Israel 2019 Day 9

It seems so simple in Exodus 20:3- “You shall have no other gods before me.” Yet since the garden in Eden we’ve had a worship problem. Today our tour in Israel centered on worship.

Our first stop was tel Dan. In Judges 18 the tribe of Dan relocated here because they did not have the faith to confront the Philistines in their original tribal allotment. They stole idols and a crooked priest and moved north happy to worship idols. They had a worship problem.

It was also at Dan in the 10th century BC that Jeroboam set up one of two golden calves, promoting false worship for all those in northern Israel. The worship problem continued.

In 1993 at tel Dan archaeologists discovered the tel Dan inscription, a 9th century BC Aramaic inscription from Aramean king Ben-Hadad that mentions the kings of Judah and the house of David. This find was the first extra biblical evidence of the house of David. Once again archaeology serves to confirm the Bible record.

From Dan we headed to Caesarea Philippi. This city was established in the 4th century BC as a worship site of the god Pan. The worship problem at this site persisted throughout subsequent generations. Paradoxically it was near here that Peter made the proclamation that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.

We concluded our touring day with a visit to the Kunetra viewpoint. From this spot in the Golan Heights you can see into Syria. Given the conflict in Syria these last years, we were reminded that peace is often hard to find. This is simply one more manifestation of the worship problem. When it’s all said and done, the ultimate solution to every worship problem is to confess Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.