Masada, Israel

It was a sunny day. If you had stayed outside in this desert, you would have been at risk of dehydration. My friend and I decided not to walk up the hill, so we chose to ride a cable car up there instead. My body was enjoying the cool breeze coming from the windows as the cable car was moving up.

I saw people walking along the steep trail from up above also. At that very moment, my head was filled with questions. ‘How could a group of soldiers live up there while fighting against the Roman Empire? How loyal and patriotic were these soldiers?’

From the top of the mountain, I could see the Dead Sea in the distance. My heart and eyes were touched by the magnificent scenes; it was extraordinary.

Behind the Dead Sea stood a massive plateau called the Masada. Between 37 B.C and 31 B.C, a grand fortress was built by King Herod in Jerusalem. He made sure to add a spacious storage that could store enough food for thousands of people over a long period of time.

This fortress was stationed by the Romans after Herod’s death, but was occupied by the Jews during the First Jewish War. It was also kept to be the last bulwark, where 960 people had committed suicide 73 years before Romans attacked.

This became the last tragic battle of the “Jewish Wars.”

This was one of the greatest moments of the Masada, according to a woman who survived through the Jewish War. This was written by the first-century Jewish historian Josephus.

As I admired the strong and almost undefeatable structure, I was also reminded of one of King David’s songs.

I thought, ‘Did he ever climb up the Masada as a young shepherd?’ Did he touch the firmness of rocks of the cliff and profess his faith singing, ‘You are my fortress and acidity (Psalm 144:2). Lord, let this profession be mine too.’