The Negev

The best way to start a morning in Israel is to bathe in the salty waters of the Dead Sea, and that is exactly what we did. It was an incredible experience to float freely and leave feeling refreshed before heading out on another full day of adventures. We had three stops along the Dead Sea that we made today, the first being Masada. 1,300 feet above the Dead Sea, Masada is a mountain-top fortress and trade center that controlled the King’s Highway. Consisting of 20 acres, there was one path to the top of Masada, winding so much that it was called the snake path. We were spared the hike and got to ride in a gondola. At the top, Joey Huntley, School of Ministry student, provided us with the end of Masada’s history, a story both fascinating and macabre.

Around 72 AD, the Romans besieged the fortress, surrounding it with army camps at the foothills. In order to breach the walls, the Romans had to pile dirt up as a slope to the top. During this time, the leader of the Jewish resistors who lived in Masada convinced 960 followers to take their own lives, dying in freedom instead of becoming enslaved. Since Jewish law restricted suicide, they cast lots and chose ten men to go around and kill everyone. From those ten, one was picked to kill the other nine before falling on his own sword. When the Romans arrived, there were only seven survivors, two women and five children.

Back down from Masada, we journeyed on to Ein Gedi, an oasis in the middle of the desert where David took refuge in caves. David Figueraro of the School of Ministry read the story starting in 1 Samuel 23:28 when David is hiding in caves above Ein Gedi. King Saul had entered one to relieve himself and David tore off the corner of his rob, making a point without killing him that Saul was no longer the rightful king. A short walk found us at a secret waterfall hidden in the desert, and it was here that we read Psalms of David - Psalm 1, 23, and 63.

After a lunch break, we arrived at Qumran, better known as the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Our tour guide Ronen explained that before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, the oldest Scriptures were from the 9th or 10th century. In 1947, a month before the scrolls were found, there was a dispute between Jews and Arabs over whom Israel rightly belongs to. The Arabs argued that since the oldest Scriptures at the time were from the 9th or 10th century and since the Quran was written in the 7th century, the Bible was just a copy of the Quran, and so the land belonged to them. One month later, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and without a doubt, Israel belonged to the Jews.

The Dead Sea Scrolls raise many questions, such as the question of their authors. The Dead Sea Sect were a group of men from priesthood families who lived humble lives, studying and waiting for the Messiah. Knowing the Scripture by heart because of their upbringing, their study was about the interpretation of Scripture. Their rabbi would ask questions about the text, and they would each answer their own thoughts. Therefore, some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were not Scriptures but rather interpretations of Scriptures. The book of the Old Testament Bible with the most copies among the scrolls was Isaiah, since it talks about the Messiah, whom these men were waiting for to come. Ronen suggested that since there is no evidence of destruction, by an army or otherwise, then maybe these men who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls were among the first Christians, realizing after a while that Jesus was the Messiah they were waiting for, causing them to leave their desert home of Qumran to follow Him. However, this is just a suggested answer to one of the many mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Leaving the West Bank, we were stopped at a security check point, where a couple of Israeli militia came aboard to see our smiling tourist faces before allowing us to pass through. Now we are on the shore of the Sea of Galilee at Ein Gev and looking forward to where tomorrow will take us.