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By Marc Turnage

Arbel sits high upon the sheer limestone cliffs along the northwest corner of the lake of Galilee, northwest of Tiberias, overlooking the fertile plain of Gennesar. The Arbel Cliffs form the southern boundary of the plain of Gennesar and provide a striking visual landmark along the northwest shores of the lake. From here, visitors can see the geography on the northern shores of the lake of Galilee where 95% of Jesus’ ministry recorded in the Gospels took place.

Arbel could be identified with Beth-Arbel mentioned in the prophecy of Hosea (10:14). The current site of Arbel, however, began at the end of the second century B.C. The settlement most likely started as part of Hasmonean settlement of the Galilee when Jewish immigrants from Judea moved into the region. Rabbinic tradition identifies a Sage, Nittai, who lived in the second half of the second century B.C., as from Arbel (m. Avot 1:6-7). He served as the head of the Sanhedrin (m. Hagigah 2:2). His prominent position within Jewish society indicates a significant Jewish religious presence in Galilee at the end of the second century B.C.  

After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in A.D. 70, the priestly division of Yeshua, the ninth priestly division, settled at Arbel. Arbel was principally known for the growing of flax from which the inhabitants produced linen (Genesis Rabbah 19:1). The Arbel Valley was also known for its agricultural fertility, especially the production of grain (y. Peah 7, 4, 20a). Excavations uncovered wine and olive presses, as well as large pools, probably used for the processing of flax.

Arbel was the location of a clash between the Hasmonean forces of Antigonus and Herod (c. 39-38 B.C.). After Herod gained control of Sepphoris, he sent his force “to the village of Arbela,” and after 40 days, Herod’s forces fought the supporters of Antigonus (Josephus, War 1:305-313). Herod’s forces won the battle, and Antigonus’ supporters fled some taking refuge in caves “very near the village” of Arbel (Antiquities 14:415). There are three groups of caves in the cliffs of Mount Arbel, and most likely the rebels sought refuge in the western group of caves, which are the closest to the village of Arbel (approximately 400 meters). 

Herod eventually dealt with the rebels held-up in the caves. His forces could not make a direct assault on the caves due to the sheerness of the cliffs. His engineers constructed baskets to lower soldiers down the cliff face by machines anchored to the summit of the hill. The soldiers, armed with grappling hooks, fished the brigands out of the caves hurling them to the rocks below. Soldiers hurled fire into the caves to force the rebels out of them. Some of the rebels threw themselves along with their families down the cliffs while Herod watched from a fortified position on an opposite hill.

During the First Jewish revolt against Rome, Josephus fortified the “cave of Arbel” (Life 188; see Life 311; and War 2:573). Josephus likely fortified the eastern group of caves on the Arbel Cliffs where there are remains of actual fortifications. He also quite possibly utilized the western group of caves previously used by the supporters of Antigonus against Herod.

Today visitors can hike to the overlook from the cliffs of the Gennesar Valley and the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. They can also see the remains of a limestone synagogue built in the fourth century A.D., which continued in use until the eighth century A.D. Renovations were made in the late sixth or early seventh century A.D. 

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“My spirit is broken, days are cut short, the grave awaits me. Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility” (Job 17:1 NIV).

Despair is a common human emotion. As finite beings, we often struggle to see beyond the moment, and when circumstances overwhelm us, we can all too easily find our emotions swept away. The floodwaters come over us, and we despair. And that’s okay—as long as we don’t stay there.

The dreadful circumstances in Job’s life overwhelmed him. He didn’t feel like being “spiritual”; the reality he was facing was too heavy. Yet, he didn’t try to hide what he felt; he embraced it. He shared it with his friends: “My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.”

Have you ever been there? Don’t compare yourself to Job or anyone else. Your worst day is your worst day. Have you been there? 

It’s okay. We all have. Having faith does not mean that we do not experience despair. Sometimes the most honest part of our faith can be articulating our despair. Job was done, his spirit broken. He looked toward the grave. He felt he couldn’t do anymore. His friends offered little help. Their comfort did little. 

We need to learn to find God in our despair. That does not mean we ignore it. We can’t assume that if we don’t acknowledge it, it will go away. It won’t. Our despair stems from being overwhelmed in the moment. It’s an easy thing to do when you’re finite. That’s why we need to find God in our despair. The One who is infinite. 

When you experience despair, all feels lost. Our hopes, our dreams, everything seems gone. Job was honest about how he felt. God eventually answered him. God didn’t give him a step-by-step program to get out of his despair. God entered and answered Job in his despair. 

When we find ourselves overwhelmed by despair, we can turn our back on God. It’s easy to do. The challenge is to remain facing toward God even in the midst of our despair and feelings of brokenness. That’s the key—which way we’re facing. 

Our life may be desolate for a time, but if we face God, He can redeem those moments. He can answer us out of eternity. 

PRAYER

Father, even in the midst of our deepest despair and desolation, may we turn our faces toward You. Amen.

By Nicole Jansezian

Trauma was already an issue for residents in the region of Shiloh where terror attacks are all too frequent. 

But since October 7, therapists in the area have seen a major uptick in patients returning for counseling after the Hamas invasion triggered PTSD in some and exacted a different cost altogether from others. 

“Since the October 7th massacre, we have been working 24/7 to meet the skyrocketing demand for our post-trauma therapeutic services,” said Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund founder David Rubin. “We established a mobile therapy team to treat dislocated survivors of the massacre.”

There has been a spike in requests for treatment—75 percent plus a 90 percent surge in requests for children with pre-existing psychological conditions. 

“This refers to those who had concluded previous rounds of treatment, but the horrible massacre and the war have reignited their symptoms,” Rubin said.

Rubin said in that area alone, 80 percent of the fathers have been called up to reserve duty. This has placed families under stress while still dealing with losses from the war and ongoing terrorism locally. 

Judea and Samaria—also known as the West Bank—is a swath of land comprised of separate Israeli and Palestinian communities side by side along in the region. The proximity, many times, makes for high tensions and leaves residents vulnerable to attacks.

On a tour of the facilities, Rubin introduced CBN Israel to the therapists and teachers who are reporting renewed waves of trauma among students and patients. The principal of the girls’ school uses agriculture on the campus grounds to help the children process their emotions.

“A girl who lost a brother or cousin or close relative in a terror attack or in war, or a teacher even, or a neighbor—there are many circles—now she takes a seedling, and she starts to take care of it,” principal Tamar Sela told us. “She discovers strength within herself because she caused something to grow. Because she took care of it, it’s now growing. There’s a sense of satisfaction, responsibility, belonging.”

Working with the plants teaches the girls patience and planning. 

“This gives them something stable and it enables them to make connections,” she said.  

Rubin, the former mayor of Shiloh, knows the need for this kind of support personally. He and his then 3-year-old son, Ruby, were victims of a terror attack in 2001 while driving back to Shiloh from Jerusalem. Ruby sustained a gunshot wound to the head, the bullet missing his brain stem by 1 millimeter. Though he survived, Ruby needed therapy—less readily available at the time—to work through the trauma. 

Since then, Rubin set out to provide help for people that found themselves in the same situation. The goal, he said was to integrate education and therapy at the local schools while also providing individual therapies at the main facility of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund called, The Meeting Place.

The type of therapies—whether with art, music, animals or agriculture—help children process their pain at their level. Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund also sponsors a therapeutic horse farm, using riding therapy as another outlet for children to deal with the ripple effects of trauma and loss.

“CBN Israel’s support of the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund has been critical in supporting families going through the grief caused by terrorism,” Rubin said. 

The biblical Shiloh was the first capital of Israel and the city where the tabernacle of God was established for 369 years.

Nicole Jansezian is the media coordinator for CBN Israel. A long-time journalist, Nicole was previously the news editor of All Israel News and All Arab News and a journalist at The Associated Press. On her YouTube channel, Nicole gives a platform to the minority communities in Jerusalem and highlights stories of fascinating people in this intense city. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., she lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Tony, and their three children.

It’s a giant leap of faith for a young person to leave their native land and immigrate alone to Israel. Yet, it can be a bigger hurdle becoming a citizen and navigating a new culture and language. And since the October 7 attacks, those now coming from Ukraine’s war to another war in Israel are facing compounded challenges. 

That’s why absorption centers, called ulpans, are critical to helping these new arrivals adjust. And friends like you are a vital part of this effort, through CBN Israel’s partnership with the Jewish Agency.

For example, one absorption center in Haifa serves about 250 lone Russians and Ukrainians. Thanks to faithful donors, these students live in a dorm setting, receive intensive Hebrew lessons, and make new friends and connections through the social programs. And learning Hebrew quickly is vital in helping them enter the job market, or higher education.

Nastia, the director of the program, was once a new immigrant herself. In addition to an education, she says that students receive 24/7 mentoring and ample psychological support. As she puts it, “They come alone; they leave as a community.” 

She observes, “When the war broke out here, immigrants heading to Israel didn’t know how to react, but now we see they still want to come. We also expect more immigrants after the war ends.” These absorption centers are important for the future of the students—as well as for Israel’s future.

Nastia added, “If it wasn’t for CBN’s support, we wouldn’t have been able to continue helping and hosting our immigrants. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

That’s just one way your gifts to CBN Israel can offer a helping hand to new immigrants and to Israel—while also providing nutritious meals, housing, and other necessities to those in crisis.

Please join us in reaching out!

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By Marc Turnage

Masada, a palace-fortress built by Herod the Great (Matthew 2), sits on the south-western shore of the Dead Sea, fifteen and a half miles south of Ein Gedi. The fortress sits atop an isolated rock plateau that overlooks the Dead Sea Valley below. This naturally fortified rock was first built on by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus (ruled from 103-76 B.C.). Herod the Great made it into a palace fortress that could provide protection if he needed to flee Jerusalem, as well as protecting the balsam industry at Ein Gedi, which provided the cash crop for Herod’s kingdom. 

Herod built two palace complexes on top of Masada, one on the western side (the oldest), and one on the north, which boasted three levels cascading down the northern slope of the rock scarp. Both had functioning Roman style baths, living quarters, storerooms, and decorations fitting for a king. Herod also had a pool on top of Masada, as well as gardens. 

Masada receives on average only an inch to an inch and a half of rainfall annually. The need for water of Herod’s luxuries on Masada required an ingenious water catchment system using gutters, the natural slope of the plateau; he also captured the rainwater that fell to the west of Masada diverting it into channels, which flowed into cisterns along the slopes of Masada. The cisterns on Masada held millions of cubic liters of water ensuring that the residents of Masada could survive along the arid shores of the Dead Sea, as well as enjoying the luxuries of the pool and bathhouses. 

Masada’s popularity derives from the story told by Josephus about the defenders of Masada during the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66-73). According to Josephus, a group of Jewish rebels, Sicarii, led by Elezar ben Yair held up in Masada through most of the revolt. A couple of years prior to the fall of Masada, which took place on Passover of A.D. 73, this group of rebels slaughtered the Jewish community at Ein Gedi. 

Josephus tells a tale how the Tenth Roman Legion laid siege to Masada, built a ramp up its western slope (the remains of which visitors can still see), yet when they stormed the mountain, they found that the defenders had killed their families and then themselves instead of facing slavery at the hands of the Romans. Josephus provides our only account of this story, and while it offers a daring and captivating tale, it most likely did not happen in exactly that manner. Nevertheless, visitors to Masada see evidence of the lives of the Jewish rebels. 

Not needing the luxury of Herod’s royal palace-fortress, the rebels converted portions of the palaces into more serviceable and functional purposes. The room that served as the stables for the donkeys used to bring water from the cisterns below, the rebels converted into a synagogue. Archaeologists found ancient scrolls fragments from the remains of the Jewish rebels. Some fragments preserved portions of biblical books, like Ezekiel; other fragments contained portions of other ancient Jewish literature, like Ben Sira. 

Masada offers a fascinating window into the changing political landscape of the land of Israel in the first century. In this way, it enables us to understand themes and trends that we find within the New Testament.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; you will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; you will sustain him on his sickbed” (Psalm 41:1-3 NKJV).

Our Western Christianity often relegates our spirituality solely to our own relationship with God. However, this is not the view of spirituality we find in Scripture. In the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, our path of relationship to God lies through other people, particularly the poor and suffering.

“Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” This is a rather challenging and profound statement, because it ties our deliverance from God in the day of trouble to how we serve and take care of the poor.

Our treatment of others, especially the needy, influences God’s reaction to us. According to the psalmist, He protects those who consider the poor, sustaining them on their sickbed, healing them from their illness.

Some want to interpret the “beatitudes” in the Bible—those passages that begin with “blessed” or “happy”—as “I will be blessed and happy” when I do such a thing. However, that is not necessarily the meaning in the Bible. A person who lives as the “beatitudes” instruct walks in the ways of God. This is the path of obedience. That makes them blessed.

We meet God in the poor, needy, suffering, and broken in our world. Loving and caring for them shows that we recognize His image in them. God then responds by protecting and delivering us in our time of need.

Jesus also embraced this worldview. In Matthew 25:35-46, He identified the righteous as those who cared for the poor and suffering; they receive the reward of eternal life because they recognized God’s image in the “least of these.”

One of the hallmarks of the Christian faith since the beginning has been the care for the poor, needy, suffering, and broken. The Roman world of the first century did not care about the poor. Roman society had no moral obligation or mechanism to care for the poor and needy.

But Jesus’ movement did. His followers had a strong sense of obligation as given by their Lord, and they grew because of it.

Do we see God in the poor and suffering of our world? If not, we need to listen more carefully to the psalmist and look a little harder, because those who do are blessed of the Lord.

PRAYER

Father, give us eyes to see the poor and suffering around us. Move us to action because this is where You reside. Amen.

By Nicole Jansezian

With new threats from Iran and Hezbollah as Israel’s war in Gaza stretches into its sixth month, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) faces a personnel challenge and has ordered leave to be temporarily paused for all combat soldiers.

While military service is mandatory for all 18-year-old men and women and most Jewish Israelis serve their time after high school, many Arab citizens—both Muslims and Christians—opt not to enlist.

Currently, only 3.5 percent of the Arab population serves in the military, according to the IDF, despite being more than one fifth of the nation’s citizens.

Christians comprise only 2 percent of the country’s population, but one group of Christian Israelis are trying to encourage the young members of their community to play a larger role in serving and defending their nation—and CBN Israel is supporting the cause.  

Arameans are Christian citizens of Israel who have been in the land since the time of Jesus and have recently fought to categorize their identity as separate from Arab citizens.

Many of them also believe that as a minority population in Israel, they must integrate into the nation—and that includes serving in the army.

Dozens of Aramean teens recently took part in a Christian-Jewish military prep course that would not only help them prepare to serve in the military but also to get to know others with whom they wouldn’t have regular interaction.

The graduation, in February, prepared another 48 teens ready to enlist in the IDF. Shadi Khalloul, who founded Kinneret in 2017, said 1,000 students applied.

The program at Kibbutz Beit Zera, near the Sea of Galilee, is called Kinneret and is sponsored through partnership with the Jewish Agency.

After seven months, new batches of teens graduate after learning each other’s languages and cultures and developing relationships and trust that did not previously exist.

Earlier this year, CBN Israel attended the most recent graduation and has joined arms with Khalloul in helping integrate the Christian community better into Israeli society through such a valuable program.

Nicole Jansezian is the media coordinator for CBN Israel. A long-time journalist, Nicole was previously the news editor of All Israel News and All Arab News and a journalist at The Associated Press. On her YouTube channel, Nicole gives a platform to the minority communities in Jerusalem and highlights stories of fascinating people in this intense city. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., she lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Tony, and their three children.

We see many news stories about the Israel-Hamas war, but it is sobering to hear firsthand accounts from those living it every day. Yulia and her family, who work as musicians, fled their home after October 7, as their village and livelihood came under siege from Hamas terrorists.

Yulia shares, “The first day when the tragedy began, all our concerts were cancelled. We are completely and entirely in God’s hands. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow.” She adds, “We left our home, the home we love—where our friends are, and our children’s friends.”

Describing their traumatic experience, she recounts, “We lost so many families. Our children received calls, and would find out about friends that were killed. One girl disappeared. Hamas captured her whole family.” With so many losses, where could they turn for help?

Thankfully, friends like you were there for Yulia’s family. Through CBN Israel, caring donors provided much needed financial assistance to help them buy food, clothing, and other basic essentials during their time of evacuation.

Yulia exclaims, “We are very, very grateful for your help! We feel your love for the Jewish people… We had placed our hope in our country’s strength, and now, more hope in God is arising, especially among non-believers. Their hearts are opening to hear about God…”

Your gifts to CBN Israel can bring God’s hope to others who are hurting—including Holocaust survivors, immigrants, and single mothers.

As the war continues, so do the needs. Your support can offer groceries, housing, trauma therapy, and emergency supplies to victims of terrorism, while supplying ongoing aid to those in need who are trying to survive.

Please join us in helping Israel at this crucial time!

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