Day 7 – Friday, November 13: Beth Shean, Shiloh, Jericho, Judean Desert/Wadi Qelt
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 7:05 and departed at about 7:20. We read portions of Matthew 5-7 and 13 as we departed. The weather was about the same as the last few days, with full sun and highs around 75 again.
Beth Shean
We drove south out of Tiberias and continued through the Jordan Valley about 20 miles 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. Since we were limited with time, Pastor John first took many in the group up to the top of the OT tel. There are about 190 steps (in total) to the top of this 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.
Meanwhile, Shlomo took the rest around the Roman site. Among the Roman ruins, we all we saw the Roman bathhouse, the colonnaded street, and public latrines, and the impressive theater! Beth Shean is Israel’s most impressive site. Most of the Roman city was excavated in the 90s, with the help of putting to work about 250 unemployed people!
Shiloh
Next, we drove into the Hill Country of Ephraim to Shiloh. On the way, we drove through the Desert and Hill Country of Samaria. We first watched a short hologram about the Mishkan (Tabernacle) before we walked our way up to this ancient site where the Tabernacle once stood here for over 300 years. It was destroyed by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4) in about 1080 BC. 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 site about 1 p.m. when the site closed (because of being a Friday of Shabbat).
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 and desert 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!
“We left the Galilee today, with a final destination to the NW corner of the Dead Sea. The sites today included Beth Shean (WOW!), Shiloh (AMAZING!), and Jericho (SURREAL!). The weather was again perfect too!”
Judean Desert / Wadi Qelt
As we drove out of Jericho and before we arriving at our “kibbutz-hotel” for the evening, we enjoyed a sunset overlooking the Wadi Qelt! What a spectacular view of this part of the Judean Desert! First we heard the voice of “Isaiah” (dressed in his garment and beard HA) as he shared the words given to him by God as recorded in Isaiah 40. Then Shlomo sang Psalm 23 for us, a fitting setting for this psalm. The experience here was special.
Kalya Kibbutz
We returned back to the area of the Dead Sea and to Kalya, our “kibbutz-hotel” for the night. It is located right at the site of Qumran (which we will visit tomorrow afternoon). After checking in, we enjoyed dinner (at 7:00 p.m.) and then retired for the night.
Day 8 – Saturday, November 14: Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Western Wall
