 Saturday, March 3, 2007
Masada
After an great night at the LaMeridian we packed up and headed out on the bus back north along highway 90 to Masada. Reading from Ezekiel 37:1-14 we read of the Dry Bones of Israel that God will one day bring back to life before we entered this National Park. Inside we watched a short video about this hirsotical significance of this site. Beginning in the Hasmonian period around 147 BC this natural fortress, high on the cliff, became home to Herod the Greats vacation palace seen in the model here. Today this Park is one of the Jewish people's greatest symbols of their past. Here our guide told us of the oath he took here in the 80's along with his fellow IDF solders that Masada shall not fall again. Located high on a cliff you can walk up the pathway or you can take the tram. We didn't have a lot of time to walk so we took the tram (seen here) up the 400 foot high cliff.
Some 75 years after Herod’s death, at the beginning of the Revolt of the Jews against the Romans in 66 CE, a group of Jewish rebels overcame the Roman garrison of Masada. After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple (70 CE) they were joined by zealots and their families who had fled from Jerusalem. With Masada as their base, they raided and harassed the Romans for two years. Then, in 73 CE, the Roman governor Flavius Silva marched against Masada with the Tenth Legion, auxiliary units and thousands of Jewish prisoners-of-war. The Romans established camps at the base of Masada, laid siege to it and built a circumvallation wall. They then constructed a rampart of thousands of tons of stones and beaten earth against the western approaches of the fortress and, in the spring of the year 74 CE, moved a battering ram up the ramp and breached the wall of the fortress. But when the Romans arrived all who were inside were dead. The night before 10 men had been picked by lottery to kill all who remained. One final man the drew a lot to kill the other nine men. Our guide had to pose the question - What would have happened if they had prayed and let God intervene for them? Although this site has little to do with Christianity it does have a lot to do with the struggle Jews have had and continue to have in serving God and not wanting to become slaves of any foreign god or ruler. This site gets one to thinking about their own committment to God and to Jesus.
Ein Gedi
Back on the bus with more great commentary by our guide. Just a short ride north of Masada is Ein Gedi which is also a National Park and a Nature Reserve. The reserve has great hiking trails and was filled with locals as well as tourists going to see this beautiful oasis in the desert that is fed by two streams. Here is where David hid from Saul in the caves as he fled the kings wrath. Looking at 1 Samuel 23 as well as Psalm 57 this land is also mentioned Song of Songs 1:14 and in Ezekiel 47. We had a great box lunch here. Some of us didn't walk up the mountain to see the waterfall and cave and stayed behind and people watched.
 Qumran
After lunch back on the bus heading north again along highway 90 along the Dead Sea while Ronnie tells us of the history of Israel and introduces us to the great historian Josephus. Located off the highway at the north end of the Dead Sea we find Qumran National Park which is home to the Second Temple Period Essenes and location of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 10 miles south of Jericho, Qumran was on a "dead-end street" and provided a perfect location for the isolationist sect of the Essenes to live. After a short video on the life of the Essenes who were very strict followers of the law who lived under stringent rituals we toured the ruins. This area in the desert is probably where John the Baptist lived and many think he lived here with the Essenes for a period of time.
Since the discovery in 1947 of nearly 900 scrolls in various states of completeness, mostly written on parchment, extensive excavations of the settlement have been undertaken. Cisterns, possibly a few Jewish ritual baths, and cemeteries have been found, along with a dining or assembly room and debris from an upper story alleged by some to have been a scriptorium as well as pottery kilns and a tower.
After this we get back on the bus and head just a short distance north to just south of Jericho and turn left or west on highway 1 and head up the road to Jerusalem. Getting late in the day we see Jerusalem for the first time. We drive up to the Hebrew University and take a look at the town and then head down through town on the way to our hotel for the next few days. Almost dark now we stop at a shop in town and check out our first shopping spot in town. Our driver and guide wait for us as we shop.
 Ramat Rachel Kibbutz
Jerusalem
From the store we head through town to the rolling hills of Ramat Rachel and check in for our last stop of the trip. The photo at the right is from our window (using a telephoto lens) of the Judean hills near the town of Bethlehem. With its roots as a youth hostel in 1969 for Kibbutz Ramat Racherl this area also has a rich history of survival for the Jews since 1948. Near by is a park which we all explore in the morning before setting off on our first day in Jerusalem. A bus stop ends at the steps of our hotel but we have our own bus from Sar El for the trip. Food here was good but not as spectacular as what we had in the Scotts in Tiberias. We had been spoiled there. This is a four star property, however, and a great place to stay. We had to drive through the southern parts of Jerusalem to get to the heart of the city each day. |
