The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
Psalm 89:11-12
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Most visitors to Israel see Mt. Hermon from a distance. Today I actually got to see it up close. The mountain sits at the northeastern most point of the country and is by far the highest. With a ski resort, it appears to be quite the attraction year round. We took a ski lift up for a panoramic view of the region. Clouds hindered visibility but didn’t steal the joy of being there.
Jesus took his disciples Peter, James, and John up a “high mountain” and was transfigured there (Matthew 17:1-8), showing his glory to them. While the traditional location of this is Mount Tabor, Mount Hermon is a better candidate, being taller and offering a more remote location needed. It must have been quite a hike! Nevertheless, it must have been quite the experience. Peter wrote about it decades later in one of his epistles (2 Peter 1:16-18), remembering how Jesus declared his majesty (rather than the long hike).
As we visited more sites throughout the day, we kept our eyes open for a glimpse of the snow-capped mountain.
