Today, on our virtual tour of Israel, we will travel north up the “Finger of the Galilee” to one of the most beautiful spots in all of Israel; the Dan Nature Reserve. The natural beauty, the rushing stream, the scenic walking trail through the woods and into the ancient city, is an incredible experience. But even amidst the beauty, the ugly and sordid past of Dan has left visible scars that cause us to wonder what on earth happened in this place.
The rushing waters of the Dan stream. credit unknown
We will start our tour by walking along the Dan riverbank. The Jordan River combines three streams; Hatsbani, Dan and Banias. Dan is the largest of the three, producing almost 250 million cubic meters of water per year. There are parts of the river that flow like whitewater rapids and are quite breathtaking to see. When the rapids flow under the bridge we are standing on, it is so loud we cannot hear ourselves talk. But yet, everything else is still. Trees and shrubs surround us on all sides and we feel quite alone; solitude in the midst of the rushing river. It is spectacular. It reminds me of the verse in Psalm 42:2 “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.” The trail cuts through a lush forested area and it feels as though we are walking into Winnie the Pooh’s 100-acre wood. As a matter of fact, we will walk by an old Syrian Ash tree that has actually been named after our little, stuffed friend.
And here begins our ascent to the “High Place,” which is actually one of the lowest spiritual places man can go. We are located just outside of the Israelite city of Dan. Let me set up this story by sharing a little history about Dan. He was one of the twelve sons of Jacob, who was given a tribal inheritance of land that had been promised to his forefathers, Abraham and Isaac, and all their future generations. Dan was originally given the area in and around modern-day Tel Aviv. According to Joshua 19:47 the area was too difficult for the Danites to capture and so they decided to travel north and set up their tribal inheritance here. The first indication that things could go wrong…give up your inheritance and take the easy way out instead. Not a good idea!
Aerial of temple precinct at Tel Dan showing side chambers, temple platform, and central altar locations Nelson Glueck / School of Biblical Archaeology
We continue our walk through the woods and find a clearing. There is a large area surrounded by a low stone wall. In the center is a big metal framework sticking up in the air resembling an altar. There is a row of ancient ruins of small rooms that line one side of the large area. In one of those rooms was found Incense shovels from the 8th century BCE, the time of Jeroboam. And behind the altar is a large set of steps that leads to what was once a very large building; a pagan temple. This is one of the few times we are able to stand in a place and say, “X marks the spot!” What is the spot? It is the location of the altar of Jeroboam from 928 BCE, from almost 3,000 years ago. Wow, this is exciting! This is when archaeology and the Bible meet and we can actually envision the events unfolding. Let’s read about it in I Kings 12:26-32:
“Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
The temple utensils (incense shovels) made from copper. Nelson Glueck / School of Biblical Archaeology
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar.”
The 3800-year-old Canaanite arched gate unearthed at Tel Dan. (Haaretz.com)
You see, after the deaths of David & Solomon, the kingdom was divided. Rehoboam was one of Solomon’s sons and became King of Judah in the south (1 Kings 11:43). Jeroboam was one of Solomon’s former officials, an Ephraimite, and became King of Israel in the north (1 Kings 11:26). According to the scripture passage we just read, Jeroboam was a bit paranoid that if he didn’t take alternative measures, his kingdom would fall back into the hands of the house of David (Rehoboam). So at the northern and southern ends his kingdom he built High Places with golden calves for the people to worship, altars for people to bring their sacrifices, instead of to Jerusalem, and even changed the date of a festival that was supposed to be “unto the Lord.” Keep in mind, Solomon had only built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem about 20 years before all of this unfolds. What Jeroboam did was evil in the sight of the Lord and he was never repentant for his ways. As a result, God promised to bring disaster to the house of Jeroboam and destroy it. The legacy that Jeroboam left followed him generation after generation. Upon the death of every king after him, God said, “he did evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of Jeroboam and the sin he caused Israel to commit.” Seventeen kings in all…and then the Kingdom of Israel was exiled.
“When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.” 2 Kings 17:21-23
What we can take away from this story is that God is a holy God. He is sovereign. He gives us responsibilities and then allows us to choose whether to obey or not. Sometimes he lets us continue in our wicked ways. But there are consequences…always. We might come from generations of wickedness but we can always choose to step out of that mold. God will bless it. Next week we will continue our journey through Dan and hear about a couple of kings who dared to step out of the mold and make a difference. We’ll also get a glimpse into Abraham’s past and Israel’s future.
Until next time…Shalom from Israel.
Top Photo Credit: MNN
Bottom Photo Credit: Israel in Photos Blogspot
