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By Marc Turnage

The Mount of Olives is a north-south ridge that sits on the eastern watershed of the hills around Jerusalem. To its east, the land slopes drastically down towards the Jordan River Valley and the area around Jericho, towards the Dead Sea. 

The steep fall-off of the topography east of the Mount of Olives, together with the weather patterns coming from the west off the Mediterranean Sea, which causes the rain to fall along the heights of the hill country, means that the land to the east of the Mount of Olives sits in the rain shadow, with little vegetation. This wilderness provided refuge for those seeking concealment from the authorities. When David fled Jerusalem from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:13-23), he went over the Mount of Olives into this wilderness seeking refuge.

The Mount of Olives in antiquity never belonged inside the city of Jerusalem. It always sat as its eastern boundary separated from the city of Jerusalem by the Kidron Valley. The Mount of Olives also served as Jerusalem’s cemetery beginning in the Chalcolithic period (Stone Age). Tombs from the time of the Judean monarchy (Old Testament), as well as the first century (New Testament) have been discovered on the Mount of Olives. At the foot of the mountain sit three monumentally decorated tombs from the first centuries B.C. and A.D., one of which is the misnamed Tomb of Absalom. 

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on His “Triumphal Entry” (Luke 19:28-29), He approached the city from the Mount of Olives. Pilgrims to Jerusalem today can walk down the Mount of Olives on the “Palm Sunday” processional route, but this would not have been the path Jesus took, as it led through a first century cemetery, which would have rendered Him ritually impure prohibiting Him from entering the Temple. Most likely His route would have taken Him over one the saddles of the ridge on either its northern or southern part. 

The prophet Zechariah proclaimed that at the end of the age, when God’s kingdom is revealed in all the world, that He will stand on the Mount of Olives, which will split east to west, opening a chasm that will cause the mountain to move to the north and south (Zechariah 14:4). The Mount of Olives is not only connected to Jerusalem’s history in both the Old and New Testaments; it is also directly linked to its future. 

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

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:8 HCSB).

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, He came to walk with them in the garden—yet they responded by hiding themselves.

Children who disobey a parent often respond in the same manner. But God did not leave Adam and Eve in hiding; He searched and called for them. You could say that, from the time of the Garden of Eden, the story of the Bible is God in search of mankind. Jesus declared in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

King David realized how intimately God knew him, and he recognized that even if he wanted to hide from God, he could not. He wrote in Psalm 139:7-12:

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take up the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” even darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day.

Even in those moments when our disobedience and shame drive us to hide from our Father in heaven, He searches us out. He lovingly pursues us and doesn’t allow us to remain in hiding. If we want to wrap ourselves in darkness to hide from Him, He dispels the darkness. What an incredible reality!

When Adam and Eve came out of hiding, God provided clothing to cover their nakedness. He also continued to care for them.

David’s realization that God knew him intimately, that God pursued him to the ends of the earth, elicited in him the response of obedient surrender: Search me, God, and know my heart; put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24).

While our disobedience may tempt us to hide from God, His love for us should cause us to respond with a yearning to walk obediently in His ways.

PRAYER

Father, even in those times when I want to hide from You, I know You are there. You search me out and pursue me. Please lead me in Your paths today. Amen.

The menorah refers to the seven-branched candelabra which God commanded Moses to have fashioned as part of the vessels of the Tabernacles (Exodus 25:31-40; 37:17-24). Artisans fashioned the menorah from a single ingot of gold, with the lamps carved separately from gold. Within the First Temple, the Temple of Solomon, ten golden menorot (plural, menorah) stood in the Temple building, five on the northern wall and five on the southern wall. It is not certain whether these lamps had branches, like the menorah of the Tabernacle. The Babylonians took the menorot from the Temple when they destroyed it and Jerusalem.

The rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem required the Judeans to refashion the vessels of the Temple including the menorah. The Jewish writer Jesus ben Sira mentions the golden menorah in the Second Temple in the early second century B.C. The Seleucid king, Antiochus IV, removed it when he converted the Jewish Temple into a Temple to Zeus. Judah the Maccabee made new vessels as part of his purification of the Temple, after he reconquered it from the Seleucid Greeks. It remained in the Second Temple until the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. They took the menorah with them to Rome and placed it in the Temple of Peace. Rome’s celebration of the conquest of Judaea appears on the Arch of Titus in Rome where the menorah is shown being conveyed into Rome.

The menorah became a Jewish symbol during the Second Temple period. The last Hasmonean ruler, Mattathias Antigonus, stamped a menorah upon his coins. Archaeologists have discovered menorah graffities in homes and on stones. The menorah stood in the interior of the Temple building, not the Holy of Holies, but the preceding hall. Within the Holy Place, the menorah stood with the incense altar and the table of shewbread. Twice a day priests entered the Temple to tend the lamps of the menorah and offer incense on the altar, at the time of the morning and evening sacrifices. The graffities discovered in Jerusalem depict these three elements together: the menorah, the incense altar, and the table of shewbread.

Archaeologists uncovered a unique stone in a first century synagogue in Magdala, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. This stone, which archaeologist suggest was a base for a Torah reading stand, bears images from the Jerusalem Temple. The iconography of the stone comes from the Temple. It depicts the menorah and incense altar; some suggest it also shows the table of shewbread, which would be consistent with depictions of the menorah in this period.

After the menorah was taken to Rome, it became a more prominent Jewish symbol appearing in synagogue art throughout the Jewish world. The menorah was the earliest Jewish symbol identifying the presence of Jews. Many today think of the Star of David as a Jewish symbol, but this is modern. Ancient Jews made their mark with the menorah. Some mistakenly refer to the nine-branched candelabra used at Hanukkah as a menorah. It is not. It is a Hanukkiah, the special candelabra for Hanukkah.

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

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Last week, Iran International television news made history in a first-of-a-kind broadcast by featuring an Israeli prime minister—Benjamin Netanyahu—speaking directly to the Iranian people. On March 9, journalist Pouria Zeraati held an exclusive interview with Netanyahu, in which Bibi praised the protestors’ bravery on the streets of Iran and called the Islamic regime a “common enemy.” He expressed his personal admiration for the Woman, Life, Freedom resistance movement, describing it as “a miraculous achievement” by not bowing down to tyranny. 

Netanyahu’s comments are timely, since Iranian protestors have risked their lives to spread their demands for freedom from the hateful Ayatollahs and their nearly 190,000 enforcers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The regime’s ruthless reaction has, since September, led to more than 500 deaths and 22,000 arrests. One hundred and ten Iranians are set to face a death sentence, joining four other dissenters who have already been executed. On March 13 the Ayatollahs alleged that they now have granted amnesty to 80,000 prisoners, including some 22,000 protestors who had been arrested. That remains to be seen.

In his Twitter account, British-based Iranian journalist Zeraati also reported that the Islamic regime has poisoned school children, declaring that the regime’s message is “loud and clear, they will do whatever it takes.” The numbers are frightening to parents, with school poisonings having occurred since November in more than 100 schools. The Iranian Health Ministry claims that 13,000 students have been treated. While difficult to prove, it is easy for Iranians to view the poisonings as direct warnings from the Islamic regime’s oppressive history. 

The Israeli Prime Minister made remarks about ancient Persia and future ties between Israel and Iran. In 539 B.C., Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon. Looking to the future, Netanyahu envisions a renewed and strengthened friendship between Israel and Iran. He noted that prior to the Islamist takeover, their friendship had been strong. Obviously, his remarks are based on stopping Iran’s nuclear weapons capability—which threatens the Middle East, United States, and the world.

My friend Marziyeh (Marzi) Amirizadeh is an author and Iranian activist who was formerly imprisoned in Iran for sharing her Christian faith and giving out thousands of Bibles. Now that she’s an American citizen, her expert opinion is that many Iranians inside the country watched Netanyahu’s broadcast captioned in Farsi. She reports that the viewers reacted positively and admire Israel’s prime minister. As usual, since the protests began, the Ayatollahs have plotted internet disruptions and blackouts, thereby handcuffing freedom of speech on social media. However, Marzi notes that Iranians watch three major news media outside Iran: Iran International, Voice of America, and Manoto TV. 

Netanyahu concluded his remarks with two more messages. To Western leaders, he paraphrased Moses’ demand to Pharaoh—“Let my people go!”—by challenging the Islamic regime, “Let YOUR people go.” He added a no-nonsense point to the Ayatollahs: “We’ll be here long after you’re gone.”

Netanyahu described stopping Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons as the  “quintessential heart of my foreign policy.” His clear statement is evidenced by the ramped-up military exercises in the last few months with the United States military. On January 26, the U.S. Central Command and Israel Defense Forces completed Juniper Oak 2023 with a massive military exercise in the Middle East described as the biggest joint drill on record. Now, as of March 12, the Red Flag 23-2 exercise is underway for two weeks, hosted by the United States Air Force at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base. Israel has sent seven F-35I fighter jets and two Boeing 707 refueling planes for the drill. Joint military operations with Israel are common in both Israel and the United States. Israel has participated in five previous Red Flag drills at the U.S. base. 

I consider the joint midair refueling as one of the most significant drills, since Iran’s nuclear development sites are 1,200 miles from Israel. One drill focuses on an Israel Air Force (IAF) tanker refueling American fighter jets, with the U.S. in turn refueling Israeli aircraft. These refueling exercises make it possible for the IAF to reach Iran for the purpose of targeting Iran’s nuclear complexes—and only the nuclear complexes. 

Clearly Netanyahu speaks for Israel, which has no quarrel with the Iranian population themselves (more than 86 million people). Prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution, 80,000 Jews lived in Iran. Tens of thousands fled. Reports vary, but few in the Jewish community remain in Iran, and approximately 250,000 Jews of Iranian ancestry live in Israel. 

The Abraham Accords instituted dynamic and exciting changes in the Middle East. However, multiple levels of other sweeping changes in that region are advancing. It is essential to remain aware and prayerful for our greatest ally Israel, the suffering of the Iranian people, and wisdom for Israeli and American leaders’ decision-making. While the military alliance between Israel and the United States is vigorous, the U.S. influence in the Middle East is lessening.

One example stands out. China is now a kingmaker in the Middle East. In a secret four-day meeting, they brokered a deal in Beijing between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Chinese leaders agreed last Friday to reopen the embassies in both countries after seven years of weighty tensions. Although the deal revives the Saudi-Iran security cooperation pact of 2001, a hidden element may be at work. The deal is not official for another two months, and much could change. It is possible that Saudis would still rather connect more closely with Israel in order to rely on the Jewish state’s security against Iran. Plus, Saudis are not fond of the current U.S. administration and may be sending a wake-up message to a compromised Mr. Biden.

Aside from the seeming Chinese successes, Russia and Iran have agreed on the sale of Russian fighter jets for Iran’s recently revealed underground air force base. They named it “Eagle 44.”  EAGLE 44? I view that as the Islamic regime’s arrogance in appropriating one of the United States’ national symbols. 

We live at a time when Isaiah 5:20 is epidemic. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” As believers, let us make sure that we pay persistent attention to our Lord Jesus, the Light of the world, amid darkening world events. We can rely on Him to help us navigate life steadied by Him. We also know that in His time, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus will settle every conflict regarding Israel, His Land, and His people, the Jews. May God have mercy on us as we await that day. 

Please join with CBN Israel this week in prayer for Israel and the Middle East:

• Pray for Israeli and all Arab leaders in the Middle East to make wise decisions about the Islamic regime’s threats. 
• Pray with thanks for the beneficial bonds between the U.S. and Israeli military.
• Pray for strength for the Iranian people to endure as they seek their freedom. 
• Pray for Israel’s internal peace amid controversial opinions about reshaping their Supreme Court.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her part-time as Outreach Director for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a board member for Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

As a single mother, Anna lived with her little boy in Eastern Ukraine when the war broke out. She recalled, “We were totally unprepared… We had to hide in the basement— it was cold and scary.” After weeks of living in fear with her son, she decided it was time to escape.

A rescue train organized by their Jewish community took them to western Ukraine. From there, the Israeli government allowed Jewish refugees to immediately make Aliyah—Israeli citizenship for Jews—and return to their ancestral homeland of Israel as immigrants. 

When they arrived, a government grant enabled them to rent an apartment. Yet, Anna needed a refrigerator and couldn’t afford one. She was alone and jobless in a new country. 

But friends like you were there. Through CBN Israel, caring donors gave her a refrigerator—plus, food vouchers, groceries, and basic furniture! Anna shared, “What a headache it is to live without a fridge… You got it for us quickly. It was a big relief, and we’re very thankful.” 

Today, just a few months later, Anna is working part time and earning an income. We visit her and her son regularly, and she adds, “Your words, your prayers, and your support help restore my faith. These acts of kindness show that there is still good in the world.” 

And your gift to CBN Israel can share God’s goodness with many in need—by bringing them nutritious meals, essentials, financial help, and more. Your support can reach out to Holocaust survivors, immigrants, terror victims, and others with nowhere to turn. 

Please join us as we bless others in this special land!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

The most dramatic geographical feature of the biblical land of Israel is the scar of the Rift Valley. Created by the tectonic plates, this forms part of the Syro-African Rift, the longest scar on the face of the planet. Within the land of Israel, the Rift Valley is referred to as the Jordan River Valley because the Jordan River flows through a large portion of it. Within this valley, Lot chose to settle in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which God destroyed (Genesis 13:10).

The Jordan River begins south of Mount Hermon where three headwaters flow together to form the Jordan River. The Jordan River flows south through the upper part of the Jordan Valley, known as the Huleh Valley, then into the Sea of Galilee. It exits the lake on its southern end traveling south over sixty-five miles into the Dead Sea. Over its journey from the Sea of Galilee (656 feet below sea level) to the Dead Sea (1310 feet below sea level), the Jordan River carves a deep and winding course and meanders roughly two hundred miles over its sixty-five-mile journey. 

The Jordan River played a significant role in a number of biblical stories. The Israelites crossed the Jordan River, when it was at flood stage, to enter the promised land and began their conquest of the land (Joshua 1-4). Biblical Israel spanned both sides of the Jordan River, its east and west bank, so too did kingdoms that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah interacted with, like Ammon and Moab. 

Thus, characters in the Bible crossed the Jordan often traveling to the land on the eastern and western sides of the river (Judges 7:22-8:17; 1 Samuel 11; 31; 2 Samuel 2:24-32; 15-19). Elisha followed Elijah on his final day before being caught up into heaven across the Jordan River (2 Kings 2:6-13). After Elijah’s departure, Elisha crossed the river dividing it with Elijah’s coat. Elisha sent Naaman the Syrian to immerse himself in the Jordan River seven time (2 Kings 5:14) to cure him from his skin ailment. 

In the region of the Jordan, John the Baptist baptized Jesus (Luke 3:3). Modern pilgrims today visit a location identified as the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism near Jericho, and just north of the Dead Sea. The identification of this site began in the Byzantine period (4^th-6^th centuries A.D.) to enable Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem to also visit the Jordan River, which is a day’s walk from Jerusalem. The Byzantine Christians, however, did not know that Jewish ritual purity laws of the first century considered the waters of the Jordan River south of the Sea of Galilee impure for ritual immersion (Mishnah Parah 8.10-11). 

It seems unlikely, then, that John would have baptized anyone in the Jordan south of the Sea of Galilee; however, the waters of the Jordan north of the Sea of Galilee are considered pure for immersion. This geographically fits Jesus’ meeting Philip coming out of Bethsaida (on the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee) the day after his baptism (John 1:43-44). Such a meeting would have been impossible in Bethsaida the day after his baptism if Jesus had been baptized near Jericho.

The Jordan River serves as one of the central geographic boundaries and features that plays so prominently in so many biblical stories. 

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

“The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ And I said, ‘I see a rod of an almond tree.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it’” (Jeremiah 1:11-12 NASB).

This interchange between God and Jeremiah seems a bit strange. How does an almond branch connect to God diligently watching over His word to see it happen? To understand this interaction, we need to recognize two things: 1) a wordplay happens in Hebrew in these verses, and 2) the horticulture of the almond.

The word for almond in Hebrew is shaqed, and the word translated as “diligently watching” is shoqed. What Jeremiah sees—the almond branch—connects to God’s message that He watches diligently over His word to see it happen. That explains the connection between what Jeremiah sees and God’s message to him, but what does it mean?

Of all the trees in the land of Israel, the almond tree blossoms first. The appearance of the almond blossoms signals that spring has come. Yet, while the almond blossoms first, its fruit arrives last of all the trees. It’s first to blossom and last to fruit. Herein lies God’s message to Jeremiah. As with the almond, whose fruit you must diligently await, so is God’s word. If He has given His word—even if its fulfillment is delayed—He watches over it diligently to perform it. Like the almond’s fruit, God’s word, even if delayed, will come to fulfillment.

Do we have the patience to diligently endure until God performs His word? Do we trust that, even if the world around us looks like God has forgotten His word, He diligently watches over it to do it?

Patiently enduring is often one of the hardest spiritual disciplines to acquire because in our culture, in which everything is instant and immediate, we don’t like to wait. Patience is a struggle. But as anyone who understands agriculture will tell you, growing produce takes time, and there are specific seasons within the growth cycle of the fruit.

Don’t get in front of God. Wait patiently for Him to perform His word because He diligently watches over it to do it.

PRAYER

Father, sometimes patience is hard for us. Help us not to get out in front of You, but to trust Your goodness and timing knowing that You watch over Your word. Amen.

Replacement theology refers to the faulty belief that God replaced Israel as His chosen people with the Church. According to those who hold this view, God’s promises to Israel now belong to the Church, and His plans no longer extend to the Jewish people or Israel. The origins of this belief are ancient. They stem from social and theological forces.

Ancient Judaism attracted non-Jews. Most chose not to identify fully with Judaism, which required a man to undergo the rite of circumcision. So too, the Jewish commandments proved too hard for non-Jews and alienated them from their families and civic identities. Non-Jews attracted to Judaism were called God-fearers (or God-worshippers).

The Jewish followers of Jesus attracted non-Jews as well. The Jewish followers of Jesus decided non-Jews could remain non-Jews, but they had to avoid meat sacrificed to idols, prohibited sexual unions, and bloodshed. Jesus’ community required them to adopt a Jewish morality without fully converting to Judaism. They lived Jewishly without being fully part of the Jewish community. This was Paul’s position as well.

Non-Jews stood on the edge of the synagogue, not fully part of the community. This created an inferiority complex, a sense of being an outsider. Such feelings can produce resentment over time. They can be overcome by the outsiders concluding they represent the true faith. Jews failed, and God rejected them. Their laws were null and a hinderance to salvation. Scattered evidence of this logic appears among non-Jews prior to the rise of Christianity, but with the rise of Christianity, these ideas became more widespread as Christianity showed itself as the true religion and Israel’s replacement.

An apocryphal work known as Fifth Ezra reflects this belief. This work likely dates to the second century A.D. Preserved in Latin, it was originally written in Greek. The author proclaims, “What can I do about you Jacob? You would not listen to me, Judah. I will turn to another nation and give it my name in order that they may keep my decrees. Because you have forsaken me, I will forsake you…I am going to deliver your houses to a coming people who, though they have not heard me, believe; [those] to whom I showed no signs will do what I decreed. They did not see the prophets, yet they will keep in mind their time-honored [admonitions]” (1:24-25, 35-36).

Justin Martyr (about A.D. 100-165) also embraced this belief. In his Dialogue with Trypho a Jew, he interpreted Genesis 9:27 as, “Accordingly, as two peoples were blessed—those from Shem, and those from Japhet—and as the offspring of Shem were decreed first to possess the dwellings of Canaan, and the offspring of Japhet were predicted as in turn receiving the same possessions…so Christ has come calling men to…a living together of all the saints in the same land whose possession He promised, as has already been proven.

Whence men from all parts, whether slave or free, who believe in Christ and know the truth in His and the prophets’ words, know that they will be with Him in that land, there to inherit the things that are eternal and incorruptible” (139:4-5). Justin elsewhere described Gentile Christians as the “true Israel” (Dialogue 11:5; 120:5). The idea emerged quite early within Gentile Christianity that God had rejected the Jews, and their laws were not relevant.

It is critical that Christians understand the dangers of these distorted beliefs. For centuries, sermons and writings espousing replacement theology have planted the seeds of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism. Not only did this lead to widespread discrimination and violence against the Jewish community in much of Western society; it left the door wide open for six million Jews to be murdered in the Holocaust. 

While not all Christian groups accept this theology, it has seen a resurgence in recent years within many Christian circles, and it is absolutely imperative that we oppose and root out this toxic thinking. 

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

By Marc Turnage

The Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake on earth. It sits 600 feet below sea level. It is a lake, and not a sea; thus, the Evangelist Luke correctly describes it often as a lake (5:1; 8:22, 33). 

The Lake of Galilee sits in the Jordan River Valley, which is part of the Syro-African Rift Valley. The Jordan River flows through the lake from the north where its three headwaters converge south of the ancient site of Dan to form the Jordan River and flow south into the lake. The river continues out of the south end of the lake on its southward journey towards the Dead Sea. The modern exit of the Jordan River on the south end of the lake is not the ancient exit of the river; the modern exit was created for the dam used to regulate the flow of water out of the lake.

Hills surround the lake on its western, northern, and eastern sides. To its south, one finds the continuation of the Jordan River Valley. On its northwest and northeast corners sit two fertile valleys into which water runoff from the surrounding hills flow. The northwest valley is known as the Gennesar Valley, which the first century Jewish historian Josephus says was the name given to the lake by the locals (see Luke 5:1). The valley on the northeast side of the lake is the Bethsaida Valley, so called for the ancient site of Bethsaida, the home of Jesus’ disciples Peter, Philip, and Andrew, which was located in the valley along the shoreline of the lake. 

The Bethsaida Valley, while fertile, has three large water tributaries, including the Jordan River, flow through it, which made it more challenging for travel by foot. Two of these tributaries flow out of the Golan Heights feeding the water of the lake along with the Jordan River. Between the Gennesar Valley and Bethsaida Valley ninety-five percent of Jesus’ ministry recorded in the Gospels took place. He fed the 5,000 in the Bethsaida Valley (Luke 9:10). Within this area, one finds the villages of Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida, which Jesus cursed (Luke 10:13-16). 

South of the Gennesar Valley sits the modern city of Tiberias, which was built by Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, in the year 19-20 A.D. Antipas moved his administration from Sepphoris to Tiberias, which was where he resided during the ministries of Jesus and John the Baptist. 

The lake itself provided a fishing industry for the locals. The water off the Bethsaida Valley provided excellent fishing, especially for the local tilapia. People used the lake not only for fishing, but also for travel. Both Josephus and the Gospels indicate that people traveled around the lake by boat much more than they did by foot.

The Gospels record the sudden storms that occur on the lake. The topography of the surrounding hills and canyons create wind funnels across the lake, particularly the northern part of the lake. Storms on the Lake of Galilee are serious, especially the wind storms that blow in from the east off the Golan Heights down onto the lake. The easterly wind storms that hit the land of Israel are quite severe, and even in the present day, can cause damage to property and agriculture, even the loss of life. These easterly winds are known as sharkia, from the Arabic “shark” (east). They are most prevalent from October-May. They turn the lake’s waters into churning, violent swells, easily 10 to 12 feet high. 

The Lake of Galilee provides the setting for many of the stories in the Gospels, sayings and actions of Jesus. On its shores, He taught the people about the kingdom of Heaven and performed many miracles. 

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

“The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me” (Psalm 23:1-4 HCSB).

Sheep are animals that need to be led. In the land of Israel, shepherds often took their sheep away from settled areas to graze. This exposed them to various dangers—the weather, terrain, and human and animal predators.

The shepherd was responsible for leading his flocks to safe areas where they could find nourishment, be protected from predators, and would rein in their tendency to wander away. Because of Israel’s climate, terrain and predators, the sheep depended utterly upon the shepherd.

The daily reality of the shepherd provided clear images for the psalmist to describe God. God is a good shepherd, one who leads His flock to places of nourishment, along right, safe paths, who protects each sheep from potential dangers. The sheep depend upon the shepherd to take care of these things, as a good shepherd does.

Often the farming and herding images of the Bible fail to connect with us as they did to the ancient readers, because in our modern developed world we do not interact with agricultural or herders’ lifestyles.

But the psalmist painted a clear image of our need for God and His responsibility to lead us and protect us. Do we allow Him to shepherd us? Do we allow ourselves to be shepherded?

The psalmist knew that the sheep could not survive within the hazardous wilds without the shepherd. There were no self-made sheep.

Too often today, the world idolizes rugged individualism; we do not allow ourselves to be led. We do not recognize our limitations. This is where worry comes from: when we seek to take control of the things that belong to God.

Do we recognize that our Shepherd is a good shepherd? Do we trust Him to lead us and allow Him to do so? We can rest assured that if we do, we shall not want.

PRAYER

Our Father, our Shepherd, please lead us, guide us, and protect us for Your name’s sake. Amen.