After an early breakfast, our journey today began with a rather long bus ride around the southern coast of the Sea of Galilee, then west to Megiddo. As we drove along the coast, we saw very few fishermen on the sea or along the shore. David, our guide, told us that there are few fish left in the sea today. I looked across the sea and was reminded again of the great number of fish caught by by Peter when he followed Jesus’ instructions to cast the net one more time after a night of catching nothing.
As we travelled we also saw groves of lemons and orange and banana trees in this fertile area.
We then passed Mt. Tabor, where it is believed that Jesus revealed His glory to Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration (although there is some debate that this may, in fact, have occurred at Mt. Hebron, which we will visit later today).
We then traveled to the ancient city of Megiddo, which lies at the southern end of the Jezreel Valley (Plain of Esdraelon). The city guarded a strategic pass through Mount Carmel. At least 26 different cities were built on top of one another over the years, as the city was occupied by various conquerors. Because of its strategic location, this area was the scene of many famous Old Testament battles:
Joshua defeated the king of Megiddo during the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 12:7). God gave the city to the tribe of Manasseh, but they failed to drive out the Canaanites (Judges 1:27). Deborah and Barak defeated Sisera and his armies “by the waters of Megiddo”(the Kishon river that flows through the valley of Jezreel). (Judges 5:19-20). Josiah, the last good king of Judah, attempted to prevent the armies of Egypt from passing through the land and was killed at Megiddo by Pharaoh Neco in 609 BC (2 Kings 23:29-30).
From the vantage point of Megiddo we have a great view of the Plain of Jezreel. This particular plain creates the strategic land bridge that connects Africa in the south to passage to both Asia and Europe, and has been a hotly contested region throughout history, with many battles being fought here. The last great battle before Christ’s return will see the armies gather at Armageddon (in Hebrew Har Megiddo), meaning the hill of Megiddo (Rev 16:13-16).
We then travelled north to Nazareth, the place where Jesus grew up and spent most of His life. Nazareth sits on a hill overlooking the Jezreel Valley. In Jesus’ day, it was a small village of only100-200 people. Today it is a modern city of 80,000 people. Our bus driver, who is an Arab Christian who lives in Nazareth, dropped us off in the middle of the city and we walked through the crowded, narrow, bustling streets to view two churches, both commemorating the announcement to Mary concerning the birth of Jesus. Our Jewish Christian guide has pointed out some very interesting things that we had not ever considered. A point he made today was that Joseph was identified as a carpenter in the Greek text, but the Hebrew word has a more broad meaning of “builder”. Looking at the countryside, there are rocks and stone everywhere, but very few trees. It is likely that a builder in Galilee would be more likely to use stone rather than wood.
I (Jeff) was also struck by a fact that we would not have known had we not had the opportunity to visit this area. The place where Jesus lived as a child and young man was on a hillside that looked directly down onto the Plain of Megiddo. He began his life as a humble child in an obscure place; from that vantage point He would daily look out and see the stage where the final acts of humanity will be played out prior to His return, when He will return as conquering king and Lord of Lords. What an awesome fact.
After grabbing lunch in Nazareth, we drove north through Cana (the place of Jesus’ first miracle) to Dan and Caesarea Philippi, in the northernmost region of Israel. Caesarea Philippi was the place that Jesus took his disciples for a retreat immediately prior to the start of His journey to Jerusalem. Here He asks them a very important question: “Who to people say that I am? Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God had special significance in this setting. The place was a notorious place of pagan worship, housing a shrine devoted to Pan, a Roman temple devoted to Zeus as well as a temple for the worship of the emperor. Most striking was the fact that a large cave adjacent to these places of worship was called “the gates of Hades” – it does not seem a coincidence that after taking the disciples to this distant Gentile location that He proclaimed that He would build His church and the “gates of Hell would not prevail against it”. Being able to visualize the setting where these words were spoken just amplified the truth that much more.
Caesarea Phillipi is also was the location of the headwaters of the Jordan River, created by the runoff of melting snow from Mount Hebron
We finished the day by driving along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and Syria (not the most stable area). With Mt. Hebron to our west, we entered the Golan Heights. Israel currently holds about two-thirds of the territory, which it captured in the 1967 Six-Day War, while Syria holds the remaining one-third. It is a hotly contested area and is a critical buffer between Syria and Israel’s main water source – the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. As the sun was setting, we stood atop an Israeli outpost directly on the border looking down into Syria toward Damascus. In addition to the Syrian military outposts and scattered towns, we were able to see the road to Damascus, where the Savior apprehended Saul, the persecutor of Jewish Christians.
As we drove back to our hotel, we were again humbled by the day – the opportunity to put visual context to the truths that we know and to the places where Jesus lived and taught. What an incredible experience!
Lila Tov