Day 4

Monday morning brought the “former rain” to Haifa. A nice thunder storm came through early in the morning, putting on an impressive light and sound display.

Several of us awoke and joined in beginning to read the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 120 – 135. We read Psalm 120 – 123 and discussed how the enemy bombards us with lies and deceit to get us to take our eyes off YHVH. But the psalmist reminds us that our help comes from the Lord, not from ourselves or anyone or anything. What a great way to start the day…with storms threatening to rain out our day.

First stop of the morning was Mount Carmel, where the Prophet Elijah challenged 400 prophets of false god, Ba’al. He proposed they each build an alter and offer a sacrifice. Then each would call upon their god to consume the sacrifice. Whichever god answered would be the true god. After allowing the Ba’al prophets to go first, with no success, Elijah drenched his offering, and the ground around it, and called out to YHVH. No sooner had he prayed when YVHV rained down fire from Heaven, consuming the offering, the stone alter, the water and scorching the earth. All the people witnessed from the Jezreel Valley and cried out that YHVH was God. Elijah then commanded the people to kill the false prophets.

Rain put a damper on our visit to Mount Carmel, but before we reached Megiddo, the rain had cleared and the sun was out. We enjoyed a tour of the ancient fortress, learning that the city had been destroyed and rebuilt 25 times over the centuries. This was due to its strategic location at a major crossroads. Kings Solomon and Ahab both used this fortress to house their charioteers and their horses.

From there it was to Nazareth, the hometown of Yeshua, for lunch and a visit to the Synagogue Church. This is an ancient church built on the site where the Nazareth synagogue from Jesus’ was to have stood. Yeshua Himself would have read from Torah on that very sight.

As we left Nazareth and headed to Tiberias, the rains began again. It was a soothing sound and, along with the rocking of the bus, made for a prime opportunity to nap. At Tiberias we headed immediately to Yardenit Baptismal Site, the site where Christians from around the world come to be baptized in the Jordan River. Rabbi Matthew explained that we would be doing baptism the way John the Baptist would have done baptisms in his day. Baptism was considered a willing act by the person being baptized. And as such, John the Baptist did not physically dunk them. Instead he served as a witness as they would immerse themselves three times, making sure that no part of their clothing, or even their hair, floated on the surface. Nineteen people took part in this “mikvah” and not even the cold water kept us out. We thought we may have to do this in the rain, but by the time we left the dressing rooms the rain had stopped and sunshine was trying to break through. From where does our help come from? Or help comes from the Lord. YVHV is good…all the time.

Then it was into Tiberias and our hotel, the Caesar Premier. The hotel is right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a wonderful location with most rooms overlooking the Sea. After briefly checking out the surrounding area and dinner, it was time to relax and try to turn in a bit earlier in preparation for the next day’s activities. No rain is forecast and we are believing that the “rain of blessings” will come overnight tonight or hold off until tomorrow night as we sleep.

By the way, Israel has some interesting flora, too.

What a great journey this is.