A Day of Confession
Confession can either be a profession flowing out of repentance or a declaration made out of redemption. Today we experienced confession in the second way. And it was impactful.
Today was our day to head north to the Golan Heights. On the way to Tel Dan, we stopped at the Naot Shoe Factory and practiced the 11th commandment. At Tel Dan, we witnessed the story of Jeroboam and the splitting of the Kingdom under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. Out of fear that the people would return to King Rehoboam if they went to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam built two worship centers, one in the south at Bethel and this one at Dan. The people came to worship a golden calf at a temple that looked somewhat like the one in Jerusalem. False religion is usually shrouded in elements of the real thing.
We saw two gates at this city. The gate of Jeroboam (930 BC) and the gate Abraham (2000 BC) used to enter the city after he chased the five kings to retrieve his family back. It was fascinating to see building materials made of brick still standing after all these years.
Banias (Caesarea Philippi) was our next stop. “Who do you say that I am?” This was the penetrating question Jesus posed to His disciples. And Peter replied you are the Christ. Jesus said He would build His church on Himself as the rock foundation. All this was played out in front of raw displays of paganism, the temples of Pan, Nemesis, Zeus and Augustus. It was believed the gate to Hell was here. And Jesus declared that this gate would not stand against His church.
Lunch was on the edge of a volcano (dormant) looking toward Mt. Hermon. Our elevation was betrayed by the temperature change.
Our final stop on the Golan was at a former tank ramp used as an overlook into Syria. A year ago, Isis fighters were occupying the nearby town but were driven out by Assad. Nir recounted the history of the 67 and 73 wars here. We were reminded of their heroism and the sovereign hand of the Lord keeping Israel in existence.
Swinging down off the Golan near the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee, beside the city of Bethsaida, we circled around to the headquarters for Jesus’ ministry, Capernaum. Here Jesus did many of His miracles, including healing Peter’s mother-in-law. We saw where multiple octagon churches had been built over one of the local homes, providing a probable mail box for Peter’s home. After visiting the ornate synagogue, Nir took us to one of the pillars. The names associated with those who gave money to build included John, “son of Zebedee”, and son of Alphaeus. This was built in the 4th century but these names were family names of Jesus’ disciples. What an exciting connection.
The hightlight of our day, and the main event of confession, was the baptism of 23 people at Yardenit. This is a site built for this purpose on the Jordan River as it exits the Sea of Galilee. This was the public testimony through baptism for five of our group. The other 18 were remembering and renewing their baptisms. The pictures below are of the five.
We celebrated with singing. And on our trip to the hotel, Sharon shared a moving testimony of the Lord bringing her full-circle in life from a devastating event 50 years earlier. Thanks for sharing that with us.
Here are a few pictures from our day. Tomorrow, we head south to the Dead Sea and say goodbye to the Galilee.
Today was our day to head north to the Golan Heights. On the way to Tel Dan, we stopped at the Naot Shoe Factory and practiced the 11th commandment. At Tel Dan, we witnessed the story of Jeroboam and the splitting of the Kingdom under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. Out of fear that the people would return to King Rehoboam if they went to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam built two worship centers, one in the south at Bethel and this one at Dan. The people came to worship a golden calf at a temple that looked somewhat like the one in Jerusalem. False religion is usually shrouded in elements of the real thing.
We saw two gates at this city. The gate of Jeroboam (930 BC) and the gate Abraham (2000 BC) used to enter the city after he chased the five kings to retrieve his family back. It was fascinating to see building materials made of brick still standing after all these years.
Banias (Caesarea Philippi) was our next stop. “Who do you say that I am?” This was the penetrating question Jesus posed to His disciples. And Peter replied you are the Christ. Jesus said He would build His church on Himself as the rock foundation. All this was played out in front of raw displays of paganism, the temples of Pan, Nemesis, Zeus and Augustus. It was believed the gate to Hell was here. And Jesus declared that this gate would not stand against His church.
Lunch was on the edge of a volcano (dormant) looking toward Mt. Hermon. Our elevation was betrayed by the temperature change.
Our final stop on the Golan was at a former tank ramp used as an overlook into Syria. A year ago, Isis fighters were occupying the nearby town but were driven out by Assad. Nir recounted the history of the 67 and 73 wars here. We were reminded of their heroism and the sovereign hand of the Lord keeping Israel in existence.
Swinging down off the Golan near the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee, beside the city of Bethsaida, we circled around to the headquarters for Jesus’ ministry, Capernaum. Here Jesus did many of His miracles, including healing Peter’s mother-in-law. We saw where multiple octagon churches had been built over one of the local homes, providing a probable mail box for Peter’s home. After visiting the ornate synagogue, Nir took us to one of the pillars. The names associated with those who gave money to build included John, “son of Zebedee”, and son of Alphaeus. This was built in the 4th century but these names were family names of Jesus’ disciples. What an exciting connection.
The hightlight of our day, and the main event of confession, was the baptism of 23 people at Yardenit. This is a site built for this purpose on the Jordan River as it exits the Sea of Galilee. This was the public testimony through baptism for five of our group. The other 18 were remembering and renewing their baptisms. The pictures below are of the five.
We celebrated with singing. And on our trip to the hotel, Sharon shared a moving testimony of the Lord bringing her full-circle in life from a devastating event 50 years earlier. Thanks for sharing that with us.
Here are a few pictures from our day. Tomorrow, we head south to the Dead Sea and say goodbye to the Galilee.
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