Exploring the Galillee - Part 1

The Galilee is by far my favorite spot in Israel!  It is not hard to see why our Savior spent a great deal of His time there and often slipped away to spend time alone with His Father on its hills.   Among my lost posts were posts on Nazareth Village, the childhood home of Jesus, and the Ancient Boat Museum, not far from where I am today, (and I may try to recreate them some day).  But my goal now is to show you a few more places where Jesus would have walked.

Looking Over the Ruins of Capernaum Toward the
Octagonal Church

Although Jesus grew up in Nazareth, his center of ministry was in Capernaum. Capernaum or Kfar Nahum (meaning "Nahum's village") was a fishing village established in the time of the Hasmoneans (between 140 and 116 B.C.) and is located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  It is mentioned in the Gospels as a place where many miracles occurred such as the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, the raising of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof of a house, and where the Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant. It also is assumed to have been the home of Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, as well as Matthew the tax collector.

Ruins of the Basalt Houses of First Century Capernaum

The houses of Capernaum were constructed of black basalt which is a different stone from other areas of the country and is native to that area.  One house in Capernaum, in particular, appears to have undergone significant alterations over the centuries following the time of Jesus. Inscriptions found on the walls seem to indicate that it was the house of Simon Peter which later was used by early Christians as a church.  It was expanded and changed into an octagonal shape over the centuries, and today, it is covered and protected by an Octagonal Church run by the Franciscans, who have also surrounded the area with lovely and peaceful gardens.

   The Second Century Synagogue as Seen Over Ruins
of Basalt Houses from the Time of Christ

Tagbha - Remembering the Loaves and Fishes

     

      And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in

      Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of

      Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was 

      spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be

      fulfilled.

                                               Matthew 4:13,14   

When I first visited these historical sites I found the tendency to build churches everywhere a bit troubling.  However, those churches do protect and maintain these historical areas that were so crucial to our Lord's ministry, so I now look at them as wonderful places of peace and beauty and am grateful for the care that is taken to preserve them.  When I next write I will show you the Mt. of the Beatitudes, a church with one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen.

The Tagbha Mosaic                                                                       

The Church of the Twelve Disciples

The Beautiful Sea of Gaililee

Contemplating the Sea of Galilee from the Gardens
of Capernaum

Lest We Forget

Over the years I've heard many stories of WWII and the Holocaust.  After all, my dad landed on Normandy the day after D Day and lived through Europe serving as a medic in the army and bringing home an impressive seven battle stars.  How I wish that I had appreciated that more ask a child and asked so many questions!  He died at the age of 50, a delayed war death according to our doctor.  Now I would love to know all that he saw and what he thought about so many things.  When we meet in heaven someday, I will have so much to ask!

I've had the opportunity to study the Holocaust, read the stories of people like Ann Frank and Corrie Ten Boom and even climb into the Hiding place in the Ten Boom family home in Harleem, the Netherlands as well as visiting Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria.

However, in last week I did two things that have once again impressed on me the need, now more than ever, to make sure that the events of the Holocaust are never forgotten.  I read a book that rivals the Hiding Place as a must read.  The book is "The Journey" by Myrna Grant and, though out of print, can still be acquired, used, on Amazon.  It is about the life of Rose Warmer, a Jew who, after a tumultuous life, became a Chrisitan believer and went to the camps with her fellow Jews to minister and witness to them.  She survived the war, but at a terrible toll to her health, and ended her years here in Haifa doing what she felt so compelled to do, sharing Yeshua Meschiah with her fellow Jews. Many of our friends at Bethesda Assembly knew her and that is where we first heard her story.

The second thing that I did was visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.  I had been before but Gary had not, so we went and spent a considerable amount of Wednesday there.  Pictures are not allowed inside the museum or I would show you a many of the tragic things that we saw.  It is not an easy visit, but the pictures and recording of first hand accounts as well as areas like the memorial to the millions and a half children and babies that died and the hall of records of the names of the dead, least we forget them, serve to strengthen my resolve that this is a part of history that we must not forget and cannot ever be denied!  

No other race in history has endured such methodic and vicious attempts to totally annihilate it.  This alone should reaffirm our belief that God has a plan for our redemption and that plan is through the people of the Book, the Jews.  They are not a perfect people, but they are His agent of redemption of the world.  He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins through them and He will also bring about the end of the Ages through them.  May we never forget and continue to pray for Israel and her people!





      For if their rejection meant the reconciliation     
        of the world, what will their acceptance mean
        but life from the dead.                 Romans 9:11

      

Sometimes Things Don't Go Your Way !

Today I was writing a new blog and I was not satisfied with it.  After a little while I decided to delete the blog and start over.  Unfortunately, I was writing from a hotel in Old City Jerusalem with a very sporadic internet connection, meaning that when I had saved the blog earlier in the day it looked like it had not been saved.  Then, when I went to delete it, I found that it had indeed been saved numerous times.  Sooooooo, I hit delete not knowing that several of my past posts were on that page too.  Poof!!!!!!  Some of my favorite posts were gone and, try as I might, they are really gone.  Everything after April 19 has vanished into thin air, including "Driving in Israel" and "Stopping to Ponder".

If anyone has saved either of those and has a copy, please send it to me.  Otherwise, I have learned two valuable lessons:  (1) be careful when using the internet in an Old City Jerusalem Hotel with thick walls and inconsistent internet and (2) I'll get over it. Shalom!

I leave you with some photos of the beautiful Gloria Hotel, just inside the Jaffa Gate, in Jerusalem.

Saturday (No Friday!) Adventures

Five years ago when Gary and I first lived in Israel we began the tradition of weekend adventures.  Every Friday we would look at each other and say "Where shall we adventure to today?"  Over here the weekend is Friday and Saturday; and Sunday is a normal work day, which takes some getting used to at first. Our first such adventure was to the Ancient Boat Museum by the Galilee and after that we were hooked. We used our Fridays to see places like Caesarea, Capernaum, Mt. Herman and on and on.  What a wonderful opportunity we had!

Looking at the Golan from the West Side of the Galilee

This time the tradition continues, so this morning Gary and I got up and decided to go to the Golan.  The Golan covers a lot of territory in Israel and most people think of it as "that scary area that boarders on Syria where people trade shots at each other on a regular basis".  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Yes it does boarder on Syria but shots rarely are fired there any more and most of the Golan is a beautiful agricultural region that boarders on the east side of the Sea of Galilee.  It contains some beautiful mountainous areas as well as resorts, orchards, agricultural fields, many vineyards and a world famous winery know for it's award winning wines.  It is truly a case of an enterprising people turning a wilderness into a productive and beautiful region. We enjoyed every minute of a leisurely day and, no, there were no shots fired.

A Field of Covered Banana Palms

A Pomegranate Tree Just Loaded With Little Fruit

My Shabbat Flowers Bought by the Side of the Road  

Indepenedence Day!

Yesterday was Yom Hazikaron, the day that Israelis stop to honor their fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. It began with the sounding of the sirens and ended yesterday evening with Yom Ha'atzaut, Independence Day, commemorating the day in 1948 that Israel declared its independence. Last night the streets were filled with fun, food, music and fireworks and just about every type of celebration that one could imagine.  

In 1948 no one could envision the thriving state that Israel is today.  Back then there were 650,000 Jews surrounded by the combined forces of their Arab neighbors determined to wipe them from the face of the earth, and that was after Hitler had already tried.  Today, Israel is a nation of 8 million that is a regional military superpower and the second-largest hi-tech startup nation in the world, exceeded only by the United States. Why are they still here and thriving despite what still are sometimes frightening odds?

Today we celebrated Independence Day in the same way that we have often celebrated our own Independence Day at home, at a church picnic.  And before the fun and eating began, one of the men of the church spent some time giving a short message mainly to the children. Why is Israel still here?  Because God has a plan - God is determined to show the world that he is the One True God. The Jews just happen to be part of that plan so, in spite of the odds, Israel won that war in 1948, and 1967 and 1973, not because Israel's army is so good, though it is; but because God has a plan and He will see it through to the end. He has a message to deliver - that is that He is the One True God!

Shabbat Shalom!

In my last post I wrote about being in Jerusalem when Easter and Passover (or Pesach) occurred at the same time.  My comments partly centered around the charged atmosphere of the Jewish community as it strove to meet all of the requirements of Passover.  This week we were in Haifa for Shabbat and attended what we consider our home church here in Israel, Bethesda Assembly.  What a lovely contrast from the chaos of last weekend

Finding a good church in Israel is a bit different than in the States.  Christian churches are very low key due to pressures from both the Jewish and Muslim communities and are not located on every corner as they often are in the States; so finding a good church is not always an easy thing to do.  We found Bethesda Assembly when we were here five years ago by walking into a hotel in central Carmel that had a Christian Symbol on it's mailbox.  The hotel is called the Beth Shalom (House of Peace) and is operated by Christians from Holland. We were greeted by an elderly lady from Holland who told us she remembered her parents hiding Jews during the Holocaust in the Netherlands.  She later moved to Israel because of her love for it's people.

The Bethesda Assembly is a group of 125 to 150 believers who meet every Shabbat (Yes, church is on Saturday here.) for the Lord's Supper and then a Bible Hour, much like our own Stratford Park Bible Chapel in Champaign.  It is made up of both Hebrew and Arab believers as well as a good number of internationals.  We are blessed with wonderful fellowship and great teaching there.  When we say "Shabbat Shalom" to those we meet on every Saturday, we really mean it because we have been blessed with a wonderful "home away from home" in our church fellowship.

A Frantic Holiday!

The last eight days have been the time of Passover or Pesach as it is know here in the Holy Land.  This year it coincided with Easter, something that does not happen every year.  Of course during Passover, Jews the world over remember and retell the story of their Exodus from Egypt.  It is combined with the Feast of First Fruits which falls at the end of the seven day holiday.  Extensive preparations are made by Jewish families as all leaven is removed from among them.  Leaven is regarded as chametz (forbidden) and extensive measures are taken to do away with it both at home and in public areas.  In the grocery stores entire aisles are emptied or covered with plastic and sometimes the word, "Chametz" is written across the plastic to keep the consumer away from forbidden materials.  Many items that have nothing to do with leaven are covered just "in case" they may have been contaminated in some way.

I returned to Israel from my trip home just as Pesach was beginning with friends coming to visit two days later.  The state of the grocery stores made shopping for visitors challenging and, at times, venues have been closed to us on certain days as we've traveled.  The past three days we have been in Jerusalem for Easter and have found the atmosphere highly charged and difficult at times.  The city has been crowded with many Orthodox making pilgrimage to the Old City.  As I reflect on our time here, though we have had a wonderful time with the Dixons, there have been elements of what we have seen that have saddened us.

We began our Easter morning yesterday with a wonderful worship service at The Garden of the Tomb just outside the Old City Wall.  It was one of four such services in several languages and is the experience of a lifetime, singing the praises of our risen Savior (the First Fruits from the grave) with a thousand or so other Christians from around the World.  After the service, we moved into the Old City to see some of the sites, beginning with the Western Wall.  What an atmosphere we found!  The City was a frantic mob scene, interesting for a while, but which we were glad to exit after a several hours.

Today we visited the Mt. of Olives and a number of other cites outside of the Old City and then returned, entering by the very different Arab Damascus Gate.  We walked the Via Dolorosa, post Easter, ate lamb kebabs at a very good Arab restaurant and finished the day with a little shopping on Christian Quarter Road.

A sad moment for me came as the last holy day of Pesach came to a close and many Orthodox Jews began to rush into the Old City toward the Jewish Quarter and the Wailing Wall to complete their Pesach remembrance.  A large group of young Haredim marched past us, singing about their need for Messiah to come and carrying several yellow flags with crowns and the Hebrew word

Messiah on them.  In our current day these Jews are still looking for a Messiah.  The description given for this savior is one who understands Hebrew law, obeys it completely and will lead them to military victory.  I stood watching as they went by, saddened at how lost they are.  The Messiah has come and they have missed it.  I can only pray that they will recognize Him when He comes again. Even so Lord Jesus come!