Caesarea was and in many ways still is an absolute marvel sitting on the Mediterranean Sea. It was built by Herod the Great as a tribute to Caesar Augustus, but very much so as a monument to himself and his kingdom. It was a city made entirely of marble, boasting with a Roman theater, a hippodrome, a palace built on the water with amazing gardens and pools. Herod even built a walled seaport in Caesarea, which was a sign of true genius in his time.

Herod the Great, was a magnificant builder, but the one magnificant thing that he tried so desperately to build was his own kingdom. And the ruins of Caesarea today, tell us that Herod’s kingdom was, like so many kingdoms of men, temporary. Even though it was a kingdom built with the finest materials and most amazing architecture, all that remains today is a memorial to a kingdom that was destined to only be temporary.

A few hours south of Caesarea, another king years earlier began to build a kingdom. The foundation stones of his kingdom were a few small stones he pulled from the bed of a brook. This eventual king stood in front of the armies of Israel, as a very young man, and refused to allow an uncircumcised Philistine, insult the kingdom of God. So with his stones he killed a giant of a man, and God then set him on a journey to build His kingdom, and David today is heralded as the greatest king in Israel’s history.

As we sat at Caesarea, I asked our group “whose kingdom are you building?” Its it God’s or is it yours? What will people say about the kingdom you built while you were on this earth? Are you concerned about self preservation, self promotion? Do you feel like you have to build high walls around your kingdom, or build it with flashy stones so that people will say, “Wow, How great is the kingdom of Shannon?” Or are you truly devoted to the kingdom of God. Are you wiling you take on giants for the Kingdom of God? Whose Kingdom are you building? Whose Kingdom are you living for?

Following the rabbi, demands that you live loyally devoted to the Kingdom of God and advancing its cause.