Saturday’s field study followed the surrounding areas of the Jezreel Valley. We started out the day by going to Beth Shan. We walked by an amazing Roman Road made of basalt rock that is unique to this part of Israel. It has a rich black color. Beth Shan is the Old Testament City that guards the Herod Valley and River at the foot of the Rift Valley where the two meet up. This is where Saul and his sons were fleeing from the Moabites. Saul’s head was also displayed here thousands of years ago. Scythopolis is the New Testament city there. It is quite an impressive place. It is a very big and well built city. There was a large Roman Theater, a bathhouse, a cardo and a decumanos, and other great architectural wonders. There were even public toilets from the time. In Old Testament Beth Shan there was an occupation of Egyptians at one time in which a governor was put in place to oversee all happenings. At that time there was a mixture of both Pagan and Jewish practices. Scythopolis was one of the Decapolis cities and was the only one that extends that far west. This site reminded me a lot of Ephesus in Turkey, just on a smaller scale. Which makes sense because both were established in the same time period. It is also interesting because it is likely that Paul had also been if in the city, very close to it on his journey from Jerusalem to Damascus. After being in Beth Shan we made our way up to Mt. Gilboa. There was a really cool lookout there, but because of the rain, the glorious rain, is was a little difficult to see. This is where Saul’s camp was located when he fled and was killed by the Moabites as written in Judges six and seven. This is also where one of my favorite biblical stories happened. This is where Gideon was when God called him to fight. Gideon was in a winepress threshing grain while hiding. God calls out to him and calls him a mighty warrior. Here is Gideon, hiding, and scared, and God calls him a mighty warrior. God is so good about seeing us beyond what we see in ourselves. So God continues and calls Gideon to lead the army. Gideon, still scared, has thousands in his legion and hears the request of God to dwindle his legions, so he reduces several thousand, but then God requests him to give up even more. So Gideon fallows the requests of God and takes his men down to the stream to watch them drink. The ones that drank with their hands at their mouths were the ones God chose to fight for Him. This number was 300. That’s it! From thousands down the three hundred! So Gideon continues to assemble the 300 and goes to fight. His opposite has an innumerable amount of camels, let alone men, so needless to say, Gideon was a little overwhelmed. But God had a method to His madness, as He always does. He was reducing Gideon’s army to a number in which they could attribute the victory to no one but God. God was going to deliver the enemies into Gideon’s hands. The transformation of Gideon throughout the story is also quite notable. Gideon goes from being a timid and scared guy to the leader of God’s army. He even says in his battle cry “Follow Me”! He doesn’t say alright guys lets hope for the best, or even charge, he says follow me because of this new found confidence God was able to instill in him. It is such an amazing story of God’s awesome power, and the delight he takes in his children.
Impression Report #2
Galilee Day 2
Sunday was another amazing day of travel and sights! We started the day by going to Tel Dan where we saw some amazing things! It is such a beautiful place! There is a river than runs though it and everything around it is green. It was a refreshing change from the dryness of southern Israel. While there we stopped at Jeraboam’s palace and temple. It was interesting to see how big the alter was there and to discuss what exactly was the sin that Jeraboam has that is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible. We also discussed the tribe of Dan and how they decided to settle this particular area because they did not enter into their true inheritance near the coast. Dan was not a bad place to settle though. They had more than enough water, more than enough land and good soil for agriculture. It was definitely a beautiful location. It reminded me a lot of the Stanislaus River back home. On our way out we stopped by the gate and talked about the different purposes of the gates. It amazes me how much activity went on at the gates. There really was so much that happened there. At this gate in particular there was a distinct alter type thing with decorative planters in which wooden poles holding a canopy would be placed. This is where the judgments of the city would happen. The king would hold hearings here and judge the people that came in to be judged.
After Dan we went to Caesarea Philipi which absolutely blew my mind. I was so impressed by it and thinking back on the conversation Jesus had with his disciples in Matthew was amazing. We looked up at where all these temples stood to all these Gods, the same ones Jesus looked at when he asked, “Who do you say I am”. I feel like God brings me to that every now and again. Something good in my life will happen and I will praise myself for the good job I have done an will often forget to praise the only one worthy of praise, God. He is so incredibly worthy and I shortchange Him every time, but he is gracious. Praise Him for that! It was nice also to be able to wander off while I was there and sit on the river and sing a song for Him, a song declaring who he is. He is God. Amen! Being there probably had the most impact on me.
After Caesarea we went over to Nimrod. The name cracks me up. But anyway, Nimrod was an old Crusader castle/fortress. It was really impressive! I had a blast exploring it and going through the secret passage ways and climbing to the tallest towers. That was so much fun!
Finally, we ended our day at the top of an extinct volcano in the Golan Heights. We could see into Syria and I was absolutely blown away by that! It was so cool! Also, we were able to climb through the trenches and bunkers of the hill from the 1967 war. It was amazing to go underground into the bunker and see where the soldiers slept and ate. There were even some plates left there. It was fun!
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