Joppa

View of the Port (1)

View of the Port (2)

This place is now known as Jaffa and it was the main port of the coast before the ports of Haifa and Ashdod was constructed. It was the main port of entry during the Turkish Period and pilgrims and visitors used to enter Israel from here. Today, it is one of the oldest functioning harbour in the world andhas a population of about 60,000 people and majority of them over staying there are Jews followed by some Muslims and Christians.

Biblically, this was where in Acts 9, Peter raised Tabitha from the dead. She was always doing good and helping the poor but she fell sick and died. This miracle was made known all over Joppa and many people believed in the Lord. This place was also where in Acts 10, God showed Peter a vision about all kinds of four-footed animals as well as reptiles and birds and he was ordered to get up and kill it to eat.God spoke to him and said that, “ Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Interestingly, what it taught me is that God does not always have to give us a very nice vision to explain to us certain things. In the vision of Paul, a light from heaven flashed around him and he heard a voice from God who spoke to Paul to open his blinded eyes. Paul went on to preach the gospel of Christ in many places. In the case of Peter, he had a very different kind of vision to teach him about the Gentiles who would be also saved if they believed in Jesus. In our daily lives today, God can choose to show us a different or unpleasant vision to direct us, to where he wants us to go or what he wants us to do. Let us continue to pray and seek God if we are still at the crossroads and pray for an encounter or vision from God for his purpose or direction in our lives.