Taste of Honey- Day 4

Our guides changed the itinerary and we went to Tel Be’er Sheva first.Here is where Abraham was called to,by God, to impact the world. He even made a covenant with Abimelech, a pagan king. But wait, we say— that can’t work! That’s being unequally yoked with an unbeliever! What kind of God tells us to do SUCH things? This well, because of the name, Be’er Sheva meaning ‘well of the covenant’, tells us that this is very possibly the well that Abraham dug. Notice the Tamarisk tree on the left.

Inside the city was the water cistern. Can you imagine going down these stairs to get your water?

Seeing camels in our travels was sheer delight!

At Arad, Joe pulls out the maps to re-orient us, and tells where we’ve traveled.

And then Joe tells us how when God tells  Abraham that his offspring will be great, he pushed back on God and reminds him that he doesn’t even have a son. God did not condemn Abraham for that. And then God proposes and makes a covenant with Abraham.

The holy of holies.

Think about how hard these people worked to build these walls, and then how hard the enemy had to work to conquer the city. 

What do you suppose the offsets in the wall were for?  I suggest that you ask someone you know is on this trip. Test-time, fellow travelers!!

We then head off to Masada. We had plans to hike up the snake path here, and some of us were disappointed, but in this heat in the middle of the day. Sometimes dis-appointments are His-appointments. We took the cable car to the top, and our guide gives us the history of the place.

The things Herod built are magnificent!

A walking pillar stands amazed at 2 pillars that dated back to Herod the Great’s time.

In A.D. 73, Zealots in this place had to endure 1 year of dreading a siege by the Romans while they build this ramp. Is suicide a better option than slavery? HMM…which will we choose when relationships are chaos?

Figuring out the depth of the cistern was a challenge several of the guys took on! We have a few new-fangled hiking sticks along that have measurements on it.

We stayed at this hotel this evening. We have so many Davids on this trip, it has made remembering names so much less, but more complicated. We’re staying at their hotel?

Whose laundry is this?

Floating in the Dead Sea was a relaxing time after a tired day. The salt content in the Dead Sea just blows your mind! How can floating be so easy?