Galilee Day Dalet

I must start out by apologizing for my unorganized thoughts. It has been a long weekend!  Our final day of the Galilee field study was spent mostly in the Jezreel Valley area. We left En Gev and drove past Mt. Tabor over to Nazareth where the bus climbed the hill to the top where there is a lookout point. This lookout had a spectacular view of the entire Jezreel Valley and we were fortunate to be able to enjoy it almost rain free. When you look out upon the valley from the left to the right you see Mount Tabor, Hills of Moreh, Dothon Pass, Megiddo (some know it as Armageddon), the Megiddo pass, and finally off in the far distance to the right you can see Haifa which is along the coast. It was really neat to be able to put ourselves in the geographical location of Jesus’ childhood. Here Jesus was able to view so much of his Jewish history while playing on the rocks on the mountain with friends as a child. I think that is so neat! On the other side of Nazareth which is located on the Nazareth ridge was where we were on our first day of the field study. This other town is a likely location for Joseph to have worked at as a carpenter.
Then we drove over to Megiddo where there was a torrential downpour! It was starting to get pretty cold. It was really cool to see the tel and to learn about all the history that is contained in that single mound of dirt. The city has been rebuilt twenty four times after twenty four destructions. It is amazing! This is where Solomon, Ahab, and other kings had palaces. It is well known, however, especially for Solomon’s “stables”. It is said that Solomon had 450 horses here, though I don’t really believe it. The gate to the city that is showing is a late Bronze Age gate. It is typical for that time with its several protruding sides where soldiers would be able to hide out. This is where Thutmose from Egypt tried to attack the city. When he and his men were approaching the Jezreel Valley they got distracted by all the loot they could take from the fields and forgot to take advantage of the wide open gates of the unsuspecting city. So the people of Megiddo were able to shut the gates and protect themselves easily. Thutmose then had to wait seven months to take hold of the city again. Hearing this story made me chuckle to myself a little. Here is Thutmose this awesome leader with this advanced army from the Egypt and his soldiers get distracted? It brings a picture to my mind of puppies in a field that are all learning how to hunt but keep stumbling upon butterflies and become enthralled. Too funny!
Our day ended with Caesarea Maritime. This is the harbor that Herod built. This was his prized home because it was not around the Jews, so he could fulfill his Roman dreams. The city itself is extremely Roman in style and architecture as well as building purposes. There were lots of them created for entertainment such as the hippodrome and the theater. This is also where Paul would land when he came back from his missions across the Mediterranean as described in the book of Acts. He was once on trial here as well.