Ancient Palestine Seen As a
Land of Astonishing Contrast
What was the land or Palestine
like in the time of Christ?
"A land of brooks, of fountains
and depths that spring out of the
valleys and hills, a land of olive
trees and of honey,” says the
Bible. But also, ‘‘a dry and thirsty
land, where no water is.”
Ancient Palestine, not yet
scarred by the erosion that has
laid many of the rocks bare, was
9 country of astonishing contrast,
and in His wanderings through
Galilee and Jordon, and through
Jerusalem and the wilderness,
Christ saw an almost unbelievable
dissimilarity between neighboring
regions. He saw the citrus groves
and the vineyards which stretch
ed up and down the western
coastline like ivy on the temple
#all. He felt the warm Mediter
ranean wind which blew in from
the west and brought with it life
giving rain.
Yet, inst f>0 miles from the
coast there was a place where
?itrus groves and vineyards did not
exist, nor an ocean wind to warm
Him in the day nor a- sea breeze
to cool Him in the evening.
This was the Jordan. Valley,
the area around the Jordan River
and the Dead Sea. There He saw
only a barren waste spotted by
desert blossoms able to survive
the rocky and arid soil of the
Jordan Valley. There He felt only
a dry heat which burned Him dur
ing the day and a cold that chilled
Him during the evening. There
Christ was baptized, at the point
where the Jordan completes its
journey from the mountains in the
Kingdom of Judea and empties
into the Dead Sea. It was there
ttat John dipped Him into the
waters of the Jordan River.
Jesus also traveled to the north
into the province of Galilee, and
there He saw near the foothills
of Lebanon the tall and majestic
cedars that made the rises and
slopes look like a sea of green.
When the cedars came into view,
His mind may have envisioned
other trees that He had encoun
tered in His wanderings through
the Holy Land; the sycamore and
the ash, the walnut and the ever
green oak. He may have thought
about the flora of Palestine, about
the anemone, the scarlet’s eye and
the beautiful narcissus.
As Jesus walked through Gali
lee, He saw the many wonderful
things that the earth had provid
ed for’the children of this north
ern province. All around Hiip
were the aromas of the figs and
pomegranates, and of the olives
and the grapes. And as He came
..upon a city near the Sea of Gali
lee He saw the abundance of fish
which these waters yielded.
To the southwest He saw the
ncn ana lerme lanas m wmcn
the grain of Palestine grew. He
saw the wheat and the barley, and
the people making bread and
cakes.’ .
It ti-as there somewhere, near
the town*'of Capernaum, that Jes
us walked up on a mount and
spoke to the people:
, “Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the kingdom of hea
ven _” This was the land that
Jesus had known. This was the
land He saw and felt. A rich and
fertile land in the north and west,
a barren land in the east and a
desert in the south. “A land of
brooks’’_ “a dry and thirsty
land.”
If you don’t get 13Vz greeting
cards at Christmas time, you are
batting below par. At least that
is the estimate of one greeting
card manufacturer.
Bert'S
To thank you for your
cheerful patronage and
wish you Holiday Joys.
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of Christ's Transfiauration. IlHIII-iiijlliiiHi
Palestine* On TtaeTCMtl
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Source: National Geographic Sector '1
JAMASCUS
SYRIA
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Jesus decided here to return to
Jerusalem and His Crucifixion.
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'From Dan to Beersheba" describes
the limits of Old Testament Palestine.
.->. MIGDAL,
‘^fcANA.
NAZARETH*
TELL HUM
W.
Christ preached here after leaving Nazareth.
SEA OF GALILEE
NEiN*. |The home of Mary Magdalene. |
| ^*^|||
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NABLUS
Home of the good Samaritan.
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The birthplace of Herod.
ISRAEL *
I AMMAN
The scene of Christ's baptism.
JERUSALEM. .EIZARIYA
Jesus visited Mary and Martha here.
wsm;
Church of the Nativity covers grotto
where Christ was born in a manger;
- I
BEERSHEBA
iifiii
| The ancients dotted iiijjjjljl:
iii this desert with .
iii dams and cisterns. : . i
llfliiiiliiiii i
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THE PALESTINE OF CHRIST: The Bible tells
that it was, “A land of brooks, of fountains and
depths that spring out of the valleys and hills, a
a
land of olive trees and of honey/' but also “a
dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”
MECCA 49 ROOM
MECCA BAR & LIQUOR STORE