by Rev. Donald MacLean, Glasgow
(Continued from page 85.)
The following day, Wednesday, we travelled by taxis to Bethlehem, a wonderful drive towards the south. We stopped at the Shepherds’ Fields which are below Bethlehem. This is a most fruitful district and the name Ephratah, with which Bethlehem is often co-joined, means fruitful. This is the place where the fields of Boaz were where Ruth gleaned and was blessed. Also the shepherds watched over their flocks here when it was revealed to them that there was born that day in the City of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. We went down to look at a cave which shepherds often use to shelter their flocks from the cold. It was naturally, quite a large place to accommodate many animals. There are some houses in Bethlehem still which have such caves attached to them, and this would have been the type of “stable” in which the Saviour was born. The mention of cold led to a discussion with the guide as to the likelihood of shepherds being in this spot on the 25th of December. It seems quite clear that they would not have been there, but rather on lower ground near Jericho.
The famous Nativity Church in Bethlehem is built over the supposed birthplace of the Saviour. All that can be said is that this huge building is a sad commentary on the idolatry of the Romish and Greek Churches. Bethlehem itself is full of very narrow streets. The same type of life exists among many sections of its population as existed for many centuries. Seeing this gives one the most vivid impression of what it must have been like in Jesus’ day, and certainly it is in striking contrast to the grand rituals of Rome on the one hand, and the felled umbrella, striped-trouser Christian culture of Western civilisation on the other.
We then journeyed on to Hebron, a beautiful drive through very wonderful countryside in Judea. On the left hand side going to Hebron are Solomon’s Pools, which we visited. There are three of these and we looked at the main one. They supply water to Jerusalem, and are described in Ecclesiastes, 2, v. 6: “I made me pools of water, to water therewith . . . .” On the right hand side of the road there is a memorial called the Tomb of Rachel. Although this does not mark the exact spot of her tomb, it is likely that it was in this vicinity she died. “And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.” (Genesis, 35, v. 19.)
Coming to Hebron, we met a funeral passing along and conducted as funerals have been for centuries. It brought forcibly to one’s mind the incident of the widow of Nain’s son. The dead body is wrapped in linen and placed in a coffin. The place of burial is reached, and the body is removed from the coffin and buried. The coffin itself is not closed, but is covered over with a large piece of cloth. Thus when the Saviour met the funeral party, it was not necessary for the coffin to be opened in order that He might address the widow of Nain’s son as He did.
The Cave of Machpelah has a huge mosque built over it called The Mosque of Abraham. Here are the tombs of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. A visit was then paid to Mamre where the Well of Abraham is. This vicinity also is where Abraham stood by under a tree when visited by the three angels. There is a beautiful view from here of the Valley of Eschol, full of grapes. We also visited Philip’s Fountain, the traditional site of the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch.
On Friday we drove to Bethany to the south-east of Jerusalem. We saw Bethphage, a village on the Mount of Olives from which the Saviour made his triumphant entry into the city. We also saw the likely site of the house of Martha and Mary, with the tomb of Lazarus nearby. This is a private tomb like that of Joseph of Arimathea. It would indicate that this family may have been reasonably well off in the things of this world. The tomb is supposed to be that from which Lazarus was raised from the dead. Bethany is a pleasant village on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet.
We then proceeded along the road to Jericho, stopping at the Samaritan Inn. This inn is similar to the one referred to by the Saviour, and used by Him to illustrate His parable of the Good Samaritan. We then journeyed on to the old city of Jericho, reputed to be the oldest city extant in the world today. Considerable excavations have taken place here, but the work has been seriously retarded by a collapse due to heavy rain. The Jordan valley is a beautiful sight, and Jericho itself is full of interest. From the site of the ancient city, we could see across Jordan the hills of Moab, with Mount Nebo from which Moses viewed the promised land. It was touching to think of the Hebrew leader seeing from a distance the land into which he was not permitted to enter. On the other side over a ridge was the valley of Achor. In the same direction we could view what is known as the Mount of Temptation, a barren and desolate place indeed. We also visited the Fountain of Elisha, which is supposed to mark the spot where he corrected the bitterness of the water by casting in an handful of salt. (2 Kings, 2, v. 21.) Jericho was the first fortress (the lower one) and Ai the second (the higher one) protecting the land of Canaan. Coming back into the modern city of Jericho, we had a look at a sycamore tree, and left Jericho for the Dead Sea. Due to military restrictions we could not visit the reputed place of Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan as we had hoped.
The Dead Sea is called by the Arabs “The Sea of Lot”. It covers the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the place where Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt. This sea is the lowest point on the earth’s surface, being thirteen hundred feet below sea level. The water is bitter to taste and oily to touch. The salt makes it buoyant, and it is said that one can sit floating in the sea, reading a newspaper. Some of the party bathed here, but I did not notice any accomplishing this particular feat! Near the Dead Sea is the Khirbit Qumran, where the famous scrolls were discovered which took their name from this sea.
We journeyed back to Jerusalem, noting the barren hills of Judea and parts of the old Jericho road over which the Saviour would have travelled so often.
This part of our tour being concluded, we bade good-bye to our guide, Zecharias, commending to him the words of Moses addressed to another Arab, Hobab his brother-in-law, “We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel”. (Numbers, 10, v. 29.) The weekend was spent quietly, two services being held in the hotel dining-room on Sabbath.
On Monday, the 10th May, we left Jerusalem at about 8 a.m. under our new guide whose name was Joseph, an Israeli. We began to climb Mount Scopus, the height which surrounds Jerusalem from the north-east and adjoins the Mount of Olives. This was the height from which former conquerors of Jerusalem viewed the city they intended to overthrow. We passed Ramley, a favourite summer resort. We had views of Shiloh, and were told of Bethel and passed into Samaria. Here the land became fertile, and the countryside most beautiful. When we came to Shechem, we visited the traditional site of Jacob’s Well, which is indeed very deep. To the south-west lay Mount Gerizim and the present writer felt very impressed as he thought of the Saviour opening the well of everlasting life to the woman of Samaria. To the north-east lay Mount Ebal. When we came to Nablus, headquarters of the Samaritan district, we were unable to visit the Samaritan community there due to some unrest. This was a disappointment, as I would have liked to have seen the Pentateuch scroll which is in the possession of this community. Leaving Nablus, we rejoined the Jerusalem-Nazareth road, and passing through the fertile valley which runs between Ebal and Gerizim, we came to Sebastia. In this place we were shown the sanctuary of John the Baptist, where he is supposed to be buried. A great deal of excavation has been done here. The excavators have exposed an Israelitish wall, a Hellenistic tower, the temple of Augustus, and a Roman city wall and gates, etc. We then passed on to Dothan, with its memories of Joseph’s betrayal, and eventually came to a place called Jenir. Instead of carrying on to Nazareth, however, we turned down through the Jordan valley, and crossed and re-crossed the River Jordan, intending to visit a certain kibbutz. We could not get in to this particular one, however, so we carried on until we came in sight of the Sea of Galilee, and arrived safely at Tiberias. The hotel there was comfortable. The television room was set aside for us for family worship morning and evening. I have no doubt but that it was the best use made of such a room for a very long time.
We were now in Galilee, the place where so much of the ministry of Jesus took place, and on Tuesday we proceeded along the road to Capernaum, and called at Tabgha, the reported site of the miracle of the five loaves. When we arrived at Capernaum, it was painfully evident how this once highly-exalted city had been so thoroughly cast down according to the Word of the Saviour. Excavations have exposed part of the synagogue and one gets a good impression of how large it must have been and with what expectancy the congregation would have listened to Jesus of Nazareth as He taught them as One that had authority and not as the scribes. We took a photograph of the Mount of Beatitudes, from which the wonderful sermon was delivered. From Capernaum we crossed the Sea of Galilee with all its memories. The day was beautiful but rather misty. From the sea looking back in the direction of Capernaum, we could see the present Chorazin, but not Bethsaida, both of which shared the same doom as Capernaum for their rejection of the Son of God. On the other side we could see Decapolis, with the slopes of Gadara running down to the sea. It was not difficult to imagine the consternation among the herdsmen when the swine ran down slopes such as these. The sea was calm on this particular day, but on the Friday night before we left Tiberias, one of the sudden storms we read of in the Bible got up, and the road was strewn with branches of trees in the morning. One could understand how alarming this could be if one was in a boat on the lake.
On the other side, we visited Ein Gev, and we were taken round the kibbutz there. A musical festival is held there at the passover, and a very large auditorium has been built for this purpose among others. The leader of the kibbutz told us that it was a non-religious one, which means that any who wished to engage in religious activity did so in a private capacity. He further stated that although there was a great deal of rejection of religion, the general tendency among the young people was to belief. To some extent they were seeking for the knowledge of God. It may be remarked here that the people at present in power in Israel are European Jews who were brought up in Europe and came to Israel. Most of these are virtual atheists. The hope is that the rising generations who have been born in the land will be more inclined to the religion of their fore-fathers. Their antipathy to Christianity is quite understandable, as they see it represented by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox Churches. As these are idolatrous organizations, the Jews will have nothing to do with such a religion, the second commandment having been very firmly impressed on the national consciousness. In striking contrast to the idols, icons and other symbols which have so prominent a place in these churches, the synagogue in Tiberias was as plain as one of our own churches at home. There is great need for the unadulterated Gospel and the worship of New Testament Christianity being spread abroad in this land. To the northeast of Ein Gev, we could see the Golan Heights, where so much of the fighting between Jew and Arab takes place.
Leaving Ein Gev, we proceeded by ‘bus round the south side of the sea to Nazareth where the Saviour’s home had been. This was a beautiful drive through lovely countryside and we caught a glimpse of Mount Tabor. Nazareth did not present much of real interest, but we paid a visit to the Scottish Hospital there, which has its headquarters in Edinburgh. The work of this Mission and Hospital is done mostly among the Arabs, and we were pleased to learn that the hospital staff had more invitations to house meetings among these Arabs than they were capable of coping with. Leaving Nazareth, we proceeded to return to Tiberias, passing through Cana of Galilee on the way, memorable as the place where the Saviour performed His first miracle.
The following day we went a drive in our ‘bus through Galilee, covering a distance of about two hundred miles. Travelling right across country, we came to Acre or Akko on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This place was famous in Crusader times and when they were unable to re-conquer Jerusalem, they set up this place as their capital. We inspected some of the buildings in the old town. Leaving Acre, we proceeded down the coast in sight of the Mediterranean to Haifa where we had lunch. We visited a Bahai temple, since it is one of the sights of the place. It is located on the slopes of Mount Carmel, and although the architecture and gardens are beautiful, it is the beauty of spiritual death. This religion teaches that religious truth is progressive and that God educates the human race through His prophets who appear from time to time to teach laws and principles suitable to the age in which we live. Moses and Christ are acknowledged to be among their prophets, but so are Buddha, Mohammed and Bahu’u’Uah. Such ideas affect many people at the present time. We ascended Mount Carmel and thought of the faithful Elijah confounding the prophets of Baal. How greatly men of like spirit are needed at the present time! The view from the top of Carmel down to the harbour out to the blue of the Mediterranean Sea was one of the most beautiful we have been privileged to observe. Proceeding down the coast once more in a southward direction, we came to Caesarea. This is not Caesarea Philippi, but Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast, home of Philip the evangelist and the place of Paul’s trial before Felix and Festus. (Acts, 8, v. 40; 21, v. 8; 23, v. 33.) When Herod the Great built this city in 25 B.C., he called it after Caesar Augustus. It became the seat of the Roman generals. We inspected various buildings of historical interest which have been excavated. One of the latest finds has been an inscription giving the name of Pontius Pilate. Then we crossed the country once more and returned to Tiberias, visiting Nain on the way.
Tiberias itself is a pleasant spot. It lies on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, six hundred and seventy feet below sea level. This accounts for the warm climate and the unusual plant life. One cannot but be impressed as one views the blue lake, rolling hills, and the natural beauty of the Jordan valley. It is a good centre also for touring Galilee. Our guide on this part of the tour being an Israeli, he was more keen to exhibit the skill of Israeli endeavour in the present than matters of Christian interest from the past. No notice has been taken of Israeli achievement in this article, but it has, of course, been considerable.
At 5 a.m. on Saturday morning, we gathered together our luggage on the steps of the Chen Hotel to leave Tiberias by ‘bus, having as our destination the Lod Airport, Tel Aviv. Our ‘plane left at 9 a.m. and at 2.15 p.m. we were in Paris. We arrived in London about 4 p.m. and the Glasgow and Inverness party carried on to Glasgow where we arrived about 5.30 p.m. The Inverness section proceeded to Inverness where they arrived safely at 8.45 p.m. Our party was made up of all age groups, ranging from 88 to 19 years of age. During our stay in Israel and our journeys from place to place, we were favoured with good health and safe travel in the kind providence of the Lord. It was an experience that none of us is likely to forget, and as we read our Bibles and preach from time to time, incidents stand out in our minds with wonderful clarity as we remember Canaan’s land.