Our Trip to ISRAEL and JERUSALEM: At the Strong Holds at En Gedi

This is from 1 Samuel 23: 25-29 and 24: 1-2

"Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David; wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth.

And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En Gedi."

And it came to pass when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told to him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi. Then Saul took 3,000 men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men among the rocks of the wild goats."

Lily and I were up early and after breakfast backtracked a few miles on Rte. 90 to the entrance to En Gedi National Park, which features hiking trails and a nature reserve along waters which flow from a spring and through a series of waterfalls and lush pools. Mostly it is an amazing place to walk where David and Saul worked out some of their issues in 1 Sam 24 and 25. The bible says David came here to hide from Saul, and En Gedi is also mentioned in Song of Songs 1:14: "My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi"

Our hike was awe-inspiring, following a lush, green brook through a desert canyon. There were wildflowers, trees, pools, birds. It was very beautiful. We decided not to hike to the top of the canyon where the source spring is located, but instead waded in the pools and generally relaxed and took in the realization that major figures in the old testament waded in the same pools and sought shade under the same overhangs.

It was the Israeli weekend, and on the way out we noticed that a few Israelis and 20,000 of their friends and arrived for a hike. The trail was three-across and packed as far as you could see -- well as far as the parking lot filling up with tour buses. No worries for us, though, it was a great morning walk!