Day 7 – South to the Desert

Dear Friends,

Of all the days, this was the least Biblical but still it was profound.  One of things I have learned about Israel is how small it is.  Places that you imagine being miles away are literally just over the next hill.  The second thing I have learned is how dramatically the landscape changes as you move from one place to the next.  There are three regions that we have seen over the last seven days:  1. The northernmost is the area known as Galilee.  This is the lushest and surrounds the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus spent most of his ministry in this area; it is also where he grew up.  The flowers and the land remind one of Hawaii.  2. The middle strand is known as the Judeaen wilderness.  It is no wilderness in the terms that we understand.  All of the tree life is small and more like shrubs.  It is rugged and has some of the most beautiful mountains and canyons I have ever seen.  Jerusalem is in this area on top of one of the mountains; thus we always travel “up” to Jerusalem.  3. The southern portion of Israel (unlike in the US) is the starkest desert you can imagine.  Just rocks and mountains bordered on the east by the Dead Sea.  We were in this region today.

It’s hard to say if Jesus ever traveled south except as an infant after his birth when his family was pursued by Herod.  It probably is much as it was 2,000 years ago, virtually uninhabitable except for a few Bedouins (nomad shepherds) and travelers.  We ventured south today to take in the Dead Sea region.  Four stops today:

1.  Bethany – This important Biblical site was the home of Jesus’ friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  It is also very close to Jerusalem and the place where 3 significant biblical stories occurred; Mary and Martha, The Raising of Lazarus, and the Anointing of Jesus by Mary.  There is a wonderful Catholic Church there with mosaics depicting these three stories on each wall.  On the front wall behind the cross, the mosaic depicted Mary at the Resurrection bringing her wonderful life full circle.  The church sits on a 1^st century cave reputed to be Lazarus’ burial site.  For some of these sites, it is hard to know where it is exactly, but we were in Bethany.  We had a great teaching in this site.

the cave

2. Masadah – This fortress is a wonder of Roman engineering and a sacred site of new Israel.  The story is interesting.  It is an incredible palace in the most protected place Herod could find.  It is also the site where revolting Jews hid from the Romans until finally the fort was overcome.  The amazing mystery is that everyone inside the fort when the Romans breached the wall were dead.  During the period of Constantine (Byzantine), there was a church on Masadah.  Amazing cable car ride to the top!\

2.   Qumran – Home of the Essenes sect where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.  These scrolls were of utmost importance in establishing the reliability of the Old Testament texts.  The story is fascinating about Bedouin boy who discovered these scrolls.  Way too long to explain here.

Me with cave #4 in the background where thousands of fragments were found

4.  The Dead Sea – The lowest point on the earth, 1200 feet below sea level and the highest salinity in the water (except for a spot in Tanzania, maybe).  Our regular salt water has 3% -4% salinity.  The Dead Sea has 35% making it virtually uninhabitable (some plant life)  The fun at the Dead Sea is that the salt causes you to float with no effort.  Swimming is fun but you put your head under because the water will burn your eyes and your mouth.

Just for fun…

This wonderful pilgrimage is drawing to a close and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be with this amazing group of friends from St. Helena’s Church in Beaufort and beyond.  I do not hesitate to say that I am ready to come home.  I miss my wife and beautiful girls.  We are also all desperate for the familiar especially food.  I really miss sweet tea.

Tomorrow will be a great finale.  We start at the Mount of Olives early in the morning just as Jesus did on Palm Sunday and walk the path all the way to the Garden Tomb (an alternate site for the cross and resurrection that is way more peaceful).  It  will be the perfect backdrop for our final Holy Communion service together.

We have the afternoon free and we have to leave the hotel for our flight out of Tel Aviv at 1 am (our time).  I arrive back in Charleston Thursday evening at 6:15 pm.  I will try to post some more thoughts at some point tomorrow if I am able.

Thanks be to God,

Shay +