Day 06 - Galilee - Jerusalem: Beth Shean, Megiddo, Caesarea Maritima

The picture that Ronan painted for us with our stops today was that of a Jewish boy coming to a Roman city. Our first stop was at a place called Tell Beth She’an which means house of the complacent, secure, safe or invincible. This tell contains 19 different civilizations which lets us know this place changed hands many times.

In 1 Samuel we learned that Saul lost the land to the Philistines and David had to reconcor the land, rebuilding the trust of the people, which was eventually lost again. In front of Tell Beth She’an, the Romans built the capitol of the Decapolis, one of 10 Roman cities. This city called  Schythopolis from 63 AD  featured  a gym, the steam room of which was the largest in the world and the theater which seats 7,000. 

We can’t help but imagine the Jewish boy coming to trade his father's wheat and seeing this clash of civilizations. A city of decoration, wealth, exotic trade, gods, and all sorts of pleasures would make the God of his father seem less. But we know something about God’s upside down kingdom. All of this greatness can’t possibly satisfy the desires of our heart, only God can. 

After Beth She’an we traveled to Tell Megiddo which means “to say.” This place was also called Har Megiddo which can be interpreted as Armageddon. Megiddo overlooks the Jezreel Valley. Many battle have been fought on the land. The significance of this place was the location. It was on the only east- west road in ancient Israel, making it an important place for trade and passage. If you control the road, you control the town and if you control the town, you control Israel. Solomon built three cities with iconic gates, and a city gate was found on this tell. 

Our final stopping place was Caesarea Maritima. Here, volcanic ash from Mt. Vesuvius was imported to make a breakwater allowing for large vessel trade over the Mediterranean and an extravagant palace was built here. We learned from Acts 10 that Peter came to visit Cornelius, a Roman Centurion in Caesarea. This was the start of the church for the Gentiles  which would one day move across the Mediterranean, and extend to us in the US. We also stood in the judge room, looking out over the water, which is where Paul would’ve been judged in Acts 23:23-26. We ended our day dipping our toes in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.