Exploring the Decapolis

Today is Shabbat, or the day of sabbath celebration. Something that we can learn from the culture here is the intentionality of celebrating the sabbath day of rest! We too should make a weekly effort in our lives to set aside time to rest and worship God with our families and community.

This morning's experience was very eye-opening. We visited Beth She'an and the ruins of the old Roman city of Scythopolis. From history, we find that this place is not far from the culture that we live in even today. This was a beautifully structured place with magnificent ruins dating back even to the first century! The streets at that time would have been filled with entertainment, education, shopping, sports, worship of other gods, and a self-centered way of life. We quickly began to realize that our culture is not too different from this at all. Everything that the Romans could possibly want, they had, or at least believed they had. This mindset can be a challenge to face when sharing the good news of the gospel because, like this Roman city, people seem to have everything they need through these other outlets. We were asked to think about what the disciples had at this time that the people in this city didn’t have and how that corresponds even in our lives today.

Our next stop was Mt. Gilboa, the site of the death of King Saul and the defeat of the Israelite army by the Philistines. We compared Saul and David in the way that they inquired the Lord. David was faithful to inquire the Lord and quick to repent of His sin, while Saul rarely inquired of the Lord and blamed his sin on others. Saul was often unfaithful and his sin cost him his throne and his life. David was obedient, humble, and confessed his sin so that he would walk in the ways of the Lord. Are we inquiring the Lord in our lives and patiently listening for His answer to guide our ways? We also looked at the story of Gideon, which also took place here in this land. We see an example of an unexplainable life in Gideon as God used him to deliver Israel from the Midianites. Are we seeking to do what is right in our own eyes, or are we willing to humble ourselves so that God can use us in unexplainable ways so that the whole world will know there is a God?

This afternoon we got a refreshing and restful time together as we took a boat across the Sea of Galilee from the west to the east side. We read the story of Jesus walking on water and how, with faith, Peter got out of the boat to be like his Rabbi. We thought about what it was that God may be calling us to do in our lives to look more like Jesus and follow Him closer.

After getting off the boat, we headed up to our last experience of the day at a city called Susita or Hippos. This was one of the ten cities in what is called the Decapolis. After exploring around a little bit, we finally stopped overlooking the Sea of Galilee and opened up God’s Word. We discussed the story of Jesus healing the demon possessed man in this region and how after being transformed by Christ, the man went and told his story to his city. We were challenged to think about our stories and how Christ has changed our lives. We too have a great story to tell, that not only changed us, but could change the world!