Israel - Day 2

On the second day, we had a great view in the morning of the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. Here is a picture from the balcony off our hotel room in Tiberias.

After preparing ourselves to face a full day, we set out on the "blue bus" to Korazin. At Korazin, there are some ancient ruins. Nathan and I were probably amazed at the construction of the ruins at a level that "normal" people wouldn't be. As would could be expected, we looked at some of these ancient things with the engineering mind...and an engineering mind that deals with civil engineering or construction. Yeah, we're nerds, but at least we have fun being nerds together! In one area of the ruins, there was a section that had evidence of being a synagogue. Throughout that area, we saw a lot of detailed stone carvings, which were rather impressive. That stone/rock is not soft, so it is obvious that those involved the the stone carvings were very skilled at such a craft.

Some ruins

Standing in the synagogue

From Korazin, we headed off to Tel Dan. I'm amused by the name. Tel Dan actually means "Hill of Dan". This was where the tribe of Dan chose to settle, even though it wasn't where they were supposed to settle. (Judges 18)

Ancient city walls

Along the trail through Tel Dan, we also saw a temple where the pagans worshiped a golden calf, which was found in that area (1 Kings 12), and the recent discovery of Canaan's "Gate of Three Arches". This was from when Abram went to rescue Lot from being taken captive, and he pursued the enemy as far as Dan (Genesis 14). As a side note, right after Abraham (actually "Abram" at that time) conquered the enemy and brought back the people and possessions that had been captured, he met an extremely cool guy named Melchizedek. Recently, I was learning about Melchizedek, and he quickly became one of my favorite Bible "characters". Although it wasn't here that Melchizedek met Abram, Melchizedek was the king of Jerusalem at that time, and we did spend a few days in that city. Anyway...back to day 2...

Gate of Three Arches

After Tel Dan, we went to Caesarea Philippi. This was where Matthew 16:13-20 took place. At that time, it was used for pagan worship. In the rock, there were sections carved out where the people put gods and offerings and sacrifices to those gods. There was even an area to the right that was designated as "The Tomb Temple of the Sacred Goats". What a huge contrast there is between that and the conversation Jesus had with the disciples right there in that area. Jesus asked the disciples who they believed Him to be, to which Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus then says to Peter, "...And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Even now, as I reflect on that passage, I realize that I have a better understanding of the significance of what was being said. And I wonder...what was going through the disciples minds as Jesus took them to that very dark place? What was going through their minds when Jesus said, "...on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"? They were in the midst of a very dark place...a place where the people rejected the living God and worshiped idols (including goats), instead. And even though I may not be surrounded by people who worship graven images or goats in the exact manner that the people in that time and location did, I encounter people and places on a regular basis that worship things other than the true, living God. And it's only by the grace of God, by His work in my life, that my eyes and heart have been opened to see that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." And I am so thankful that He has the final victory over the darkness of sin.

Then, we were off to Golan Heights. From there, we could see all sorts of stuff from a distance...the road to Damascus, the Israeli military base, Lebanon (to the left), and Syria (to the right). It was interesting being in a country where I could get a glimpse of other countries in the distance (Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan). In fact, one of the things that amazed me the most about Israel is how small it actually is. My whole perspective on the size of the country (and various places within the country) was majorly altered. I realized how much I pictured things based on what I knew from living in the States and how different it was from reality.

After another full day, I was actually able to sleep pretty well. My body was adjusting to the 8 hour time change! Of course, every evening after touring various parts of the country, Nathan and I "tore up the town" by downloading pictures and writing down notes on them (that was Nathan's job) and reading a little before falling asleep. Yeah, we were real party animals.