On our second day in Israel, we visited the archeological dig at Hazor, mentioned in the book of Joshua.  Joshua 11:13 says that Joshua captured Hazor and killed its king (King Jabin) and then burned the city.  The archeologists have found abundant ash at the site, and we saw it too.

We also visited Dan in the northern most part of Israel where the river Dan (one of the three headwaters of the Jordan) runs and where Jeroboam, the king of the 10 northern tribes, installed a golden calf as a god for the people to worship.  Jeroboam wanted to keep the Jews from going down to Jerusalem during the three annual pilgrimage festivals because he was afraid the northern tribes would revert to the house of David.  The platform on which the golden calf sat has been excavated along with a sacrificial platform.

We visited Caesarea Philippi, the location of the temple of Pan (the pagan god of good times (basically, debauchery) depicted as half goat and half man from which we get the words pandemonium and panic) and the place where Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” and Peter made his confession of faith.

We came back to the Kibbutz by way of the Golan Heights and saw many Druze villages.  The Druze are members of an independent religious sect who live mostly in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Their religion contains elements of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and incorporates a belief in reincarnation and in the ultimate perfection of humankind.