To the (Dead) Sea

Today it was 104 degrees, we were in the desert, and there was no shade.

            We left our hostel at Beer Sheva and headed east up into the winding mountain roads that lead up to Manasa. We arrived at the back side of Manasa, where the Roman siege ramp to the fortress on the top of the mountain was still there. Next to this ancient ramp was a 400 foot series of stairs and inclines up to the top of the mountain. When we reached the top we saw the immenseness of the fort. It was from here that we got our first clear view of the Dead Sea below us through the desert haze.  We walked around the around the site and saw the ruins of the magnificent buildings that Herod the Great built there. Herod displayed his power partly by building this great palace and fortress, equipped with swimming pool, constant supply of water, and food imported from Italy, in one of the harshest part of the desert on the edge of the Dead Sea. Truly Herod had great power in his time, and yet he was afraid of the newborn Jesus, and it is Jesus who has the true power. We walked down the snake trail winding down the cliff Manasa.

            From Manasa we headed to the shores of the Dead Sea.  The Dead Sea is 38% salt, which is the reason why you float in it and also the reason for the danger, swim at own risk signs around the sea. We waded into the water, and it was one of the most bizarre feeling ever.  I immediately began tipping into a horizontal position. It was so cool as we all bobbed and floated around each other. It was a few minutes after I got in, that the worst thing that could happen to someone in lounging in the Dead Sea happened to me. Slowly and yet unstoppable, a drop of water rolled down my forehead and into my eye. It started to burn instantly. I closed my eyes and instantly, before I could realize that it was a bad idea, I wiped my eyes with my hand. I could feel the water collecting around my eye, and for some reason, I tried to open my eyes just for a moment. More water rushed in. At this point, both of my eyes were burning, and I could not open them at all. One of my friends pushed towards shore until I was able to crawl out of the water. I walked towards some of the group members, following their voice, collapsed on the ground in front of them, and they poured water over my eyes. After nearly a full bottle of water, I was able to open my eyes and see clearly. So at this point, I naturally went back into the water.

            Following a grilled lunch on the shores of the Dead Sea, we crossed the street to En Gedi, a natural spring and waterfall system in the mountains. As I walked through the canyon, I reflected upon the words of Psalm 42, which most likely was written with a place like this in mind. I hiked up the stream until I found a small, secluded pool near a small waterfall. I was able to fully submerge myself and lay down with my head near the waterfall. As the water passed over me to continue on its path down the waterfall, verse seven of Psalm 42 came to mind, “Deep calls to deep in the roar of the waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” After some time in this pool, reflecting and escaping the heat, I started walking up the side of the mountain, on an old trail that had been almost completely covered by rocks. As I sat up there at the base of a cliff, I continued my reflection of this Psalm. As I sat there hearing the waterfalls crash in the distance, the words really spoke to me. In a lot of ways the past few months have been difficult and challenging, mainly in terms of my health and my future career.  As I read and reread this Psalm, the words of verse five, and eleven spoke to me. “Why my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” It was powerful to me to see that the psalmist was feeling what I was feeling; this feeling of hopelessness that has been weighing on his soul. To see that even though the psalmist is so afflicted, he puts his hope in God even though he has seemed to have lost hope. Despite his pain, he still praises God. I don’t really know what it would look like to put my hope in God, and it’s hard to do in this kind of situation. But as I was reflecting, this is what I wanted to do; I still wanted to be able to praise God through my afflictions. I think that this will only happen as I learn to put my trust in God, which I think will take time.

            We left the springs and headed to Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  It was fascinating to walk around and see the caves in the cliff face where the scrolls were found. To see this part of Biblical history and be so close to such a great discovery, was so interesting.

            Tonight we returned to Jerusalem and to JUC; it felt like returning home after a vacation. It is good to be back here and have some time to relax and decompress before we continue our adventures tomorrow.