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Israel Study Tour - Friends of Hume
May 18-28, 2014
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Feel the Wind
Hey everyone!
Today was yet another day filled to the brim with more adventures in Israel!
We started off the day by going to Chorazin which held the ruins of an old village from the time of Jesus. We read lots of scripture and expanded on our understanding of Jewish culture. The village we were in was tiny and really illustrated how essential community was to the people of the time and how important it still is to God.
Chorazin
The synagogue at Chorazin is a typical “Galilean” style synagogue. These synagogues are characterized by 1) a basilical shape with three hallways separated by two rows of pillars; 2) three doorways and the central one is the largest; 3) benches around the interior walls; 4) a stylobate to support the weight of the arches.
Afterwards we headed over to the Mount of Beatitudes! The place is actually called Areamos Topos and is an amazing view over the Sea of Galilee. It was believed that Jesus taught the famous words from Mark 5-7 from around this region. We reflected on how important it is to not only hear the Word but to obey it.
Mount of Beatitudes
The so-called “Sermon on the Mount” is recorded in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6. The alleged discrepancy between Matthew’s version being on a hill and Luke’s being on a level place is easily reconciled with observation of many level places on the Galilean hillsides. Scripture gives no indication of the exact location of this event, but the Byzantines built a church to commemorate it at the bottom of the hill. Some of Napoleon’s men placed it on the nearby Arbel mountain.
Just a few minutes down the road we visited a place called Tabgha which was a pebbly beach just below the Mount of Beatitudes. Many awesome works of Jesus happened here, some of them being Jesus feeding the five thousand and reinstating Peter. This place reminded and encouraged us of how Jesus is all about second chances.
Tabgha
Two miles west of Capernaum is what Josephus referred to as the “well of Capernaum.” Undoubtedly a popular fishing spot of the locals because of its famous “seven springs,” Heptapegon (today the name has been corrupted to Tabgha) is the traditional location for several episodes in Jesus’ ministry.
Things just got even more real as we rode in our bus to Capernaum where Peter was from and so many significant moments in the Bible occurred. The realness and imagery of being in this place helped us understand the words of Jesus even more from verses such as Matthew 17:24, Matthew 18:1-6 and Luke 7:1-10.
Capernaum
Jesus made Capernaum his home during the years of his ministry: “Leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum” (Matt 4:13).
Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen living in the village. Matthew the tax collector also dwelt here.
Capernaum is one of the three cities cursed by Jesus for its lack of faith.
We grabbed some fantastic Falafel pita sandwiches and Magnum bars for lunch and took a break from the rising heat and humidity that had increased throughout the day.
For the last half of our day we took a drive through Tiberius and enjoyed a brisk hike up to the top of Mount Arbel. While we were up there Rich explained how this might have been a place where Jesus would have gone early in the morning to get away and spend time with the Father. We were all struck by the beautiful view. It was awesome to get away from all the bustle to meditate on the Word and feel the wind blow through our hair and blow our hats off.
Mount Arbel
Mount Arbel (Hebrew: הר ארבל, Har Arbel) is a mountain in The Lower Galilee near Tiberias in Israel, with high cliffs, views of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, trails to a cave-fortress, and ruins of an ancient synagogue. Mt. Arbel sits across from Mount Nitai; their cliffs were created as a result of the Jordan Rift Valley and the geological faults that produced the valleys.
The grand finale of the day was finishing it off with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee! We had all been waiting excitedly for this and was everything we hoped. Before we hopped on the boat we checkout a boat that was excavated from the bottom of the Sea that dated back to the time of Jesus. We were giddy with joy on the boat, thinking how this was the place that Jesus calmed the sea and called His disciples to follow Him. Dathan taught on the story of Peter and Jesus out on the lake and how this would apply to our lives today. We had a time of reflection, and then threw rocks that we had gathered on the beaches of Tabgha as a symbol of letting certain things we needed to hand over to the Lord. We quickly changed gears and Ronen led us in some traditional Jewish songs and dances which was the absolute best way to end the day.
It was another fantastic day packed with places where Jesus actually was living life and ultimately we got to know even more about who Jesus really is!
Mucho Shalom,
Amanda
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