You know the drill by now. Breakfast at the hotel, on the bus at 8am. Today we went to Masada. Masada was a summer palace and fortress built by Herod the Great. I’m sure you have heard the story of the Jewish zealots who went to Masada to escape from the Romans. We had a beautiful day to spent time on Masada and hear the story of the Jews who chose to die rather than be slaves to the Romans. We had a beautiful and warm day to enjoy this special place which has also a wonderful view of surrounding Judean wilderness, Dead Sea and Mt. Nebo in Jordan on the other side of the Dead Sea.
We then went to Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were found. We saw excavations from where the Essenes lived who spent time copying scrolls and hiding them in caves in the area. It is believed that John the Baptist may have been an Essene. We had a lovely lunch there and also some shopping, especially for Dead Sea products.
Next we went for our swim (float) in the Dead Sea. Most of the group participated and those who did had a wonderful time. We were in a very muddy area so some of us had mud baths as well. You will probably not even recognize us when we get home since we now look so much younger.
We traveled back toward Jerusalem and made a stop in Bethany. We visited a church built over the house where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived. Jim Vaughn read the scripture for us about the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Scotty brought a message to us bringing out some interesting thoughts about this passage. Nabil, our guide, also read the scripture about Mary anointing the feet of Jesus at this location. This town was very special to our guide because he was born in Bethany but has lived in Jerusalem since he was seven years old. We had a wonderful time in the Word and in worship in this beautiful place that meant so much to our LORD.
Just a bit of shopping before getting back on the bus to go to our hotel, then a little rest before dinner.
Tomorrow is our free day in Jerusalem so we will have breakfast and meet at 9am to walk, walk, walk in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Another wonderful and beautiful day!
Shalom.
No comments:
Post a Comment