No wonder everyone grumbled and complained.

Negev, Israel

We spent our time in the desert in the south of Israel, the Negev. The Negev is vast and hot and barren and the thing that kept occurring to us is, "Why here?" Why did God bring the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) here to this rough place?

Someone said, "No wonder everyone grumbled and complained."

It dawned on me yet again that (no new epiphany here) that we really shouldn't be too quick to judge anyone else for their lack of ability to maintain a strong faithfulness to God. You and I struggle with the same thing daily.

Oh, and camel riding is NOT for the faint of heart. :)

Bedouin Culture

Besides the riding of the camels, we were treated to a cup of hot sweet tea and coffee by a man in the Bedouin community. The Bedouin used to be a nomadic people, but have since largely settled into modern political states. Just like many cultures before them, their way of life is slowly giving way to the pressures of the modern times.

We were reminded of the importance of "desert hospitality" and how in our modern culture, this is disappearing (don't talk to strangers, lock your doors, etc.). The Bedouin who live in this hard land, depend on the hospitality of others, and there seems to be a sense of community, even among strangers, that should resonate with every Christian who witnesses it.

Masada

I won't go into the whole tragic story of Masada here (you can google it), but suffice it to say that this place has a weight that goes beyond the story of a Jewish revolt. It is a place of inspiration for heart, mind and soul. One look over the edge of the cliff to the Dead Sea below and you're filled with a sense of the vastness of this place. Some brave souls opted for the hike up the "Snake Path" and were given the sense of the impenetrability of the fortress. Some of us walked through the chambers that Herod built, but rarely used, and were struck with the lavishness of the accommodations. All of us saw the balls of stone hurled by the Romans and were struck by the weight of importance of this place

The Dead Sea

Our hotel in Ein Bokek is on the southern part of the Dead Sea. I mentioned yesterday part of the reason this sea is dead, but there is more to the modern story of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is a dying sea (figure that one out!). It is facing a modern ecological crisis. Water levels are dropping faster than ever before as the modern Israeli uses a 1000 times more water than an Israelite in Jesus' time. Water use (daily use, crops, irrigation), drought and evaporation are becoming so significant that the dead sea is disappearing and the modern state of Israel is scrambling to find a solution.

In the mean time, minerals for mud masks and tourism remain at an all time high.