We continued our journey through Jordan and made a stop where Moses is said to have performed a miracle with his staff:
Numbers 20:11 "Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank."
This natural spring is still running today. While here, we saw locals bringing empty jugs to fill their containers with this water.
Since it was a Sunday, and most of our group were Catholics, we asked our guide if he knew of a nearby church offering Mass. The guide surprised us by saying he's Catholic himself and lives in that town, so he took us to his own church.
When our guide introduced us to the priest, he invited us to do the 2nd reading and also sing the communion hymn. Our group volunteered Eric, so here's a special moment of the Arabic service taking a brief pause and allowing the reading to be in English.
.jpg)
Under the church were Byzantine ruins, so the priest allowed us to tour without the normal entrance fees.
The unexpected stop on our itinerary turned into a great excursion!
We then travelled to Mount Nebo, the place where Moses showed the Israelites the Promised Land. But because Moses struck the rock twice and did not follow the Lord's instructions, he was not allowed to enter. If we continue in the Bible verse from above, it reads:
Numbers 20:12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
From here we can see the Jordan River, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Dead Sea.
Mount Nebo also had some olive trees. The guide gave us a quick lesson on how long a new plant takes to bear fruit, when they harvest, the purpose for each press (squeeze), and how long they live. These are really hearty to grow in this area. I can see why so many people depended on them and the date trees for survival.
Our final stop in the country took us to the Jordan River. It wasn't as wide as I expected. I tried to imagine John the Baptist living here in the scorching hot weather eating locusts and wild honey (date syrup) while keeping a keen eye out for snakes and other wildlife.
The river has veered off course in 2,000 years since Jesus' time, but the exact spot where he was baptized has been identified by both Jordan and Israel as this place below. There's no water running through it now.
The Jordanian side of the river was much less developed, but there was a small area to immerse yourself (or a hand). Pretty incredible.
