Day 3 – Monday, November 9: 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 perfect, with a mild start to the day and a warm afternoon. We had full sun and highs in the 70s. We are glad that the heavy rains (and floods) of the last two days have not moved out of the region! After a wonderful full breakfast, we loaded the bus and left about 7:35. 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 (after the power came back on). 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 first enjoyed a early but 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. 🙂
We then drove to the top of this range called Muhraha (“Burnt Offering” in Arabic). 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 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 a 8.5 view with great visibility of the valley, Mt. Tabor, Hill of Moreh, and Mt. Gilboa.
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.
“Today was our first full day. We are already making connections with the Bible as we learn to understand the geography and archaeology of the sites and regions we visited today! Israel is the ‘playing board’ of the Bible and the “‘land between.'”
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 sunset was spectacular as well as it set beyond the Carmel Range to the est. 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, November 10: Gamla, Katzrin, Syrian Border, Caesarea Philippi, Dan
