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Calvary Church Israel Study Tour
February 6-17, 2017
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The North!
We all played dress-up today in Katzrin as we did the cultural experience of pressing oil, baking bread and seeing what life would be like in homes during biblical times. Everyone had fun taking part in all these activities and it helped us understand the every day parts of life more tangibly.
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
We then drove along parts of the country that were near the Syrian border on our way to stop at a place called the Valley of Tears. This was a war memorial of a tank battle in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 where an outgunned and outmanned Israeli army defeated the Syrians and help them back from the Golan Heights. A member of our team, Rodney Walker, shared at this site how he volunteers for the Israeli Army through an organization called Sar-El. www.sar-el.org
He said that many people ask why an American Christian would volunteer for the Israeli army and with tears in his eyes he said that it's because he's so grateful to the Jewish people for being responsible for the Bible. Without the Jews, there would be no Bible. His heartfelt gratitude has caused him to want to give back to the nation of Israel and to serve. He has come several times and stayed for several weeks doing a wide variety of tasks that the military wouldn't want to do themselves.
We also visited Caesarea Philippi and Tel Dan. Today was another full day and we are starting to feel a little tired but we are having an amazing time in this beautiful land.
The conclusion of our day included two baptisms in the Sea of Galilee. It was an honor and privilege to witness a couple members of our team decide to take this step.
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.
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