From Sea to Sea

Today we started at Caesarea by the Mediterranean and ended in Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee. What an amazing day! We woke to a beautiful day with blue skies and a lovely breakfast in a glass dining room at our hotel. Eddie, our driver, was right on time to pick us up at 8:00 and begin our day of sight-seeing.

Our bus....it even has wifi.

Loading up. 

As we sat in the theater that used to seat 15,000 people, Pastor Polson read to us from Acts 25. Paul came to this very location to make his defense to Pontius Pilate.

The statues that used to decorate the theater at Caesarea. 

The Mediterranean Sea was gorgeous today. The water is so clear and green. We saw ruins of the palace, a seaside swimming pool dating back to Byzantine times, and the house of Cornelius, the Roman Centurion who received the Good News from Peter. He is the first Gentile mentioned in the Bible. (Acts 10)

The seaside swimming pool near the ruins of the palace in Caesarea.

Our group picture of the day.

Terry demonstrates how the lavatories ("coffee out") worked at the hippodrome. :)

Pastor Polson also led with demonstrations on proper chariot racing.

Drema and Paul were willing to give the chariot a whirl as well.

 

Meet our guide...Hezekiah...Hezi for short. He is a wonderful teacher and we all appreciate his patience. (especially with unplanned bathroom breaks...)

Whitney and me at the beach near the aqua ducts that brought fresh water to Caesarea.

After Caesarea, we loaded up the bus and made our way to Megiddo (Valley of Armageddon). The valley was so much more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Everything is in full bloom and so green.

Pastor Polson read to us from Rev. 16 about John's prophesies concerning this place in Earth's last great battle.

Lunch at Megiddo.

 

We also visited Mt. Carmel where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal. (I Kings 18) Afterwards we had lunch and hiked a short distance to Megiddo National Park to see the ruins of the great city that Solomon built.  The stables and granary were especially impressive. Thanks to Pastor Polson’s daughter, Jessica, we got to even see a “baby” in the manger. She technically is not the “baby” of the trip but she was willing to play the part. :) 

Several of us bought treasures from the kibbutz (collective farm) at Megiddo….the shopping has begun!!! Before leaving we hiked down the huge water system of the city. Thankfully the bus met us on the other side of the well….we were all ready for a break. Did I mention yet that we walked 6.4 miles today.

The ruins of Solomon's great city. He kept stables with 500 horses.

Jessica showing us a baby in a manger.  :)

Going down to the well at Megiddo.

 

After leaving Megiddo we headed towards Nazareth, Jesus’ childhood home. Along the way we saw Gideon’s Spring where God commanded Gideon to reduce the number of his army to just 300. I think we all passed the test of knowing which was the correct way to drink from the spring. We also saw Cana where Jesus changed water into wine with his first miracle. (John 2) I have to admit that Nazareth had a very commercial feel to it, but we did see the largest Christian church in the Middle East. The church was erected over the birthplace of Mary. We walked through the city to the synagogue where Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah and declared that the prophecy had been fulfilled. Pastor Polson read from Luke 4 and we sang Amazing Grace. It was a special time of fellowship. 

We stopped for a quick drink of pomegranate juice (fresh squeezed while we waited) and then headed to the Mount of Precipice where the people of Nazareth wanted to throw Jesus off the cliff for making the declaration that he was the Son of God.

As the sun began to set, we made our way to Tiberias on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We got checked in before dinner. Most people headed off to bed afterwards. It was a busy but amazing day.  First thing tomorrow we go out on the lake. Whitney and I want to see the sunrise over the water. I looked up the time and it’s about 5:15 a.m. Yikes!!! Seeing that it’s almost midnight and I’m still waiting for pictures to load, I’m not sure we will make it. We will see!! Goodnight from the Sea of Galilee.

Gideon's Spring

Synagogue in Nazareth

A yummy juice break!

Mt. Precipice

Dinner.