The Road to Jericho

My feet are tired from walking all day, my skin feels burnt from the sun, and my mouth longs for water. Monday we traveled down to Jericho. Jericho is the lowest City on Earth. The air was thick with oxygen and the temperature was significantly warmer than Jerusalem. 

Jericho was called the City of Palm Trees anciently and I could imagine its beauty. There were large beautiful palm trees and rows of agriculture. The landscape is desert, but the soil is fertile and there is a natural spring. I drank from the natural spring called Elisha’s spring. In the Bible we read of Elisha healing the waters of Jericho and I drank of those waters. I also walked on top of the rubble of Herod’s winter palace. Jericho was beautiful and I can imagine it was full of splendor in ancient times. It was amazing to see the walls of Jericho. The fallen walls fell down slanted so the Israelite soldiers could walk up them and invade the city. 

My understanding of the Bible settings and the journey Christ took through Jericho up to Jerusalem has improved. We drove on a very skinny road that weaved its way high up into the Judean wilderness. We could see the mount of temptation and the road spoken of in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It really would have been a long and precarious road to Jerusalem. While we stood upon the tall desert mountain tops, the view was spectacular. The sky was bright blue and the ground was white from the limestone rock. We could see to the Dead Sea in one direction and up to the Mount of Olives churches in Jerusalem in the other. 

I can see why Christ went to this wilderness to commune with God. I felt closer to him physically although I was very low in elevation. The sky kissed the sand and the silence of the wilderness paved the way to few distractions. One could easily commune with God and easily be tempted with the notion of turning stones into bread to avoid hunger. The landscape was barren. 

As we arrived at the start of our hike on these mountains, a group of Arab men on Donkeys greeted us with necklaces in hand asking for money. We didn’t buy anything but we enjoyed taking pictures of their donkeys and their antics. I love being here. I love the Arab people of Palestine and the opportunity to understand the Bible and my Savior’s life more.