Vacation 2019 Israel: Day 6 Beit-Shean Sun 11/17/2019

KASR EL YAHUD BAPTISM / BEIT-SHEAN / NAZARETH CANA / OVERNIGHT AT KIBBUTZ ON SEA OF GALILEE

Begin the day with a visit to Kasr El Yahud, said to be the authentic baptism site of Jesus - where John the Baptist baptized Jesus (Matt.3:13-17). Continue to Beit-Shean, one of the largest archaeological sites in Israel with Egyptian, Philistine and Roman ruins. This is where the bodies of King Saul and Johnathan were hung after their defeat at Mount Gilboa (1 Sam. 31:1-2). See this amazing archaeological discovery containing 18 levels of civilization. Drive to Nazareth, where Jesus spent his childhood (Luke 2:39). In Nazareth, we will visit the site where the unbelieving Jews were going to throw Jesus down the steep cliff (Luke 4:29). Drive by Cana (John 2:1) on our way to our Kibbutz Guest house at the Sea of Galilee.

This morning we'll need to stop by two sites we missed yesterday. En Gedi and Qumran.

Our opening devotion led by Pastor Reiner came from Ps. 98 a Psalm of Praise.
All Creation sings praise to GOD - inanimate as well as living things.

On the way...

I was impressed with the mountain forms.
Similar stripes you see at the Grand Canyon.

Also, on the way, we drove by Masada

Thanks, Nancy Gatfield, for taking this 'action-shot' as we drove by in the bus.
You can clearly see the three steps of the Northern Palace in this picture of Masada.

To give you an idea of where we're at in Israel, here's a map...

Heading up the longest Road in Israel: Highway 90

Today our first stop will be: En Gedi

But first, the map...

Just a little north of Masada we find a tropical island, not surrounded by water, but by desert.

From the National Park brochure:
The En Gedi Nature reserve is located on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, on the shore of the Dead sea, the lowest place on earth (approximately 400 m below sea level). The reserve contains vast differences in elevation over relatively short distances and as a result, one of its distingushing features is its sheer cliffs. The reserve covers an area of 14,350 dunams (1,435 hectares) and it was designated a protected nature reserve in 1971.

Before starting our tour, Amir shared with us some words about Psalm 126. He especially pointed out verse 4, "LORD, return our exiles again as you bring streams to the desert."
En Gedi is a practical application of this verse.

Heading down the trail we find an interesting Bible character.

Read 1 Samuel 24:2 for his reference in scripture.

What a beautiful sight.
Makes me think of the Psalm we read to start the tour.

Doesn't this make you thirsty?

En Gedi is also the place where David hid in the caves from King Saul.
See 1 Sam. 24:1-10.

Next stop: Qumran

After returning from the falls at En Gedi we boarded the bus and headed north to Qumran
The map please?

As you can see, we're making our way north through Israel.

From the National Park Brochure:
Qumran, located west of the Kaliah-Sedom road on the north-western shore of the Dead Sea, had a Jewish population as far back as the 8th century B.C.E. But it was not this settlement that made the site famous. Qumran's fame comes from a break-away sect, known as the Essenes (our guide, Amir, called them "The Togethers") who lived and studied here for two centuries - from the end of the Hashmonean period, through the great revolt of the Jews against the Romans - and left in the surrounding caves a magnificent legacy, that we now call the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Our first meeting where we receive another one of Amir's educational lectures.

Amir points out some interesting facts about what happened at Qumran.

There were many Qumran caves.
Amir thought this particular cave may have been Cave #14.

Our group moving on to another point of interest.

Jan and I walked up the path a bit and I took this picture.
Can you tell where I was when I took it and what perspective it comes from?

Looking back from the upper path back on Qumran.

Next stop: The Baptism Site of Jesus

Our next site is located just across the Jordan to the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. On the way we passed Jericho to the left and then turned right to the Jordan River.

After reading the baptism account found in Matthew 3:13-17 we went down to the river.

It can be a very overwhelming feeling to think about what happened here and the impact of this One man on all of creation.

There hasn't been rain in Israel for about 10 months so the water level of the Jordan is extremely low.

Our next stop will be Bet She'an...

...but before we arrived we saw some corn fields, so I had to take this picture.

Also on the way, looking back to the south and west is Mt. Gilboa - this is the mountain where King Saul committed suicide after all three of his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, & Malki-Shua, were killed by the Philistines.
See 1 Sam. 31: 1-13.

The next place we visit is also mentioned in the text above.
Read 1 Sam. 31:10-12 to see what happened at Beth Shan aka Bet She'an.

Here's a map to get you oriented again.

Just north of Samaria on our way to Nazareth.

The Entrance to the Bet She'an National Park

From the National Park Brochure:

Historical Background
Settlement of Bet She'an first began in the 5th millennium BCE on the tell rising to the south of the Harod Stream, in the heart of a fertile area enjoying an abundance of water and located on a major crossroads.

In the Late Canaanite period (16-12th centuries BCE), the city became the seat of Egyptian rule. The Israelite tribes did not succeed in conquering Canaanite Bet she'an. After the battle waged at Mt. Gilboa, the Philistine lords of Bet She'an displayed the bodies of Saul and his sons on the city walls. The city was later taken by King David along with Megiddo and Ta'anach, becoming the administrative center of the region during King Solomon's reign. The site was destroyed in 732 BCE. with the conquest of the northern part of the country by the Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser III in 722 BCE.

Amir gives another lecture as we prepare to visit Bet She'an.

We are leaving the theatre to explore different parts of this ancient Roman city.

This video takes a 360 view of the theatre

Length: 00:00:20 sec.

I also learned the difference between a theatre and an amphitheatre.
An amphitheatre is a full circle like a sports arena with seating all around.
A theatre has a stage with a half circle seating facing the stage.

Note the intricate mosaic work of art - much time and energy given to laying this out along the Corda Road.

The "main street" of Bet She'an called the Corda Road.

Our next stop will be Nazareth...

However, along the way we have some points of interests...

I was wondering what mountain I was taking a picture of when I took this picture, but then I realized I took it because of the train on the horizon. Wouldn't you know it?

Close to Nazareth is Mt.Tabor which is the place of Judges 4:12-15 and the story of Deborah and Barak. Interesting story. Take a read sometime soon.

Here is the current city of Nazareth.
Mostly Muslim and very few Christians.
At the time of Christ it was only inhabited by a few people.

From the center of this picture go a little up and to the left you will see a large building with a black cone-shaped dome.
This is the Church of the Annunciation and claimed to be the place where Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

As I stand looking south on the top of Mt. Precipe, Nazareth is behind me. I took this picture for a couple of reasons.
The first is in relations to Jesus and what happened in Nazareth.
The story is found in Luke 4:14-21 when Jesus open the scroll and read from Isaiah 61:1,2. The people got so angry with him that they took him to the top of this hill and were going to throw him down to kill him.
But check out Luke 4:30 to see what happened next.

The other reason I took this picture is to show you a map and tell you what you're looking at in the distance. The mountain beyond the valley off the picture to the far right (out of sight) is Mt. Carmel where Elijah and the prophets of Baal had a contest proving who served the real GOD.
Of course, Elijah won but not without some backlash and drama.
See 1 Kings 18:19-40 for the rest of the story.

But I also took this picture to show you the valley which is called Miggido and the place of Armageddon as found in Revelation 16:16.

Map please.