Page 81 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

Study Section 11: Lower Galilee

11.1 Connect.

The Bible states that in the future, the entire world will come together to battle Christ and
prevent His return to reign as King of Kings. The Bible states where the armies of the world
will gather: in the Jezreel Valley known as the Valley of Megiddo or Plain of Esdraelon. It is a
huge bowl shaped valley which can be seen from Mt. Carmel, Nazareth, the Mountains of
Gilboa, and Mount Tabor. Today we will see what it looks like from Mt. Carmel. When you
see the size and scope of the valley, you can imagine the magnitude of this battle. Ezekiel says it will
take seven years to clean up the mess that is left from the results of the Battle. Today we are going to
travel north to the Lower Galilee area, the bread basket of Israel.

11.2 Objectives:

1. The student should be able to identify what happened or the significance of each location
we study in the lesson.

2. The student should be able to explain that when people reject Jesus, there is a serious
consequence to pay. We will see that demonstrated in the cities of Capernaum, Chorazin, and
Bethsaida.

11.3 Lower Galilee

Lower Galilee is a region within the Northern District of Israel and covers the area of the Jazreel
Valley from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River to the south side
of the valley to Mt. Hazon. It is a fertile valley and provides much of the food grown in Israel.

Nazareth

Nazareth is a town of Lower Galilee perched atop the hills overlooking
the Plain of Esdraelon, which is part of the Jezreel Valley. Nazareth is
midway between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The
picture to the right is taken from Mt. Precipice where the people of
Nazareth supposedly attempted to throw Jesus off to this death.

Nazareth is most famous for being the home of Jesus throughout his
childhood and early adult life. Naturally, this was also the home of Mary
and Joseph. The Christmas story includes encounters both Mary and
Joseph had with angels (Luke 1:26, Matthew 1:20-21) in Nazareth, and
upon returning from a brief stay in Egypt, Mary and Joseph decided to return to Nazareth as they raised
their own family (Matthew 2:22-23).

When Jesus began his ministry, he preached a sermon in his hometown synagogue that caused an
uproar (Matthew 13:54-58, Mark 6:1-6, Luke 4:16-30). His message included the reading of a Messianic
Promise and a brief commentary announcing that he was the promised Messiah. After surviving an
effort by the locals to throw him off the cliff, Jesus left Nazareth for good, being amazed at their

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