Day 04 - Galilee: Katzrin (cultural experience), Mount Bental, Tel Dan

How can I put into words not just the sights, but the emotions of all that we are experiencing on this tour? It’s truly a multi-dimensional experience, and each day builds on the next.  

We’ve learned a lot about the importance of family and community this week, and today continued that theme as we visited  the Talmudic village of Katzrin. We learned first-hand how families lived in the first century as we worked together to press olives into oil using an ancient olive press, and ground wheat kernels in an ancient flour mill. Afterwards, we sampled the fruits of our labor. Yum!

Tummies full, we crowded into a one-room stone house typical of the home where Jesus taught the people in the story recorded in the second chapter of Mark. Looking up, it was easy to imagine the determined friends of the paralytic man frantically tearing through the wood- and  palm-branch roof in order to lower their beloved companion down to Jesus, desperate for him to experience healing. Launa asked the powerful question, “Who do you have in your life that would do that for you… and who in your life would you do that for?” Her message about intentionally sharing our lives and pouring into others was poignant and powerful. 

Next, in the 5000-year old city of Dan, we stopped to learn about the city gates and then moved on to the mixed Hebrew/pagan temple that King Jeroboam built for his newly divided northern kingdom of Israel.  There, we also saw the oldest city gate ever found: the ancient gate that Abraham entered when he made his daring rescue of Lot and his family after their capture by Kedorlaomer (Genesis 14). As the patriarch, Abraham was responsible for the members of his family. The father will always do whatever it takes to bring the family back to his house. 

Though we were scheduled to visit the site of Ceasarea Philippi, we were only able to drive past it, as it had closed early today. Instead, we continued on to the very top Mount Bental, which was once an Israeli army outpost at the Syrian border. We listened to stories of war and political unrest in Israel and surrounding areas as we looked out over peaceful, green pasture and farmland, while blades of giant windmills silently turned in the distance. The contrast was sharp, as was the awareness that we have a responsibility to help all people in need, no matter their race or political differences. 

We have gained so much insight from our amazing tour guide, Ronen.  Earlier in the day, as we looked at the stone walls of the house house in Katzrin, he explained that the Greek word "tekton", traditionally translated “carpenter” also means “stone mason.” Could Jesus have actually built homes instead of furniture? We had already learned that a husband-to-be would build a room onto his father’s house, where he would bring home his new bride. What a depth of meaning this gives to John 14 where Jesus said to his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; I go to prepare a place for you.” 

Our God has always been, and will always be, a God who do longs to gather His children and bring them into His home. 

-Emily Novelo