Day 8 - The Climb to Sea Level

[Sorry these are behind and taking so long, we are very busy, and the internet is awful. If I am not caught up by the time I get back I will continue to post until all my days in the Holy Land are covered.] Enjoy!

From -1300 feet to 0 was the climb of today. To reach the palace fortress created by Herod the Great on the shores of the Dead Sea.

Masada.

We climbed up what is know as the Roman ramp, which was the ramp built on the side of the cliff in order for the military to capture Masada.

After taking the tram down the other side of Masada we headed over to a place that overlooked the canyons and the caves of Wadi Murabat. This is one of the places where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were recovered from. 

From there we drove a few minutes to a place were we could swim float in the Dead Sea. 

The mud made our skin soft.

The Beauty In Her Eyes

The beauty in her eyes should be enough,
rather then the touch of her skin.
The beauty in her eyes can save your soul,
but the body is a battle that you can’t win.

I have given enough thought,
about my soul.
Demons hear me now this is the last time I,
lose control .

Take back control,
of your mind.
Because 40 years from now
your body wont be, as defined.

This is just dust,
built to hold a creators creation.
Hold back now,
and resist temptation.

God is in those eyes.
God is in those eyes.
But the skin holds,
all lies.

-By Chris Cameron

Day 7 - Through the Wilderness

Our first stop today was Maktesh Ramon, which is one of the biggest scars on the face of the earth. Much like the Grand Canyon except without the river, and quite a bit bigger.


After that we headed to Avdat, which is a city connected to Petra by the incense route. The Nabateans used to use it on their trading routes.












At Avdat we saw a millstone:

Luke 17:2 (New International Version)

² It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Even though we find ourselves in modern Israel, we are not yet in biblical israel. As we travel north to the land of biblical Israel we passed through both the Wilderness of Zin and Paran. 

Numbers 20

Water From the Rock

 ¹ In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

 ² Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. ³They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! ⁴Why did you bring the LORD’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? ⁵Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

 ⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. ⁷ The LORD said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

 ⁹ So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

 ¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

What I learned from one of our guides is that because the soil doen't absorb moisture very well in the desert, when it does rain often time it will get trapped in crevasses and calcify over, creating a pocket of water. 

Shepherds back in the day used to find these spots in the rock and strike them with their staffs and get water for their flock.

This could be the reason God punishes Moses, because he provided for Israel out of his own means, rather than allowing God to be their provider. 

Once we reached the southern edge of biblical Israel, we stopped at Tel Arad, which is one of the only places you can see a ancient Jewish Temple. There is a Kosher alter, and even a Holy of Holies. What is real interesting is that inside of of Holy of Holies there are two vertical stones which are idols to represent gods. It is believed that the taller one represented Yahweh, and the other represented his wife asura.  

It is interesting to see the worship of God along side of the worship of another god. It shows how the Jews were influenced by paganism. 


Arad is also the place where the Israelites first try to enter the promise land and are repelled. 

Day 6 - Stupid Americans

We got up early this morning to go out to Timna, which is the area the Egyptians used to travel to, to mine copper ore during the 6th millenium BC.

There we saw some of the beautiful rocks of Israel, but the coolest part of Timna was that there was a replica tabernacle that we were able to check out. 

The tabernacle was the place where sacrifices to God happened while the Israelites were in exile, prior to coming into the promise land.  

The tabernacle represented the place God's presence dwelled in the earth.

After Timna we headed out for lunch were I made a new best friend. Shwarma. It's lamb, chicken, or beef, shaved and put in a peta with hummus and lots of veggies. It is probably one of my new favorite foods.

After lunch we headed to the Red Sea to go snorkeling in the coral reefs. It was an amazing experience, especially after experiencing the lack of life in the deserts of Israel. 

I also had an interesting conversation with one of the guys on our trip. While we were in Jordan we all bought some Arab head dresses, which we learned represent various Arab nations. Red and white for example was for the nation of Jordan. 

Black and white on the other hand represents Palestine, which is a nation of no land who claims the Israel for itself. In essence Palestine and Israel are rivals, and often the reason for most of the violence in the middle east. 

My friend feels it's ok to where the black and white scarf in Israel. 

Our guides say that they dont like it, but most Israelites understand stupid Americans that don't know what they are doing. 

My question is, just because they think we are going to be stupid Americans, does that mean we have to be???

What do you think?

Pattern

May your hart your soul and your mind
be in tune with the grate divine,
for this is the first step, to a lifetime of recovery.
Secondly do not forget who watches the watchers.
The audience beckons to make a sound.
Will you hear them or throw them to the ground?
I making a choice in life.
Should I stay behind in this enclosed fortress,
or should I face my nightmares, there upon the open battle field.
Courage is not in question, it’s if faith I should wield?
Surrounded by lions, the world is on fire.
Giants are in my path, a life
searching for God, my only desire.
The devil is before me,
as my life fades away, I sit
rotting away by this dying tree.
My life flashes before my eyes
destiny can be changed.
This life of patterns will not be my demise.

-By Chris Cameron