En Gedi

Judean Hills

Caves at En Gedi

Pool and waterfall at En Gedi

Pastor Scott at En Gedi

“After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, ‘David is in the Desert of En Gedi.’ So Saul took three thousand chosen men and set out to look for David among the crags of the wild goats.” 1 Samuel 24:1-2. The rest of the chapter describes how Saul wanted to kill David and pursued him to En Gedi, where David and his men were hiding in a cave. Saul entered the cave alone to relieve himself but did not see David and his men. David’s men urged David to kill Saul, but David refused, and snuck up and cut off the hem of Saul’s robe. After Saul left the cave, David came out and appeared to Saul, telling him how God had delivered Saul into his hands, but that David refused to kill him. Saul repented of his murderous intent and left David unharmed.

We left the hotel this morning with the sun shining and the promise of a beautiful day ahead of us. We traveled east out of Jerusalem and descended the steep road through the Judean wilderness, and what a wilderness it is. I have never seen a more stark and desolate place. Almost nothing grows on this very steep, mountainous terrain. I thought of Jesus living in this wilderness for 40 days and wondered how on earth he did it? There is no water to be seen for miles! I could not imagine surviving for a few days, so how did he survive 40 days?

We kept descending down passed the Bedouin camps, and then to the Dead Sea where we turned south and drove another 30 minutes past the stunningly steep and mountainous terrain of the Judean hills as they descend from 3000 feet above sea level to 1300 feet below sea level. Words cannot explain how rugged and imposing this land is. The steep slopes are pockmarked with caves; every time I looked up I saw more caves embedded in the cliffs.

We finally pulled off at the entrance to En Gedi, the stage for Saul and David’s showdown. En Gedi is a diamond in the rough, a beautiful rift in the hills with a series of waterfalls making this place a green spot of life in the otherwise barren landscape. We got out of the bus and began our hike up along the wadi, climbing up rocks and coming up one beautiful spot after another, each one with a waterfall pouring its life into a refreshing pool surrounding with green vegetation. Each one of these proclaimed the victory of life over barrenness. I felt energized and refreshed, full of strength and I made my way up to the last waterfall and pool. All along the hillsides were caves, some big enough to hold a small a band of men.

Then we arrived at the last pool and felt the cool spray of the water. I read 1 Samuel 24 to the group and we could see in our minds the scene unfolds; David finally has his enemy in his grasp, finally had a chance to get rid of the demon possess Saul once and for all. But he won’t do it; it is beneath him to strike down the Lord’s anointed.

En Gedi was not meant to be a hiding placed, or simply a place to get away from it all and enjoy the beauty and refreshment of the Artesian well fed falls. En Gedi was meant to strengthen David so that he would make the right choice when temptation came his way. May God give us all our own En Gedi, and may we use it as well as David did.