological site, primarily Roman. Here we saw the Roman bathhouse, the colonnaded street, and public latrines, and the impressive theater. Some in the group climbed about 190 steps to the Old Testament site where Saul’s body was hung on the walls of the town square (1 Samuel 31, 1 Chronicles 10). The view from on top of the Roman city below was amazing! This site was overwhelmingly impressive!
Shiloh
Next, we drove into the Hill Country of Ephraim to Shiloh. On the way, we drove throw the Hill Country of Samaria. When we arrived, we made our way up this ancient site where the Tabernacle once stood here for over 300 years. It was destroyed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). We watched a short movie about the events that took place here. We also read from 1 Samuel 3 (the call of Samuel) and Jeremiah 7. Among the ruins we saw a massive Middle Bronze wall that was incorporated into the Israelite site. Other structures, including perhaps the Holy of Holies area (as proposed by archaeologist Dr. Scott Stripling) could also be seen. It was young Samuel who said, “Hineni” (“Here I am!”) when God called Him into service.
“We left the north (the Galilee) today and headed south. We visited Beth Shean, Shiloh, and Jericho. Then because of the flash-flood warnings that closed Rt. 90, and having no access to our Dead Sea hotel, we (thankfully) were able to switch around hotels. This is certainly unique for the month of May!”
Jericho
The next part of the drive from Shiloh was again unique. We drove past Ai (Joshua 7-8) and Mishmash (1 Samuel 13-14) on our way through the Parat Desert (Jeremiah 13). This is in the heart of the Judean Desert. We finally arrived at Jericho at the southern end of the Jordan Valley and enjoyed maqluba, an Arab dish of chicken and rice cooked upside-down. The salads were also wonderful! We then climbed the site of ancient Jericho (called Tel es-Sultan). 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 and confirmed by archaeology!
Al Mog
Unique things can happen here in Israel. Even though we are in the month of May, heave rains hit the Negev (southern Israel), causing a flash-flood warning along Route 90. This closed the entire road along the western coastline of the Dead Sea. So our wonderful Amiel agent (Reut) helped arrange another hotel (Al Mog) for us just outside of Jericho. Before arriving at this “kibbutz-hotel,” we first stopped at a gas station to pick up snacks for the evening (no dinner was being served here tonight). We were all full from a huge late lunch at Jericho anyway! So thankful for everyone’s flexible spirits in dealing with this sudden change. We of course hope Rt. 90 is open tomorrow so we can visit Masada, Ein Gedi, and Qumran.
Day 8 – Monday, May 5: Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Dead Sea, Wadi Qelt, Jerusalem
