Mount Precipice

Our fourth stop of the day was a quick jaunt up to Mount Precipice aka Mount Kedumim.   It affords a wonderful opportunity to see from above all the sites we are visiting while on our journey!

Mark, with his back to the beautiful view, stood and read from Luke 4, describing how those in Nazareth reacted to Jesus in the Synagogue:

Luke 4:16 and following -  "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.  And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, 

to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. 

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph’s son?" And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.  And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.  But  passing through their midst, he went away."

View of Nazareth from Atop Mount Precipice

It was here in this charming city on the hillside that Jesus spent many days of his youth - working alongside his father in his carpenters shop, visiting the synagogue, and running through the streets with his brothers and friends.  

We weren't able to actually visit Nazareth this trip, only to view it from a distance.  Nazareth is known as the Arab capital of Israel. It is difficult to visit Arab sites - especially now with some recent unrest.  We were disappointed to miss important Biblical sites like Nazareth and Jericho, but things change from day to day, and you have to trust your guide to look at the current political situation and make the best decision that is safe for all.

 If you look in the center of the picture you will see a basilica with a bluish grey dome and cupola.  This is the Basilica of the Annunciation, a catholic church and convent built over a home believed to be Mary's home at the time the angel visited her to announce the birth of Jesus.  A mosque built in front of the Basilica and a few rockets launched from the Hezbollah in Lebanon have caused friction in the past few years.

Another view from the Precipice
Mount Gilboa

A view towards the East - you can see the round shaped Mount Tabor (Possible site of the Mount of Transfiguration) in the background and the depression of the Sea of Galiliee to the right of it.  Closer - the Arab village of Iksal (the village maybe referred in Joshua 19: 12 as "Chisloth-tabor").

Enjoying the View from Mount Precipice, Please Don't Fall!
A view to the south shows the city of Afula (in the background) and the Moshav of Tel-Adashim in the foreground.