Jordan & Israel
August 31 - September 12, 2019
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Life in the big city
We took in one last beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee as we shared in our morning devotion down at the shore. This morning we say goodbye to this wonderful countryside region. A favorite for many.
We traveled south along the Jordan valley to the ancient Roman city of Bet She’an; the house of security. At its height its population in the first century reached 80,000. The archeological work here is fantastic. The main streets, theatre, gymnasium, market, and bathhouse is easily observable. We were given a great picture of life in the big city at the time of Christ and the clash of two world views; Hebrew and Greco- Roman.
Beth Shean
Located 17 miles (27 km) south of the Sea of Galilee, Beth Shean is situated at the strategic junction of the Harod and Jordan Valleys. The fertility of the land and the abundance of water led the Jewish sages to say, “If the Garden of Eden is in the land of Israel, then its gate is Beth Shean.” It is no surprise then that the site has been almost continuously settled from the Chalcolithic period to the present.
We traveled northwest past Mt Gilboa as we passed through the Jezreel valley. We saw Nazareth off to the northeast before we stopped at Megiddo. An ancient Tel (layered civilization built on top of each other), 19 in all at this rich site. Megiddo, overlooking, the Jezreel valley was and still is a strategic place. It is of course the future site of the great battle to come, Armageddon.
Megiddo
From the earliest times (EB) to the earliest historical records of the area (Thutmose III) to the future (Revelation 16), Megiddo assumes a prominent role. This is largely owing to its strategic location astride the Megiddo Pass (Wadi Ara) and inside the busy Jezreel Valley.
We drove up to the top of Mt Carmel and opened the scriptures to I Kings 17-18. We walked back into the text with a whole new perspective because of our new understanding of geography and biblical history. We imagined the great God contest as Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. What a great man of God he was. Bold, courageous, and unafraid. Elijah name means, “Yahweh is God”.
Mt. Carmel
Biblically, Mt. Carmel is referenced most often as a symbol of beauty and fertility. To be given the “splendor of Carmel” was to be blessed indeed (Isa 35:2). Solomon praised his beloved: “your head crowns you like Mount Carmel” (Song 7:5). But for Carmel to wither was a sign of devastating judgment (Nahum 1:4).
We traveled down the mountain and the coastline to Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean Sea. What a magnificent archeological find. The city built by Herod complete with a Hippodrome, Harbor, Theatre, and Palace with an Olympic sized freshwater pool. Incredible! This is where Paul was imprisoned before being sent to Rome in the book of Acts.
Now it’s time to go up to Jerusalem!
Caesarea Maritima
The city and harbor were built under Herod the Great during c. 22–10 BC near the site of a former Phoenician naval station known as Stratonos pyrgos (Στράτωνος πύργος).[2] It later became the provincial capital of Roman Judea, Roman Syria Palaestina and Byzantine Palaestina Prima provinces. The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries CE and became an important early center of Christianity during the Byzantine period, but was mostly abandoned following the Muslim conquest of 640. It was re-fortified by the Crusaders, and finally slighted by the Mamluks in 1265.
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