Israel Day 5

Day 5: Greetings from Israel! Today is Day 5 in our pilgrimage through the Holy Land. We woke up early all refreshed and ready to go (must of us anyway). This was the first night in our Kibbutz. After a quick breakfast at the dining hall, we jumped on the bus and headed for our first destination of the day – Tel Dan. Dan is located in the upper Galilee next to the Golan Heights.

In biblical times, Dan was the northernmost city in the Kingdom of Israel (see the Book of Judges). Due to its location close to the Lebanon border, Tel Dan has had a long and often contested history, most recently during the 1967 Six-Day War. Dan is also home to one of three natural springs which provide up to 30% of Israel’s water supply. The three springs come together and form the Jordan River which runs down into the Sea of Galilee. Today, Dan is a national park and we were able to walk through the lush grounds. We found a place to gather and Earle gave a talk on the background of the tribe of Dan. This tribe fell out of favor with God due to the fact that they began idol worshiping and completely strayed away from God.

We only stayed at Dan for a short while and then we hopped on the bus and headed towards Caesarea Philippi, which is known as Banias today. This is the second of three springs which flow into the Jordan River. This city was originally known as Panias, after Pan, the Greek god of the shepherds. The flow of the spring has been greatly reduced in modern times. The water no longer gushes from the cave, but seeps from the rocks below it. In 20 BC, the region around Banias was annexed to the Kingdom of Herod the Great. Banias became the first capital of the Golan. In the New Testament, Banias is referred to as Caesarea Philippi in Matthew 16:13. Once again, Earle gave a great description of the area and brought in how the city related to Jesus and the disciples.

Visiting these sites around the Sea of Galilee has been very easy, since they are all relatively close together. Later in the day, we headed over to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7). We drove up to the top of the mountain where there is the Church of the Beatitudes which is run by the Franciscan Monks. We had to make sure to wear long pants and the ladies had to have their shoulders covered (or the Franciscans wouldn't let us in). Tim read some scripture from Matthew and we had some time of reflection to think about Jesus’ teachings. We would have liked to have stayed longer, but unfortunately the site only stays open for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon.

Everyone is doing well. We have a very good guide (Pilar) who provides great explanations and is never afraid to give her opinion on all kinds of topics. Most people are taking the opportunity to journal and take notes of all the sites. God has certainly blessed us all thus far, as we begin to get just a small grasp of his ministry throughout this land. Tomorrow we are visiting some additional sites around the Galilee before we head off to Jerusalem! Steve Rego for Tim...