After a great night of rest, we had a good breakfast at our hotel by the Dead Sea, enjoying the beautifull morning sun as we ate. We then did our checking out, loaded up on the bus, and we were off to our first stop at En Gedi (2 Sam 23-24). As we loaded the bus this morning, we began with a song–led by my partner in ministry, Maria–and a prayer. Malcolm then prepared us for our stop at the Strongholds of En Gedi…
Malcolm, our guide, had things timed so that we arrived at En Gedi just as they were opening. There were two reasons for this. First, we could have some quiet time at this serene location–an oasis in the middle of the Dead Sea desert–before the crowds arrived. Secondly, there is quite a population of Ibex at En Gedi–a type of mountain goat found in this area. We were not disappointed either. We must have seen a dozen or so male Ibex, along with the females that always surround them. And with our group being the first on the scene, they were still fairly tame, close to the walkway, and everyone could get excellent pics. Finally, we got to walk back to the waterfall, supplied by the En Gedi spring. What a beautiful place for David to stop with his men to rest and renew themselves. What a memorable place David chose where he met Saul, who was chasing him at the time, just to let him know how much he still loved him & respected him.
Next we made a stop at Qumran, the site of the ancient religious sect, the Essenes. Some believe that John the Baptist might have been an Essene, or at least spent some time down at the Essene community of Qumran. Jesus, too, for that matter. Ask a member of this tour group to connect the Qumran religious community with John & Jesus when they get home. You’ll be intrigued by some of their responses, I’m sure.
Finallly, we ended up the day, on our way to Galilee, at Jericho–the world’s oldest inhabited city. We did just a bit of shopping at the store that sells Hebron glassware. Fun? Absolutely! I won’t tell you who bought what though. You’ll have to wait to be surprised. We then went through the old square saw the big Sycamore tree there–probably not the one Zachaeus climbed, but a similar one nonetheless.
We ended this part of today’s tour by seeig the archeological digs of the old city of Jericho. Our group got to see the 10,000 year old base of a tower of the old city of Jericho. Then, we saw some examples of the city wall that you could live in, like Rahab did. Do you remember that story, when the Israelites entered into the Holy Land and she helped out?
Folks, it’s really late, the internet is really slow here, and I need some sleep. So, I’m going to sign off for now. We’re staying at the Kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee and looking forward to another fantastic day tomorrow. I’ll be getting in touch with you then…
Pastor Rom
The Pegram Holy Land 2015 Tour Group at the Entrance to the Old City of Jericho…
Pastor Rom & Marie Nelson at En Gedi…