[The Dead Sea] is, as I have said already, bitter and unfruitful. It is so light [or thick] that it bears up the heaviest things that are thrown into it; nor is it easy for any one to make things sink therein to the bottom, if he had a mind so to do. Accordingly, when Vespasian went to see it, he commanded that some who could not swim should have their hands tied behind them, and be thrown into the deep, when it so happened that they all swam as if a wind had forced them upwards.
Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 4.8.4
We drove up the Arabah, the eastern border of Israel. Finally, we reached the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. Filled with a large variety of minerals, it is ten times saltier than the ocean. We headed up its western coast towards our hotel conveniently located in the touristy town of Ein Bokek.
Shortly before we reached our final destination that evening, we stopped briefly at the foot of Mt. Sodom, named for one of the towns that had likely been in this area, but were destroyed by the Lord (Genesis 19). What makes this mount interesting is two-fold: it’s the highest lowest mountain (the tallest mountain that begins at the lowest elevation), and it’s made entirely of salt. Above us we could see a salt pillar affectionately known as “Lot’s wife”, again reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah’s demise. God sent two angels to bring Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family out of the wicked cities that were about to be destroyed. As they left, the angels told them not to look back. Lot’s wife did, however, and turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26).
Our hotel for the next two evenings was located directly on the shores of the Dead Sea, giving us easy access to bobbing in those salty waters.
Staying in luxury on the shores, one cannot help but think of Lot’s position. He came here because he “saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD” (Genesis 13:10). It was a beautiful place! He put up with living with the wicked people until God personally brought him out. Like the waters of the Dead Sea, sin is enticing. However, if you drank 1 cup of Dead Sea water, it would kill you as the minerals seal your esophagus. Sin is also deadly. Thankfully, God has something better and is able to save us from sin’s death grip.