Walking Israel

Posted January 20th, 2012 by Shawn Barden

 It is hard to put into words my first impressions of Israel.  It is a land that has marinated in so much history that you can hardly take a step in any direction without treading on it.  It almost feels that every place you look has some historical significance to it. 

The land is the cross roads of three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe) so history and history makers have flowed in and out of this land through antiquity.  To walk in Israel is to walk where not only Jesus walked, but Solomon, and Joshua, Alexander the Great and Herod, Paul and Napoleon, King David and Peter.  All of their stories are infused in the land.

Coming from such a huge country like Canada, I’ve been really amazed at the proximity of locations.  Everything is so close.  Today, standing in a single spot I could see the precipice where the people of Nazareth attempted to throw Jesus off of after he claimed he was the fulfillment of the words of Isaiah (Luke 4:28-29), the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17), the place where Saul fell on his sword (I Sam. 31), and the exact spot where Elijah battled the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).   It felt like every spot on the compass had a corresponding story.

We started the day in Caesarea, the port city Herod built.  I stood in the Hippodrome, imagining the 40,000 people cheering on the chariot races. I strolled around the ruins of Herod’s palace, and marveled at the vision and sheer arcitectural audacity Herod had to enforce his will on the landscape. A man of immense power, ambition, and brutality.

Of a particular highlight for me was seeing the jail cell the Apostle Paul was locked up in before he appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome (Acts 23:23-34). Walking down the very same stone steps Paul walked down as he boarded the ship that would ultimately bring him to Rome and his death (Acts 27) I could almost feel the weight of that moment.

Leaving Caesarea we drove north to the top of Mt Carmel, and stood on the spot where Elijah battled the prophets of Baal, and  saw the spring from which he had his offering saturated with water before fire from heaven consumed it (1 Kings 18).  Very cool.  Here was a man who stood alone for God in the land, yet had the confidence to throw down in a winner take all battle with the hundreds of false prophets.

I walked the Tel of Megiddo, and saw the walls Solomon had built, and the ingenious tunnels dug to get at the water supplies that were outside the protection of the city gates.  From there you have a birds eye view of the valley of Armageddon- a place that has seen countless conflicts and is the focal point for a climaxing battle in the Book of Revelation. 

Truthfully my mind has been on overload, as the Bible accounts describing this region are no longer just black and white, but are now in vivid color. 

Tomorrow we explore the Sea of Galilee region.