Heading North And Across the Centuries

   So we want to thank all our family and friends for your concern and prayers over the reported missiles sent from Gaza toward Tel Aviv Thursday night.  In many ways it was a non-event.  Yes, we did hear sirens and a very distant boom.  One missile went into the sea and the other into an empty field.  We were never in danger, and the group felt very safe.

   We departed Tel Aviv and made our first stop at the northern chariot city of Megiddo.  This strategic city guarded a vital crossing where the Kings Highway and Via Maris split.  Solomon, in violation of what God said, housed many horses here.  Two kings, Ahaziah and Josiah, lost their lives in this area in battles they should not have fought.  Deborah and Barak won against Sisera in this valley by the hand of Jael.  General Allenby defeated the Ottomans here in 1917.  And the final battle of history will be fought here (Har Megiddo or Armageddon).

We viewed the ancient Canaanite gate as well as the gate from the time of Solomon.  We were introduced to a manger, and our “baby” (i.e. youngest) on the trip was laid in it. We stepped down into the massive water shaft, wondering how long it took by hand to dig it through solid rock.  And we viewed the sacrifice area where children lost their lives.

From there we lunched in a wonderful restaurant in the Druze village located near the base of Mt. Carmel.  After lunch we went to the top of Mt. Carmel.  Pat shared a short message on the importance of not wavering between two opinions:  either God is God or not.  Many times we get to wavering because we need to be reminded about all that God has done.  We then went to the top of the building where we gazed across the Jezreel Valley but could not see the sea because of the haze.

Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth was across the valley and we walked our way through its market to a traditional sight of the first century synagogue.  Ken spoke about Jesus reading the Scripture from Isaiah here.  His key phrase was “what you are filled with changes you.”  The Catholic Church of the Annunciation was our second stop in Nazareth.  Build over some early ruins, it claims to be the site of the ancient synagogue.  No matter, we know the angry crowd took Jesus out to a precipice to push him over the edge and kill Him.  That was our last stop as we left Nazareth and we had some fun while there.  (Check the pictures below).

A drive through Cana, past the Horn of Hittin, and we arrived at our home for the next three nights, the Scot’s Hotel.  It feels good to be home here in the Galilee.  Most of Jesus’ ministry took place within a five mile radius of here.

Enjoy the following pics.

































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