Day 3 – Monday, October 12: Caesarea, Carmel, Megiddo, Precipice of Nazareth, Tiberias
Today was our first full day here in Israel. We are all excited to engage with the Bible and the primary land where biblical events took place. The day’s weather was very nice, with a mild start to the day and a warm afternoon. We had partly sunny skies and highs in the 80s. After a wonderful full breakfast, we loaded the bus and left about 7:40. We read Psalm 100 and were introduced to the “Oh, the Sun’s Coming Up…” song. 🙂 as we drove north to our first site.
Caesarea Maritima
We drove north in the Sharon Plain to get to our first site, Caesarea Maritima. It was a city built between 22-10 BC by Herod the Great.We started the the theater where we read portions of Acts 8, 9, 10, 12, 21, and 26. Peter, Phillip, and Paul were all here sharing their faith in Christ. Among the ruins the praetorium (palace, where we saw a replica of the Pilate Inscription found in 1961 in secondary use), hippodrome, and the area of the harbor. We then entered the Crusader part of the city. We saw a short 10 minute movie about Herod and Caesarea. Before leaving the site, we also saw the aqueduct that brought fresh water into Caesarea from the Carmel Range.
Carmel Range
Leaving Caesarea, we drove through the Carmel Range (or Mt. Carmel). This range separates the Sharon Plain with the Jezreel Valley. We drove to the top of this range called Muhraha. In the Carmelite Chapel we gathered were we read from Isaiah 35, Amos 1 and 9, and Song of Songs 7, all passages that mention the Carmel. We also read portions of the primary story that happened here from from 1 Kings 18. This involved Elijah confronting the 450 prophets of Baal. From the roof of the chapel we enjoyed our first view of the Jezebel Valley below. It was quite hazy, but at least we could appreciate the size of this valley.
Following the visit to Muhraha, we enjoyed a wonderful buffet lunch at a Druze restaurant owned by a dear and wonderful family. Some of us even had a magnum ice cream bar for desert. 🙂
“Today was our first full day in Israel. We visited Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, the Jezreel Valley, and the Precipice of Nazareth. We finished the day by driving to our hotel along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee.”
Megiddo
As we drove along the edge of the Jezreel Valley arrived at Megiddo, an archaeological site that has about 25 levels of occupation that span 2,500 years! After seeing a model of the tel (ancient mound), we walked to the top of this Canaanite/Israelite site. We saw two Canaanite gate complexes, the gate, stables and palace area of Solomon (1 Kings 9:15), a sacrificial altar (Canaanite), and a grain silo. The also enjoyed a great view of the surrounding hills from here and the valley itself (Revelation 16:16). We left the site by descending 180 steps down through the impressive water system that was designed and engineered to safely bring water into the city. It was remarkable to experience this amazing engineering project.
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 view from here of Mt. Tabor (Judges 4-5), the Hill of Moreh (Judges 6-7, 2 Kings 4), Gilboa (1 Samuel 31), and even Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18) to the west was impressive (the morning haze dissipated a little)! We considered the life of Jesus as we read from Luke 4 and John 1.
Tiberias/Sea of Galilee
It took about an hour (driving past the modern Arab town of Cana, John 2 and 4) to arrive at our “kibbutz-hotel” north of Tiberias (Nof Ginnosar). It is located along the western coastline of the Sea of Galilee. After checking into our newly-renovated rooms, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Following eating together, we walked down to the water’s edge for a “Sea of Galilee” orientation. It was quite beautiful to see the shoreline and Tiberias all lit up. We retired to our rooms for a good nights rest. It was a great first full day!
Day 4 – Tuesday, October 13: Hippos/Susita, Qatzrin, Syrian Border, Caesarea Philippi, Dan
