Israel Day 4 - Tel Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Golan Heights, and a Look at War and Survival in the Life of Israel

Our 4th day in Israel turned out to be an action packed day in which we saw some Biblically powerful sites and some sites which showed us we were in a part of the world where every day there are reminders of war and survival.

Our bus driver Avner (Abner is the Americanized version) diverted us on the way to our first stop to see a memorial that marks the spot where twelve IDF soldiers were killed on June 8, 2006 by katyusha rockets launched by Hizbollah situated in the north. There are remains of the rocket and small pictures that mark the exact spots where each of the soldiers were standing. Avner told us that he lives in a village right outside of the Gaza Strip. His village is shelled and attacked with katyusha rockets from the Palestinians every week. A truth that is not seen on the evening news.

Our next stop for the day was the area of Tel Dan, or Laish prior to the takeover by the tribe of Dan. It almost reminded me of Oregon. It was one of the most beautiful and amazing sites of the trip.

It was also one of the most Biblically powerful sites as well. Here is a picture of me sitting in the city gate where the king and elders would have gathered to make judgements.

We did a study in the area where King Jeroboam set up altars going against God's word (1 Kings 12:29). These steps were most likely walked on by King Ahab and Jezebel as well.

Dan is right on the border of Syria. We could view an Israeli position that was attacked two years ago right from where we were standing. We also spotted the remains of a Syrian tank sitting in the bushes.

At the end of the hike, coming out of Dan, we saw an ancient gate that existed in the time of Abraham. It is seen here behind the wooden platform.

From Dan, we traveled to Caesarea Philippi. It was here that Christ asked his disciples who they thought He was. Peter's response was that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16). It was upon this statement, this rock, that Christ said he would build his church. Going to this place really clarified this passage for us. This section of scripture from Matthew was on this rolling sand stone in a few different languages. Rolling the metal cone around the circle forms the scripture in the sand.

In front of this cavern, there was a temple to the god Pan. This was the mythological god of nature that would play his flute to incite one of many different emotions....one of which was panic. The temple was so close to the cavern that it blocked sunlight from illuminating the floor of the cave. This optical illusion made it look bottomless and the locals therefore feared this cave and called that cave the gate to hell or hades. When Christ told his disciples that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Rock, He was very likely speaking of the hold that these false religions had on the people of that time and still have on people today. What, you might say, people don't worship nature anymore like they did back then......oh wait.

We left Caesarea Philippi and drove up to Mt. Bental in the Golan Heights overlooking the border with Syria (only 60 km away). Here is an amazing view down into the "Valley of Tears" where one of the largest tank battles to ever take place was fought in the Yom Kippur war of 1973. 100 Israeli tanks were reduced to 7 but not until after they destroyed 600 Syrian tanks.

It was cold and rainy and as we climbed through the trenches that were used as recently as the war with Lebanon last summer, we could almost feel the tension with the countries that surround Israel and have wanted to destroy her since her independence.

As we finished the day with another awesome meal at a local kibbutz (just ask Kelly how great the desserts were), we were ready for a good night's sleep. But on the way home, Avner, our bus driver, was able to show us another awesome sight.....ask us about it next time you see us :o)