For the last several days we have been staying in a beautiful hotel on the Sea of Galilee.

Today we went north to the Golan Heights. We were in places where we could see both Syria and Lebanon only a mile away. But, we started by going to the city of Hazor mentioned many times in the Older Testament. There was a city gate built by David and Solomon. Also, on this same city was a Canaanite temple and palace. It is described in Judges 4 and 5 when the Hebrew people were going to be wiped out by the Canaanites who had chariots, a huge advantage. However, the day of the battle, God brought heavy rains and the chariots bogged down in the mud and the Hebrews won and burned the palace. The palace has many signs of a huge fire that destroyed it.

Next we went to the Dan Nature Preserve. It is often called Israel's Garden of Eden. Hundreds of springs coming out of the ground and an old city with a temple built by King Jeroboam. When David became king, 10 of the 12 tribes did not go with David. They created the Northern Kingdom under Jeroboam. He built a temple to foreign gods which did not go over well with the prophets. Finally, however, David was so successful that he joined the north and south back together. We saw that temple and the city wall.

We had lunch at a Druze Village ..... very good! Then we visited a winery.

​Tomorrow we will spend the day visiting sights on the Sea of Galilee.

The pictures below are taken in Nazareth. This is a village that shows what life was like in Nazareth during the time of Jesus. The first is an example of terracing. When they went to this site the terracing was already there from Jesus day. This was the only way to farm such a hilly region. Next is a picture of a shepherd. This shepherd calls his sheep and the sheep hear his voice and come up to the gate at night. However, when the shepherd is sick and can't work, the substitute shepherd calls and the sheep don't come. "The sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and heed his voice." The last picture is a replica of a first century synagogue.

Jim and Helga and Sally talk to children at a Christian school. They are asking Jim what kids wear in America. Several kids came up to us to speak English a language they are learning in school.