Israel Part8

Israel Part8 - Document Transcript

En Gedi En Gedi, meaning Spring of the Goat. This is the mountainous region where David hid from Saul when Saul wanted to kill David. In 1 Samuel 23: 29, . 10 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi. Mountainous Region at En Gedi . En Gedi is assigned to the tribe of Judah in Joshua 15: 62. Short Briefing at the foot of En Gedi Before We Ascend the Mountain. Copyright © 2008 Erin Kwan S.E

Cute Little Hyrax at En Gedi Guess who are the closest relatives of these Hyrax? It's the elephants! They were as still as stones as we walked past them. Some of them were hiding among the dry leaves. . There was a waterfall near where David was hiding. The cave is exposed as the roof collapsed due to the weather erosion. Too bad I could not get a good shot of it. You can view some nice photos on En Gedi form this website. . http://www.engediretreat.org/theoriginalengedi.htm 1 Samuel 23: 29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi. . 1 Samuel 24: 1 Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” This is a tree of thorns. And this are the thorns that are placed on the head of Jesus. Each thorn is around 3 centimetres long. . Matthew 27: 29 . When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” . Can you imagine the crown of thorns on Jesus' head? Can you feel the intense pain and blood flowing down His head? Can you feel His love for you and I today? . Romans 8: 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely gives us all things? . If you have doubts on whether God is willing to heal you today, do not doubt any longer! He is more than willing. (Matthew 8: 1-4) Tree of Thorns at En Gedi If you have doubts on whether God is going to prosper you and lead you out of poverty, doubt not! For the Bible says, the LORD has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. (Psalm 35: 27) Copyright © 2008 Erin Kwan S.E

Dead Sea Fun at the Dead Sea Reaching towards the end of our tour, we went to the Dead Sea. These waters are really amazing! As most of us were first-timers, we were really excited. We dug the shallow sea bed for the mud and apply for one another. We spread the mud on our face, hands and legs for a few minutes. After washing it off, our skin feels like baby skin! My skin became much better after visiting the Dead Sea. It is effortless to stay afloat as the salt content is extremely high. Silverware such as watches and cameras will change to black color if it is not clean thoroughly after visiting the Dead Sea. . Across the Dead Sea is the mountains of Moab. The mountains of Moab is where the LORD showed Moses the promised land. The weather was cloudy when I took this shot. Can you see the mountains beyond the land? . Deuteronomy 34: 1-2, 5-6 . 1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead.... . 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. .. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. Copyright © 2008 Erin Kwan S.E

Qumran The Qumran Caves are just next to the Dead Sea. This is a very quiet place and a community of the scholars, a religious Jewish people, probably priests, retreated here for their commitment to ritual purity. It is said that the author of the Dead Sea Scrolls are written by this community at Qumran. Qumran Caves . You can read more about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in this website. The Dead Sea scrolls were discovered by some Bedouin shepherds while looking for their lost goat. They did not know the value of the Dead Sea Scrolls and they sold it away for a very low price. These scrolls were hidden on purpose by the community of scholars who lives in Qumran. They were afraid that the Romans would destroy the scrolls upon finding them. More information here. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0193627.html Tombs of the Essenes Copyright © 2008 Erin Kwan S.E

Ark of the Covenant and Valley of Elah Valley of Elah The setting of the famous bible story of David the shepherd boy defeated the Philistine giant, Goliath is right here. The Valley of Elah. There are several hills around this region. You can read the full story in 1 Samuel 17. . In 1 Samuel 17: 1-2 . 1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. . 2 And Saul and the men of Israel gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. . We ended our trip with a wonderful evening of food and Jewish songs....And a beautiful Jewish sunset. Copyright © 2008 Erin Kwan S.E