Clean

Shalom, shalom! Everything emphasized here is said twice, and the common greeting of “shalom” means peace. I wish you much peace as you read about our journeys today.

Today’s sites: The ruined city of Masada, the Springs of Ein Gedi where David hid from Saul and the Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. All three of these places are in the desert area of Israel, the Judea desert.

Though Masada is not a Biblical city, it has much significance to the Nation of Israel and coincides with the early church in the Roman world. Masada was taken from the Romans by the Zealots and was the Southeastern point of ancient Israel. Eventually the Romans took it back and the Zealots in the fortified city deemed it best to have a few of them kill everyone inside and destroy all the plunder rather than be taken into slavery and have their wives raped. It was the last time Israel was a nation until 1948. Ben Gorian declared... and Masada became a symbol of Israel Nationalism and pride.

Masada was the hike I was most nervous about. 700+ stairs to the top with hiking in between. The Snake Path up to Masada was intimidating. Having been diagnosed with a histamine disorder about a year ago, I was forced to make drastic dietary changes and cut out cardio as it triggers mast cell activation, releasing histamine, causing flushing and rashes all over my body. Though not dangerous in the short term, I contemplated whether or not this would be a good idea for me to take the Snake Path. I felt peace about doing it because something God has been speaking to me about leading up to this trip has been surrendering my health issues to him. The final authority over my health is not all the tests, not the doctor, not the research that has been done, and especially not myself. I’m not the one that ultimately will make or break my health, but I’ve definitely been living that way. I was talking to Stephen Cho about it tonight and he reminded me of all the stories in the Bible where God called people to do something that doesn’t make sense and a miracle occurs; Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, and the disciples to name a few. Not that I’m doing away with conventional methods of treatment, but I’m slowly learning to release my grip on worry and fear and surrender to what God is teaching me through this process. I still feel called to adhere to my prescribed protocol and be disciplined in my treatment. It’s more a shift of the heart and intention. I have several test results waiting for me when I get home, but I’m choosing to ultimately place my faith in God rather than myself, the doctors, or current science.

Our second stop, the springs of Ein Gedi, is surrounded by the desert of Judea; tall mountains (similar to the one Masada was built upon), that are dry and prone to destructive flash floods. The nearest major body of water is the Dead Sea which obviously can’t be a source of drinking water. We hiked along a trickle of water until we came to a waterfall with a small pool. I was hot and eager to get in. I hadn’t planned on getting entirely wet, but Sam quickly got under the waterfall and the encouraged me to do the same. The waterfall was powerful and so cold for such a hot place. Since this is the oasis David fled to escape Saul, Michael gave a teaching about the friendship of David and Johnathan. He read 1 Samuel 23:16 where Johnathan “strengthened David in the Lord”. He said the good friends are designed to remind us of what God has done in our lives and to pray for us when we don’t know how to pray for ourselves. Community is vital, a refreshing spring of water in our lives that restores our soul. In my own life, God has been calling me to build closer friendships with other Christ-followers. For years, I was isolated with clinical depression. God healed me from that in a dramatic way at a Bethel conference about a year and a half ago. He broke the power of it in my life. Since then, he has been retraining my brain in new ways to think. A major part of this work is reaching out and building healthier relationships and overcoming the shame that has held me back. Shame has been a deep, pervasive force for most of my life.

The first day, we learned about “Mikvah” which is a Biblical baptismal where the people of Israel would do ceremonial washing. Not for physical cleanliness, but to spiritually cleanse themselves. The water had to be “living” water, meaning it had to be flowing. Like baptism, it is a representation going from death to life. Ein Gedi definitely fits the description of a stream of living water. Being in the middle of the desert, it was a lifesaving oasis in Biblical times. Although this pool in the desert wasn’t technically a Mikvah, I thought it would be funny to say I was “Mikvah-ed” in the springs of Ein Gedi, so I asked our tour guide Ronan what you say when someone has completed a Mikvah. “Have they been Mikvah-ed?” I asked. “No,” he said “they would just say you were ‘tuval’—clean”. This struck me because being spiritually clean is the opposite of shame. So today, I can proudly say I am ‘tuval’. Not by the springs of Ein Gedi, but by Jesus who is the spiritual living water.

Our final stop for the day was the Caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. There were many Mikvahs around as the area had been excavated to reveal a community of Essenes. Similar to monks in a monastery, the Essenes were a collective of Jews around 100 B.C. who were believed the coming of the Messiah was imminent. They washed in the Mikvahs twice a day. Some say John the Baptist may have been an Essen, preparing the way for the Messiah. What struck me about this site is that in 1947 when Israel was attempting to become a nation again, the argument the Muslims had was they had older copies of the Quran than the Jews had of the scriptures at that time. Soon after this claim, two Muslim Bedouin shepherds lost some sheep. They threw rocks to get the sheep to move and they hear the sound of clay pots breaking. And they unearth the Dead Sea Scrolls—the oldest copy of scripture from 100 B.C. Not only that, but the copy matched word for word the now second oldest copy they had. This settled the debate of who had right to the land and Israel was eventually able to become a nation once more. The reason this struck me is because it reminded me that God reveals and confirms truth at the perfect time. There is more being excavated in Israel every year and it’s exciting to think what other truths might be revealed in the coming years.

What an amazing trip this has been so far. I hope all of you at home and abroad are enjoying this trip along with us. I’m sure your loved one(s) will have so much to tell when we get back about “The Fifth Gospel”, the land of Israel itself.

Shalom,
-Margo