Jordan River, Baeth Shean, Qumran and the Dead Sea

May 22, Saturday
We begin this day with memory-making experiences which we will treasure for a lifetime. Our first stop this morning was the Jordan River, near the spot where it is believed that John baptized Jesus. Jim had the privilege of talking about baptism and then baptize 15 people from our bus in the Jordan River. These are people we have come to know and care about in the past week. At the end of the baptism we sang “Amazing Grace” together.

Yes this is the Jordan River today.

The ruins of Beth Shean were amazing. This is where King Saul and his sons’ bodies were hung after they were killed in battle on Mt Gilboa (1 Samuel 31). King Solomon (or David) built a fortress here. The river below is where Gideon had gone to select 300 warriors (Judges 7). It is believed that it was in Beth Shean (one of the 10 cities in the Decapolis) where Jesus preached. We walked the Roman streets. We saw the public bathhouse, common in Roman cities as a place for men to bathe, make decisions and negotiate deals. Because this area is on the great rift there are earth tremors 24 hours a day in this area, causing movement of the mountains. Major earthquakes destroyed the city several times in the past.

Qumran is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered in 1947 by a young boy and two older cousins who were tending sheep. The Essenes or Qumran sect numbering up to 400 were in this area about 100 BC to 80 AD. The writers of the scrolls would spend 18 hours a day writing. It was grueling and the standards for writers were high. Some could not take the pressure. The Isaiah scroll is the longest scroll that has been discovered.

As we rode through this area, our guide told us that this area is the hottest place known in the world. There is only 1-3 inches of rain per year in the West Bank region, compared to Jerusalem which gets about 30” per year. It even snows in Jerusalem about 2 times a year.

Riding down the West Bank highway that divides Palestine and Israel shows the contrast between the two territories. The Palestinian side does little to care for its land and crops leaving everything barren and dirty. On the other side of the road, the Israelis have irrigated their crops resulting in orchards (pomegranate, orange, grapefruit, avocado) and crops (corn and wheat).

We drove by Jericho. We will not be allowed to see this city as it is in Palestinian territory and so is blocked to Israelis. We saw the Mt. of Temptation right behind Jericho.

We woke up to the coolness of the air at Tiberius and the Sea of Galilee this morning. This afternoon we were very happy to climb into the air conditioned motor coach as the temperature was above a 100 degrees at Qumran. Our hotel accommodations, other than at Mount Sinai, have been very nice. We are enjoying lots of wonderful food even though much of it is “manna” to us – that means “What is it?” The most popular sandwich is called a Falafel. It is pita bread filled with fried chick-pea balls and any variety of veggies we choose to add.

We end our day in a hotel overlooking the Dead Sea. Although time and kingdoms and nature have altered the terrain since Jesus and the disciples lived and worked and ministered in this area, the mountains and the seas are the same ones that they climbed and crossed. These experiences are making the Bible stories come alive in new ways as we see the places and hear the stories of how the Jewish people lived so long ago.

from the 8th floor of hotel looking at the Dead Sea

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