Israel: Day 14

In His Steps

I am flat pooped. I have no idea how to capture the day in words. With each passing day, the mental, emotional and spiritual overload becomes more overwhelming. I woke up this morning overlooking the Sea of Galilee and after a long, exhausting day, I watch the changing colors of the sky as the sun slips behind the hills to the west. If only, I could walk on water.

On our way to our first stop, we made an impromptu stop to step along the banks of the Jordan River. It has been challenging to put into perspective these places that actually exist outside the biblical text and hear the sound of the water passing as I stand dumbfounded along its banks. I pondered my baptism and now wish I had taken the time to dip my hand into the water in remembrance… next trip.

Our first “official” stop of the day was the site of Hazor. I am not exactly sure why but I was pretty excited about this site. It may have to do with the fun pronunciation of the city. The “Ha” sounds like the hocking sound when you are clearing your throat; “Hakkkk” and the ending “zore.” It could also be that this place was torched. Not just burned but melt mud bricks into glass and cause Basalt (volcanic) rock to fissure. I am no scholar but this sounds hot. After a brief introduction to the site, we were free to roam a bit and so I wondered over to the cistern (If you remember, a favorite place to get out of the sun) and started down the staircase to realize that it was really deep; 46 meters deep! At the bottom, I further realized that I had to climb those stairs that I had just descended into the abyss. Seeing the evidence of the destruction with my own eyes was pretty incredible.

The next stop of the day dropped us off at the site of Dan. Dan had several surprises. It contained an amazing spring. It apparently held a horned altar of tremendous size. Dan also had a more contemporary significance as from the back of the site we could look across into Lebanon and Syria. We stood along the trenches above the dividing road seeing a burned out tank across the valley. Archeologically, the site also contained some amazingly preserved artifacts. I am kind of drawn to the gate areas and this site had three (we only could view two)! I always seem to imagine the strategies needed to defend these fortifications. I apparently watch too many movies.

Lunchtime, we pulled into the New Testament and had lunch at Caesarea Philippi. The Greco Roman influence was obvious with the numerous structural artifacts on display. I made bad jokes about the temple for worshipping Pan but they were “panned.” It was a nice change of pace as we entered into a “life of Jesus” kind of place.

Sadly, as I was growing tired and weary, I do not remember the next site. It was interesting in that it was a more fully reconstructed site that really allowed you to get a sense of how people lived within the ruin walls that we find. You can arrange people easier in the imagination preparing dinner, sitting to visit or lying down for sleep. As a boy who loved building with blocks but knows better, I might think building something with stone might be fun.

Our final stop of the day was a proposed site for Bethsaida. Evidentially, this site was a tough sell for Bethsaida but was more significantly more relevant as an Old Testament site… It was really cool to see where an artifact I had seen and talked about in the Israel Museum was actually found (and to know that it probably was a Naue type II sword on “its” back).

We got back to En Gev in time to have a quick swim in the Sea of Galilee before dinner. It was a fantastic way to end the day. After dinner, I stood on the shore and hoped and prayed for the time I can return with my family so that they may be able to share in this experience beyond words.

Blessings to you all!