Israel Study Tour - The Forge (Pine Cove)

March 15-27, 2015

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Whom Shall I Fear?

Today was such a big day that we needed every drop of daylight to fit everything in!

We started with our own Sunday morning worship service on a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee! What an amazing experience it was! Not only was it beautiful, we even got to experience a small rainstorm while we were out in the middle of the sea. It was such a meaningful picture for us. It helped us understand what the Text teaches us in Mark 4: that Jesus is the only one worthy of our fear.

From there we went to Tel Jezreel where Ronan taught the group about the story of Naboth and then Matt taught about the story of Saul’s visit to the witch at En Dor. Both stories were stories of disobedience and dissatisfaction. We took time to think about how dissatisfaction in our own lives often leads us to disobedience as well.

Jezreel Valley

The spacious Jezreel Valley spreads out to the north and east from Mount Carmel, providing convenient passage for international travelers in ancient times. The fertile alluvial soil makes this the country’s breadbasket as well. The Bible speaks of the gathering of armies in this valley at the place of Armageddon.

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Afterwards we journeyed east along the Jezreel valley to Ein Harod. There, we heard Grant teach us the lessons surrounding the story of Gideon. He helped us to understand how God disciples people to the place of faith, but that we must not become drunk with success so that we forget him.

Then we headed to Beth Shean and the Roman city of Scythopolis. It was an eye-opening experience learning about the difference components of a Roman city and considering how the world in which we live today is much more like a Roman city than it is like a Galilean one. Worldliness and the temptations that come with it is difficult to resist in that place and we must resist those temptations. We also need to think about how we should draw others out of the kingdom of the world and into the Kingdom of God.

Beth Shean

Located 17 miles (27 km) south of the Sea of Galilee, Beth Shean is situated at the strategic junction of the Harod and Jordan Valleys. The fertility of the land and the abundance of water led the Jewish sages to say, “If the Garden of Eden is in the land of Israel, then its gate is Beth Shean.” It is no surprise then that the site has been almost continuously settled from the Chalcolithic period to the present.

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We finished our day at the other Decapolis city of Susita where we studied the story of the demoniac from Mark chapter 5. What we learned there gave us hope and confidence that faith, obedience, and our story are the most effective tools that God has given us to draw people out of darkness and into the light.

We’re sad that tonight is our last night in Galilee, but really excited to make our way to Jerusalem tomorrow night. We thank you, as always, for your prayers. We are all having a great time and are blown away by God’s generosity in allowing us to be here. More tomorrow!

Shalom!

–Matt Lantz

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