On Saturday, we drove from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. We saw Bedoun camps and interesting animals on the way. After a short stop to buy Dead Sea products we went to Ein Gedi. There are 3 waterfalls at Ein Gedi. I walked to the first, Steve and some others went to the second. This place is referred to in 1 Samuels 24, in the story about David and Saul. Next, we stopped at Qumran, the settlement closest to the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We saw ca...

We started the day at the Jordan River. Everyone walked into the water. We were a little disappointed at how commercialized the site was. Then we stopped at Bet She'an where, as one of our younger colleagues said, we looked at another pile of rocks. Bet She'an is where the body of Saul was fastened to the walls. That story is told in 1 Samuel 31:8-10. As we left Bet She'an on Hwy. 90, our guide explained that we would be entering the West Bank. At first, we w...

First thing Thursday morning we visited the Mount of the Beatitudes, where David Young recited parts of the Sermon on the Mount. We sang He Leadeth Me. The only problem was that we didn't have enough time here. The second stop was at Korazim, where Steve posed next to the seat of Moses. Jesus told the people here that they would be "brought low" because they did not follow his teachings. The third stop was Hazor. This was a major city of the near East. At one...

In the afternoon we made several stops around the Sea of Galilee. The 1st was at Capernaum, the most important city on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee in New Testament times and the center of much of Jesus’ ministry. Capernaum is not mentioned in the Old Testament. In all likelihood, Capernaum was founded sometime after the Jews returned from captivity. It had its own synagogue, in which Jesus frequently taught. After being rejected in His hometown,...

This morning we visited Nazareth, the town in the region of Galilee where Jesus spent His boyhood years. It is never mentioned in the Old Testament. Although it was not an important town before the New Testament era, Nazareth became immortal as the home town of Jesus the Messiah. It was here that the angel appeared to Mary and informed her of the forthcoming birth of Christ (Luke 1:26–38). Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2). But after their sojourn in Egypt...