Israel Trip Day 4: Around the Valley of Jezreel
Bryan and I are still finding it hard to wake up in the morning when our bodies are telling us it is time for bed. But that did not quell our enthusiasm for the day that was ahead. Today is Saturday, which for the Jews is the Sabbath day (or, as they say here, “Shabbat”). That means that starting last evening observant Jews parked their cars and will not use them again (nor do many other things) until the time that Shabbat officially ends this evening.
We were greeted with coffee and a glorious spread of fresh pita bread, soft cheese, olive oil grown and pressed locally on Sarah’s olive farm, omelets, diced cucumbers and tomatoes, smashed beans with olive oil and spices, hot herbal tea, jams, arugula, and probably other tasty foods I’m forgetting. All of it was homemade right here. Sarah and Bashara live off the land. The vegetables were from their garden and the eggs were gathered from their chickens minutes before Sarah prepared them.
But before we ate, Bashara explained how thankful he was for the new day and that God sustained them during the night and there were no attacks and no missiles fired. So he asked that before we pray and eat, one of us read Psalm 3 that he said was on his mind. So I read Psalm 3, and in the context of trusting and waiting for God’s deliverance, this psalm came alive in a new way for all of us.
O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.”
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill.
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people!
How these people in Israel must feel who are surrounded by many enemies who want to destroy them! They related to us how after the October 7 attacks they couldn’t go anywhere for about a month. Missiles were being shot over their heads every day, and even though the Iron Dome shot most of them down, they had to stay under cover because of all of the shrapnel falling from the sky. And then to trust in the Lord, our shield, and to be able to pray, “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me”–it was a moving moment. Even more moving was hearing Bashara’s testimony as we enjoyed the food. How he tried to throw the pastor out of his house when he came to visit him, but how the Lord began to work in his heart through questions he had during a time when his sister-in-law was battling a progressive cancer that the Lord healed. And then how he finally yielded his life to Christ and all the ways God has used him since. He and Sarah are genuine evidence of God’s grace.
If the Sea of Galilee was the geographic feature around which we moved and visited sites yesterday, focusing on the ministry of Jesus, today it was the Valley of Jezreel, focusing on key events in the Old Testament. Like yesterday, we came away with a renewed understanding and perspective on what the Scripture is saying.
Our first stop was the city of Megiddo, one of the largest cities in Israel in the OT, the site of literally the first world war with Egypt and also the place of the future battle of Armageddon. “Armageddon” is actually the transliteration of the Hebrew place name, “Har Mageddon,” or the “Mountain of Megiddo.” And the Jezreel Valley that lies in front of the mountain of Megiddo (where the city of Megiddo is situated) is sometimes called the Valley of Megiddo.
The city of Megiddo was highly important in ancient times because it was the city that watched over the route that ran all the way from Egypt to Mesopotamia. No one could come through from either of those directions without passing by Megiddo. Kings lived here and even biblical kings like Solmon and Omri built palaces here. It’s also a city that is excavated down to the bedrock or original layer when the city was first built. This lowest level was a Canaanite level in existence during the time of Abraham. In fact, it is highly likely that Abraham came into Meggido. But when that city was destroyed, a new one was built on top of it. And after that city was destroyed, a new one on top if it. And so on, and so on through the centuries until the walls of the city were built up very high. In fact, archaeologists have distinguished 30 different layers at Megiddo.
So we enjoyed walking through this ancient city and seeing the levels with pagan temples, then the levels that were inhabited by the Israelites. But what was even more helpful than that was looking out at the mountains lining up across the Valley of Jezreel and being able to piece together the geography of various OT accounts. From Megiddo we could look northwest and see the Mount Carmel, where Elijah had his standoff with the prophets of Baal. All the people of the valley could look up and see the fire from God coming down upon Elijah’s altar, showing that he was indeed God.
From Megiddo we could also look west to see Mount Tabor, the Hill of Moreh, the city of Jezreel, and Mount Gilboa, all of which figure into the biblical stories. For example, when Saul fought his last battle and was killed, he had gathered he troops against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, while the Philistines were at the Hill of Moreh. But Saul wanted to consult the Witch of Endor, and Endor was near Mount Tabor, behind enemy lines. So you could look out and see clearly how Saul had to disguise himself and sneak from Mount Gilboa, past the enemy camps to visit Endor near Mount Tabor. But after that visit, in which the prophet Samuel was called up to tell Saul he would not win the battle, Saul returned to Gilboa and met the enemy there and died on Mount Gilboa.
We then drove to the top of Mount Carmel to stand upon the very place where Elijah prayed to God and he sent fire from heaven to consume not only the sacrifice and the water that had been poured on hte altar, but also the wood and the stones. But from the top of Carmel we had yet an even more amazing view of the Jezreel Valley and the surrounding mountains the cities.
But from Carmel we drove to the city of Jezreel, which was not very well excavated, but holds a lot of significance. For example, we were much closer to Mount Gilboa, where Saul made his last stand, and had a full view of the place of the battle. We could also look down at the Valle of Jezreel and imagine Jehu driving furiously toward the city to execute the royal family, Jezebel and her son Joram. You can read the story in 2 Kings 9. King Joram of Israel was staying at Jezreel recovering from wounds he had received while fighting the king of Syria farther to the north. But Elisha had just anointed Jehu to be king in Joram’s place, and when Joram went out to meet this chariot driver with a cloud of dust rising behind him, he discovered it was Jehu, who, in turn, killed Joram. Then Joram entered the city where Jezebel called to him in the upper window of the house. But Jehu called to the servants to throw her down, which they did, and she died.
Another aspect of Jezreel is that you can look straight across the Valley of Jezreel at that point and see clearly where the valley suddenly descends to the Jordan River and the hills of the Jordan rise up on the other side (the eastern side of the Jordan). On the top of these hills there is a dark line you can make out, which is actually a mighty forest. This is the forest that Absalom was fleeing through when his hair was entangled in the branches, allowing David’s men to kill him. Bryan pointed out that the moral of that story is always make sure you get your hair cut.
There are all kinds of other details that I could share about what we saw today. But I think what stands out is the fact that when we hear and read the isolated stories especially of the Old Testament we can envision them to a certain point, but we often do not see what is happening all around and how the places themselves fit together. But when we step back to see the big picture, even just the geography, we understand and visualize the OT events even more, which can lead to a better understanding of the text.
That also helps us to recognize that this is how God sees our lives–with perfect perspective. We cannot see the full valley of our lives with all of the cities lined up. But God can. We thought we were going to go to JFK airport in NYC and on to Tel Aviv. But God knew the other stops we would be making along the way. He brought us here safely in the right time with the right people, and so far this has been a truly fulfilling experience.
We shared another very long meal tonight and talked about many things with Sara and Bashara, their three sons and one daughter-in-law, and a man named “Olf” (I’m probably not spelling that right), who came to help them with the mission work and now his flight is canceled and he cannot fly back to Luxemborg. Olf speaks German, but he is trying to learn Hebrew and Arabic from Bashara. Judah is also trying to learn Hebrew and has become very conversational in the language so far.
But what we were amazed to discover tonight was that most of the people around that table had never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They said that they had heard of it in movies. But they had never eaten one before. Then later in the meal I had to ask the hostess what it was that was in a bowl. She told me they were figs. I told her I thought figs only grew inside Fig Newtons, but here I learned that they did not know what is this “Fig Newton.” Sarah Googled it on her phone and showed everyone the picture so they would know what a “Fig Newton” looks lie. But I did eat one of the figs and found it to be very interesting. I’m glad that we can exchange high cultural experiences like this!