Day Three: Ancient City of Dan, Caesarea Philippi, and the Sea of Galilee Boat Ride

Wow.  It's pretty funny. I'm feeling the same way about writing Day Three's entry, as I did on the morning of Day Three.  Tired.  Fighting the urge to just sit and be lazy.  But, knowing I can't.  :)  

It's that moment when the excitement of waking up early to see new things (or staying up late to write new blogs) kinda wears off.

Your feet--or your head---or your back--hurt a little more than the day before.

You're realizing that all of these old walls and ruins could easily run together in your mind and heart.

  

So, as you can see, everything in me on Day Three was ready to "power down". 

However, I'm so glad I had Naftali to push me forward.  To learn more.  To allow God to keep doing His thing in me.  

Because, this day truly ended PERFECTLY.  It was worth the struggle.  :)

We began our day in the ancient city of Dan. 

Yeah, I know.  You're probably saying "And, why is Dan significant?"  I asked the same thing.

But, there are quite a few cool things about Dan.  First, it is now a nature reserve.  That means no big buildings, no crowds of people, and absolute natural beauty surrounding us.  Which also means that no one can mess with, build on top of, or change the appearance of the ancient city as it once was.

We could see thousand-year-old city walls, gates, a grain cellar...

...and even the platform on which the kings of Israel (even Solomon!) sat in judgment as citizens of Dan had disputes to settle.

We also saw where King Jeroboam offered idol sacrifices and set up the golden calves of Baal that ended up costing him---and many Jewish people--the kingdom of Israel.  It was here that the ten tribes of northern Israel were defeated and carried off into captivity.

The most impressive ruin that we saw, and the most exciting discovery among archaeologists in this area was 4,000 year old city gates that date back to the time of Abraham!

This was the very gate where Abraham came to rescue Lot from the 5 kings who held him captive! (Genesis 14:14)  It is made of sunbaked clay bricks and has 3 archways.  We could clearly see one of the arches, and as Naftali said, "We always think Romans invented arches, but these were standing 2000 years before they were around!"

Dan is also the northernmost city of Israel, and has always been an area fought for by surrounding countries.  This is because it houses the source of the Jordan River, the springs of Mount Hermon.  If a country can control this area, they can cut off the water supply to all of Israel!  

It is called "the finger of Israel", named for the thin strip of land that juts up between modern-day Lebanon and Syria.  So, yes, as we stood at the tip top of Dan, we were looking out at Lebanon on the left, and Syria on the right.

Not even for a minute did I feel worried about this (much to my surprise!).  But, it was surreal to just sit and smile with Syria behind us.

We were definitely reminded a few times of how hard Israel has had to fight for the land they have, as you see modern-day bunkers, guard houses, and army tanks.

We even saw fighter jets doing practice drills above our heads!

As I promised (myself), I am also sharing the things God taught me while I was in Israel while they are still fresh.  This is because God told me I was supposed to.  It was all part of what He showed me on this morning in Dan.

As I already mentioned, I was tired.  And, I was kinda in a daze, I would say.

One thing Max asked us to do during the days leading up to our boat ride on Galilee was to find a rock to toss into the sea---it would stand for something we wanted to leave behind in Israel.  A burden we don't want to carry home.  Or, something we know God is asking us to shed.

I wasn't sure what this was going to be for me.  I mean, there's quite a few I should leave behind, many of which I had already been sharing with God along this journey.  :)  But, I just didn't know which direction I should go in on this activity specifically.

So, there I was amidst the ruins of Dan...the ancient walls, the numerous stones of altars and thrones and gates.  So, I decided this is where I would find my rock to throw.

As I start looking for my rock, God brings this to my mind:

You have built up walls just as ancient as these, Chelsea.  And, I want you to let them fall.  Leave them here.

Whoa.  I picked up my rock, slipped it in my bag and sat there stunned. 

I knew He wanted me to throw my stone that would stand for the walls I build in my life.

I won't go into all of that here, but I know it's true.  He's told me this before. (And, here I am blogging about it. :) I guess this is me letting some of those walls down. Of privacy.  Of vulnerability.  Oh, there's too many to name, really.)

So, I carried that rock around for the day, hoping that I would have time later to process the walls that are standing in my life.  Honestly, I'm still processing.  Is it just me, or don't we all have walls we build, that we don't even realize have been baked in the sun, and cemented in place over the years?  I'm praying that God keeps revealing those to me, so that I can serve Him and love others better.

It's funny that the very thing I came here to marvel at---ancient, indestructible walls--are what He wants to remove in me.

After Dan, we headed to Caesarea Philippi nearby.

I knew nothing about this place before we visited.  But, this was a major center for pagan worship of false gods and was once a beautiful ornate city, with water fountains and temples.  It was originally named Panion after the Greek god Pan, who was half human, half god.  

This entire area was dedicated to Pan, and the source of the Jordan River was a big part of the reason why.  

Too bad they didn't know the real Source of the ice cold crystal clear water that flows here from the mountain top.

"Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me!  Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart'" (John 7:37)

And, let me say, this water was BEAUTIFUL and SO VERY COLD.  You could absolutely tell it was melted snow from Mt. Hermon!

But, God wasn't recognized as the Source of the water here.  There was an altar to Jupiter nearby, a temple for Augustus Caesar and Zeus, and a variety of chiseled arches in the mountainside that held idols of various gods and goddesses.

And, this was all happening during Jesus' day!

So, in Matthew 16:13, when Jesus and his disciples visit Caesarea Philippi, they were looking at an entire city dedicated to gods, with people worshipping at temples, before idols made by man.

The worst of all was the worship ritual of sacrificing both animals and humans in this deep cavern in the side of the mountain.

They would throw the sacrifice to Pan into the deep cavern full of water, and if the water ran clear, the sacrifice was accepted.  But, if blood ran in the water, then it was rejected.

As Jesus stood nearby and asked His disciples "Who do you say I am?"  And, Peter responds with "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!", he then says "...on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Sheol will not overcome it."

For the first time, that took on a whole new meaning to me!  Here I was looking at this entire ROCK mountainside, picturing him saying those words and pointing at the rock around Him.  On THIS rock He will build His church and...

Guess what Naftali told us?

The big cave where sacrifices were thrown...was called "Sheol" by the pagan worshippers of the day!

So, when Jesus says "and the gates of Sheol will not overcome it", you can just picture Him pointing with righteous anger at the very place where sacrifices are being made, claiming that He WILL triumph over all that is surrounding them, and He is and will be the One True God!

Once again the words of Jesus come alive as I see where He was standing when He spoke words like these!

We then finished this day with the high point of the week thus far. 

A boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.

 As we floated, so many things were flashing through my mind.  It was as if a movie reel was playing of all the events that took place on this water, on boats like these, and on the shoreline we saw ahead.

I recently read that the majority of Jesus' three years of ministry was spent around this lake.  Most of His miracles happened here.

So, I truly felt like I was on holy ground.

Or holy water, I should say.  :)

Now, one thing that is a really big deal to me is music.  Songs of worship feed my soul, and are especially important in times like this.

But...the dear people running our boat had ideas of their own of what Americans would want to hear while sailing on the Sea.  They weren't BAD songs.  Just not the way I would have had it go.

So, I started feeling the panic inside.  Oh NO!  This is not the way I pictured it!!

But instead of letting myself get in a state of annoyance (yes, another wall...), Mark and I open the Bible to Jesus walking on water and begin reading.  And, all the noise ceases to bother me.  And, I just SEE Jesus right before me, holding out His hand to Peter and saving him even as he doubts.  Saving me, even when I come to Him again and again saying "This is too much!"  "Why me?" and "I believe, help my unbelief!"

After reading a few more Sea of Galilee passages, I start writing in my journal and all kinds of stuff flows out (of my heart AND my eyes!).  I was so thankful for this time and this place.  And, it made me not even mind that Elvis was singing "Fools Rush In" in the background.  :)

After a while, we begin converging with the other boats from our crew in the middle of the lake.  I was so impressed with the drivers' ability to pull in right next to each other seamlessly, tying us all together and making one big party barge!

This is one of my favorite boats full of people---an entire group from Singapore that joined us in Israel!

Once we were tied together, Max began speaking and I wish I could write out his entire message here.  It was that good.  

It was just a sweet reminder about our times of challenge in life...that God's silence is not God's absence.  Sometimes the length of our struggle seems to go on and on, but there is something about it that God is allowing for our benefit, although we may never know the answers why.  That Christ comes IN the storms, sometimes in ways we don't expect, and we are changed because of that.  That Jesus' response to the disciples when they are scared is "COURAGE!  I AM! DON'T BE AFRAID!"  He says this while the storm rages on, while Peter gets out of the boat, and even as he takes his eyes off of Jesus and sinks.  And, then Jesus gets in the boat and the waves are calmed.  He is always in full control, and our eyes should always be locked on His.

What I know is that I want Jesus in my boat.  I don't want to sail without Him.

So, at this point, when things couldn't get much better, they did.

Because one of my heroes on earth begins leading us in I Surrender All, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and For the Sake of the Call.

I was a puddle of tears.  Happy, thankful, I-love-to-worship-and-always-cry tears. (Note the sunglasses and red nose below...this was after my cry fest.  :) )

What a beautiful afternoon.  One I will never EVER forget.

And, then it was party time!  Jewish celebration songs were played as we headed back to shore, and our AWESOME boat full of bus friends danced and sang and rejoiced and acted silly and had so much fun.
It was another full day in God's holy land where I didn't think it could get better!  But, we still had a week to go!