Living water

Ein Gedi
Our first stop today was Ein Gedi. We sat under a tree while we read and discussed 1 Samuel 23, where David cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. This happened in Ein Gedi. We moved up the path a bit and came to a waterfall. We talked about how life is a desert, and asked ourselves the question “Do we want to drink from cisterns, or living water? Then most of got under the waterfall as a reminder that we want to drink from living water!

Qumran
We first learned about the Essenes, and their desire to be ceremonial clean. We saw the ritual baths. We learned that the Essenes were people of the text, and were known for being scribes. In 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a cave in Qumram. We had an awesome opportunity to climb up the mountain to another teaching location. There we talked about the fact that we serve a God who knows what we need, and that he will make a way for us in the wilderness.

Bethany by the Jordan
Next we travelled where Jesus was baptized. We also learned about Joshua and the Israelites crossing the River on dry land. This is a good reminder for us to trust God before it happens.

Jericho
Our last top of the day was in Jericho. We read a lot of scripture from Joshua here. After Joshua and the Israelites crossed the river they made a memorial here so that all would know what God did. We talked about how important these “milestones” are for us in our lives, and our kids and grandparents.

After Jericho we loaded up in the bus and headed 2 hours north and we are staying on the Sea of Galilee.