Page 74 - Advanced Bible Geography ebook
P. 74
In the Bible, there are
numerous references to
the oasis. The prophet
Ezekiel, for instance,
predicted that fishermen
would one day line the
shores of the Dead Sea
“from En Gedi to En
Eglaim.” (Ezekiel 47:10).
Most famously, David hid
from King Saul at En Gedi.
When David and his men
were hiding in a cave
there, Saul came into the
cave to relieve himself.
David slipped over and cut
off the corner of Saul’s
robe (1 Samuel 24), thus
ending the chase and
giving temporary relief to
both men.
In another text, an enemy
army marching against
Jerusalem was camped at
En Gedi when King The cold, fresh water of En Gedi is remarkable because of its location in the Judean Wilderness,
Jehoshaphat first heard within sight of the salt-saturated Dead Sea. Notice the stark contrast between the lush greenery
the bad news (2 Chronicles around the waterfall and the harsh, rocky soil that can’t reach the water. Almost all of the land from
20). God provided a En Gedi to the southern tip of Israel - a stretch of 160 miles - is rocky desert.
miraculous deliverance in
the battle that followed, but it is little wonder why the enemy had camped at En Gedi. That’s the
location of the only fresh water for many miles around, in any direction.
Sodom and Gomorrah
According to the Bible, “the men of Sodom were
wicked” (Genesis 13: 13). For its many sins, God
destroyed Sodom and all the inhabitants of the “cities
of the plain” in an intense conflagration, but not
before allowing Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family
to flee to safety.
The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was the sin of
homosexuality. Homosexuality is condemned in both
the Old Testament (Genesis 18:16-19:29, Leviticus
18:22, Leviticus 20:13) and the New Testament
(Romans 1:26-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 1 Timothy 1:9-
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