Rain!

Rain can be seen as such an inconvenience to us. For Israel, and especially in the Negev (Dead Sea area), it only rains 2-4 inches on average a year! What a blessing for Israel and for us to have been here to see it first hand! Our plans to visit Masada changed when we were turned back at the gate and were forced to alter our itinerary. What ensued as a result was a day different from the one that had been planned for us. Oh, but isn’t that the way God often chooses to do the work He wants to do in us?

Instead, we embarked on a wonderful journey and a longer bus ride where we learned about the importance of the Dead Sea, life in the desert, the terrain that David had in mind when he penned the 23rd Psalm and the significance of planting trees (like Abraham did) as a way to claim the land to future generations. We visited Tel Arad, the famed city that Joshua was said to have conquered during the conquest of the land. We climbed up to a temple built in the 9th century BC that showed signs of destruction which point to Hezekiah’s reign when he tore down all of the sacred places that had been erected (2 Kings 18:3-8). From there we went to a Bedouin encampment where we rode camels and learned about hospitality from a people who have invited strangers into their homes for thousands of years! We topped off the day with a swim in the Dead Sea (actually it was a float!).

In short, we put meat and bones to many of the stories that we have read about since childhood about the great men and women that God used to establish Israel, the home of His chosen people!

Shalom,

Joe Pent