Day 7

Date Honey (Land of Milk and Honey) Camille at Tabernacle

Tabernacle Replica at Timna and Sign pointing to Snake Path

Store house ruins at Masada and a view of the Dead Sea

Me laying on top of the water Saying good-bye to Dead Sea

April 1, 2008

Bible Study Theme: “Let the bible be real in you.”

Places Visited:
Timna (Tabernacle replica)
Masada
Dead Sea

Our first stop today was kind of in the middle of no where, a place called Timna. I believe there was a kibbutz there, but we stopped at the Tabernacle replica. The lady who built and runs the exhibit is a Christian converted from Judaism, named Camille! What a blessing it was to talk to her, she was so full of knowledge and on fire for the Lord! Our guide stepped away from inside the tent as Camille shared how the Tabernacle was a symbolism for the messiah Jesus. She stopped what she was saying and told us, “Pray for your guide! He did not want to hear the truth and the word of Jesus.” She also said that Jews do not recognize that Jews and Christian are of the same God, “Jehovah!” They think Christians worship a different god altogether. She said they don’t even recognize Jesus as being Jewish, and if the subject came up they would respond, “Why do you talk to me of this?” (More of a statement than a question)

From here we headed to a place called Masada. Masada was a fortress built on a mountain top. To reach the top you would have to hike about a mile of narrow trail called “The Snake Path.” But today we took the tram car of course. Masada’s ruins were very well maintained. When the archeologists excavated the site they merely had to restack the large stone that fell over. This is probably the spot David referred to as the “Stronghold” (1 Sam 22:4-5; 1 Sam 23:14; 1 Sam 24:22), or quite possibly the depiction of the “Rock of Refuge” (Psalms 18:2, Psalms 31, Psalms 71:3, Psalms 144:2). They had a great way of collecting all the water run off which was brought up the hillside by slaves and dumped into a large cistern. Masada was the last hold up for some Zealots who escaped death from the Romans by leaving Jerusalem and heading to Masada. This was around 70 AD. Before the Romans finally reached the top of Masada to put to death the remaining resistance, the Zealots committed a mass suicide. Masada was also established as a trade route middle point for myrrh, frankincense, salt and other trade goods.

We left Masada and drove to our hotel at the Dead Sea. We put our swimsuits on and headed for the water. Other than the sulfur like smell this was quite an experience. We walked into the water about waist deep and sat down. Then ploop… you can’t sink. You just float around; it’s pretty weird and funny too. I floated out to where it was too deep to stand and did the running man. On my way back to shore I found a very shallow spot in the middle of the sea (about 12” deep or so with sharp salt deposits), so I stood up and walked a little way. It gave the appearance I was walking on water… Hey I was in the Holy Land I had to try it. Before getting out of the water, I posed a few times laying on my side and then out I went to wash off.

Lying 1300 feet below sea level the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth. Its waters produce an abundant amount of minerals that have been known to provide great medicinal value for problems such as, skin ailments. This is why there is a huge cosmetic industry that originates from the area.

The Dead Sea is supplied with fresh water via the Jordan River, but the water stops here and has nowhere to go, becoming stagnant and polluted with high salt contents. It is called the Dead Sea for a good reason, because nothing lives in it… right now. I enjoy learning about bible prophecy and I had heard that during the end times, the Dead Sea will come to life. Well during our bus ride I had plenty of time to do research. In Ezekiel 47:1-12 God reveals to Ezekiel His plan for the waters to the east of the Temple Mount. Ezekiel 47:8-10 says, “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there: for they will be healed, and everything will live where the rivers goes.” At this very moment there are plans that would bring waters from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea via canals. (See article on Red/Dead canal project). The thought is that the new water entering the Dead Sea through the canal would replenish the evaporated water and thus give rise to life in the barren sea. I guess we will stay tuned in to find out…

Things I learned in Israel today:

Pastor Jim and I talked today on our bus ride to Masada. I asked about his testimony and about spiritual gifts. I explained my assessment of the spiritual gifts in action as an 80/20 rule. A person should spend eighty percent of his time using his spiritual gift and twenty percent of his time practicing other gifts. This will allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish more through us. If we spend our time trying to be well rounded in all gifts we lose out on how the Lord wants to use us through the gift He gave us. Let others use their gifts in the areas you are weak and vise versa. So much more could be accomplished this way. Pastor said he liked my take and gave me some more insight on the subject. He knew I was searching for my gift and his advice to me was, “Pray and wait on the Lord. God will answer those who truly seek His will for their lives.” So I will. Amen!

1. My Hebrew name is ATIR, which I believe is pronounce (i-teél)
2. Gee-hook (not sure on spelling) means hiccup

People I’ve met:
1. Camille- Christian Lady at the Tabernacle Replica
2. Seagul- Ice cream girl at the kibbutz who taught me “gee-hook”
3. Karen- Ring girl; friend of Nir who sells jewelry
4. Eli- Bellhop at the Dead Sea hotel; 18 years old, leaves for the army in 1 month to be a medic. He wants to be a doctor.