Israel 2013 - Day 4

Israel 2013 - Day 4

With a bit later start (830am) we were off in the bus to tour the Dead Sea region of Israel. We went from nearly 2500 feet above sea level to 1200 feet below sea level in less than 12 miles. We travelled past the West Bank city of Jericho which contains archaeological remains of continuous human habitation going back at least 11,000 years... making it one of the candidates for the "oldest continuously inhabited places" on Earth. It was along a route similar to the one we took, that Jesus' character from the Parable of the Good Samaritan fell among thieves. (Luke 10:30)

http://instagram.com/p/g3AEMDPV8-/


We stopped at Qumran to learn about the Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is an endlessly fascinating topic to me so i will try to be brief. Thanks to the discoveries made at Qumran, Biblical Scholars were able to study the text of the Old Testament that was 1000 years older than their previously most-ancient manuscripts. In doing so they found an amazing... a supernaturally amazing... consistency between the OT found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the text of the OT that they had previously been studying. Further proof - in my book - that God not only inspires His Word but protects and preserves it as well (Isaiah 40:8).

Following a brief stop at the Oasis of En-Gedi where David hid from Saul (1 Samuel 24) we made our way to Masada. Masada was not only the location for a 1981 mini-series staring Peter O'Toole of the same name but also was the site of the real-life seige of the last remaining Jewish zealots from the Jewish Revolt of AD 66. Following the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 the Jews that could get away did and went to Masada where they held out in Herod the Great's mountain top retreat for nearly 3 years until well... watch the mini-series to see how it ends.

We concluded our day with a trip to the Dead Sea where i helped our bus goers get into and out of the 33% saline water.

At night I took a cadre of our trip-mates onto the Jerusalem LTR for a ride to Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall for more shopping! It was great ... see pictures of me and my ticket getting onto the LRT on my Instagram.