Israel 2008 (minus Jerusalem & Bethlehem)

(Jim and Gail worshipping God on the Sea of Galilee) On October 9, 2008 a team of 25, consisting of 23 people from MCC (Mechanicsville Christian Center) plus Pastor Al and Susan Jefferson departed for Israel as part of the Bless Israel 2008 mission. We each packed a suitcase for ourself and a humanitarian aid suitcase for distribution in Israel. After arriving in Tel-Aviv we met our guide, Naomi who was always gracious and very informative. We were able to see Joppa before checking into our 5 star hotel. Joppa is where Jonah shipped out for Tarshish and where Peter raised a woman (Tabitha or Dorcas) back to life (Acts 9:36-42) and later while staying at the house of Simon the Tanner he had a vision which led him to take the gospel to Cornelius, a Roman centurion in Caesarea (Acts 10:9-16). The view from our hotel window there was fabulous. Jaffa harbor must look similar to what Jonah and Peter saw.

The next day we rode to Caesarea by the sea. Caesarea figured prominently in many events recorded in Acts especially the conversion of Cornelius, the first gentile. When Herod built the city it had a royal palace, a theater, a hippodrome, a market area and many private and public buildings. Several ruins are intact with some only partially viewable (the large foot shows that there had to be a very large statue there at one time).

The Mediterranean Sea was so inviting there and we did get our feet wet.

We next traveled inland to Mt. Carmel where Elijah called fire down from heaven to defeat the 450 prophets of Baal with the 400 prophets of the groves and demonstrate that the God of Israel is the true God ( I Kings 18:17-40). Being there reminded me of how we are so much like the Israeli people who just stood by and took no real sides until God proved Himself to those who were there. I know that I need to not let any other god or temptation ever get between me and my God. He does not have to "prove Himself" to me first. We had a sweet time of worship there and an Israeli young woman approached Carolyn afterwards and told her that she could see that we had a real relationship with God and she did not understand that. It was explained to her that each of us must make a commitment to Jesus as our personal saviour and we will become part of His family and will have a close relationship with Him. Even a Jew can receive Jesus as their Messiah which our guide had done. The view from the top of Mount Carmel is stunning. There is almost a 270 degree view of the valley of Armageddon. This is where the kings of the earth will gather for the final battle between good and evil (Rev. 16:12-16). God will fight there against those kings and blood will be as deep as a horse's bridal. It felt strange riding through it because history will happen there. Most of what we saw in Israel had already occurred but the battle of Armageddon is still yet to happen.
We drove by a 1st century tomb by the side of the road. It looks just like what you would picture it to doesn't it?
We then arrived at Megiddo on the western edge of the Jezreel Valley. "Armageddon" is a corrupt spelling of the Hebrew "Har-megiddo" which means "mountain of Megiddo". It has been controlled by many conquerors of Israel including the Canaanites. The view from the top is a commanding view of the valley below. There is also a 1,800+ step well system that the Israelites had dug to have water during sieges. Cindy seems to be enjoying the view.
We passed through the village of Cana on the way to Nazareth. This is a view of Nazareth.
This hill top is believed to be the one mentioned in Luke 4:29-30 "...They (the townspeople got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of a hill..so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the mist of them and went on his way." You can see that we did not just see important places but worshipped God every chance we got. This church marks the spot where it is believed Mary received God's call on her life to mother The Son of God on earth.

The next day was Sunday and did we ever have a treat in store for us. We began at the Mount of Beatitudes and Stephanie taught us for our Sunday sermon (great job Stephanie!) The presence of the Lord was so strong in the church there. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee in a boat looking like this. The seamen played Christian music and we just praised the Lord. It was the best praise and worship time I can remember. How special to be on that lake that Jesus and His disciples saw so many times. Susan's praise banner was waved in worship. A sailor asked if we would like to see how to cast a net off a boat. We said yes and he actually caught a fish. The Sea of Galilee still affords fish and 1/3 of the country's fresh water as well. Next we saw the "Jesus boat" or "Ancient boat" that was only discovered recently and dated from the 1st century AD.
On to Capernaum, after His baptism and John's arrest Jesus made it His headquarters of ministry. Here Jesus called disciples (Matt. 9:9), befriended tax collectors, healed the sick (e.g. Mark 2:1-12) and preached to the multitudes. He also healed Jarius's daughter (Mark 5:38-42). We saw the Capernaum Synagogue and Peter's house with a church built over but not touching it. Peter's mother-in-law was healed here and this is where the roof of a house had to be dismantled to lower an invalid down in front of Jesus for Him to heal. This is an olive press.

We then travelled north to Caesarea Philippi, now called Banias, in the southern foothills of Mt. Hermon. One of the Jordan River's sources is here. The Greeks referred to this place as Paneas after the nature-cult god Pan. The rock opening is suppose to be the gateway to Hades or Hell. It was here that Jesus asked His disciples who do people say He was. Peter answered "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:13-17). It was also here that Jesus said to Peter that "...upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This is a typical "booth" or "tabernacle" that the Jews were to dwell in during the Feast of Tabernacles.
Next we travelled north to the Mount Hermon (traditional site of the Transfiguration) (Matt. 17:1-8). We went to Bental on the Golan Heights and could pray for Jordan, Syria and Lebanon at the same time.
The next day we travelled south along the Jordan and stopped at Beth Shean. It is a very old city with inhabitants like the Philistines (they killed King Saul on nearby Mount Gilboa and cut off his head, stripped off his armor and fastened his body to "the walls of Bet Shean" (I Sam. 31:8-10) as well as King Solomon, the Assyrians, Alexander the Great, the Romans and the Muslims. The city has been excavated and the city has been put back together and is impressive.
Next stop was the Dead Sea. We had so much fun there. We could not sink! Either our feet would just pop out from under us and we would bob along on our backs or we would sink into the dark black theraputic mud. Many of us covered our bodies with it and when it washed off it was like having an oil bath (I guess). I asked a passerby to poise with me and he did this. He is a white man from upper New York state named Boris and not the creature from the Black Lagoon.
We only had a distant view of the caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the 1940's. We only sped by En Gedi where David hid in the caves from King Saul. We arrived too late to take the cable car to the top of Masada so this is the view looking up to it. We were then blessed to attend the opening ceremony of the Feast of the Tabernacels sponsered by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. There were so many christians praising the Lord there from all over the world, especially Brasil and Norway it seemed.

Off to Jerusalem.