Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran

I really enjoyed the last day of this 3-day trip. It was like a mini-vacation and packed loaded. We were able to see Herod’s palace at Masada, float in the Dead Sea, see waterfalls at Ein Gedi, and end the day seeing the caves in the huge rock faces at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found- and get back in time for dinner. Again, blessed and incredibly thankful for this experience. It is literally unbelievable.

Herod was my

kind of man. My unsanctified self loves what he’s doing. He just loves hedonistic pleasure- of all sorts, shapes, and sizes. This dude saw a rock face disconnected from the mountain range and near the Dead Sea, and said, “Yeah I’d like to have a palace here in the middle of no where to get away.” And so it went. How he first got up there, I have no clue. But he built a legit palace just for himself overlooking water and in the midst what is comparable to the Grand Canyon. Not a bad sight looking out over his three-stepped palace off one side of this free-standing plateau. I could only imagine the parties under the stars at this legendary palace. In a place that gets less than 4 inches of waterfall a year, he had a swimming pool- in the 1st century. YES! I’m beginning to see why I connect so well with John Piper’s idea of Christian Hedonism.

Herod could float in the Dead Sea (which is awesome, by the way), and go straight for a dip in his pool on top of his own personal mountain house. It’s like Rob and Big on steroids. He could literally do whatever he wanted and he did- all for his own pleasure. Pray for me. I get way to excited about building a house catering to my own wants. Progressive sanctification.

Ein Gedi was also really cool. It is a little oasis in the edge of the desert and wilderness. The best way I could describe it is the Garden of Eden. It’s really incredible; pools of water and waterfalls flowing into them at several different points- all this in the barren wilderness. I especially liked to find little nooks and crannies and just hang out there for a bit- very peaceful. If I were to build my own palace, I might start by waterfalls; or make my own pool with waterfalls into it…. And then a ledge to jump off into the pool!

Keep praying for me….
Well, that ended the 3-day trip. Galilee is next, which I’m super pumped for. Expect 4 posts next week, or over two weeks.

Ready and Super and psyched,

Sos