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Israel Familiarization Trip
January 4-15, 2016
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An opportunity to glorify the Father
Before we got on the bus this morning, after enjoying an extra fifteen minutes of sleep and a delicious breakfast, we all walked down to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and reflected on Mark 5:1-20 and Mark 7:31-8:10. The first time Jesus visited the eastern shore he was greeted by a single demon-possessed man, whom he heals and sends back with the instruction to tell everyone what the Lord has done for him. The next time we read of Jesus visiting the eastern shore a group of 4000 people have gathered to hear him speak. The first visit must have seemed crazy to the disciples: all the work of rowing across the lake just to help a single pagan man. On the second visit, however, it seems that the apparent craziness has borne great fruit.
After this teaching, we drove to Qatzrin, a site where a Talmudic Era (2nd-7th century C.E.) village has been partially rebuilt. We stood in a house very like the one that Jesus would have been in when a group of men chose to lower their friend through the roof so that he might be healed of paralysis (Mark 2:1-12). Standing under the roof of sticks and mud, crowded into a small space lit only by a couple of oil lamps and light from the open doorway we were able to get a visceral sense for the confusion that must have filled the room as dirt and sticks rained down and the man was lowered through the roof. Jesus did nothing to stop the situation, instead rewarding the faith of the men who had been so desperate to help their friend by not only healing him, but first forgiving his sins. In this act Jesus at once proclaimed himself to be God and restored the paralytic to his community. What the crowds perceived as chaos, Jesus recognized as an opportunity to glorify his father and to edify the community.
Katzrin
The ancient Jewish farming village of Katzrin was built around a spring, which still flows. Although there were standing ruins on the site, archaeological excavations have increased the number of accessible ancient buildings. An ancient synagogue was discovered in 1967 and excavated between 1971 and 1984. Other parts of the village were excavated beginning in 1983. Some of the buildings have been reconstructed on their ancient foundations and furnished with replicas of household goods and tools
After Qatzrin we continued our tour of the Golan Heights region with a trip to the top of Mt. Bental, home to a military installation turned tourist exhibit and a coffee shop (named Coffee Anan), serving what the coffee drinkers assure us was some of the best coffee they’ve found in Israel. The Golan Heights region has been infamous in the last few decades as a place of conflict and violence. It is bordered by Syria and Lebanon, and it was the location of major battles during the Six Days’ War and the Yom Kippur War. On Mt. Bental we could see the border between Israel and Syria and were a mere 40 miles from Damascus.
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights belonged to the country of Syria until 1967. During the Six Day War, Israel took this high ground overlooking the Huleh Basin and Sea of Galilee. Today evidence of Syrian habitation, including military bases and mosques lie in ruins throughout the area. The region is now populated by Druze (who there before the war) and Israelis who have moved in since the war. Syria insists on the return of the Golan Heights as part of any peace agreement.
As we toured the Golan Heights we were witnesses to the (literal) fruits of Israeli labor to make the area both peaceful and fertile. It is now one of the best agricultural areas in Israel, being possessed of both rich soil and (relatively) abundant water. The cultivated fields and orchards that we passed came about however, only after much hard work and “chutzpah” on the part of Israelis who chose to remove the many, many rocks or to drain the swampy ground, and to plant trees and crops in land that once seemed hopelessly barren.
After driving through the foothills of Mt. Hermon, we came to the ruins of the temple complex at Caesarea Philippi. The less said of the pagan rituals there the better, but the pagans believed that the cave and spring at the center of the complex were an entrance to hell, making it a fitting place to worship the Roman god Pan among others. It was there that Jesus told Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not stand against it.” At the time it must have seemed crazy to claim that anything could oppose the elaborate and thriving pagan worship center, but 2000 years later the church remains, and the temples of Caesarea Philippi are crumbled and abandoned.
Caesarea Philippi
This abundant water supply has made the area very fertile and attractive for religious worship. Numerous temples were built at this city in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Our last stop in the Golan Heights were the ruins at Tel Dan. The boundaries of Israel are often described in the Bible as extending from “Dan to Beersheba.” Today the southern border has moved farther south, but the northern border remains just past Dan. As we hiked to the ruins we passed within feet of the border between Israel and Lebanon.
Tel Dan
On the northern frontier of the kingdom, Dan was particularly well fortified. This gatehouse was built in the ninth century BCE, probably by Ahab, and is part of a series of gateways discovered.
Arriving at the ruins we saw the remnants of the temple that Jeroboam built for the Danites in the Northern Kingdom. We heard teaching on the failure of the Danites to take up their allotted inheritance in the south and on the coast, and on Jeroboam’s later unwillingness to let them journey to Jerusalem to worship. (Judges 18:29-31 and 1 Kings 12:29-30) In both cases following God’s direction required them to do something apparently crazy, taking the land from the apparently powerful Philistines and allowing his people to undertake expensive journeys to worship in the city of another king respectively. In both cases, they chose the way that made more sense, but that carried them away from God. The city of Dan is eventually sacked by the Assyrians, the Babylonians and then the Persians. In Revelation 7:5-8, the tribe of Dan is not named as part of the 144,000 sealed.
Our day ended just after sunset at the Mount of Beatitudes, the place traditionally identified as where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.
Mark and Cecilia Stepp
Oceanside Christian Church
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.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzqvS22RQW7yX4gi_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzqvyBvogtgYsYFD_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzqvEDBdC9l8cDEW_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzqvIZsZCSXCeobF_ret.jpg|Sunset over the Sea of Galilee from the vantage point of the Mt of Beatitudes where Jesus' Sermon on the Mount was delivered.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzppKEEqskqbDceZ_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzppBe7vqH6nWhth_ret.jpg|Randy teaches from the elders' platform just inside Dan's gates. It appears the platform had 4 poles holding a canopy under which one of the elders would have sat to receive taxes, settle disputes, etc. Here in Dan an inscription from the 9th century BC was found referring to "The house of David." This would've been about 200 years after David.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzpjNCdDEbJrGhkF_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/Dzpj1WbJn6cq9WG4_ret.jpg|Randy teaches from the platform at the City of Dan's gates where an elder(s) would've sat. At one time probably had a seat and canopy over it.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzoRlD6CQqHPeEAg_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzoR1553mzd5A2oL_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzoR0Tzp9xyIbxUM_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzoReRScvHc8l983_ret.jpg|At the ancient city of Dan. Pictures of an ancient high place with an altar. The steel frame shows the original altar with its 4 horns.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzoYgt32YlKqTuQb_ret.jpg|Looking across the northern border of Israel into Lebanon. Notice the yellow sign on the fence by "no man's land" warning of mines. There's actually a military vehicle on the road in the distance where the Lebanese army was on patrol.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DznGlySmoiVWuKFR_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DznGVtGilXIrnjal_ret.jpg|At Caesarea Philippi, where pagan worship to Pan & Zeus was rife. The finely cut niche in the cliff face is where a phallic symbol in honor and worship of Zeus was on display. Here in this region Jesus asks "Who do you say I am?" In response Peter declares the great confession - "You are the Christ the son of the living God." He goes on to declare the Church triumphant - thank God the worship of Pan is now only in the history books, but Jesus' disciples are still multiplying.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzkSbyENwg0HYNwx_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzkSnlUVfsAFK7Yb_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzkS524nPzEIecji_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzkSm4RfYYLtK9Do_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzkS8UPzzZGKDjDM_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzkSHdiqreHY1zWV_ret.jpg|Views of Mt Hermon beyond from Betshareen, an Israeli high ground separating Syria from Israel. Ronan teaches with the valley behind him that marks the boundary between the two countries.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzjwvtTtjNTJqvwS_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/Dzjwjiozpd03x6p7_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzjwliRkuWto3seD_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzjwFD7KR9VcqqJ4_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzjwqB2GAsr9hlvj_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzjwGEw3WXp3SNyQ_ret.jpg|The tools of the "Proverbs 31 wife" on display.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/Dzj3mbrVBD8XiVA0_ret.jpg|Synagogue at Choratzin
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/Dzj1Uom3bYPmrbO6_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/Dzj1VxkqbjDbZVrP_ret.jpg|Outer court for cooking, etc. A pic looking into the upper room.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DziWkvXjXgbboilt_ret.jpg|Ancient light source - the Jewish lamp. These are in abundance in Israel like lightbulbs in our day.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DziNxX3hHZ5BUwlg_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DziNR4IHtbB1J2lg_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DziNFgfwYtiSDgsv_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DziNSs9hy6kXEy0p_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DziNAnE397ZK0B38_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DziNKjzwIaUYFSFl_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DziNM1sMUHpgS8ut_ret.jpg|Village of Catzrin in the Golan. Includes recreations, re-enactors to show ancient life circa 5th century AD. Houses were made of stone. Note in the pictures Rich is seated in the doorway of the upper room.
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzhzpXYjKJofcfAE_ret.jpg
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzhvJ8rwFolJnUL0_ret.jpg|Rich teaching at Susita, the location of our Kibbutz. This is the spot where Jesus drove the demons out of a man into pigs who rushed down into the water of the lake!
journi|Steve Williams|https://da8d58xb1ptvq.cloudfront.net/picture/DzgJFGUWRtCMou11_ret.jpg|Sun rises on Tiberias. Another pretty morning on the Galilee.
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