It was another magnificent day, which ended with our arrival in the holy city of God, Jerusalem. Today was a day filled with great archeology sites, as we toured the Masada fortress and Qumran community, located by the Dead Sea.
Our first stop was the Masada fortress. Here, on top of a 1,000 foot mountain plateau, a fortress palace stands that was once owned by King Herod. After Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, the last of the Zealot Jews fled to Masada. The climax of the siege came with the suicide of all the Jews who would rather die than be captured by the Romans and live as slaves.
Our next stop was the Qumran community, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. A sect of the Jews known as the Escenes lived here and were known for the scrolls and parchments which were copies of the entire bible. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, they were dated at over 2,000 years old.
I reflected on how the Dead Sea is a powerful parable for our lives. The Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee are both fed by the same source of water, the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee is teaming with life, but the Dead Sea is completely absent of life. The secret is that the Sea of Galilee has the ability to give of itself. For every ounce of water it receives, it also gives of itself and flows into another waterway. The Dead Sea however, is surrounded by land and unable to give, it only receives. The parable is that as much as we receive we should also give, not just in terms of money, but in all aspect of our lives. Our ability to give means that we will have also have life.
Tomorrow, we have plans for a wonderful day, as we will walk in the Palm Sunday steps of Jesus.
In the prayer that you also will walk in His steps, I say, “May His peace be with you.”