Today was quite a mix of ancient and new.
We went to visit Beit She’an, an ancient city in the Jordan River Valley, northern Israel. These ruins show their connection with the Romans and Greeks who built the city. Parts of Beit She’an date back to 5,000 BC. The town became a part of the larger Israelite kingdom under the rule of the Biblical kings David and Solomon (1 Kings 4:12 refers to Beit She’an as a part of the district of Solomon.)
The site has the largest theater in the Holy Land - it originally held 7,000 people. The coolest part of the site was the ancient gym - maybe I'm just a sucker for a great spa. But they developed a method of heating the bath water from underneath by building large fires and heating the air and water that flowed through a coiled pipe system under the pools. Genius! They hadn't invented soap yet, but they sure could get a warm bath.
After lunch we climbed Mount Megiddo, which is identified as the site of the final battle between the forces of good and evil at the end of time, known as Armageddon and mentioned in the New Testament in Revelation 16:16. Standing on top of the hill, looking down on the pleasent farm land, it's hard to picture all of the wars that have been fought on this hill side. And all the ones to come, according to scripture. The city of Nazareth can be seen on top of the next hill over. Almost like a forshadowing of what is to come.
Nazareth is the largest Christian city in Israel. It has a population of about 80,000. In Jesus time it was a small village. Mary is believed to have lived in a grotto or cave with her family there. We visited the Church of the Annunciation built in 1969 over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches.
Pilgrims from all over come to this site to see where they believe the angels visited Mary and told her she was to bear God's son.The lower level of the church is built around this 1st Century gratto, which tradition recognizes as the home where Mary lived.
From there on to Cana.
We visited the Franciscan Wedding Church on the site most traditionally recognized as where the temple was when Jesus turned the water into wine, his first recorded miracle. We had a short devotional in the chapel reflecting on the covenants in our lives.
On a personal, but still very highly ranking highlight of the day, there was falafel at dinner! One of the things I've most been looking forward too, and I'd had 6 meals here without spotting one. And the seventh it arrived. Holy coincidence? I'll let you decide. But they were divine!
For more photos, click here.
For more photos, click here.
