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Israel Study Tour with Neighborhood Church
June 18-30, 2016
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The Way to Jerusalem
We pulled out from our kibbutz along the Sea of Galilee for the last time today. It has been an amazing experience in Galilee, but we are off now to Jerusalem!
There were three sites that took our attention today as we traveled to Jerusalem: Meggido, Mt. Carmel, and Caesarea.
Meggido sits upon an ancient hilltop settlement in Northern Israel. The site is absolutely stunning. We began our Meggido experience with a short film explaining the diverse and complicated history surrounding the site. Twenty-six different civilizations made their home atop Meggido. Meggido’s location boats an impressive amount of power for those who called it their home. Overlooking the Jezreel Valley allowed for inhabitants to see enemies approach from far away. Not only that, but sitting beside the main trade route lead many military leaders to launch campaigns to take the area. Atop Meggido we could still see the ruins of the civilizations before us. It was a stark reminder that though battle after battle had been fought on this land in the name of gods and even in the name of YHWH, the true battle had already been won. It was a cosmic battle that took place on a cross. But the remnants of that battle lie in Jerusalem.
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 Meggido we headed out for the stunning Mt. Carmel. It is here on Mt. Carmel that we read the story of Elijah, and his battle against the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). The mount overlooks all of the Jezreel Valley and is filled with beauty. As we read the story aloud we talked about the importance of knowing who our God is. Like the people of Israel, we too become distracted, putting our own American gods before our God who calls us his own. But it was Elijah’s words in the text that reminded us there is no compromise, no room for other gods. It is YHWH who ignites the fire not only in the altar, but also in the hearts of his people.
Our final stop on the road to Jerusalem was the city of Caesarea. Caesarea sits along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. I could write endless words of this place, but they would not do it justice. We walked through the palace where Pontius Pilate stayed, we dipped our feet in the pool of Herod, and we even walked through the ancient arena where Jews and Christians alike met their end at the hands of the Romans and their wild beasts. But it was here that God ordained a meeting between Cornelius and Peter. A meeting that shaped the future of our church. A meeting that led us at Neighborhood Church to remember one of our five values: inclusion. It was Peter, the same Peter upon whom Christ would build his church, that declared no more is there a division. We are all the people of God.
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.
As the day has come to a close, we have arrived in Jerusalem. The city extends out beyond our reach, but contains our hearts and our minds. Though we are nearing the end of our journey here in Israel, it seems like we’ve only just begun.
On to Jerusalem.
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