1BL Israel Study Tour

May 25 - June 4, 2015

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Where the Word became flesh

My day started early with a walk to the Sea of Galilee. I watched the sunrise and tried to capture the moment in a picture. After a wonderful breakfast with the group, we headed to hike Mt. Arbel, a desolate mountain across the Sea of Galilee. It was much cooler than the last couple of days and I was much grateful for that. As we were riding the bus, I noticed how the weather and topography changed so much within a few miles. Yesterday, we were in Negev, the wilderness and today all around us was fertile valley;avocado, mango and banana plantations growing around us. After an exhausting hour and half, we reached the top of the mountain and the view was truly worth it. In the quietness, I heard the sound of the wind. Luke 5:16 talks about Jesus withdrawing to deserted places to pray. It is very likely that this was the very place being so close to the busy sea yet desolate enough to get away. I reflected on my own life;how often do I get away from the busyness of my routine tasks to pray and be in communion with the One who I claim to be my Lord? We got an opportunity to visit caves of Crusaders from 12th century AD that were in Mt. Arbel.

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.

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Then we headed to Tabgha on the shore of the Sea where stands today a pretty catholic church of the primacy of St. Peter. Next on our journey, was Jesus town, Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles and signs here; driving out of unclean spirit in the synagogue, healing of centurion's slave, raising synagogue ruler's daughter from the dead, healing of the woman with bleeding disorder. Here He said, "I am the bread of life" John 6:35. Yet many of his disciple's turned away from following him even after seeing all the signs because they found his teaching hard (John 6:66) What is my own motivation for serving Christ? We also saw Peter's house and the synagogue in Capernaum by the sea.

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.

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We had the best falafel ever for lunch. We headed to Chorazin, another city in the vicinity of the sea where we saw a smaller synagogue and insula (a many room residence for a family household).

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.

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The highlight of the day was a boat ride in the Sea of Galilee and group Hebrew dancing.

Everyday I start and end the day for giving me this opportunity to see the land where He walked, where the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

-Charlotte

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