Israel Study Tour with Scott Heare

June 27 - July 11, 2022

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Day 04 - Negev Desert: Masada, Ein Gedi, Dead Sea

“I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.” Psalm 18:1-2

After repeating these verses for our morning devotional, we went to a literal rock fortress. Masada is the Hebrew word for fortress. It is also the name of Herod’s palace in the middle of the desert.

 

Masada

The bus dropped us at the visitor’s center where we had a view of the entire fortress. From that distance, we could see large holes in the sides of the rock below the palace. Those were cisterns to hold water. Imagine how much work it took to build those cisterns, seal them off, let them fill with water, and then monitor to make sure they had enough to survive on!

 

We hiked up a winding stone staircase to the top of Masada and then toured through all 3 layers of the structure. It was astonishing to see the luxury of swimming pools and Roman baths in this remote desert location. (There is also a dark tale to this place, and you can google “Siege of Masada” if you want to learn more.)

 

Ein Gedi

 

After our sweaty tour of Masada, we got back on the bus. Then our ride through the desert was interrupted by the shocking appearance of trees! We got off the bus in our wide-brimmed hats, sun-protective hiking gear and were shocked to see people in bathing suits.

 

We had stumbled upon a true oasis. There was lush vegetation, multiple waterfalls, and natural swimming pools! This was the place that David hid from Saul.

 

Our group hiked up to a middle pool and began comparing the manmade cisterns at Masada to the natural springs of Ein Gedi. One required a whole lot more work than the other! Once again, we returned to our theme of daughter/sonship from yesterday. If you don’t trust God, you’ll always be striving to build cisterns. But if you have faith, then you can rest in God’s provision.

 

The lesson finished with talking about the Jewish feast of Sukkot (another interesting thing to Google) and reading John 7:37-38 where Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (Okay actually the lesson finished with us all laying down in the water, running under the waterfalls, and exploring that beautiful place!)

 

Dead Sea

 

When the bus dropped us back at our hotel, the day wasn’t quite over yet. We changed into our bathing suits, walked out of the hotel, crossed the street, and were on the beach of the Dead Sea. Our group waded slowly into warm water, feeling the crunch of salt crystals beneath our feet. When we leaned back into the water, our legs popped up from under us. We were floating with absolutely no effort!  

 

 

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