Saturday, November 8^th

Day 6

After breakfast, we continued our journey by driving to “Yardenit”, a popular baptismal site on the banks of the Jordan River near the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee. Several of our fellow tour guests chose to get baptized there. (See the first picture below). However, Shelley and I were not led to get re-baptized as we both felt that our adult baptisms were significant, and sufficient public statements of our faith in Jesus Christ. After the baptisms were completed, we drove through a park and passed by Gideon’s Spring, the place where YAHWEH had reduced Gideon’s 32,000 member army to 300 before He defeated the Midianite forces. See Judges 7:2–22.

Then we drove to a site overlooking the cliffs of Ein Gedi. Also spelled, En Gedi, it means “spring of the kid”. It is located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. As you may recall, the inscriptions found there include portions of the Hebrew Bible and other writings. The site is believed to have been home to an Essene community. The Essenes were a distinct group among the ancient Jews who became well known after the Scrolls were discovered. See the 2^nd and 3^rd pictures below of Cave 4, where many scrolls were found.

More such discoveries are yet underway. Just this month (November 2025), the Times of Israel reported that a 1900 year old Aramaic inscription had been unearthed in a Dead Sea cave. Scholars believe that this inscription may have been prepared by Jewish refugees who were using the cave as shelter during the second century AD struggle against Rome. That understanding resonates with what we learned at the next stop on our tour as we drove into an area near the lowest elevation on earth, i.e. the Dead Sea.

The Sea sits 414 meters below sea level. We passed through the lowland. But then ascended to the top of Masada by way of a crowded cable car. There we saw the remains of an impressive complex built by Herod the Great. It sits on a large mesa more than 1,300 feet above the neighboring area. Early in his reign as king, Herod had converted the mesa’s surface into a fortress compound. It included fortification walls, two different palaces, a water system, bathhouses, storerooms, and more.

Masada is most well known for its role during the First Jewish–Roman War which took place in 66–73 AD. It had served as the final holdout for several Jewish resistance fighters and their families after the collapse of Jerusalem. According to Josephus, the Jewish fighters defended Masada against a Roman legion. The Romans surrounded the stronghold with several encampments. Then, they strategically built an enormous ramp from the desert sand. See the 4^th picture below of the remains of the Masada Ramp. However, after finally breaching the fortress walls, the Romans were shocked to find that all of the Jewish men, women, and children were dead, as the result of an apparent mass suicide.

While there, we also saw the remains of a reinforced portion of one of Herod’s palaces, as well as an ancient synagogue. The palace remains are visible in the 5^th picture below. In the next picture, you will see our tour guide Henry explaining a model of Herod’s “fortress”. For the day’s final adventure, we descended, and made our way into the desert wilderness. There we enjoyed an incredible night of teaching and worship in the dark, under the stars. See the wilderness worship picture below. Afterward, it was time for dinner, and an overnight stay in our third hotel, the “David Dead Sea Resort & Spa”. It was located across the street from the Dead Sea. We looked forward to the next day’s adventures with much anticipation!

 

 

 

Copyright 2025 Rich O’Brien