Day 6 – Tuesday, August 9: Beth Shean, Jericho, Qumran, Dead Sea
Today we left the Sea of Galilee area and headed south to the area of the Dead Sea. The temps were once again hot, with a high in the low 100s this afternoon. After checking out of the hotel, we read sections of Matthew 5-7 as we began the day!
Beth Shean
About 20 miles south of the Sea of Galilee is Beth Shean. This was the only one of the Decapolis cites locate on the western side of there Jordan Valley. This is a massive archaeological site. We walked through the Roman ruins, first seeing the bathhouse, the colonnaded street, the agora. The massive pillars toppled in the 749 AD earthquake. Some in the group hiked up to the top of the Old Testament site. Here, the bodies of Saul and his three sons were hung on the walls of the town square (1 Chronicles 10, 1 Samuel 31). We finished the visit of the site by walking through the theater. The day warming up quickly, many of us enjoyed popsicles before we left!
Jericho
From here we drove about 45 miles south to Tel es Sultan or Jericho along there Jordan Valley. The country of Jordan is to our east across the valley. Arriving at Jericho we climbed the small eight acre site. We first looked east. In the haze was Mt. Nebo (where Moses died, Deuteronomy 34). Elijah also ascended across the valley to heaven (2 Kings 2). Also, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River at a place called Bethany Beyond the Jordan (John 1). In the middle of the site we saw a large stone tower (predating Abraham). At the southern end of the site we saw massive stone retaining walls. On top of these walls was a mud-brick wall. This was the wall that Joshua saw fall down as they circled the city seven times (Joshua 6). Following a visit to the site, we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant at the site and a Hebron glass store nearby.
“Wow…the regions of the land of Israel are so different. Being here in the Dead Sea area this afternoon looks so different than the last few days in the north. It’s a stark contrast! It was so wild floating in the Dead Sea today too! Loved it!”
Qumran
Located on the northwest corner of the Dead Sea is Qumran. We hiked to the area of the cliffs and sat in the shade as we learned about the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls being discovered here in 1947. To date, over 900 texts/fragments of texts have been found in 12 caves. We walked through the small archaeological site, seeing many ritual baths (mikveh), and cisterns. In front of Cave 4, we read from “Psalm 151,” an extra psalm written about David. Here at Qumran we celebrated the perseverance of God’s Word.
Dead Sea
Our last stop was the Dead Sea. This is a body of water made of up 33% minerals and salts. We all floated effortlessly and enjoyed the unique experience.
We drove south to Masada after we showered up. We stopped for a view of the Dead Sea on the way. We checked in to “Guest House” here, and enjoyed dinner at 7 p.m. We retired early, for some are planning to hike up the Snake Path at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning for the sunrise.
Day 7 – Wednesday, August 10: Early Morning Optional Hike up Masada, Ein Gedi, Judean Desert, Mt. of Olives, Western Wall
