Our Last Day in Israel

Masada from a distance

Exploring Masada
It seems like we’ve been here in the Holy Land for a very long time, and it seems like the time has flown by. Our last day before the flight home is almost over. We’re driving back to the hotel in Jerusalem after taking the tram to the top of Masada, seeing the waterfall at En Gedi, visiting Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, having lunch in Jericho, and floating in the Dead Sea. It was a full day.

Masada is a fortress/palace built by Herod the Great in the first century BC on top of a mountain by the Dead Sea. It is an incredible site to behold from miles away. The shear cliffs on all 4 sides of the mountain with a flat table-top made this fortress practically impregnable to an invading army. Impregnable that is until the Romans arrived in 72AD snuff out the last remaining Jewish rebels holding out on Masada. The Romans constructed a huge ramp of dirt to get their battering ram to the fortress walls. The night before they breached the wall the Jewish defenders committed mass suicide rather than surrender. That’s the story according the Jewish historian Josephus at any rate. What we saw on top of Masada was a striking view of the Dead Sea, the remains of beautiful mosaics that decorated Herod’s palace, solid balls of rock the size of bowling balls used to propel over the walls on an attacking army, and a mail system capable of staying in communication with Jerusalem. The mail system consisted of pigeon stalls used to house the birds that would carry messages to Jerusalem. This is one of the top tourist attractions in Israel. It’s kind of like the ancient Israeli version of the Alamo, only no victory at San Jacinto followed Masada.

I think my favorite part was Qumran. It was in the caves overlooking the Dead Sea that the greatest archeological discovery of our time occurred. The scrolls of the Old Testament books found there pre-dated the earliest OT manuscripts at that time by 1000 years. And the great significance of these scrolls is that they confirm the incredible accuracy of the transmission of the Bible down through the centuries. God’s Word, what we read every Sunday in church, is reliable and authoritative.

In front of Cave #4 at Qumran
Floating in the Dead Sea had zero spiritual significance; it was simply a fun way to end the journey. The beach was nothing to get too excited about… little sand, lots of mud. In fact, these people think the mud of the Dead Sea is so special they sell it! Facials with Dead Sea mud is a hot item in Jericho. I don’t care how ugly I am I’m not slapping mud from anyplace on my face. Swimming, if you could call it that, was hilarious. The salt content of the Dead Sea is so high that it is impossible to go under water. When I waded out and laid back and kind of bobbed like a fishing bobber, I laughed hysterically. It felt so odd, like there was a layer of jello just under the surface holding you up. Then I got saltwater in my eyes and the stinging sensation was intense and didn’t let up for the 20 minutes it took me to paddle to shore and get to a fresh water faucet. A little Arab boy about 9 or 10 years old I’d guess heard me say, “I got the saltwater in my eyes!” He looked at me and said in his halting English, “You got the water in your ass?”
“Not my ass! My eyes!!!” I said pointing to my eyes.
The Dead Sea was a mixed bag, but even with burning eyes I’m glad for the experience.

Floating in the Dead Sea