After a 1½ hr drive leaving our kibbutz hotel, crossing the Jezreel Valley, we arrived at the Tel Megiddo. What an amazing site! This Tel has between 26 to 30 layers from different eras. Without doubt though, the highlight was our exit through the water tunnel. Being on a high mountain, the people had to source water from down below. There was a spring a fair way away, from which they needed to access the water, so in the middle of the mountain, they dug down deep to just below the level of the spring, and then a tunnel with channel reaching to the spring so the water could then travel to right below the city. They could then bring it to the surface. We went down steps to get us to this tunnel and walked along the channel through which the water would have flowed. It was quite ingenious!

From there we went to Mt Carmel where Elijah and the prophets of Baal fought it out to show who worshipped the one true God. The 450 prophets of Baal could not provoke their god to action but Elijah’s faith and confidence in God was proven as He licked up the water around the altar and consumed it totally with fire. We read the story from 1 Kings 18, discussed it, and then prayed together, thanking God for his power and faithfulness.

We had lunch in another Druze restaurant which provided us with a magnificent feast which sustained us for the relatively short drive to Caesarea.

Arriving there it was wonderful to see the Mediterranean! Caesarea has a beautiful beach and our first stop was to view the Roman aqueduct which is right on the shoreline.

Caesarea’s history is a torrid one. First built by Herod the Great and set up as a wealthy port, he really wanted to impress the world. However his successors didn’t lead the city with the same prowess and it soon fell. Over the centuries it has dealt with earthquakes, as it moved through the Byzantine era, the Mamlukes, the Crusades, and now being the modern and wealthy city it is today. The main ruins we saw were the theatre [which has gone through various renovations and is still in use after 2,000 years], Herod’s palace and the hippodrome. Much of the ruined port is underwater, and there is still a lot of excavation to be done and so much more to be revealed.

Our two hour drive to Jerusalem was mainly on freeway with very heavy traffic at a number of points, but it was wonderful to read Psalm 22 as we drove into the city.

One of our desires for this trip was that we would all better understand the historical and current context for Christians in this land. Prior to leaving Australia we had asked our agent to try to organise a meeting with local Christians from both the Jewish and Palestinian sides. Tonight we had a wonderful opportunity to speak to Hedva, a Messianic Jew who works for the organisation Musahala [the word means reconciliation in Arabic]. This organisation seeks to bring together Jewish believers and Palestinian Christians so that the truth and love of Jesus can be truly seen. Hedva shared beautifully of her work, and was so sorry that her colleague and sister-in-Christ, Shadia, a Palestinian Christian, wasn’t able to be with her, due to doing some ministry in Finland. Other Palestinian Christians, at this point in the current conflict, aren’t able to leave Bethlehem and enter Israel. Our desire was to better understand the impact of the ‘on the ground’ situation with our brothers and sisters in Christ on both sides of the situation. As Hedva shared, her eyes filled with tears. It was so clear that her desire was for true reconciliation to be broadly known amongst these peoples who proclaim Christ. The challenge lies in the practical application of Biblical teaching and truths. Palestinian and Israeli believers, who share a common faith and desire to honour the Word of God, often continue to be separated by cultural misperceptions, language barriers, and resentfulness. What Hedva shared helped us all to understand a little better so that our prayers can be more informed. We prayed together, and we then laid hands on Hedva and asked for God’s blessings on her and the vision of Musahala. This was a great way to end an exhausting but uplifting day.