The first day of touring with the group
Trip Start
Jan 08, 2008
1
27
33
Trip End
Mar 18, 2008
Tiberias,
Israel
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
76 degrees
It is Wednesday and our first day of sightseeing. Having come into Tiberias at night, we opened our windows this morning to find a gorgeous view of blue skies, rippling water, and white buildings cut into the green hillsides. Unbelievable-we are really here!
We began our day at Yardenit, the historic site of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. After a brief service, we stepped into the water and renewed our baptismal vows with a sprinkling and a blessing. The water was chilly but clear, and the site itself is beautiful. To our left was a group from Nigeria doing the same thing, and to our right, a group from Indonesia sang "I Surrender All" in their language before being baptized. An amazing experience.
View from Megeddo- Jezreel Valley
We had about an hour drive after that to Megiddo, but our wonderful guide, Lillian, kept us occupied with sights all along the way. She is knowledgeable, charming and fun, and is sharing many insights about Israel and the Jewish people that help explain our Christian beliefs as well. One thing she stressed several times was the verses of the Law from Deuteronomy that say, "You shall not trade that which belongs to the Lord." Since the Jewish people believe that God owns the land, it is easier to understand why they don't want to "give" any of it up to anyone else.
She pointed out many sites along the way, like the Mount of Transfiguration (Mount Tabor). She also shared information about Israeli life, including the important fact that compulsory military service after high school is the "biggest wedding society" in Israel! Then she shared information about Megiddo, and how many different countries have conquered this place. With 25 layers of civilizations here, King Ahab's palaces from 725BC are the most recent. She said here, Ahab's time is still modern history! Ahab was a great mathematician, and constructed a shaft and tunnel system to bring water inside the city walls safely in case the city was besieged. They also had stone silos for wheat, and with water and wheat, they could live. We walked among the ruins of the stables for Solomon's horses, Ahab's palaces, and even down into the shaft and tunnel system
Renewal of Baptism Vows
. Lillian told us about the evil Canaanite sacrifice rituals here, and why it was so important for Deborah and other Jewish leaders to rid the area of them.In Nazareth, we went to the Nazareth Village, a fairly new living history site downtown, on part of the land where Jesus' Nazareth once stood. Archaelogists found shards of pottery from the Roman period, as well as a wine press cut into the bedrock. The small park has terraced fields, olive and almond trees (in bloom!), a reproduction home with carpenter shop, a reproduction temple, and some people dressed in period costumes. We saw lampstands and ate olives and pita from the site, and our guide related several proverbs and Biblical accounts to what we were seeing.
We walked to the Church of the Anunciation, the site of Mary's childhood home. It sits in a lower, recessed grotto in the center of the church, and upstairs, there are works of art from all over the world depicting different scenes in her life or some other ethnic representation. This is Steve's favorite spot-he was in shorts and was given a wide scarf to wrap around his waist. Lillian said, "I prefer you with the shorts." After that we walked through an alley-like empty marketplace to the Synagogue Church, the site where Jesus first preached. It is now a Catholic church, and people still come here to worship.
Our last stop was Mt. Arbel, considered a holy site because Jesus crossed this on his way from Nazareth to Galilee. We got pictures just as twilight was falling, and saw the twinkling golden lights of villages nestled into hills and heard the gentle tolling of bells from the mosques below. Shalom from Israel!
Laura McConkey & Jane Runkle ( Kay Daugherty's daughters)
Comments
Praising God
Praising God for your safe arrival. It sounds like you had a fascinating first day of touring. I'll keep you all in my prayers. I look forward to more informative and interesting posts from you.
God bless you. Shalom!!!
Cindy D.
WOW!
You saw and did so much ... all that on the first day? Again I say, 'WOW!' And to renew baptismal vows in the Jordan River ... that must have been an incredible experience!! I'd like to have done that!