Dan

My mind is officially blown! Almost nothing is the way that I thought it was. I always thought it was cute when people say that being is Israel makes the Bible “come alive”. Now I know what they mean, but I have no idea how to explain it to someone who has not been here to see, hear, touch, and experience the land. It is beyond description and beyond the ability for camera to capture.

We pulled into the land of Dan and took a nature walk through the woods. Yes -the woods. It was crazy. There was an extremely fast-moving stream that would flow into the Jordan River. I wouldn’t want to cross it. Apparently the water is always at least that fast because it is springing from melting snow on Mt. Hermon.

At the end of our nature walk was an enormous wall. It was the wall of the city. I was very impressed.

At the gate we took a moment to see what a courtyard would look like. I was so surprised to see that the King’s Throne was in the courtyard right inside the city gate. I thought it would be buried somewhere deep within, but I was wrong. The dealings and rulings would happen right inside the gate in the courtyard. Now I have an entirely different understanding of what Jesus was saying when he gave Peter the keys to the kingdom.

After seeing the impressive fortress at Dan, we walked a ways and saw a second fortress that is actually over 4,000 years old. It was a Canaanite gate that was unbelievable to see.

While there, our guide said something interesting. He said, “We are not digging to prove the Bible… The Bible doesn’t need to be proven. Rather, we are digging to further understand the Bible.”