So Heidi has discovered her most favorite place in Israel – the mountains of Gilboa. For myself, I think I still like the Dead Sea more, but this comes in a very close second. As the roads are only wide enough for 1.5 cars, you won’t find any tour buses driving here. You need to pull off the road to pass anyone coming the other way. That said, the hills are spectacular … blanketed with flowers of every possible color. The day was gray and overcast so the pictures didn’t come out too well, but we’ll definitely be back over the next month.
"Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings …" 2 Samuel 1:21 What did you take the expression to mean, "fields of offerings"? Without a doubt, it refers to the spectacular beauty of the flowers that bloom upon them. For His pleasure, they are and were created. One of the flowers which is currently in bloom, the Gilboa Iris, is unique to these mountains alone. It is one of the national icons of Israel – truly spectacular.
The mountain of Gilboa (or mount Gilboa) overlooks the plain of the Jezreel valley. You can almost visualize the scene when the armies of Israel under Saul and his three sons faced off against the incredible numbers of Philistines. "And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled … Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa." (1 Sam 28:1,4,5 and 1 Sam 31:1) One of the hills is named after Sha’ul and perhaps is the place where Saul was wounded and fell upon his sword.
On Friday we were able to go to Nazareth, but it was so different from the time when the Lord lived there, that it just didn’t hit any cords. They believe that when the Lord was a boy, there were only 200 people in the village. It is now one of the larger cities in Israel (hundreds of thousands) – largely occupied by christian Arab Israelis. I guess my favorite places are the outdoor hills, mountains and plains that must have been the same 2000 years ago when the Lord looked upon them. 🙂