Day 03 - Ein Gedi, Qumran, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Jericho

Yesterday’s journey through the wilderness reinforced the reality of God’s presence in the desert despite the evident hostility of the environment. Today, we experienced the other side of the wilderness as we visited several spots of oasis. 

Ein Gedi stands out as a unique location of great beauty made more striking when contrasted with the rocky surroundings. It’s a place of refreshment where ancient Hebrews found relief in the cool water. Now it is one of Israel’s most popular national parks and people continue to play in the waterfalls and delight in creation. Calling Ein Gedi “refreshing” doesn’t seem to capture the drama of the place. It is a picture of abundant life somehow overcoming death.

The Psalms come alive in Ein Gedi! For David, the oasis was a gift of life. It offered water and tranquility but also safety from Saul. In the caves above the stream David could move freely among the ibexes that give the Ein Gedi its name (Spring of the Wild Goat). 

Ronan next lead us to Qumran, an Essene community abandoned in 68 AD. Those who lived in Qumran were single minded in their purpose to live out the law as purely as they could in anticipation of the Messiah’s arrival–and to do so together (yakhad). To them temple worship had become barren and no longer capable of sustaining life. Jerusalem was fruitless, but here in Qumran, they found a spiritual and intellectual oasis. 

For some mysterious reason, their radical devotion to the law and prophets lead the Essenes to bury scrolls of biblical books and commentaries in nearby caves. Surviving the use of time and the elements, they are now a gift for our generation. The oasis of Qumran, even though now uninhabited, continues to sustain and bring life.

We stopped in Jericho and experienced Palestinian hospitality –dates for days! We sat beside the River Jordan and learned profound teaching connecting Christ’s baptism to his authority. At this point in the post, I’m reminded of John 21:25. We did many other things. Were every one of them to be written this blog post would become entirely too long!

At the end of our day we left the wilderness and approached the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Shabbat Shalom!