Day 1- Caeserea Maritima, Mt Carmel, Megiddo- Sunday June 17, 2012
For the video click here
Dr. Davis told us to be ready by 8:00am sharp to leave for our first day tour. If you can remember my last trip, our flight got delayed, and some people had to leave several days later. I’m happy to tell you that didn’t happen. What did happen though was quite interesting. The group that was supposed to have a full day in Paris had a delayed flight by 3 hours. They got to spend some time there, however, instead of flying directly to Tel Aviv, they had to stop in Cyprus. Apparently something happened at the airports and their flight got diverted. Needless to say, we didn’t get on the road until about 11am. It ended up being fine for us because some of us younger people got to play Kemps, BS, and some other fun games and really got to know each other.
Once Dr. Davis and his group met up with us, we headed for our first stop, Caesarea Maritima, the city on the sea. If you haven’t seen it, be sure and check out my video when I put it up. This place is absolutely breathtaking and I could have spent all day there. Not only is it rich in history, but the water is so clear and blue and you can’t do much other than stare at its beauty.
Another aspect to Caesarea Maritima is its biblical significance. This is the place Paul was imprisoned for two years and where he testified to Felix in Acts 24. The reason for his imprisonment: stirring up trouble. We were able to stand in the very place Paul would have stood in the theater. Also here we find a stone that has the name of Pontius Pilate. Why is this significant? For many centuries there was question whether Pilate was a real man because no other records include him. However, Caesarea Philippi was able to provide the answer and made known who this man really way.
Spiritual Implications: Paul was the pioneer of apologetics and defended the faith to the point of his own death. He was so convincing that Felix himself said he might convert if he gave Paul more time. Dr. Davis, while sitting on the hot stone seats of the Caesarean theater, explained how we too must be able to defend our faith. We cannot simply know that Jesus is our savior, but we must act upon it and be ready to make our claims. We do not have to be afraid because the Holy Spirit will speak through us. This convicted me in that I have not done a great job of showing my love for Jesus to other people. It’s something I keep locked away and I have become afraid to let other people see it. Dr. Davis challenged our group here to be more effective in spreading the gospel and obeying the Holy Spirit.
Another fascinating side to this place is where the horse races took place and where something like Ben Hur would have been. Even more so, are the thousands of years of history and destruction/rebuilding. From the Crusaders, Arabs, Ottomans, etc., this place is so rich in history.
From there we made our way farther north to the Druse restaurant where we ate Schnitzel for lunch. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was food and I was hungry. We did have a great time getting to know our new friends, the McBride’s. They are some incredible people with crazy southern accents. It has been great having them on this tour.
After lunch we got to see Mt. Carmel. Now, the last time we were there it was cloudy and the view was sub-par. This time, even with all the haze, was completely different. We got to go to the top of the building and overlook the Jezreel valley from a view I had never seen before. Some verses to consider at this place are 1 Kings 18 and Malachi 4:2.
For me, this is an incredible place. Why? Elijah (The Lord is my God) is my favorite prophet. In a lot of ways we are very similar. What was more interesting was what Dr. Davis focused on during his sermon. Instead of teaching about the miraculous event that took place with Elijah calling down fire and the mountain top experience, he focused on the post-miracle. You see, after someone is used by the Lord, there is sometimes this place called loneliness. I say sometimes because it doesn’t happen all the time, but percentage-wise, it is more than 50%. After Elijah called down fire and killed the prophets of Baal and Asherah, Jezebel said he would die. He got afraid and hid in the cliffs (I like to call this the Elijah Effect). Disappointed with Elijah, Yahweh told him to stand on the mountainside. Of all the manifestations that came from the subsequent moments, Yahweh was only in the gentle breeze or whisper.
Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings are the loneliest times for me. I live in an apartment by myself in a new area where I don’t know a lot of people. After being surrounded by people and after the Lord uses me, I am alone. Dr. Davis pointed out the wolf never attacks the herd, only the lonesome sheep. I’m in these moments a lot. But it is not meant for me to be hurt, it’s meant for me to recognize my dependence on the Lord. Instead of trying to do it on my own, I need to cry out for my Shepherd to come and rescue me. Elijah thought he was by himself and Yahweh called him out on it quick.
I’d love to quote my favorite band, For Today: “We are not dismayed by the darkness that surrounds us here, because we know that when all Hell closes in, if we stand and fight we are not alone/ Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we are not alone/ We will fear no evil/ For You are near/ We are the fearless ones!” –Fearless (From their new album Immortal)
Honestly, I am afraid of these moments. I hate going home on Wednesday nights. I hate being alone. And for me, the whole concept of marriage comes in. I would love to have a wife to come home to at night so that I can settle down. I don’t expect my wife to solve all of my problems, please don’t misunderstand me. But I’ve had someone come over after a night of youth group and it felt so good to just relax and talk about things with someone, instead of feeling like I’m in it by myself. All of these things are, essentially, are a consequence of my lack of dependence on Jesus.
I’m happy to say, this Mt. Carmel experience was way better than my first one and it helped me grab a greater perspective on my issues and on life. Even more so was the person we got to meet while we were there, Mosab Hassan Yousef. He wrote the book “son of Hamas” and we were able to talk with him a little bit and hear about his story. This was a totally God moment. Had we not left when we did and had Dr. Davis’ flight not be diverted, we would not have met him
To conclude this, we went to Megiddo after Mt. Carmel, but it was closed because we had run late. After that we arrived at our beautiful hotel in Tiberias right on the sea of Galilee. Then some friends and me went for a night on the town and saw a beautiful light/water show outside of our hotel.
It is great to be back in Israel!!!
