If you are just now joining us on the journey, I would encourage you to return to the blog and start from the beginning of the trip…in Joppa. It won’t take long to catch up with us and we don’t want you to miss a thing!
Day Two of our journey includes a stop just south of Nazareth at Mount Precipice. The top of Mount Precipice offers a beautiful panoramic view of the Jezreel Valley and Mount Tabor. (The Valley of Jezreel often refers to the central part of the valley. The southwestern portion of the valley is often called the Valley of Megiddo. The Valley of Megiddo is where the final battle of Armageddon will be fought.)
The Jezreel Valley
As you stand on Mount Precipice and look out over the valley you will see Mount Tabor to the east. On the southeastern side of the Jezreel Valley you will see Mount Gilboa. Mount Gilboa is where Saul fell on his sword when facing defeat in battle with the Philistines. At the foot of Mount Gilboa is Ein Harod or the Spring of Harod. Take a look at Judges 7 to read the story of Gideon sorting out his army at this spring at the Lord’s direction.
If you want to read a gruesome story look up the account in 2 Kings 9. The “end of Jezebel” took place in the Jezreel Valley. The account says that Jezebel heard that Jehu was coming to the area so she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. When Jehu saw her in the window he told the two or three eunuchs to push her out of the window…and they did! The biblical account says that her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses and the horses trampled her! A short while later Jehu said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” However, when they went out to find her all that was left was her skull, her feet and the palms of her hands. When told this, Jehu said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: “In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, ‘This is Jezebel.'” Yikes!
Mount Precipice is likely the spot for another event that happened in the New Testament. Open your Bible to Luke 4. The first part of the chapter gives the biblical account of the temptation of our Lord. Immediately after that period of temptation we see verses 14-15. “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” However, when he came to his hometown of Nazareth, Luke shares with us the account of how Jesus’ hometown crowd reacted to his teaching.
Read Luke 4:16-30.
What was his custom to do on the Sabbath? (Verse 16)
What book did Jesus read from?
Read Isaiah 61:1-2 and Isaiah 42:7.
Did Jesus speak for very long?
What was the reaction of the people who heard him in the synagogue?
There is another account of this story in Mark 6:1-6 but the Luke account gives us a little more detail of how angry the people were with what Jesus said to them. Take a look at Luke 4:28-30. How would you describe their anger with Jesus?
The ESV says that they took him out to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they could throw him off the cliff. Mount Precipice is the likely hill that the scripture is referring to in this passage.
Mount Precipice
As you stand on Mount Precipice and view Nazareth…think about this passage.
View of Nazareth from Mount Precipice (Modern Day)
Think about people today and their various reactions to Jesus’ teachings. List some of those below that come to your mind.
When you are reading the teachings and instruction of Jesus, what is your reaction? Are Jesus’ teachings always easy to embrace and to follow? Do you know people who get extremely angry when they hear his teaching? Why do you think that they are angry?