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!