Day 4 – Jordan River Valley, West Bank, Jericho
Dear Friends,
Today was another full day. We woke up on the Sea of Galilee and are ending the day in Jerusalem. It was about five days walk in Jesus’ time and we did it with many stops in one day. A general overview is that we moved from the lush, green region around the Lake south through the arid and more barren Judeaen Wilderness. It is hard to tell you the difference and how quickly things changed. We rode along the Jordan River valley on the Israeli side. We were within sight of the country of Jordan almost all day.
We spent time at two major sights before our arrival at Jersualem.
The first is Beth-Shan, an archeological marvel. Beth-Shan is mentioned in the Old Testament in the Book of 1 Samuel 31:10. It is a city that dates to the 5th century BC. Archeologists have uncovered much of the original city. In the 1st Century – the time of Jesus – it was a Roman city, one of the 10 Gentile cities known as the Decapolis. We do not know if Jesus ever visited, but we were able to see in major detail what a city looked like in his day. It was big and hard to take in with all of the rebuilt streets and reconstructed ruins.
In this Theatre, we were standing at the top level and some Asian pilgrims were down on the stage, all men. Our guide asked if they would sing a tune so that we could experience the amazing acoustics. These men must have been in the choir because in the native tongue and in harmony they begin to sing “How Great Thou Art.” Our group joined in from the top in English, and it was a wonderful picture of heaven and the broad reach of the Gospel. Perhaps the highlight of the day.
The second stop was Jericho and the surrounding region. Jericho is a Palestinian city and no Jews are allowed. It was weird experiencing the tension of the region as we entered this amazing area. I hope the pictures help tell the story because words are difficult.
Orthodox church above Jericho, the oldest city in the world – continuously inhabited for 10,000 years!
Walls of Jericho:
Just above Jordan is the mountain where scholars believe Jesus was tempted by Satan. The “wilderness” is quite barren and there is a monastery at the top of the hill that makes a tremendous impression.
The key thing to remember about this area is that this is where the Jews under Joshua’s leadership entered the Promised Land and fought the first battle of Jericho. Jericho is an oasis town and coming out of the mountains over in Jordan down to the Jordan River Valley, it was indeed a land flowing with milk and honey. This is also the same region where Jesus was baptized by John and then went up and immediately was tempted in the wilderness. It was amazing to thing all of that happened in one place.
After leaving Jericho proper, we went above Jericho to the Wadi Qelt – Israel’s Grand Canyon. It was so amazing. I rode a camel and we saw the road between Jericho and Jerusalem from Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. I also rode a camel.
We finished the day with a meditation on the 23rd Psalm overlooking this magnificent valley. This is an area where Bedouins currently live and many are shepherds. This valley scholars believe is the “valley of the shadow of death.” Breathtaking.
Tomorrow is church in Jerusalem and to Bethlehem. I will not be blogging tomorrow, taking a Sabbath. I will be praying for you all at Good Shepherd.
The Lord be with you,
Shay +
Shay:
I think that is the same camel John Cook rode in Egypt way back in 1993.
JS
JS-
I think the camel looks just as uncomfortable about this set up as Shay does!
Tara