The Sea of Galilee by D. M. C.

Publishing Committee · BATTLE CREEK, MICH. · May 27, 1858

The Sea of Galilee.

By D. M. C.

This lake is also known in the gospels as the sea of Tiberias, and Gennesareth; and in the old Testament as the sea of Chinnereth. It is about thirteen miles in length, and six in breadth; and is formed by the Jordan, which traverses it from north to south, and then flows on to the Dead Sea, sixty miles south.

No other sheet of water in the world is endeared to the Christian by so many pleasing associations. Some ten miles to the west lay Nazareth, the home of Christ during his childhood and youth. On its western shore lay Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida of Galilee, where "most of his mighty works were done;" while the other Bethsaida was but a few miles north of its north-eastern shore. Around this lake a large part of the Saviour's public life was spent. More than one blind man there experienced his miraculous power, and opened his eyes to behold first of all his benefactor's face, and then the blue waters of this charming lake. Here the majority of his disciples lived; and by its side, while "sitting at the receipt of custom," or "mending their nets," they were called to become "fishers of men." It was on these waters, sitting in Simon Peter's boat, that Christ preached to a multitude on shore. Upon one of the neighboring hills, he taught many thousands at once, healed their diseases, and fed them all with five loaves and two fishes. Here, too, on two occasions—at the commencement of his ministry, and after his resurrection—his command filled the nets of the apostles with unprecedented draughts of fishes. Somewhere on the south-east side of the same sea is the "steep place" down which the frightened Gadarenes saw their whole herd of swine plunge, and perish in the waters. The Saviour often crossed this lake in his labors of love; and twice he had occasion to allay the fears of his disciples by calming the storm-tossed waves: once waking from his quiet sleep in the hinder part of the boat, to chide them for their lack of faith; and once coming out to them by walking on the sea, in the fourth watch of the night, as they were "toiling in rowing."

Thus the whole region is rendered sacred by incidents in the life of our Lord. The traveler irresistibly feels that His footsteps and smile have forever hallowed these hills, that his voice yet echoes from these shores, and his "Peace, be still," yet rests on these pure and peaceful waters. In many respects, however, a great change has here taken place, since the time of Christ. Then the shores were filled with a teeming population; towns and villages crowded the banks, and boats swarmed on the waters. Now, the only remaining town is Tiberias, a city in ruins, containing about 2000 inhabitants, and wretched and filthy to the last degree. It is a common saying, that "the king of the fleas holds his court at Tiberias." Instead of a large fleet of fishing-boats, only one can now be found on its waters. The round hills that come boldly down to the sea are now bare of trees; and though covered with a delightful verdure after the wintry rains, become parched and desolate under the summer sun. Yet this sea and these hills are the same that our Saviour himself beheld; the main features of the scene are unchanged. The lake lies embosomed in a deep basin, more than three hundred feet below the level of the Mediterranean, and enclosed on all sides, except near the inlet and outlet of the Jordan, by hills that rise steeply hundreds of feet in height; while in the background on the east side, are mountains over a thousand feet high. The range of heights stretching around the sea itself is broken by occasional shady ravines and water courses; and here and there is separated from the sea by a level and exceedingly fertile plain. In one of these plains Capernaum used to stand, but now it has wholly disappeared. Far away in the north, mount Hermon lifts its snow-capped crown to the sky, with the majesty of a summit that has looked down on the coming and going of a hundred generations.

The region of this sea bears marks of volcanic action, and hot springs still exist on the shore south of Tiberias. The waters still swarm with fishes, as in the days of the apostolic fishermen. The whole scene is marked by a grand but serene beauty, and the Christian visitor reluctantly tears himself away from it. A recent American traveler, while out upon the sea, encountered a tempest like those described in the gospels: sudden, swift, and violent, it swept down on the sea from the upper hills, and threw it into commotion as in a moment. He was unable to make head against it, and was driven over to "the coast of the Gadarenes." The same traveler bathed several times in its clear and sweet waters, and was reminded of the words of an old Scotch friend of his boyhood, who said to him, "When ye grew up to be a mon, mayhap ye'll go wanderin' up and doon the hills of the world. But doan ye forget that gin ye're thirsty, there's the sea of Galilee; and gin ye're hungry, there's the loaves that fed feeve thousand there by the sea; and when ye get tired and tired out, and want to lay your head doon on any stoun and rest it—but the storms are a' hard—there's Heem that sayed on the same sea, 'Cume unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will geeve ye rest.'"

BY D. M. CANRIGHT.