Tel Aviv Jaffa (aka Joppa)

Israel, the continuing story....

From Haifa, we traveled along the coastal plains and found ourselves in Tel Aviv Jaffa, known in Biblical times as Joppa.

View along the drive from Haifa to Tel Aviv

(through the bus window!)

The gorgeous Mediterranean sea

(also through the bus window!)

Today, Tel Aviv is the biggest city in Israel and is thought to be one of the oldest seaports. Did you know all embassies of the world are found here? Why? If they were in the capital of Jerusalem, they would have to choose between Jewish or Palestinian quarters. In order to avoid offense of either group, embassies have landed themselves in more neutral territory...Tel Aviv!

Here is a monument in honor of Jonah and the great fish!

He sure looks like a happy fish, doesn't he?

Here is a rooftop restaurant in Joppa...it looked so inviting, I wish there had been time to stop and have a snack! We saw various rooftops in this area...it brought to mind various passages of scripture where rooftop experiences happened.

Here is our group...walking along the paths of Joppa...such a neat experience...and quite the miracle that we didn't lose anyone during the trip! :)

Here is the Joppa harbor. This is the place that Jonah came to when fleeing the Lord from Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). And when Solomon was building the temple, cedars were brought to this harbor from Phoenicia before being transported to Jerusalem (II Chronicles 2:16).

Here's another pic looking over the harbor area..love it!

St. Peter's Church: Peter had come from Lydda to Joppa to raise Dorcas from the dead. While in Joppa he had a vision on a rooftop (Acts 10). This church marks the traditional site of Peter's vision.

A magnificent doorway into St. Peter's Church (Oh how I love neat doorways!)

Here is Micah, trying to get that perfect picture. Yep, this is how most of us looked throughout the trip. We just had to reconcile the fact that we were in fact tourists...embrace it...and maximize that tourist look....cameras clicking at every opportunity! :)

Perhaps, this is what Micah's picture looked like. At any rate, this is a glimpse of the inside of St Peter's Church!

I know these pictures are dark..but we literally stepped in the door, snapped our pics...then kept on movin!

The following pictures are just a glimpse at city life that we observed as we walked...

A street vendor...

Just a neat church steeple along our walk...

Here are some street entertainers we watched as we boarded the bus (aka our second home for the week!)

A cute little shop...too bad our guide kept saying "no more shoppin" :)

Waiting at a crosswalk, this horse walked by...no rider, no owner in sight. No one was sure what to do with a random horse...and he seemed to be obeying the traffic rules so why bother him!? :)

Haifa

On our first day, we stopped in Haifa for lunch! It was sooo yummy! We had this delicious soup...it was so flavorful and yummy! Then, we stepped outside and enjoyed the view and gorgeous weather!
Haifa is a port city that sits on the Mediterranean Sea. The water is just glorious to look at! I could have sat there for hours enjoying the breeze, sunshine and the view!

Liz

Richelle and Jackie

Stephanie

Anne-Marie and me

Liz, Alison and Jackie

Melanie and me

I was amazed that they had these statues made of Anne-Marie, Liz and me! :-)

There were some beautiful gardens that overlooked the city....if only we had more time to really explore these gardens...

We went back to Haifa later in the week to meet with Dr. Pokroy who told us about the work going on in the local assembly there. It is so encouraging to hear how the Lord is working in and through the believers in Haifa! Pray for them!

Mount Carmel

We drove through the Jezreel Valley...a beautiful, fertile land in that area. We drove past Megiddo (I really wish we had stopped there!) and continued on towards Mt Carmel.

Here is a picture of us driving up Mt Carmel...its soo beautiful (minus the reflection in the window...I was still perfecting my take-pictures-as-we-ride-in-the-bus technique!!)


We were greeted by a statue of Elijah...



Geography of Mount Carmel....(sadly the day was hazy and the visibility wasn't ideal)

Mediterranean Sea is to the west

Mt Tabor and Nazareth are towards the east (and a little bit south)

squint and you can see Mt Tabor in the distance!!

Megiddo is towards the southeast
Samaria/Samaria Mtns lie south of Megiddo

Megiddo is down below...with the Samarian mtns in the distance!

The Lord Jesus would have spent about 27 years of His life in Nazareth and when He headed towards Jerusalem, He chose to go through Samaria--"...as He went to Jerusalem..He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee..." Luke 17:11. It was there that He encountered the ten lepers with only one returning to give thanks.

I Kings 18 describes a time when Samaria was under a great famine. Ahab and Jezebel ruled during this time, in the area of Megiddo and Jezreel. Ahab blames Elijah for the drought and so Elijah challenges him to bring his prophets of Baal to Mt Carmel. The children of Israel gathered and the prophets of Baal numbered 450. They each prepared their altars and put no fire under it. The prophets of Baal cried out to their gods...at noon Elijah mocked them, telling them to call out louder..perhaps their gods were sleeping. They continued to cry out, dancing and cutting themselves with knives until evening.

Then Elijah prepared an altar to the Lord. He placed 12 stones upon it to represent the tribes of the sons of Jacob...and then he had 4 pots, filled with water, poured upon the alter...repeated 3 times. It is thought that they may have gone to the Mediterranean Sea to get the water. The altar and trench surrounding it were filled with water and then Elijah called out to the Lord. He called out and the Lord answered with fire from heaven that consumed the offering, altar, stones and licked up all the water. And the people fell on their faces and said "The Lord, He is God!"

As I stood on Mt Carmel and heard the account of this event, I couldn't help but look up and wonder what it must have been like to see the fire come down and consume the altar in its entirety! The people reacted by falling on their faces. They obviously recognized that Elijah served the true and living God. And yet, we know, that Ahab and Jezebel never repented of their ways. They never turned their hearts towards the living God. How is that possible after seeing such an awesome act of God!?

It reminded me of a passage in Revelation 9 where the fifth trumpet is described. The locusts and scorpions from the bottomless pit are given power. They are commanded to harm "only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for 5 months...in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die and death will flee from them." Revelation 9:4-6

What a horrid place to find mankind! A place of despair beyond measure...and yet we read that they, "with the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands...they did not repent." Revelation 9:20-21 They will turn away from the One who can give them Life and turn towards the very one who caused such pain, agony, despair! They refuse to repent of their ways, just like Ahab and Jezebel and the prophets of Baal.

And then I turned to look at my own heart. How often do I allow my own fleshly desires to rule rather than recognizing the power of the living God in my own life? I am thankful that our God has been patient and merciful with me. He could rain down fire from heaven and consume me and yet He patiently guides and directs me, helping me to see the error of my ways. May I look back on Mt Carmel and be reminded that my God is great and powerful, that He is the same God Who I serve today. May my heart bow to Him, "The Lord, He is God!"