Where God made the sun stand still

I was unprepared for Tel Gezer.

The contrasts of Israel often take my breath away: the juxtaposition of the ancient and modern side-by-side, never more than a few feet (and millennia) apart... like watching children skip over the ruins of an ancient city while a modern one looks on half a mile away, or a family picnicking where a battle once took place.

What I knew about Tel Gezer before going was simple: as one of the places Solomon fortified, it is one of the remaining trio of cities with its iconic gates. I’ve been to the other 2, Megiddo and Hatzor; this was my chance to “collect all 3.”

What I didn’t know was that Tel Gezer overlooks the Valley on Ayalon, where God made the sun stand still for the battle in Joshua 10. The valley itself is huge; here are the views in each direction:

EPIC.

As sunset neared and turned the valley pink behind us, we walked back to the parking lot, passing these stone monuments.

These stones mark a place of ancient Canaanite worship. The soil below them has been tested, and the remains of burned infants had been found there, evidence of ancient child sacrifice to pagan gods.

I’d never been to a place like that, and, in the shock and the sorrow of the moment, I was struck again by another juxtaposition: how unimaginable it was to witness this place of sorrow at all, let alone maybe a mile from where the Creator of those infants made the very sun stay still in the sky.

It’s another contrast I’ll never forget.

What made it even more sobering was that the sign marking the monuments said nothing about the infant sacrifice that happened there. And nearby, a group of women sat in a circle. When one of my tour guides went to talk with them, they told her that this was a place of worship for femininity and fertility, and they were there to connect with each other and this place. They had no idea about the real truth of this place.

Tel Gezer: Watch out for bats!

What do you know about Tel Gezer?

Tel Gezer lies in central Israel, south of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem. A major biblical city that was conquered by Joshua (Joshua 10), given to the Levites, and fortified by Solomon in 1 Kings 9 after it was given to him as a wedding present from Pharaoh, its ruins date back to the Bronze Age and including civilizations like the Canaanites, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans.

There's so much here in this park that we're going to explore in 2 posts. First, the ruins!

We first come to the Canaanite tower, which is close to the city gates. What's interesting here is how far down the archeologists had to dig just to get to it! Can you see the contrast from the tower remains to the height of the wall directly behind it?

Above is the remains of the tower. 

Next to it is the water system. I was going to go down there and then I heard that one was in fact full of bats- more than 1 million!- and my tour guide said: "Remember, 1 million bats = a lot of poop." I said, "That's okay, I'll take a picture of the entrance, haha."

From there, you go around to the Canaanite Gate:

Made of mud, I can't help but think of the 4,000-year-old gate at Tel Dan. Remember how well preserved it is? This one is not as well preserved.

But, can you see the mud bricks that still remain? How cool is that?

From here, you go up the hill and can see the ancient Solomonic-era city, complete with its city gates—the same ones that match Megiddo and Hazor!

The views to the valley beyond are beautiful. On the opposite hill you can see the caves mentioned where the kings of the conquered cities were buried in Joshua.

The 6-chambered Solomonic Gate!

In these photos, you can see the walls of the city are actually double-walls, with a chamber between them. It reminded me of Masada, where the families of the warriors were right there in the room with them. 

What was cool about this part were the families picnicking near the ruins. Children were exploring, walking around the walls and jumping between rocks. It's so mind-boggling to see ancient and modern side-by-side, and such a picture of how time moves on.

That's it for part 1 of Tel Gezer. Next week's post is about the most powerful part of the visit for me. See you then!

Exploring the prophet Elisha's hometown

Not far from Beit She'an is another tel. This one isn't built up into a national park; there's honestly not a lot going on with it. It's just there in a field, with beautiful 360 degree views of the Jordan Valley, Mount Gilboa, and Jordan. 

It's also believed to be the hometown of Elisha.

So one particularly warm day in January, I took a metronit to a train to a bus and then walked a lot to explore Elisha's hometown.

It took a lot longer to get there than I thought it would, mostly because one bus never came and then I tried to enter the field in a way that was blocked by barbed wire and had to back track to the road. But finally, I found the right path. 

Then, I climbed up and started to explore. 

First, can we talk about the views?

To the west, to Mount Gilboa

To the east... the mountains in the distance are Jordan (at the time of Elisha, that was still Israel).

Wow! At the top there are also dirt paths like you see above. There are motorcycle and dirt-bike tracks all over them, as well as footprints and pottery shards.

Most of the tel is smooth, but one excavated part remains open:

According to BibleWalks, Rehov was likely settled at the same time as Megiddo, and likely conquered by Egypt at the same time as Megiddo. It's passively mentioned as one of Beit She'an's towns in Judges 1:27. Around the time of David, it was conquered by Israel and eventually was part of the Northern Kingdom.

Excavations in 9 areas revealed that it was a large and prosperous city. Findings of artifacts from other countries prove the residents continued to practice Canaanite/Phoenician and Syrian traditions and customs.

It was eventually destroyed by the Assyrians in the 736 BC invasion. The Assyrians lived there for a while but then moved to Megiddo. It laid in ruins for 1500 years, and then a small Jewish town was built nearby in the Roman Era. In the Middle Ages, an Arab town settled on top.

What's most interesting about this tel are the findings in the opened excavated areas:

Found in the ruins was an apiary dating back to the 10th Century BC, with the remains of dozens of beehives in clay cylinders. This is unique for many reasons:

First, the apiary was very close to a bunch of houses. This means it was likely this was a source of income for the townspeople. 

Second, signs on the property say that when they tested the apiary, the found the bees themselves didn't originate from Israel. This particular group of bees came from Turkey! Apparently, they were less aggressive and more productive than Syrian bees.

So funny! 

It gives new meaning to the phrase "land flowing with milk and honey"!

My favorite part of the day, other than the adventure and the views, was going back from the tel and finding the local springs right beside it. Even though it was January, it was close to 80 degrees that day and I was hot! I waded in and cooled off before heading to the bus stop.

Definitely a great adventure!

The 1st recorded peace treaty in history

In Genesis 21, the servants of the king of Gerar, Abimelech, took over the wells that Abraham and his servants had dug in the Negev. Abraham told Abimelech about it, and who said he hadn't been aware of it until that moment.

"So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this[d] may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beersheba,[e] because there both of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God." (Genesis 21: 27-33).

Many wells were dug throughout Be'er Sheva in the millennia since. This one here dates back to Roman times. You can see grooves in the walls where ropes slowly wore them in over time. Next to this one, is a young tamarisk tree just like what Abraham planted.

While it is unlikely to find the exact well that Abraham and Abimelech disputed and settled in peace over, that's okay. What's important about this story is not the exact physical location down to the millimeter; it's that this story happened and what it meant. '

This is the first recorded peace treaty in all of history, brokered by the father of Israel.

That's pretty cool!

It's also a 3-day walk to Jerusalem, which is what happened when Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac at Mount Moriah.

Modern day Be'er Sheva is pretty cool. Like ancient times, it is complete desert.

So when I was there last August, I was stunned at how much green I did see! I mean, I was in a desert, and at places, there was grass! There were gardens!

And, so many fountains. This one was my favorite. Can you see why?

It's Moses leading the Israelites through the Red Sea! Below are the Egyptians.

So cool! It looks like those underground springs are still present today, almost 4,000 years after that peace treaty!

I definitely recommend visiting Be'er Sheva if you ever come to Israel! You'll understand why in next week's post.

Hiking in the Wilderness of Zin

It's not everyday that after you go hiking, you hear, "Yeah, we're currently in the Wilderness of Zin. This is part of where the Israelites wandered for 40 years."

Wow!

The last part of my Christmas/Hanukah 2022 adventure included a close hike from Tamar Park. The desert here is so interesting because it is red (hence "Edom", which means "red" in Hebrew), there are these crazy formations everywhere. I'm not exactly sure what I pictured the Israelites wandering in, but I think I pictured it flatter, definitely.

As for its 'red' nature, that didn't throw me (though it was cool to be in the land of Esau!). As any good Georgia girl knows, dirt is red. What other color would it be?

So, the hike was fun. We went around this hill, into a canyon inside it, and then up.

Did I mention that I'm afraid of heights? And Israel's trails, unlike the ones in the US, do not have handrails or metal lines to break a fall. That's something I haven't gotten used to here yet. Thankfully, I was with kind friends who encouraged me (especially on the way down)!

The view from the top was worth it:

The below tower has 12 stones. It's for the 12 tribes of Israel!

Amazing! What wasn't amazing was the rain that started once we all got there. Actually... any time it rains in the desert it is amazing. It just made the descent more scary, though we went down before it got too slick.

My friend also pointed out something I'd never thought of. I'm a very literal thinking, so when I read that the Israelites followed a cloud, I picture them walking behind one. But it likely covered them, giving shade in the sweltering sun. Can you imagine not only wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, seeing the same places over and over, your clothes and sandals not wearing out, and being blessed in the shade even while being disciplined for lack of faith? I imagine the pillar of fire also kept them warm on cold desert nights. I think even wandering in a desert that had interesting, varied topography and wasn't unendingly straight was also a grace, because a person could go mad plodding on and on without anything new to look at. 

Now that I've had a peek of the Wilderness of Zin, it's so much easier to picture!

And, last night in my devotions, I read Exodus 16, where God first sent the manna and quail. Guess where that was? Yup- you got it right- the wilderness of Zin!