Day 05 - Negev - Galilee: Qumran, Mount of Beatitudes, Galilee Boat Ride

Day 5

“Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Psalm 27:7

Qumran

Today we sought God’s face in a remote part of the desert. Qumran was the home of the Essenes, a Jewish sect devoted to preserving the word of God as they awaited the coming Messiah. The Essenes focused their prayers on the consolation of Israel and the redemption of Jerusalem. They inhabited this place while Jesus was alive!

As we entered this historic site, we saw 17 chambers dug in the ground with stairs descending into them These were the ritual baths where the Essenes cleansed themselves for God. Then we entered the scribes’ room and learned how they painstakingly copied the text of the Old Testament with three people to affirm that each letter was written correctly.

In the year 68 AD, the Roman army invaded, and the Essenes hid their sacred scrolls in caves high up in the hills. They stayed there until 1947 when a young shepherd boy threw a rock into the cave and heard pottery breaking.

These were the famed Dead Sea scrolls! Up until this time, the oldest copy of the Old Testament was from 1000 AD. When scholars compared the Dead Sea scrolls to that later version, they were nearly identical.

After marveling at the Essenes’ home, we climbed up into their hills. Here we encountered their impressive solution to filling 17 baths in the middle of the desert: capturing the runoff from the powerful floods that fill the area. We even climbed on our hands and knees through one of their irrigation canals dug through a rocky hillside.

As we sat catching our breath and drinking down water, Scott commented how extremely seriously the Essenes took the text of the Bible that they put all this work into creating this community in the desert to preserve it. He asked what our home churches could do to show that much devotion to God’s word. My favorite answer was to look after orphans, widows, and immigrants.

We climbed on farther, in some places needing all 4 limbs to scramble up the rocks. The next vista gave a beautiful view of the Dead Sea turning into the Jordan River. Then we read the account of Simeon and Anna prophesying over Jesus in Luke 2. Scott pointed out that these two prophets were likely Essenes since they were “waiting for the consolation of Israel” and “looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” Some scholars believe John the Baptist was also an Essene.

The Sea of Galilee

It is amazing that the lush, beautiful Sea of Galilee is only a 2-hour drive from the hot, harsh desert we’ve inhabited the last few days. We are now in the place where Jesus walked! And as soon as our group got off the bus, we boarded a boat to ride where Jesus rode!

From the middle of the Sea of Galilee, we recounted all the stories of Jesus on the water. Each time, hearing it in its context and through its culture brought a new level of understanding.

For example, in John 21 the disciples catch 153 fish. Why such a precise number? At the time, they believed there were 153 species of fish in the world! This is Jesus telling them in a way that they would clearly understand that he is casting a net wide enough for all people of all places.

We’re staying right on the Sea of Galilee and are excited to share even more stories from here over the next few days.