The birds and butterflies of the air...

After sailing on the Sea of Galilee and seeing the ancient boat, we went to the site where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.

There's a beautiful Catholic church built on the location, but what really struck me were the gardens all around. There were flowers everywhere, with butterflies fluttering about. Birdsong filled the air, and I was struck in wonder at the beauty all around me.

It gave new meaning to me to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:27-34:

"26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

What was it like for Jesus and the disciples to sail on the Sea of Galilee?

The Sea of Galilee is 17 miles long and 7 miles wide. It's said that when the wind comes from a certain direction, the waves pick up and act like an ocean in a storm.

The morning we sailed along it was calm, thankfully, but my tour guide told us a story of getting caught in such a storm years ago. He said he really thought he was going to die.

This is the same lake where the disciples fished with their fathers. This is where Jesus fed the 5000. Nazareth is nearby, as are Capernaum, the mount where Jesus gave His famous sermon, and many other important cities.

1n 1986, there was a big drought in the Galilee area. The water level receded to a new level, and suddenly, the ruins of a boat were visible. It is 27 feet long and 7.5 feet wide, and has been tested to be from 2000 years ago. It's likely this was the style of boat Jesus and the disciples sailed in!

The Roman Aqueduct

One of the many marvels of Roman invention is the aqueduct. These aqueducts, on the way to Caesarea in Israel still stand.

Nazareth: Jesus' hometown

Nazareth, the childhood hometown of Jesus, sits high up on a mountain. In ancient times, it was very difficult to get in and out of Nazareth, because of its inaccessibility. The town itself backs up to a cliff over the Sea of Galilee- the same cliff the townspeople wanted to through Jesus over in Luke 4.

That's why they said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"—because it was so isolated.

Today, it's filled with Arab inhabitants. On top of the house where it is believed Jesus lived sits a church. Behind the altar are a set of stairs leading up into what was believed to be Joseph's workshop.

The church itself is simple, in a Byzantine style. Where the original walls end, newer walls were added on top, and adorned throughout are works of art donated from Catholic churches from around the world.

The View from Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel, where God sent down fire and consumed the altar of the prophets fo Baal, is actually not 1 mountain. It's a series of mountains surrounding a beautiful valley... a valley where a future battle is still to be fought.

Nearby is Megiddo, one of three identical cities Solomon built.

The valley and mountains of Carmel are lush, green, beautiful, and full of history.

On one end, you can see Mount Gilead, where Gideon won his battle in Judges 6-8 (above), Mount Gilboa where Saul died in 1 Samuel 31, and Mount Tabor, where Deborah won her battle after Jael drove a spoke into the enemy general's head (Judges 4:17-24; 5:24-37).

Unless a seed falls to the ground...

"Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." John 12:14

When the Romans raided and destroyed the Zealot fort, Masada, near the Dead Sea in the first century, they discovered full cisterns and storage rooms full of food (read the story here).

When those remains were discovered in the 20th century, archeologists recovered fossilized remains of wheat, as well as some dried date pits.

Someone decided to test these 2000-year-old date pit and in 2005, planted one... and in today, it is still growing! 

Methusaelah is now 12-years-old and researchers pollenated him with a female plant—and made dates. 

Gives new meaning to Jesus' words in John 12, huh? We can hold on to our pain and our rights and our dreams and desires, gritting our teeth and standing our ground. And we can hold out for a while. Maybe even a long time. But the power of life—the power of resurrection—comes from being willing to trust God, accept His gift, and die. 

Caesarea

Caesarea and others like it (like Caesarea Philippi where Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah in Matthew 16) was built by Herod for retired Roman soldiers as part of his agreement with Rome. The port included a theater (see last post) and a hippodrome.

At the time, it was the biggest port in the Mediterranean Sea. Herod built a summer palace here. Today, you can stroll the foundations of that very palace (pics above and below).

The Roman centurion from Acts 10:24-48, Cornelius, lived here.

Pontius Pilate also stayed here. You can see the 'basement' entrance to what would have been his palace in the big hole on the upper right. 

Caesarea (Paul before Festus and King Agrippa)

This theater is where Paul defended himself before Festus and King Agrippa in Acts 25-26.

It sits in Caesarea, just off the Mediterranean sea. Caesarea was a city built by Herod for retired Roman soldiers (there are others throughout the country, like Caesarea Philippi- where Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah in Matthew 16).

Standing down near the stage, hearing the waves of the sea pounding from behind, you can imagine what it was like for Paul to argue his case in front some of the most powerful rulers of his day. It is here Paul said to Festus, "I have not done any wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.... I appeal to Caesar!"

And then later, to King Agrippa, "Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?"

A quick visit to Joppa

Joppa:

• The oldest port city in the world
• Solomon imported cedars from Lebanon for the Temple in this harbor
• Jonah was spit up here by the big fish
• Peter raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-42)
• Peter saw the vision of the sheet at Simon the Tanner's house

(above, a view of Tel Aviv)

the port

Floating in the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, at 1200 feet below sea level.

At 28% mineral, nothing can live in it. And it's impossible to do anything but float. The only way to drown is by swallowing the water, which will then go straight to your lungs.

Shrinking by 1 foot a year, it is 40 miles long, 8 miles wide, and 900 feet deep at the deepest part. Sodom and Gomorrah was somewhere near the southern end, but it has never been found... because when God wants to destroy something, He does.

When it rains in Jerusalem, half of the water runs out to the Dead Sea. During rainy season, there are literally waterfalls in the desert.

Swimming in it is really fun... and kinda trippy... and afterwards your skin feels AMAZING. #apictureadayofIsrael #israel 

Old and New

There are so many old buildings in Israel that have been torn down or fallen down, whether from natural disasters like earthquakes, decay over time, or destruction from war.

There's a law in Israel that says the old places can't be torn down. So what they do instead is they continue building with new material where the old building still stand.

The lines in the walls of Masada below clearly show where the original walls of Masada end and the recent additions begin. This way, visitors still get a feel for what it could have been like in their original state, without compromising the integrity of the structure and damaging valuable historical landmarks.

Fun fact- the above room had a mural, and you can still see some of the original colors!

Inside the church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, where you can clearly see the old and the new:

below - from an early church near where Jesus fed the 5000

Masada: Never Again

The view from Masada, a fort built by Herod next to the Dead Sea. Herod never actually went there after it was finished, though.

It became famous after a group of Zealots took up residence there. After hearing of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, they wanted to hurt Rome. So they attacked 3 salt mines (Roman soldiers were paid in salt, as it was so valuable... which is where "worth his salt" and even the word "salary" come from). In retaliation, General Silva sent 10 Roman legions (12,000 soldiers) to the wilderness. On the way, they killed all the Essenes of Qumran.

When the soldiers arrived, they surrounded Masada and cut off the water supply, expecting the Zealots to surrender. What they didnt know is that Masada had full storage rooms and its own internal water supply, thanks to King Herod. They held out for 3 years.

Then, one day, a soldier saw a Zealot on top of Masada getting out of a bathhouse and reported another water supply. The soldiers began to build a ramp to scale the mountain. They used Jewish slaves to carry bucketfulls of sand to build the ramp, so the Zealots wouldn't theow down rocks and boulders - they couldn't kills their own countrymen.

The night before the Roman siege, the Zealots said, "our choice is slavery or death. We choose death."

The men killed their wives and children (leaving 2 women and their kids who had ties to Rome who could tell the story to Josephus) and then cast lots, killing each other until the final "loser" had to kill the other guy... and then himself. When the Romans scaled the walls, they found hundreds of dead bodies and a fort with full storage rooms (they wanted the Romans to know they chose death and it wasn't because they ran out of food).

Today, in Israel there is a saying: "Masada, never again." #israel #apictureadayofIsrael

Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls

The caves of Qumran (there are so many!), where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

A group called the Essenes lived here and copied both Scripture and other writings. When General Silva sent 10 legions (12,000) soldiers to Masada in AD 70-ish, they stopped in Qumran on the way. The Essenes had hid their scrolls in jars in caves, planning to come back to them. Instead, they were all killed.

In the 1940's, a shepherd was looking for his sheep in an area, and threw a rock into a cave... and heard something breaking. Finally, the scrolls were found.

On our last day in Israel, my friend and I went to the Israel Museum and saw the Isaiah scroll, the oldest copy in existence. SO COOL!!! #israel #apictureadayofIsrael

Also, fun fact- if you stand at Qumran and turn around, the mountain directly behind you (the last "green" one in the distance in the picture below) is Mount Nebo in Jordan, where Moses died.