November 10th, 2011
We first went up from the Sea of Galilee and headed north to Galma.
This is a small mountain that looks like a camels hump, which is where
it gets its name. It was here around 70 AD as the Romans marched and
was slowly wiping out the Jews, they came to a large Jewish army at
Galma. The 4,000 troops were surrounded by the Romans and were driven
to the top of this mountain. The Jewish military general spoke to his
men and convinced them it was better to die than to fall in defeat to
the Romans. So he instructed his 4,000 men to jump off the cliff to
their death. As the last solider jumped, this general turned and went
down the mountain and surrendered to the Romans. This general's name
was Josephus and became the famous first century historian. On the side
of Galma is the oldest known synagogue in the world.
We then
traveled to Mt. Bental. It is one of two mountains called the "eyes" of
Israel. It is a perfect strategic position to oversee the land and
have a strategic military advantage. From the top of this mountain that
had military bunkers, we could see the road to Damascus and into
Syria. This mountain was a huge strategic advantage for the 6 day war.
While driving through the mountains we saw where Arab Armies were
severely bombed by Israeli bombers. There were still mine fields and
even old tanks that had been abandoned in the fields.
We then
traveled to Caesarea Phillipi. There, we saw where a natural spring
ran out from the earth. In the time of Jesus, this site is where a pagan
temple was built and people would worship the god Pan. They would sacrifice people by
throwing them into the cave and if they saw blood in the water, it meant
that the gods had accepted the sacrifice, if there was no blood, they
didn't like the sacrifice. Very violent and horrible pagan worship took
place here. This site was also know as a gateway to hell. This would
make since then as Jesus brought his disciples here and proclaimed to
them that the "gates of hell will not prevail" (Matt. 16). It was
incredible to see and take in. There was also ruins of ancient temples
to Zeus and other Greek Gods. The sidewalks and tile floor was still
visible and in place in parts of it.
We then traveled on to Tel
Dan. It has forever been considered to be the far north point of
Israel. It was a city called Laish before it was captured by the
Dannites. It is the origin of the largest natural spring in the country
and maybe the world. Its river is the main river that feeds into the
Jordan River. This was the city and "high place" most likely built by
King Jeroboam when he caused Israel to sin (1 Kings 12:26-31). The most
interesting part however was the discovery of the entrance gate to the
ancient Canaanite city Leshem. It was very likely that as Abraham
traveled from the north to settle in the promised land that he crossed
through these very gates that are thought to be 4,000 years old. This
part of Israel was beautiful with thick forest and rivers. It was
amazing to stand at the city gates that Abraham would have stood at as
he entered the promised land for the first time. Tomorrow we will begin the day with a ride on a boat on the Sea of Galilee.
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| view from hotel of Sea of Galilee |
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| Gamla |
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| from atop Mt. Bental |
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| Mt. Bental looking toward Syria |
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| trenches on Mt. Bental |
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| Caesarea Phillip |
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| cave entrance |
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| where they would place the idols |
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| wall at Tel Dan |
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| Canaanite Gate |
We first went up from the Sea of Galilee and headed north to Galma.
This is a small mountain that looks like a camels hump, which is where
it gets its name. It was here around 70 AD as the Romans marched and
was slowly wiping out the Jews, they came to a large Jewish army at
Galma. The 4,000 troops were surrounded by the Romans and were driven
to the top of this mountain. The Jewish military general spoke to his
men and convinced them it was better to die than to fall in defeat to
the Romans. So he instructed his 4,000 men to jump off the cliff to
their death. As the last solider jumped, this general turned and went
down the mountain and surrendered to the Romans. This general's name
was Josephus and became the famous first century historian. On the side
of Galma is the oldest known synagogue in the world. 
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