Webber.net.nz

We started our day in Hazor the largest Canaanite city. Again there wasn’t much rather fitting as that’s just what God say will happen in Jeremiah 49:33.

After this was went to Dan, the source of the Jordan river and had a walk around. After looking as some of the idols and altars referred to in 1 Kings 12:26-29 and 1 Kings 13:1-6 we moved on.

Looking at Matt 16:13-20 at Caesarea Philippi aka the Golan Heights we looked at when Peter said Jesus was the Son of God. We then walked around the Nahal Hermon Reserve (Banias), on the Syrian border with a backdrop of Lebanon. Thought I imagine my Dad isn’t too happy to hear about that.

That was pretty much the end of our trip. We didn’t get blown up, which is always nice. In fact it was very safe.
Tel Aviv goes into the webber.net.nz record books as the worlds most annoyingly secure over the top airport. But then again when most of your neighbouring countries are unhappy about your existence it probably pays to double check everyone’s bags for bombs.

Thursday and Susan and I were just warming up… most of our other travelling companions we staring to wane a little. However this may have just been from the lack of milk to make a proper cup of tea.

During our boat ride in a traditional boat across the lake the engines were stopped to read about Jesus stilling the storm (Luke 8:22-25) and imagine Jesus walking on water (Matt 14:29) then it was time to go Nazareth where Jesus was brought up.

Nazareth was a pretty standard town, we got through the souks okay and even found a fantastic bakery. After getting picked up outside the “Drag Store” we drove on towards Meggido. On the way we saw Mount Tabor (the location of the transfiguration in Matt 17:1-13).

Meggido aka Armageddon one of Solomon’s key cites as it was on one of the major trade routes in the world at that time. Susan and I ended up playing out Ruth 4. I was Boaz and she was Ruth because these are the gates that the elders are at in the story. We also looked at some of John’s revelation Rev 16:12-2 and Rev 19:11-21.

Later in the day we stopped at Mount Carmel to read about when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18-19 before heading back on the boat while everyone sang the British national anthem. (Okay all the Kiwi’s ended up replying with the NZ one)

Today we spent the day taking in the sites of Galilee.

First was Korazin, a Jewish synagogue where Jesus was first rejected during his ministry (see Luke 10:3). Here wasn’t much there but you did get a feel for the wealth of the religious leaders who probably wanted to take Jesus down a peg.

Next we moved on to a possible site for the sermon on the mount (Matt 5). No-one really know where it was but it was good to hear the best sermon ever in a place that resembles the location anyway.

We then moved on to Tabgha and the Galilee shore and onto Capernaum where Jesus taught in the synagogues (Mark 1:21), lived in Peters house (Matt 4:13-17) and healed some people (Luke 7:1-10). Much of the synagogue still remains and you can even make out Peters house (the UFO looking Catholic church on top of it helps).

By this time we were all hungry and it was time for a picnic at the Jordan Park, Bethsaida. Again we don’t know the exact location but somewhere around here John would have been busy baptising people (Mark 1:5).

Still driving around the the Lake of Galilee we stopped at a cliff drop that similar (or perhaps even the place) where Jesus healed the demon possessed man in Mark 5:1-20.

On Tuesday we when to visit the House of Hope in Bethlehem. This was set up by a blind lady to help blind children. It now cares for disabled children and had a workshop below the house where blind men were extremely pleased to be able to work to make brooms. Amazingly they were operating heavy woodworking machinery with no or limited eyesight. Anyway it was pretty amazing to see what God was doing there.

After this was took a bus trip to Wadi Kelt and the Monastery of St. George of Koziba. Basically in the middle of the desert, some monks have cut a monastery out of a cliff. It was also interesting as it was easy to imagine the scene were Jesus was tempted in Luke 4:1-13. Particularly seeing the vastness of the desert and how hot he must of got having fasted for 40 days. I was struggling a bit with just getting off our air-conditioned but for 30 minutes.

We then went to Jericho for lunch tried to avoid all the tourist touts and then read Joshua 2-6 looking at how Jericho was taking and was never to be rebuilt.

We arrived in by far the best accommodation all trip. In fact it reminded us of home. It was like a motor lodge but without the cars… We had a fridge, breakout rooms and plenty of trees.. to keep any Kiwi happy. It was also next to the Lake of Galilee so I had to jump in for a swim. Well turns out I don’t walk on water and the water was Freezing!!

We finished off the night with an enormous buffet meals including the most excellent Jewish cakes. Only problem is it the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut (kosher) say you can have milk and meat together so it was only dodgy mock cream on Susan unusually tasty non diary cheesecake.

Today we left our Hotel in Jerusalem. I didn’t sleep well last night and hearing what sounded like gun shots into the night.

Our first stop before heading to Bethlehem was to see the Dead sea scrolls in the Israel Museum. The museum also has an amazing scale model of Jerusalem in AD 70. After having lunch at the museum we stumbled on an amazing collection of original Impressionist paintings including Monet and Van Gough. It was surprising to see so many great masters in a museum that has car park security guards to check your boot for bombs.

To get to Bethlehem, we needed to drive through a west bank check point. It was a huge concrete wall about 2 stories high. After crossing the border we were meet by Sami a local Christian. He isn’t allowed to cross the border because he is a Palestinian. Also it is illegal for him to travel in a vehicle that doesn’t have Palestine plates (even our bus). So basically people here are completely cut off, 65% of people are unemployed as they can’t travel to Jerusalem for work.

We did manage to find a quiet spot in a field to read some of the stories from the bible about the coming of the messiah, such as Luke 2.

Sunday we started by looking at the old City of David.

We walked through the tunnel Hezekiah had dug to supply water to the city during military threat. The 8th century water diversion was immense taking water from the spring of Gihon, outside the city walls to the pool of Siloam. This pool is also famous as it is the place that Jesus used to restore sight to a blind man (John 9:7). After seeing what seemed like a small pool for such a big tunnel we went onto some museums (Wohl Jewish Archaeological and 1st century burnt rooms). There was then an hour or so to do a spot of shopping around the bazaars. In the evening we went to a lively church and walked back through West Jerusalem all newly owned by Israel (with the bullet holes to prove it).