A second chance

In the desert, more obviously than perhaps anywhere else, water means life. Particularly in the southern region of Israel where rain seldom falls and middle easterners are at the mercy of extreme heat and drought, it is imperative to secure the basic, precious resource of water. Our Israeli guide Yehuda keeps reminding us that the abundance of rain we have received in the past two days is highly unusual. In fact, as my friend Scott mentioned in his earlier post, this region is so unused to what seems like a small amount of precipitation that our trip to Masada yesterday (Friday) was quickly spoiled by the rain. Today we journeyed back to this infamous mountain fortress of Herod the Great, which has a strategic vantage point high above the Dead Sea.

Built as an extremely secure retreat location for Herod and his privileged associates, Masada was a work of architectural genius. We walked through much of the excavated site, which included two palaces, stables, an armory, an extensive clean water supply, swimming pools and a sauna – all built two millennia ago on top of a mountain that rarely receives rain! As we learned today, however, the real drama of Masada began in the late 60s AD when Jewish rebels occupied the fort in defiance of their Roman oppressors. Sadly, as Roman forces closed in after a two and a half year siege, the small band of Jewish zealots chose inflict their own deaths as free men rather than become slaves again to Rome. Caught up by the majestic view surrounding us on the mountain as well as by the captivating story, we were thankful to have a second chance to visit this incredible location.

Unfortunately, when we left Masada and attempted to travel north along the Dead Sea to Ein Gedi, we were thwarted again by the results of heavy rainfall in the region. Since the dry desert ground is unused to water, the same rain that graciously brought life had created a flash flood and blocked the road north. This blockage not only prevented us from visiting Ein Gedi; it also extended our travel time for the day by over an hour. I have to admit, I was disappointed to miss visiting the desert springs that played such a key role in David’s journeys (1 Sam 23:29-24:1), but as one of our trip leaders shared about Ein Gedi as we travelled, I was reminded that it is God who provides the rain, not only refreshing us when we are thirsty but also reorienting us to see him as the source of life.

Ein Gedi is known for its life-giving springs of water in place where fresh water is very difficult to acquire. We learned today that these springs are fed by rainwater that falls miles away in the mountains and travels underground. I could hardly believe it when I heard that scientists believes it takes about twenty years for rainfall in the mountains to emerge from the springs at Ein Gedi! Because of the time spent traveling through the underground streams, the water is purified and refreshing for the desperate wanderers searching for sustenance in the desert. Even if the land of Israel experiences years of drought, the supply of water at Ein Gedi will not run out! I find it amazing that, just like the rainwater benefiting the thirsty decades after it falls, God determines to provide blessing for his people long before we know that we need it.

Because the fundamental need for water was such a present reality in the ancient world, it is often used as powerful metaphor in Scripture. The prophet Jeremiah harnesses this imagery poignantly in Jeremiah 2:13: “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” In only two days we have gotten to experience several different water cisterns throughout different regions of Israel. These large underground containers also collect rainwater, but since the water sits stagnate for season after season, they can easily become polluted and dangerous for drinking. Moreover, because of the soft stone that surrounds the cistern, it needs continually patched with plaster to prevent water from leaking out into the desert sand. The people of Israel knew this danger from their own personal experiences, but Jeremiah connects the tangible imagery to their national situation. Seeking to find security in their vulnerable location, Israel tried to build alliances with either Assyria or Egypt to give them protection against the other ancient superpower. Jeremiah pointed out the futility and danger of these fallible sources of life (like trying to survive off a contaminated and leaking cistern) and pointed to God as the true source of their hope (like the fountains of Ein Gedi that never run dry). As we consider our own thirstiness and longings, may we see the futility of our own polluted righteousness, those diseased containers of water, and find that God’s provision in Jesus is eternally sufficient for every situation. May we turn from worthless idols that cannot save, and say with Jeremiah, “truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel” (Jer 3:23b).

Written by Nick B.

Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls:
The educational part of our day started at Masada toward the southwest shore of the Dead Sea and ended on the northwest shore at Qumran. Due to an unusual amount of rain for that part of the country the day before and overnight, the road along the shore of the Dead Sea was washed out, and instead of simply driving north along the shore we were forced to detour back to the central part of the country (adding 90 minutes of drive time to our day). As we headed west toward the coastal plain, it started raining almost immediately after we left the desert. As we continued traveling west, north, and then east toward Qumran we had on and off rain until we again entered the desert on our descent back down toward the Dead Sea. There, it was once again dry. And although we encountered rain in that region the day before (and although we had a 90-minute detour) the change in weather as we traveled through the regions was a good reminder of exactly why the Dead Sea Scrolls of Qumran survived for 2000 years: they were housed in a dry desert that typically gets 1.5 inches of rain a year.

There are a few theories about who exactly wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the most widely held theory is that they were written and stored by a group of Essenes (an extremely strict Jewish religious sect) who lived at Qumran between approximately 300 BC and 60 AD (some researchers argue that the group who wrote the scrolls were actually from other sects). They were written on leather parchment scrolls (which typically deteriorate after several years but keep fairly well in dry climates), and stored in cylindrical clay jars which were placed in the caves around Qumran. Archaeologists are not exactly sure why the group of people decided to store the jars in the caves. Ideas include possibly hiding them from the Romans who were quashing a Jewish revolt at the time, or maybe they were just keeping a very secure library. Regardless, the scrolls stayed in the caves for about 2000 years.

In 1947, a group of shepherds were looking for a lost goat in that area. One of the shepherds threw a stone into a cave (there are numerous small caves in that area), and heard something crack. The shepherds went into the cave, and found some jars. Inside the jars, they found parchment with ancient Hebrew written on it. They did not know exactly what they had found, but they did know that they could sell it to antiques dealers. They began selling those initial finds, and searched for more. Eventually, people figured out exactly what the scrolls and fragments (small pieces of a scroll) were: one of the most important biblical archaeological finds of all time.
Over the next 10 years, more than 900 manuscripts were found including 220 biblical Old Testament manuscripts. The manuscripts represented all the books of the Old Testament (mostly partial copies) except the book of Esther. The three most represented books of the Old Testament are Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah.

The Old Testament most widely used today is based on the Masoretic version that was compiled/translated in about the year 1000 AD. Amazingly, this version is almost (not entirely) the same as what the people at Qumran copied onto the Dead Sea Scrolls 1000 years earlier. That precision is unprecedented both before and since. What this means for us Christians today is that a large portion of the Old Testament we read today is similar to what Jesus read in the synagogues at His time.

In addition to Old Testament manuscripts, there were other religious manuscripts found as well as manuscripts describing life at Qumran itself. The manuscripts describing life there reveal a very strict lifestyle. The most interesting revelations are the punishments for improper behavior. These include being banished from the group for misusing the name of God, and lesser punishments that include shorter separations from the group and decreased food portions for lesser infractions including lying, gossiping, spitting in the assembly, laughing uncontrollably, and gesturing with the left hand while speaking. Many of us on the trip wouldn’t have been Essenes for long. We like to laugh, and some of us gesture with the left hand.
*All information gathered from lectures at Qumran given my Dr. Greer

Written by Matt V.