Mt. Carmel, Jezreel Valley, Mt.Megiddo

After Caesarea by the Sea we went to Mt. Carmel where we looked over the the Jezreel Valley (also known as the Valley of Armageddon from Rev. 16.16) and then went on to Mt. Megiddo.

Mt. Carmel is the place where Elijah called on God to beat the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18.

i think one of the things that really stood out to me about this story is that they were on top of the mountain without flowing water and Elijah calls for his alter to be soaked in water. so not only was he calling on God to prove Himself, he was putting a whole lot of extra effort into doing so. it was not a small hill.

there is now, with most traditionally holy places, a catholic church located on the mountain top.

me and dad atop mt. Carmel

after mt. carmel, we went on to eat lunch at little place where i had my first ever falafel.

once we had eaten lunch we loaded the bus and went on to Tel Megiddo. this was a little more of a hike than anything else we did. however, after this location we ended up editing a bit of our trip as one of the sweet ladies from uncle Paul's church had a spell and passed out at the top.

a Tel is a place where civilization has been built on top of civilization. there are a many layers to Tel Megiddo. there were more than 25 different civilizations on top of each other here.

view of the Jezreel Valley from Megiddo

multiple layers of civilazations are visible here.

the round stone work in the middle is an altar used to sacrifice to pagan gods.

according to a sign at Tel Megiddo: 'Due to the unique continuity of its occupation, and the scope of its excavations, tel Megiddo is considered the ‘cradle’ of biblical archaeology and the ‘laboratory of modern research methods.' so much history in one place.

to look over a place that is a natural crossroads and battlefield through all of history and prophesied to be in the future is rather overwhelming. to think of all the lives that have been lost and changed because of this site is unfathomable.

what's even more unfathomable and overwhelming is to think that God loves us so much that He is going to come back and defeat all the powers of darkness in that place.

again, i can only begin to imagine what this valley would say if it could tell it's story.