A fortress and refreshing water ... and salt water too

Our days are flying by, and each one is filled with a wide range of history, archaeology, Bible study, sightseeing--learning with our eyes, our imaginations, our feet, our ears, and, we trust, our hearts. Tuesday greeted us again with blue skies and warm sunshine, a blessing in itself.

We set out early, heading toward the Dead Sea. Our first stop was Masada, built by Herod the Great (on the top of an "almost" impregnable mountain, one with steep cliffs on all sides). We took cable cars up instead of walking the dusty trail full of switchbacks. It had the usual Herod trademarks--a palace, a small theater, a water system that showed remarkable engineering skill (given that the area gets only 200 millimeters of rain per year) with small channels carved into the hillside to send the waters from flash floods down into a deep cistern. After Herod's death, the place was largely abandoned until the Jewish revolt against Rome in 70 AD. The Zealots chose this place as their refuge. But Rome was tired of this "troublesome" people and sent troops to take care of them once and for all. They laid siege, and then gradually began building a ramp up the western side until the ramp was high enough to support a battering ram (this took two+ years). Then they fired flaming arrows (torches) up over the walled defenses, and finally they were able to breach the wall.  However, instead of a triumphant and glorious victory, they were met with silence. Inside they found 943 dead bodies. The people had chosen to die by their own hand rather than be made slaves to Rome.

Masada

The oasis of En Gedi was our next stop. We climbed up to waterfalls in the middle of a desert land. Today seemed to be a day full of children on field trips, and oh, did they delight in the water, splashing and shouting, finding so much joy in the cool water, the pools, and, of course, the waterfalls. We were encouraged to remember that Jesus is also living water in a desert land, and yet sometimes we choose unsatisfying water (like the Dead Sea) or stagnant water (like that in cisterns) instead of that which is truly satisfying. And yet, while staying by waterfalls is refreshing and a wonderful place for a retreat, we are called to go out and live life fully for our Lord. So today we saw a fortress and refreshing water, just miles apart. We were asked two questions: Who is our refuge and fortress, and where will we find refreshing water in a dry and thirsty land? It was a joy to sing, "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you."

En Gedi's higher falls

School children in the falls at En Gedi

We stopped by Qumram and saw a cave where some of the Dead Sea scrolls were found, safe after almost 2000 years. God preserves his Word and keeps it safe for all generations! Psalm 119 also reminds us of another place where God's word is kept: "I have hidden your words in my heart."

A cave at Qumran where some of the scrolls were found

We ended our day with lots of laughter as we floated in the Dead Sea. While many of us sank to our knees in the mud in the shallow water (with one of us even losing a shoe), once we reached a little deeper water, we could float above it all. Of course, we also indulged in a little beauty treatment by using the minerals in the mud to soften our skin.

Lessons for today:

• living waters;
• preservation of God's words to us;
• earthly fortresses fail, but our refuge does not;
• precious words we so often take for granted;
• the call to be a pilgrim and not a spectator;
• the community of friends we are building; and
• "Lo, I am with you, even to the ends of the earth."

~ Lois Konyndyk

P.S.  A little more fun from our shopping in the Old City: