The picture above captures one of the gates at "Tel Dan." What is a "Tel?"
I had never heard the term "Tel" before traveling to Israel. A "Tel" is a hill. It is a special hill that has been built up over the years and usually has a steep rise on the slopes up to a reasonable flat top. These hills are created from the remains of centuries worth of building, destruction, rebuilding, destruction, and then eventually abandonment.
Archaeologists look for a "tel" as a possible site of an ancient civilization. At Megiddo, there are more than 21 layers of "civilization" buried one on top of the other. It is difficult digging down to the old stuff without damaging the equally valuable new stuff on top. But, that is exactly what they do.
Tel Dan is a huge tel. This location dates back to Genesis 14:14 where Abraham rescues Lot.
'And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive,
he armed his trained servants , born in his own house, three
hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And
he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by
night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah,
which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought
back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot,
and his goods, and the women also, and the people. '
Genesis 14:14-16. https://my.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.14.14-16
This city was established over 4000 years ago. Amazing!
The tribe of Dan was given territory near the coast but could not take possession of it because of the Philistines. So, they attacked the people of Laish, destroyed them, took over the town and named it Dan. (Joshua 19:40-48)
Later after the split between the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom, the first Northern Kingdom King, Jeroboam built two temples, one of them is the temple we saw at Dan.
Jerusalem gets all the "press," but the gates and walls of this city were very impressive. The problem -- the Kings and people of the Northern Kingdom were corrupt and worshipped false gods. Jeroboam built this temple so people would not travel to Jerusalem and worship there.
'Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the
kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. When these
people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of
the Lord , they will again give their allegiance to King
Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their
king instead.” So on the advice of his counselors, the king
made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much
trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these
are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” He placed
these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his
kingdom. But this became a great sin, for the people
worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship
the one there. Jeroboam also erected buildings at the
pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common
people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi.
And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held
on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in imitation of the
annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at Bethel he
himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made, and
he appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made.
So on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day that he
himself had designated, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the
altar at Bethel. He instituted a religious festival for Israel,
and he went up to the altar to burn incense.'
1 Kings 12:26-33https://my.bible.com/bible/116/1KI.12.26-33
One of the most significant finds at this site was an inscription identifying the "House of David" dating back to the 9th Century BC. This extra-biblical piece of evidence confirms so much of our biblical tradition. The House of David, the line of Jesus, is real and supported outside the Bible. Awesome!
I often think we take for granted the power of our faith through the centuries. I have to admit, I often have treated the stories from the Old Testament as "Marvel Comic Stories." The story of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, the parting of the Red Sea, the ten commandments, Galiath, all are wonderful stories. But, they are real, with real people, in real places, taking place in a real time in history.
This seems to fly in the face of "FAITH" as we describe it Christian circles. But, Faith founded in reality is also very important.
How do you answer the question: "Why should I follow Jesus?"
I am sure people have perfect answers well beyond anything I can come up with. But, I can truly say, with example after example, that Jesus has changed my life. That doesn't mean I have no problems. But, I can claim victory over each of those problems because of the power of Jesus in my life. Being adopted in the Family of God isn't based on some historical piece of evidence, but once we are in the family and start looking back at the family photo album, we can get so excited to be a part of this Kingdom.
Jeroboam and his people tried to duplicate the Faith of Israel and he could not do it. His feeble attempt, building two temples, worshipping false gods, and going his own way, kept him from realizing the power of the one true God. And, how long did his faith last? Where are the worshippers now? I can say that my family, my faith has endured since the beginning of time. No other faith can make that claim. PRAISE GOD!
This river "Dan" is one of the main tributaries of the jorDAN river!
This is a huge plaza outside the gate at Dan and would have been the center of social activity.
This is a very special area outside the gate at Dan. The little round stone objects in the lower left of the picture would have held up a canopy for the judges and leaders. They would sit outside the gates and judge disputes for the people.
This metal structure was placed here on the location where sacrifices would have been made at the Jeroboam's temple. This area is in front of the location of the Golden calf.
This would have been the platfomr where the Golden Calf was placed.
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