We took a swing into southern areas of Israel/West Bank today, with our first stop being Masada. Masada had been rebuilt by King Herod just before Christ's birth for use as his summer cabin, so to speak. It sat empty until the Jewish revolt under the Romans, serving as a last holdout against Roman occupation. The Romans surrounded Masada for 3 years, and when they were finally able to reach the top, they found an eerie silence. The Jews had died by their own hands that morning, believing that death as a free man was more victorious than life as a Roman slave. This gave our students a glimpse into the Jewish mindset. Masada itself gave us a glimpse into the genius of King Herod. The mountaintop was fortified with cisterns holding 3 years' worth of water and storage areas to hold 3 years' worth of supplies for his armies, plus the extravagant living rooms and bath houses. It would have been a wonderful place to spend a hot desert summer!
Our next stop was the Dead Sea, where we wore our bobbing suits and tested the water. (It's not possible to swim in the Dead Sea, so we had to rename our swimsuits). It was definitely a different experience for a bunch of Minnesotans used to the lakes up north! One group of us tried some of the mud which the Dead Sea is known for. It's like that which you use for a facial mask, but black and smeared all over the body. Stay tuned, and I'll try to upload a shot from Amy N's camera.
From there we drove to Qumran to see the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. However, due to a couple students feeling kind of nauseous from the bus ride (or swallowing salty water?), combined with arriving after about 49 other tour busses, we decided to skip the tour. Our tour guide, Suki, picked up a postcard of the caves and gave a brief explanation. We took off from there for a quick run through Jericho to see "the" sycamore tree which Zacchaeus climbed (it was an old one, anyway!) and the Mount of Temptation, where Jesus was tempted by the devil to bow and worship him.
En route to all of these sites, Suki filled us in with other biblical tidbits about the area. He showed us the mountains of Moab, which are currently known as Jordan. He pointed out where King David did this, King Saul did that, John the Baptist did this, etc. Ashley's comment at the end of the day gives pause for reflection. She said that even though Suki knew more about the Bible than most people on the bus (which says a lot, considering the courses they take at Northwestern!), he didn't know the Author of the book. He claimed to not be religious, finding all religions to be the same kind of thing. She found that sad, and wondered how someone who had studied scriptures so much in order to be a tour guide, indeed, who in other areas of life was so intelligent - BA from Arizona, MA from Germany, fluent in 7 languages - could miss the point of the Book. She realized that reading the Bible without the Holy Spirit won't change a person much. A good reminder to ask for the Spirit's guidance every time you read his word!
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