Day 06 - Galilee: Beth She’an, Mt. Carmel, Caesarea Maritima

We enjoyed a lovely morning hike up Tel Bet She’an through ruins and wildflowers. We admired cows grazing nearby, and were joined for a short time by a friendly cattledog. It was downright bucolic! Towards the summit of the tel, we turned a corner and approached an overlook. What we saw suddenly transcended our expectations of what this hike would be. We were dazzled by the gleaming, well preserved, Roman city of Scythopolis. This leading city of the Decapolis seemed to appear as if by magic!

The Decopolis was designed to be dazzling – each a shining city on a hill! Everything within them was purposed to draw those from the countryside into the Greco-Roman cosmos. Many Jewish men and women were attracted to city life, leaving their villages and insulas to take on the mantle of Hellenism. All their lives, they had focused on family and community, suddenly they had the opportunity to become individuals – to make their own money and live to glorify themselves instead of their father’s households. They changed their names, their clothing, their language, and finally, their gods. 

 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”  1 John 2:15 

Greece and Rome aren’t the only civilizations capable of capturing the hearts and minds of God’s people.  In the afternoon, at Mt. Carmel, Ronen taught on the competition between Elijah and the prophets of Ba’al. The outside influence of the Phoenician empire slowly took over Israelite culture until it was no longer recognizable as Israel. Names changed to honor the prominence of Ba’al, God’s prophets were killed or expelled from the land. Even today, there are several words and turns of phrase in modern Hebrew that invoke Ba’al’s name. That’s staying power! 

“How long will you waver between two opinionS?” Elijah asked the people. How long will you allow yourself to be seduced by the world. Elijah was sent by God to remind the people of their identity. He repaired the altar of God and rebuilt the people’s relationship with God, restoring them to their father’s house. “You, oh Yahweh, are El!” they shouted. “You, Oh Lord, are God!”

We also live a life wavering between two opinions, at risk of loving what the world has to offer over loving the people of the world. The fact that we were so impressed with the view of Scythopolis on the hill is a pretty good indicator that we like the shiny things Rome has to offer! May we never forget our God. May we never forget our identity as members of his family.