From The South To The Dead Sea

Just when you think it can’t get any better…IT DOES! This has been another wonderful day of learning and experiencing. This morning we left Eilat and headed north on highway 90 (not the same one that goes thru the panhandle of Florida :) ) thru the wilderness on our way to the Dead Sea. Our morning began with prayer and singing all the good old song about heading to Canaan. We made our first stop at Timna. This is the place where the Egyptians mined for copper.



We visited a site known as Solomon’s Mines. The rock formations were filled with copper ore. We also saw several ancient drawing that depicted wild game hunts that had taken place there thousands of years ago. We visited the Mushroom Furnace, one of many that have been found in the area, where the ore was heated to temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees for a period of over 10 hours. The area around the furnace was covered with the black ceramic like substance that was left after the copper was extracted at the furnace. Traveling a little further we came to an actual, to-scale, model of The Tabernacle. This was so exciting to me. Although it was just a replica, you could since the presence of the Lord so real there. Just to think that we were in the very area that Moses and the Children of Israel wandered for 40 years and to see this “meeting place with God” setting there in the middle of the wilderness was just more than words and pictures can describe. After the tabernacle we visited another excavation. This one was an Egyptian Temple. When it was excavated archeologist found thousands of little “Brass Serpents” around this temple area. If you want to hear more about that, come to church at Carmel Sunday, February 15.




We then continued to travel north on highway 90 toward the Dead Sea. We listened to our guide share many insightful truths as we traveled. We stopped for lunch at a roadside store that was located at a large dairy farm. They had some good ice cream and since the box lunches the hotel had prepared for us left a lot to be desired, we were pleased to find out that they had a lunch deli there as well.

After we got back on the bus we song some more and then took some time to rest (something we have not done much of). Bro. Larry, Yawny, and I looked at several passages of scripture. Yawny is a very well versed in Hebrew & Greek. It was very informative. As me got closer to the Dead Sea there was a drastic change in the land around us. It very much resembled the Badlands in America. Then we reached our destination, The Dead Sea. The salt and minerals that are present in the water makes it impossible for any living thing to survive in the water. The oily-feeling water is so dense you cannot sink. All you can do is float. It is just like setting in a chair. You can not get it in your eyes and you can not drink it. It has many healing properties. After checking into the hotel, a nice one I might add, many of us went to experience the water for ourselves. It was great. We had so much fun. We will have to tell it all later.



We returned and got ready for dinner. It was a wonderful meal. Since it is Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, the hotel is really crowded. Many Jewish people check into a hotel to spend their Sabbath.



We are back in our room and Rese is already asleep. This means I do not have a proofreader tonight. So overlook the typo. Hope all is well with you all back home. We love you and will be in touch tomorrow after we visit Masada and head to Jerusalem before night. Everyone is well and things are going great. Please comment if you read this. I read the comments to the group every morning as we are getting on the bus.



Special Hellos to all of our family!!!!
Pastor Tom and The Salty 25

I will leave you with a few more pics!