Day 7: Qumran and Sheepfolds

I, Rachel, wanted to write today. Andrew has been doing a fantastic job, but I just had an urge to write, and we have a two-hour drive to our hotel in Galilee. This morning we drove 40 minutes to Qumran in the Judea Wilderness and explored the settlement. From there, we could see Masada, and between Masada and us was En Gedi.

The Essenes created Qumran around 250 BC.  As the Levitical priesthood became more corrupt, more Greek-like/Hellenistic, more consumed with self and swindling, a group of priests decided to split off and create their own community in the desert because the desert was where God had prepared Israel to be a kingdom of priests before they entered the Promised Land. They called themselves the Sons of Light and wanted to be a pure group who was ready to takeover when the Messiah came in judgment and restored Israel.

The actions of the Essenes were inspired by Isaiah: “The voice of one crying in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord.” If you were to join, everything you owned was given to the leader to provide for the poor and the community. None of the leaders pulled from the pot, but everyone lived equally. The main downside to them was that they despised anyone who wasn’t absolutely righteous: Pharisees, Sadducees, Romans, and Greeks.

They were also passionate about a baptism of repentance, and had 17 baptism pools/mikvehs. People were baptized multiple times per day as they identified sin and wanted to turn around and get back on the right path. They would commit themselves 100% to make a change from the way they were living, but they also knew they very well might fail again. When they did, they went back to the mikveh to repent and rededicate their life.

Jesus uses much of their phrasing in his teaching, showing what they got right. What I see is grace for these people though. Even though they did certain things wrong (like, separating themselves from chaos), everything they did was done because they were genuinely convinced this was what God had called them to, no matter how hard it was.

That hit me so hard because of the perfectionism I struggle with. When I think of dedicating myself to a right way of life, I see myself as a failure if I mess it up. But God doesn’t call a perfect people; He wants a people who are dedicated to Him, who repent when they see that they’re wrong, are committed to making the changes they need to, live in community where they can be held accountable, and who rest in His grace when they do sin.

The mission of God to enter into chaos is hard, but it’s a life of purpose. He doesn’t expect perfection, but He does want dedication.

After touring the living quarters, we trekked our way up a mountain, observed the water channels they dug by hand to supply themselves with flash flood waters, and hiked to the top of the mountain. There, if we wanted to, we wrote a commitment on a rock and placed it in a growing pile: a moving moment for many.

Then, we gathered, said the Shma, and sang the Doxology before we hiked back down. An aside – these hikes are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g me, but I’m learning how to lean on Andrew. Not only does it feel like walking 500 hundred stairs every day, but it constantly feels like I’m about to dive down the steep slope or fall off the narrow ledge on which I’m precariously perched. Andrew is getting used to my vice-like grip and supporting me like a champ, even when he doesn’t feel well.

Next, we went to a field in the Benjamin area of the land. The pastures were awash with blond, ripened, wheat. The Jews were called to leave their corners uncut so that the poor and foreigner could harvest food and not be left hungry. It was up to each farmer to decide how big to leave his corners. If he left a large corner, the community would say he had a good eye (he was generous). If he left a small corner, he had a bad eye (he was stingy).

Close by, above a different field, was a shepherd’s stable, like the one where Jesus was born. It was a cave. The manger was a stone water trough. The floor was dirt, sheep manure, and dove droppings. The smoke of a thousand fires had blackened the ceiling over millennia. When the shepherds were in it maybe half a dozen sheep would be with them: the ewes, which were about to give birth, sick or lame sheep, and bullied sheep.

Our savior left the glories of heaven to be born into a mess of a stable. The Living Water was placed in a rough watering trough. The Lamb of God who was sacrificed was born beside other lambs, which would also be sacrificed. Our Good Shepherd was also born among the sick and bullied. He came to bring peace in the midst of chaos. He is also our rabbi, and as his disciples we are called to be like him. Tomorrow begins our journey into the Galilee area.