Day 05 - Galilee: Katzrin (cultural experience), Mount Bental, Caesarea Philippi, Tel Dan

Another full day exploring various sites in Israel, expanding our knowledge of the Biblical culture and custom of the times, and connecting these thoughts to our reading of the Bible of these events.  For me, this has been giving me a new perspective on these passages and a better understanding of the words used to describe these events in Jesus’ time here on earth.

Today we explored: 

Katzrin - We started our day at the Ancient Katzrin Village where we experienced, firsthand, how people in the village lived during these times around the ministry of Jesus. We learned how to press olive oil and understood what a long and very manual process it was in those times. The olive oil was so precious in those times given the amount of olives required, and the level of effort required, to produce any quantity of the oil for use in the household. I also came to understand that due to the size of the rooms in the house, the number of people it could hold, why it was necessary for the story of the family of the paralytic needed to lower him through the roof in order to be healed by Jesus. We also had the opportunity to visit a modern-day olive oil processing company where they have figured out how to use all the byproducts from the process and protects the environment from harm from the otherwise old processing methods.

Mount Bental – Here we were able to see across the valley where the border to Syria was placed and the relative safety of this area due to the peace keeping agreements in place, in addition to the UN Forces which are there to monitor this situation.

Caesarea Philippi & Hermon Stream (Banias) – Here we saw some ruins from Caesarea Philippi and one of the sources for the Jordan River at the Hermon Stream Preserve. While the size of the streams was rather small, the amount of water coming down off the mountain was very strong and clear. It was also here where Jesus and the apostles were for a time. We read the scripture where Jesus is asking who do men say I am. He also goes on to ask Peter “who do you say I am?”. What was interesting for me is that there are 4 interpretations of what Jesus meant when he said, “on this rock I will build my church”.  Was it meant to be a physical church, was it meant to refer specifically to Peter (whose name referred to the rock), or was it meant for other reasons? Viewing this site opened my mind up to what was taking place there, especially with this Temple of Pan, and why people would come to different conclusions.

Tel Dan – This was an area where the tribe of Dan resettled and built a city on top of the mountain.  Here again we saw another stream which was feeding into the Jordan river. What we learned is that the tribe of DAN was not given this area by God and instead of staying where God had declared for them, they ran away. We were challenged to stay our course, even in the face of adversity, seeking God guidance and strength to persevere.