Day 7 – Wednesday, June 12: Masada, Dead Sea, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Qelt Desert
This morning we returned to the Judean Desert. We drove east to Jericho and then south to Masada (our first stop). Predictably, it was sunny and a dry heat of about 100+ once again. The water at Ein Gedi, however, was refreshing. We read from Psalm 18:1-2 (fortress = “metzada”) as we left the hotel at 7:30 a.m.
Masada
We drove north about 15 minutes to get to the eastern side of Masada, a palace-fortress built by King Herod in the 30s BC. We all took the cable car to the top. Among the ruins we saw the casemate wall, huge cisterns, the synagogue, the northern palace, storehouses, and the bathhouse. The courageous story of Masada (with 967 using the site as a place of refuge) is both incredible and inspiring! We all took the cable car down (since the Snake Path was already closed due to the heat) and loaded in our bus.
Ein Gedi
From here we drove further north along the western shoreline of the Dead Sea to Ein Gedi. Together we walked into the canyon (Wadi David) where we stopped to read from Song of Songs 1 (mentioning the henna blossoms), 2 Chronicles 20 (mentioning the Ascent of Ziz), and 1 Samuel 24 (the David and Saul “cave encounter”). Everyone in the group walked back to the far water falls. We also enjoyed getting wet under a few sets of waterfalls, especially the kids. It was an amazingly refreshing experience!
Qumran
About a 25 minute drive further north took us to where the most significant discovery in all of Israel were found in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran. We first hiked up to see Cave 6 (one of 12 caves in which fragment of scrolls were found) and the unique aqueduct tunnel. Then we walked back down and visited the site itself where we saw many miqvot (plural for mikve, or ritual baths), cisterns, and the scriptorium. In front of Cave 4 (and 5 & 10), we read from Psalm 19 and “151,” an extra psalm found here. We also remembered 2 Timothy 3:16 about God’s inspired Word. Thanks be to God for the preservation of His Word and the joy, instruction, direction, and hope it provides us!
Wadi Qelt
On our way to Jerusalem we made a brief stop to overlook a portion of the Wadi Qelt/Judean Desert. We heard the words of Isaiah 40. Shlomo also sang Psalm 23 in Hebrew. Even though the desert is such an arid place, the view was beautiful!
“Today was ‘desert day.’ We drove back down to the Dead Sea area to visit three sites: Masada, Ein Gedi, and Qumran. We actually saw another group at each site. Ein Gedi added a refreshing dynamic to our hot day (around 100).”
Jerusalem
Continuing our drive west to the Hill Country of Judah, we arrived back to our hotel in Jerusalem. Upon arriving we visited the Ketef Hinnom Tombs literally right below our hotel. They were discovered in the late 1970s. We had fun time “laying out” on the tomb benches. 🙂 After dinner, some in the group walked back over to walls of the Old City to see the place where Jesus was most likely presented for crucifixion outside Herod’s palace and before the religious leaders.
Day 8 – Thursday, June 13: Yad Vashem (Zoo for the kids), Israeli Museum, City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Southern Wall Excavations
