05 | February | 2016 | Following Augustine

After three nights at the Sea of Galilee, we bid it farewell and began our journey south toward the Dead Sea. Our first stop was Bet She’an, Israel’s largest archaeological dig. It was here that the bodies of King Saul and his sons were fastened to the wall after their deaths at the hands of the Philistines on nearby Mount Gilboa. (1 Samuel 31)

Archeologists are still excavating the ruins of the Roman era city of Jesus’ time that was destroyed by an earthquake in 740 AD. Strategically located at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley, it was one of the ten cities of the Decapolis and would have been on the route that Jesus took whenever he travelled from Galilee to Jerusalem.

We started our tour at the impressive Roman theatre. The acoustics are so good that when one member of our group stood on stage and sang the rest of us could hear every word from far up in the bleachers.

Next we moved on to the extensive bathhouse complex.

The short pillars in the photo above held the floor of the bath. Hot air piped into the hollow space below the floor heated the water above. As our weather was damp and chilly, we all agreed that a soak in such a bath would have been welcome!

We continued our walk down the stone paved main street. In ancient days, its impressive pillars probably supported a covering over the road.

The mosaic pavement of the portico includes this Greek inscription which reads “In the time of Palladius, son of Porphyrus, the most magnificent governor, the work of the stoa together with the mosaic pavement was made.”

We appreciated the coolness of the day when we climbed the 163 steps to the top of the mound where we saw remains of the hilltop acropolis. From there, we had a spectacular view of the entire site. What was visible was only the downtown portion of the ancient city, however. Most of the residential areas are still under the ground.

Everywhere we walked, the ground was strewn with tiny bits of pottery. On our way back down the hill, we discovered that recent rains had washed down hundreds of pieces. We immediately became amateur archeologists searching for treasure! Amazingly, we were allowed to take pieces home with us! There are simply so many of them that they are of little value or interest to those who seriously study the site.

It still astonishes me that I can have in my possession a piece of someone’s kitchenware from a time when people still thought the world was flat! Who was that person? What did she carry in her container? Was she still alive when the earthquake destroyed her city?

Leaving Bet She’an, we traveled next to Harod’s Spring where God instructed Gideon to reduce the size of his army from 32 000 to 300 and gave him victory over the Midianites. (Judges 7) When they were told to drink from the spring, 300 men lapped water with their hands to their mouths while the rest got down on their knees to drink. These were the ones that God told Gideon to take into battle with him. It was pointed out to us that those who used their hands to scoop up the water would have had their eyes forward, alert to their surroundings, while the others had their heads down. We, too, are admonished to be alert, on guard against Satan’s attacks. (1 Peter 5:8) In spite of recent rains, Harod’s Spring was almost dry, but with a bit of imagination, we could visualize what happened there.

Tel Dan National Park in northern Israel is both a lush nature reserve and a fascinating archeological site. Unlike most of Israel, water is abundant there. It flows from underground springs with amazing force forming one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River.

The area takes its name from the tribe of Dan who settled there during the 11th century BC after attacking the peaceful and unsuspecting people of the Canaanite city of Laish and burning it to the ground. (Judges 18) The Biblical history of this place goes all the way back to the book of Genesis! It was to here that Abraham and 318 trained men went in pursuit of those who had captured and carried off his nephew, Lot. (Genesis 14:11-16)

In 1979, the remains of a 7 metre tall gate constructed of sun-dried mud brick on a foundation of large basalt stones was unearthed. Now protected by an enormous canopy, it is the only one of its kind to have survived and is thought to date back to the days of Abraham, nearly 4000 years ago!

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During several decades of excavation under the direction of Professor Avraham Biran of the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, many other significant remains dating back to kings Jeroboam, Ahab and Jeroboam II have been unearthed. Most impressive to me was the site constructed by Jeroboam to house one of the two golden calves that he set up as gods for his people as alternatives to going up to Jerusalem to worship. (1 Kings 12:26-30) I had often read of the “high places” where people of the Old Testament set up their idols, but I had always visualized them as hilltop shrines. In reality, Jeroboam’s high place was simply an elevated platform at the front of his place of worship. Archaeologists think that it was probably roofed.

Jeroboam’s high place

The metal frame in front of the high place indicates the size and shape of an altar that would have stood there.

Probably used for the ritual cleansing of animals before they were sacrificed on the altar.

Another extremely significant find at Tel Dan was the David stone. Inscriptions on the broken slab provided the first historical evidence of the Bible’s King David, proving that he was a genuine historical figure.

From Tel Dan, we moved on to Caesarea Philippi, a historic site of New Testament significance. It was here that the apostle Peter first identified Jesus as Messiah and Christ declared, “On this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18) It’s often thought that he was referring to Peter as the rock, especially since the name Peter means “rock”, but Peter’s given name was actually Simon meaning “He (God) has heard”. Once we saw the site, another interpretation made complete sense.

In Jesus’ time, Caesarea Philippi was dedicated to the worship of Pan; god of hunting, of shepherds and flocks, and of the mountain wilds. He was depicted as having the upper body of a man and the hindquarters, legs and horns of a goat. Being a rustic god, Pan was not worshipped in temples, but in natural settings, usually caves or grottoes. Caesarea Philippi was a place steeped in debauchery. Spirits were thought to come and go from the underworld through a giant cave known as “The Gate of Hades”. Adjacent to the cave is a rocky escarpment with a series of niches hewn into it. Statues of Pan were placed in these recesses. Human sacrifices were made by tossing the victims into a sinkhole at the back of the cave. It was in front of this rock that Jesus stood when he made his statement. I believe that it was his intention to establish his church in worldly places, places steeped in idolatry and sin, and even the hideous practices of a place like Caesarea Philippi would not stop him! We, too, are called to take the light of our faith into the dark places of the world.