Judean Wilderness sunrise 8x speed

The Judean Wilderness lies between the ridge of the Judean Mountains and the Dead Sea. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and Tekoa are perched atop the mountains, roughly 2,500 feet above sea level. Just 15 miles away, is the Dead Sea, some 1,400 feet below sea level. The land between the two points is so rugged, almost no one lives there. When John the Baptist and Jesus sought solitude, the Judean Wilderness would be the ideal place. Fresh water is difficult to find, however. Ein Gedi is an oasis in the Judean Wilderness, located near the ancient shoreline of the Dead Sea. It rains less than two inches (5 cm) a year in the area around the Dead Sea, and yet Ein Gedi is a water playground. When it rains along the ridge of the Judean Mountains, some of the rain makes its way underground. Any water finding its way underground in the mountains will travel through the rocks to the aquifers along the edge of the Judean Wilderness at Ein Gedi. The drop-by-drop journey takes centuries. When the water finally emerges in Ein Gedi’s waterfalls, it is the cleanest and purest water in the world. It is also cold and refreshing, something quite rare in the sunbaked heat of the wilderness. Waterfalls cascade down rocks. Streams run through the desert canyons (wadis). Animals like small deer (ibex) come from miles around to drink the water and eat the vegetation. With its never-ending supply of clean, refreshing water, prophets like Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah used this “living water” as an illustration of a vibrant relationship with God. Jesus would use the same phrase when describing what He had to offer a woman at the well in Samaria (John 4). It’s little wonder that David hid from Saul at Ein Gedi (1 Samuel 24) or that an enemy army camped at the oasis during its march on Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 20). It is impossible to describe the contrast between the lush vegetation and sparkling water of Ein Gedi and the vast Judean Wilderness. Likewise, the contrast between living water and the salt-saturated water of the enormous Dead Sea is difficult to describe. Finding Ein Gedi is not easy. It is hidden inside the great canyons in only one location. If a shepherd or modern-day hiker was lost in the wilderness and out of water, knowing the way to Ein Gedi would be a matter of life and death. This, too, is a great way to illustrate what Jesus told his disciples in John 14:6. He isn’t just “a way.” Jesus is the only way to living water.