Israel Study Tour - Campus Ministry @ GVSU

May 2-16, 2015

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The power of what man can do

As every day goes, it has been a crazy fun experience with lots of hiking, a few messages, and countless of exciting places to visit. Our first stop was to the Decapolis where all of the heathen cities were located on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Then we traveled and had a good uphill and downhill hike to the city of Gamala and this city is one of the only that still has a standing synagogue. This was a really cool hike because we were standing in the clouds and got a little rained on. Here we learned a lot about how the city was very defiant against Rome but eventually were taken over in a dramatic war. Then we visited another Decapolis city called Beth-Shan. This city was a Hellenistic city and they only focused on themselves and the power of what man can do. The architecture here was massive and amazing to see how man at that time could produce something like 40ft pillars. Our last fun adventure for the day was visiting the Gan Hashelosha, a natural spring. This spring had three huge pools and water falls connecting them to make a beautiful oasis. For our last night tonight, we will be staying at the Dan Panorama Hotel on the Mediterranean Sea. The view is gorgeous but it is our last night here and we are deeply sad to leave this land but we are also eager to come home to you all. Please pray for safe travel and a good last day ☺

- Eric Drew

Gamla

Known sometimes as the “Masada of the North,” Gamla is most famous for its strong defense against the Romans in the Jewish Revolt in AD 66. The site is bordered on all sides by deep wadis of the Golan Heights and is approachable by only one footpath from the northeast. The earliest settlement was in the Early Bronze Age and the site was reinhabited by returning exiles from Babylon. Herod the Great settled Jews here to populate his border cities.

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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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