This is what the LORD Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”
Zechariah 8:7-8
The last stop of our first day was at Ramoth Gilead, where King Ahab lost his life (1 Kings 22). Plains surround it, stretching out for miles. As the sun was setting, the full moon popped above the opposite horizon. I don’t remember ever being able to see both the full moon and the sun like that before. I rarely have such a far horizon view in both directions.
We drove to our hotel in Amman in the dark. Amman is the capital of Jordan, sprawling over the hills that once surrounded the ancient city core. It is called Rabbah in the Bible (the capital of the Ammonites) and Philadelphia in Jesus’ time (not to be confused with the Philadelphia in Revelation or Pennsylvania). Modern Amman contains about one third of the population of Jordan (2.3 million of 7 million). It has a very western feel to it. Jordan is a western link to Arab countries.
The next morning we visited the ancient citadel area of Amman. Most of the visible ruins come from after the Bible, but there’s a small museum of artifacts there from all different epochs.
Places like Amman are a reminder that the region Jordan occupies today is still an international zone, linking east with west. The King’s Highway went through here in antiquity. Ramoth Gilead sits at a crossroads pointing east to Baghdad, north to Damascus, south to Saudi Arabia, and west to the Rift Valley. Major highways still traverse here, crossing from east to west like the sun and moon.