Tour Leader’s Blog

From Bethany we drove back “down” from Jerusalem - 3500 feet down in fact -
to Qumran. The first view of the Dead Sea was spectacular but deceptive -
it looks like a normal sea from a distance, but nothing can live in it. The
sea itself is shrinking rapidly and some scholars estimate that in 150 years
it will be reduced to a mere puddle. It has already split into two bodies
of water. It was pointed out to us how far the waters had receded in just a
few years.

At Qumran we saw the ruins of the Essenes village. We saw a brief movie
about “The Sons of Light” who were purists that moved from Jerusalem
to get away from the corruption of the Romans. Three times a day they had
to have ritual baths. They spent their time working and copying the
scriptures. They were preparing themselves to fight for the Messiah who was
to come. After the revolt in AD67, they ran from the Romans, hoping
eventually to return, and they hid the scrolls which were not found again
until 1947.

Then we went out to see the actual cave where the scroll of Isaiah was
found. Seeing this cave and the actual original scroll found there at the
Jerusalem museum this morning gave me great assurance that God does indeed
preserve His word, as He promised. Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea
scrolls, the oldest manuscript was dated 1000 years later and was 98%
accurate and the inaccuracies that do exist do not change the meaning.
Surely this demonstrates God’s intervention in history.

As we were exploring the ruins, we saw a group of mountain climbers
preparing to ascend the rugged mountains in front of us. I (Tobin) at first
wished to join them, but then I felt sorry for them climbing these huge
mountains in the 41 degree heat of the desert. I didn’t want to go any
more!

We then went to the Dead Sea and “swam” in the 28% salt chemical soup.
Floating in the sea was unique - I (Ian) felt like a human raft. It was
truly an uplifting experience. Some of the group completed the ritual by
plastering themselves from head to toe in the mud found on the beach. This
invoked a variety of reactions from a gross to “a wonderfully smooth skin”
experience.

For me, one of the most moving experiences of the day was being able to look
up at any point to the mountains across the sea, to Mount Nebo and see the
place where Moses was buried. Truly, this land contains so much of biblical
history, spanning through many, many generations!

~ Ian Elsinga & Tobin Voth