Pistachio trees at Tel Dan
Another beautiful day as we continue our virtual tour of Israel in the Dan Nature Reserve. Last week we learned that the Tribe of Dan relocated from the Mediterranean Coast to here, in the uppermost region of Israel. We heard about the wicked ways of King Jeroboam, and the generations of consequences that fell on Israel because of his bad leadership choices. And today, as we continue our tour, we find ourselves sitting under the shade of a huge pistachio tree with a view of modern history right before our eyes.
In front of us and to the west is Lebanon, the home of Hezbollah, the terror group that has wreaked havoc on Israel for years. To our east is the base of Mt. Hermon, which belonged to Syria before the 1967 Six Day War. Israel found itself wedged between Syria and Lebanon ever since the territories were divided between the British and the French in the 1916 Sykes Picot agreement. So for years, snipers from Syria and rockets from Lebanon were the norm in Israel until the Six Day War changed things. When in a matter of six days of self-defense, Israel was able to push the Syrians all the way to Damascus, taking the Golan Heights. They pushed back the Jordanians to the east side of the Jordan River, taking Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (known as the West Bank), and pushing the Egyptians all the way out of the Sinai Peninsula.
Northern Israel Photo Credit: Israel Travel Secrets
The town we see just in front (north) of us and a little to the west is a village called Ghajar (pronounced Rajar). The Lebanese ceded that area to Syria in 1960 and began an attempt to divert water away from the Jordan River, cutting off Israel from their natural water supply. That, along with the rockets and snipers, was a main trigger leading to the Six Day War. During the war, four Israeli troops were sitting on the hill after capturing that section of the Syrian part of the Hermon. The villagers from Ghajar came with white flags and wanted to know why Israel hadn’t taken their village. The Israelis said they were fighting Syria, not Lebanon. And the villagers said, “But we have been Syrian for 4 years already.” So they brought the soldiers to their town and the town surrendered to Israel and the residents were given Israeli citizenship, but still considered themselves a part of “occupied” Syria.
The village of Ghajar Photo Credit: Foreign Policy
Ghajar expanded its growth northward into Lebanese territory. And after the Israel-Lebanon War of 1982 the town became split. In 2000 in an attempt to demarcate permanent borders between Israel and Lebanon, the United Nations drew up what became known as the Blue Line. Due to Ghajar’s location, wedged between Lebanon and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, the northern half of the village came under Lebanese control and the southern part remained under Israeli control. This arrangement created much resentment among the residents, who saw themselves as Syrian. In 2010, after Israel and Lebanon failed to negotiate a solution, Israel decided to unilaterally withdraw from Ghajar and place security matters into the hands of UNIFIL. I told you it is a complicated history!
So now as we leave this secluded spot, with a full view of modern history, we literally walk around the corner and find ourselves looking at the ancient past. We are looking at a seven meter high brick gate with 47 preserved courses. The base is built from layers of earth, stone, pebbles and other materials, and is 50-70 meters thick. The gate, itself, is very interesting to look at, but just like so many archeological finds in the world, if you don’t know what you are looking at it just doesn’t mean much. So let me broaden the explanation of what we are looking at. It is a Canaanite Syrian Gate, with three huge arches that lead into a city from the 18th century BCE. That is 3,800 years ago! The gate is completely intact and is one of the oldest complete arches in the world. Even more exciting than that is that this is one of the rare times when the bible and archaeology meet one another.
Tel Dan historical artifacts still in-tact Photo Credit: BibleArchaeology.org
In the 18th century BCE there was a battle between five kings who allied together against four kings. The battle took place in the area of the Dead Sea, in the Valley of Siddim, more than 300 kilometers to the south of here. Let’s pick up the story in the book of Genesis.
“Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.” Genesis 14:10-14
What a great rescue! And what an incredible experience to be standing in front of the actual gate that Abram (Abraham) went through to rescue his nephew!
Tel Dan nature reserve
Now all we have to do is walk down the hill and around the corner and we will come to the last stop on our tour of Dan. Even though Dan is considered one of Israel’s Nature Reserves, it is clear that Dan is much more than that. It is filled with history encompassing 3,800 years. And within that time frame, after Abram and the Canaanite period, we come back to the time of the Israelite kings.
In 1993, a stone inscription was found dating from the second half of the 9th century BCE (200 years after the time of King David). The stone was found behind a pagan altar located just outside the Israelite city gate. A year later, and another year after that, two more pieces were found to complete a whole inscription. It was written in Aramaic by a king, which read: “I, —-, was made king by Hadad—-. I killed —–king of Israel and I killed —– king of house of David.” According to the bible, these kings were Yoram of Israel and Ahaziahoo of Judah. Even though this inscription doesn’t perfectly line up with the biblical account in 2 Kings 9, the mention of the “house of David” is significant as it was the first archeological proof that King David existed! This is one of the greatest biblical finds in Israel.
House of David proof found Photo Credit: Watch Jerusalem
As we walk up the stone entrance and through the four-chambered Israelite city gate, we see the remains of what was once the ancient city of Dan. It is a spectacular site! We can see the large stone base that housed the seat where the king once sat as he watched the comings and goings of the people in the city. And so as we learned last week, at the altar that King Jeroboam, just how wicked the kings of Israel had become. I want to honor two kings, Hezekiah and Josiah, who were not wicked at all. They were not kings of Israel, but of Judah, during the time of the divided kingdom. They both realized that previous kings had not followed the ways of God and had not taught their people to worship the true King of Israel. And so they each, in their own generation, broke off from their predecessors and began to obey God. They made reforms in the land and tore down the high places that had been built. And they made the Temple in Jerusalem, once again, the focal point for Jewish worship and began to encourage the people to follow God.
As we close our tour today, I want to encourage you. It doesn’t take an army to change the mindset of a people. It takes a leader with courage and wisdom to call out what is evil and direct their people to what is good. This is a life lesson we can learn no matter what country and no matter what governmental body we live under. As so eloquently spoken by Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We have seen the modern day horrors of evil leaders. It is our responsibility to elect leaders who will follow Godly wisdom. And if they don’t, at the least, we should pray for them and the people they are affecting.
Photo Credit: Jewish Federation NJ
Have a great week and we will continue our virtual tour of Israel next week.
Shalom from Israel!
Cover Image Credit: Israel in Photos
