Headed to “The House”

The first site on our journey today was the ancient city of Megiddo. This site was part of a tel. There were over fourteen levels of civilizations found here when archeologists dug down. Megiddo was an important city in the Bible. It sat at the crossroads of the trade routes, the Via Maris and the Kings Highway, making it a valued piece of property by the civilizations that had control of it. The city sits on a hill overlooking the valley of Jezreel where many battles have been fought throughout history. From this viewpoint, the residents could see which side was winning the battle during a fight. In Revelation 16, John mentions a valley where the kings of the world will fight against God. It is speculated that he was referring to the Jezreel valley, whether it be figuratively or literally. Craig taught us that we must persevere to not fall away from God, and that worship is the key to perseverance. We finished with worship by singing the Doxology together as a class while overlooking the valley.

--Jordan Hernon

We also visited Mount Carmel today. Mount Carmel is where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal. In Hebrew, Carmel means, “God’s vineyard.” This name is very fitting because the mountain is full of beautiful vineyards, trees, meadows, and wild flowers. From the top of the mountain, the view extends far off over northern Israel. Elijah’s name in Hebrew, also has a signifigant meaning; it means, “Yahweh is God.” And the story that takes place on top of this mountain, is one of Elijah proclaiming and proving what his name already states, that Yahweh is God. Elijah calls the prophets of Baal to a challenge. The prophets of Baal were to call upon their god and Elijah would call upon the Lord, and the god that answered would be proven to be the real one. Elijah, of course, wins the battle. The people of Israel admitted that Yahweh was God. However, they did not change their life to follow God’s law. After Rich told us the story, he explained how this applies to us as Joshua students. We can choose to be like the Israelites in this story, proclaiming that Yahweh is God with our mouths and minds, but denying him in our hearts to live however we choose. We can leave Joshua and go back to whatever kind of life we want. Rich told us not to be like the Israelites, to follow God and proclaim Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, so that after we finish in the summer, God will still be Lord of our lives. Mount Carmel, as with most of the sites we have visited, packed a very relevant lessson for all of us in the Joshua program (and really for all of us) to follow God and not our own desires.

--Joshua Studley

Today we went and saw one of the sites that I have been most looking forward to seeing—Caesarea! Caesarea is a port city in Israel, and was built by Herod the Great. The city was super cool. Craig taught about Paul and how he was imprisoned at Caesarea and what that would have looked like for him. Not like a traditional prison like I imagined it. We also learned about Paul’s trial in Acts 25:23 and stood in the place where it probably happened! Such a good learning experience to be able to read the story and at the same time be in the exact place where it happened. So cool. It’s crazy to see how advanced the Roman architecture is. I can’t wrap my brain around that. How did they do all those things without heavy equipment? How do they build giant, multiple mile long aqueducts and get the huge stones up there with no cranes? How do they do math problems without calculators? That one gets me. Another thing that I thought was wild was all the marble that they had at Caesarea. Marble is not found in Israel, but in Europe, and Caesarea had a lot of it. Herod was a wealthy man and he wanted to show it. Can’t wait to be in Jerusalem tomorrow!

--Stephen Heckert

I am at a loss for words when I try to explain what God has been revealing to me while on this trip. There are so many things I want to say but not enough words in my vocabluary to write them out. At each site, I find myself saying out loud, “Oh my gosh, this is so cool,” and then God smiling back at me with a smirk and saying, “Duh, I made all this.” Over and over again I am amazed that this place has so much more meaning behind it. There are so many metaphors in the Bible, and now I am able to understand many more of them. But the one thing that keeps reoccuring in every journal entry and every site I see is that God walks with me. Yeah, Israel is pretty cool, but when I am back at home, I don’t want to just remember all the places I went, but the significance that they have in the Bible and that they now have in my heart. As I walk where the stories in the Bible occurred, I try to open my ears to the people of thousands of years ago and hear their faint echoes. This trip has forever changed the way I read the Bible and the outlook I have in life and in my own heart. God walks with me in Israel and He walks with me back home.

--Emily Lebs

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