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Israel Study Tour with Allen Bible Church
April 18-28, 2018
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Spectacular and unique
As we gathered for devotions by the bank of the Dead Sea this morning it became abundantly clear that, although we are all seeing and learning about the same places, each person is taking away a very personal and different perspective. God is speaking to each of us in whispers of aw.
Today we toured Ein Gedi, Qumran, the River Jordan and Jericho. Each sight spectacular and unique. Our first stop is mentioned in I Samuel 24:1; we are told that David was hiding in the Wilderness of Ein Gedi and Saul took 3,000 of his soldiers with him to find David and his men, on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. We stood, overlooking the dry riverbed, observing numerous caves, Ibex goats, and plenty of rocks imagining the effort it took to hide, much less survive. It is only by God’s hand that in all of Israel David and Saul eventually ended up in the same cave!
Ein Gedi
En Gedi is the largest oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea. The springs here have allowed nearly continuous inhabitation of the site since the Chalcolithic period. The area was allotted to the tribe of Judah, and was famous in the time of Solomon (Josh 15:62). Today the Israeli kibbutz of En Gedi sits along the southern bank of the Nahal Arugot.
Next stop is also a wilderness area called Qumran. This area is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Again, the terrain appears to be the least likely place for God to keep the world’s most important documents, but as we discovered, God reveals all things in HIS time and in the place the HE chooses!
We found out that the Jordan River is a popular spot. Upon arrival we discovered there were people from around the world being baptized in the murky waters. Some groups sang songs before beginning the decent to the rivers edge, other groups responded to the leaders recitation and then made their way into the water. As for us, we were reminded about the many references to this River from the Bible...know wonder it was so busy!
Our last stop was Jericho. We were told that as of this day, the walls of Jericho have yet to be found. After all that God has revealed to us on this trip, there is no doubt that that city will be uncovered in time.
Qumran
10 miles south of Jericho, Qumran was on a “dead-end street” and provided a perfect location for the isolationist sect of the Essenes to live.
The site was excavated by Catholic priest Roland deVaux from 1953-56. More recent excavations of the site have taken place under the direction of Hanan Eshel.
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