Mayim Chayim

John 4:14 “But whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”

Our first stop was the one we had to skip yesterday due to the weather, Masada. Masada was built by King Herod in 10 B.C. It was an expansive palace built at the top of a hill that is 1300 feet above the base. You can get to the top only 2 ways; hike up a 1.2 mile rocky, 700 stair filled path or take a cable car up the side of the mountain. Our group was split; 50% took on the challenge of the hike and 50% of the group took the cable car view and cheered the hikers on from the top. It was an exhilarating experience however you got to the top. Once we were all on the top we were able to learn more about the palace that King Herod built. We saw the sauna, the balconies overlooking the land, along with learning about how the palace gathered water since the area only receives 2 inches of rain PER YEAR on average (See the video below). Following King Herod’s use of Masada; in 67 A.D. there were some extreme Jews (Zealots) that were looking to escape Jerusalem and fled to Masada to live.

After the dry desert we headed to the oasis of Ein Gedi; it was as beautiful as my mind could have ever imagined. Ein Gedi provided us with Mayim Chayim which means Living Water; pure free flowing, untouched by human hands water. Living water never ends and Jesus is our source for that ongoing never-ending source of love. Ein Gedi holds the powerful story of where Saul pursued David and where they had their encounter outside the caves. We can learn so much from David in this circumstance; David had the option of how to react to Saul. (1 Samuel 24) This is powerful to use as we remind ourselves that we can choose to react like David when we have situations at work, with friends, our spouse or children. Do we respond with logic and looking for a way to knit our hearts back together or do we respond with vengeance looking to cause harm.

We then headed on to Qumran where in 1947 the first Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Shepard looking for a lost sheep. The entire book of Isaiah and pieces of every book within the Old Testament except Esther were found. The Essenes settled in Qumran and built their community there. They are the most religious of sects within Judaism and they hold the view that “if you can live in the desert then you live the word of God”. Their view of life is through the view of God and Others. Where as the Greeks and modern western society have more of a Me, Myself and I view of the world. Even though we live in a Greek world view society, what can you do each day to live in a more Hebrew world view?

Our final stop took us into Jericho. Jericho today is an Arab village in West Bank. In the center of town there sits a Sycamore Tree much like the one from the story in Luke 19 about Zacchaeus the tax collector and his quest to see Jesus. Then we headed to a lovely little cafe and coffee shop which gave us all the opportunity to engage in great conversation with friendly locals and support their livelihood. A few of us even got some kisses from a camel.

We are now resting in our hotel by the Sea of Galilee and off on more adventures tomorrow.

Blessings,

Lyn