The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. Isaiah 35:7 Driving north from Eilat, we eventually arrived at the Dead Sea region. Most of the areas around the Dead Sea are rather dry and lifeless. But there are a few places teeming with life. En Gedi is the most famous because David hid there from King Saul. I’ve been there a handful of times. We stopped briefly this time before pushing northward. Near the northwest corner of the Dead Sea, […]
Tag Archives: Dead Sea
Please Pass the Salt
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. Matthew 5:13 Along the southwest shore of the Dead Sea (the lowest point on earth with its massive salt content) is Mount Sodom. Besides being the lowest mountain, what makes it truly extraordinary is that it’s made almost entirely of salt. We drove up there early this morning to view the sea from a vantage point on top. Just one more slice of […]
Spelunking for Scrolls
This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. Jeremiah 32:14 North of En Gedi towards the northwestern end of the Dead Sea is the site of Qumran. There was little interest in its archeological remains until something remarkable was found nearby: the Dead Sea Scrolls. Quite possibly the most important archaeological find ever, the scrolls include the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible. They were discovered in caves […]
Hideout
He turned the desert into pools of waterand the parched ground into flowing springs;there he brought the hungry to live,and they founded a city where they could settle. Psalm 107:35-36 Two of the prominent sites along the western shore of the Dead Sea are associated with David when he was on the run from King Saul. The first is Masada (meaning ‘stronghold’ in Hebrew). David stayed in “the stronghold” while avoiding Saul (1 Samuel 22:4-5, 24:22). A millennium later King Herod built a fortress on the traditional site with two luxurious palaces. Tourists today can hike the historic snake path […]
Salty Shores
[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 […]
Looking Up
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:3-4 We spent the last two nights on the shore of the Dead Sea. The moon was just past full last night as we captured some nice tripod pictures out of our window. We’ve made our way to the Golan region just east of the Sea of Galilee. There is less light here, allowing us to see more stars.
Of Death and Life
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2 Our third and last day of the long weekend, Monday, brought us to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth at over 1300 feet below sea level. It is the saltiest body of water in the world at 30-40% (by comparison the ocean is about 3% and the Great Salt Lake in Utah is about 15%). Additionally, the sea is dying, […]