Day 03 - Judean Wilderness: Ein Gedi, Qumran

This morning we started at the Salt Sea, better known to us as the Dead Sea because nothing can survive there. Water was a running theme of the day. Water is always necessary for survival, but when you’ve been wandering in the desert it feels like salvation. Looking at the hills all around we couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like to stumble upon the Dead Sea for the first time and to imagine the disappointment when they found it undrinkable. The question was posed: What are our Salt Seas? What are the things that we think will bring life, but in reality only bring death? 

We then hopped on the bus and took off for Ein Gedi! It brought to life what it really looked like for David to be hiding from Saul in the wilderness. There was little to no shade, rocks everywhere, steep cliffs, and unless there was a water source near by little amounts of vegetation. We were for sure sweating, and thirsty, and needed breaks along the way, where we spent time in 1 Samuel 24. This is when David spared the life of Saul, but cut off the corner (kanaf) of his robe. Saul in that moment turns to bless David rather than want to kill him. (1 Samuel 24:17-19). The wild thing about this story is that we always attribute David with showing Saul mercy, but rarely do we think about how God did the very same with us. He doesn’t treat us how our sins deserve, but how David treated Saul. After our stop we continued hiking up, but every drop of sweat and ounce of a sunburn was worth it when we came to the end and saw a pool with a roaring waterfall.  There were green trees and plants growing all around the waterfall and down banks as the stream flowed. It was here that we were reminded that any salt sea in our lives, any place that ultimately is death in our flesh was redeemed in the person of Jesus Christ. HE is our living water and more than that in John 7:38 he says, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” One day the Salt Sea, will be overtaken with fresh living water and life will flourish in it (Ezekiel 47) but our lives already have been. So we will pose the same question to you at home: Why do you go back to the ‘dead seas’ of your life when you have access to rivers of living water? We were then invited to jump into the freedom Christ offers, so we leapt into the freezing pool and swam in the living water with complete abandon. We never want to forget it, the joy of the freedom of Christ. 

This was only the morning… our afternoon was then spent at Qumran where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. This was a really cool lesson in how God preserves his Word throughout the years. The scrolls that were found date to as early as 200 B.C. and have been a hugely influential discovery in Christian history. We got to hike an insane trek to the top of one of the mountains in the region, an opportunity that not many get to do. At the top we had our final lesson of the day. We were challenged with transitioning our minds from the Israelites in the desert, David in this wilderness, and now to Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Jesus was tempted in every way, yet he never sinned and combatted Satan at every turn. He was offered a way out and didn’t take it so that we would come to rest in him. The only one who offers life. Now how fitting is it that at the end of our third day, we have come to rest on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We set out again tomorrow.