Remember the days of old;
Deuteronomy 32:7-8
consider the generations long past.
Ask your father and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will explain to you.
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided all mankind,
he set up boundaries for the peoples
according to the number of the sons of Israel.
The second day of our Galilee trip began south of the Sea of Galilee at the site of Beth Shean. It’s located in the Rift Valley where the rift connects with another valley heading west that attaches to the large Jezreel Valley, making this another major crossroads, especially for those crossing from the Jezreel Valley to the other side of the Jordan River to the east. This place changed hands a number of times. It contained an Egyptian garrison. The Israelites took it over. By the time of the New Testament it was a Greco-Roman city. Most of what is visible is from the Roman period.
The next stop was the Arbel Cliffs, which overlook the Sea of Galilee from the northwest. It offers a great view of the lake and an exciting hike down the cliff face.
Sepphoris was next on the list. It is located near Nazareth where Jesus grew up. Not long after Jesus was born there was a rebellion in the city, which was put down and the city was destroyed. While Jesus was growing up, the city was being rebuilt. Jesus’ father Joseph was a craftsman (most commonly translated carpenter, but the word is more general – essentially a worker in whatever materials are available, of which stone is the most prevalent in Israel). Nazareth was a small village that probably didn’t call for too many construction jobs. However, Sepphoris was only a few miles away. A one hour commute each way and Joseph had a major opportunity for work. We don’t know that he worked there, but it makes sense.
Finally, we visited a ridge just south of Nazareth. Nazareth is a sizeable city today, unlike the one Jesus would have known. From a ridge outside the city we got another view of the Jezreel Valley, looking at it from the north. Thankfully a western wind had swept in by then and taken some of the dust out of the air, so we could see somewhat farther than before. Imagine Jesus climbing out of town and staring into the distance. From that vantage point, if we could bring up a lens to peer into the past, what would we see?
Mt. Carmel is visible rising high above the plain to the southwest. On top Elijah is in a showdown with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). In the city of Jezreel in the southeast King Ahab is sitting comfortably in his palace and has his eye on Naboth’s vineyard next door (1 Kings 21). We can see Jehu racing his chariot to Jezreel like a madman, kicking a large cloud of dust into the air behind him (2 Kings 9). Deborah and Barak’s army are charging out around Mount Tabor to confront the vast Canaanite army in the plain (Judges 4). Gideon takes his small band of 300 men from the Harod spring to surprise the Midianite army near the hill of Moreh (Judges 7). King Saul, the first king of Israel, is slain on Mount Gilboa while fighting the Philistines (1 Samuel 31).
Oh the sites we can see! History is laid out in before our eyes!
