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Israel Study Tour - Chris Brown
January 20-29, 2015
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A full day of exploring
Monday was been a full day for the team. And by full, I mean we explored what would take most work study tours 2 days to cover, and managed to compress it into 1 day! The bus dropped us off at the bottom of a valley near a bridge overpass. Nearby, a local would unlock the rusty fence that leads into Beth Shan. We would travel on foot to the top of this tell. 1 Samuel 31 explains King Saul’s death, and that his body (and the body of his son Jonathan) was fastened to the gate of Beth Shan. From there we walked to other end of the tell. And to our surprise, the ruins of a large roman city was at the base of the tell. Chris Brown would share his thoughts on this massive roman city: "maybe this was the city where the prodigal son spent his inheritance?" It was within walking distance of Capernaum…perhaps. This city would boasted a gymnasium, spa, spa services, and theater. It would have been the Las Vegas of it’s time.
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.
Next, for the first time we would visit a site in Israel that was tied to the future coming of Jesus Christ (found in Revelation 16): Megiddo. According to the that passage, all nations would be represented here during a great battle incited by the anti-christ against Jesus Christ. It was surreal reading that passage and overlooking this piece of land.
Megiddo
From the earliest times (EB) to the earliest historical records of the area (Thutmose III) to the future (Revelation 16), Megiddo assumes a prominent role. This is largely owing to its strategic location astride the Megiddo Pass (Wadi Ara) and inside the busy Jezreel Valley.
After a brief break for lunch, we picked our journey back up at Mt. Carmel. This was the backdrop for the exciting old testament story of 1 Kings 18. Elijah would challenge the prophets of Baal: a showdown between Baal, the god of rain and agriculture and the one true God, Yahweh. The story ends with God sending flames from heaven in a dramatic act of accepting the offering and defeating Baal.
Mt. Carmel
Biblically, Mt. Carmel is referenced most often as a symbol of beauty and fertility. To be given the “splendor of Carmel” was to be blessed indeed (Isa 35:2). Solomon praised his beloved: “your head crowns you like Mount Carmel” (Song 7:5). But for Carmel to wither was a sign of devastating judgment (Nahum 1:4).
Our final stop of the day would take us to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was here we would see another of King Herod’s magnificent palaces. According to the book of Acts, Caesarea was the location where Paul was held as he made his case to Agrippa. This site also would contain the only evidence known today to support the bible’s claim that there was a Pontus Pilot. After a crash course in Caesarea, the team explored the beach line, prison, and shops. It was a fantastic day touring Israel!
Caesarea Maritima
The city and harbor were built under Herod the Great during c. 22–10 BC near the site of a former Phoenician naval station known as Stratonos pyrgos (Στράτωνος πύργος).[2] It later became the provincial capital of Roman Judea, Roman Syria Palaestina and Byzantine Palaestina Prima provinces. The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries CE and became an important early center of Christianity during the Byzantine period, but was mostly abandoned following the Muslim conquest of 640. It was re-fortified by the Crusaders, and finally slighted by the Mamluks in 1265.
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