The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-07-29

not the waste that we expected to
find. but merely al brok en and noun tain.
GUS country, too stony to be cultivated
and fit only for grazing. AT this sea,
son Of the year the grass is green and
the ground bright with flowers.
A little more than half way. down
the slope is a rest station called, !, IN
honor Of the parable, the Good sa,
guards who now patrol this road the
traveller would even today. be in dan
ger of falling among thieves.)
A little farther on the road leads
near the edge Of wild, deep and rug
ged canyon, at the bottom Of which
plunges the Brook Cherith. A Greek
monastery has been built at the place
drought.
+ + +
Jericho is a small village and half
mile from the site Of the ancient city
of that name. It depends for its sup
port upon the tourists who visit the
Jordan valley, rather than upon the
cultivated area.
The Dead sea, forty miles long and
eight miles wide, covers the deepest
depressions in the earth 8 surface.
The rent extends from the base Of
Mount Hermon to the eastern arm Of.
the Red Sea, known as the Gulf OF
Akabah. For more than 100 miles this
rent or ravine is below the level Of
the sea, the surface Of the Dead sea
being 1900 feet lower than the Medi-
terranean. AS the Dead sea is in
some son ap places 1900 feet deep, the great
more than 1900 feet. The water Of
the sea is bitter and contains 26 per
cent Of salt, or about five times as much
as the ocean. AS we took a bath in
the Dead sea, we can testify that one
cannot sink I'M it's waters
The Jordan Is neither as large nor
as clear as one would expect from it's
prominence in Bible history. The banks
the current is swift. It has much the
appearance Of a creek swollen with
rain. We tried it's waters also, but
did not venture far from the shore.
Between the Sea Of Galilee and the
Dead sea the Jordan falls about 600,
feet, or ten feet to the miles At pres
emit but little use is made of this fertile
valley, but in the opinion Of some who
have investigated the matter it could
with proper irrigation and under just
government be made as fruitful as the
valley of the Nile AS might be ex-
pected, the heat in this deep basin is
intense in the summer, but the hills
are near enough on either side to pro-
vide homes for those who would cult
vate the fields. -
Looking across the Jordan one sees
the mountains Of Moab. While the
country beyond the Jordan plays
an unimportant part in Bible history
Galilee, still it has its Nebo. where
the great Jewish lawgiver sleeps in an
unmarked. grave; it has its Macherus,
where John the Baptist was beheaded,
and it's Gilead.
Elijah, the Tishbite, came from be-
yond the Jordan, and beyond the Jor-
dan Elisha received his teachers man
tie; Ruth came from the land of Moab,
Space does not permit a reference
crate consideration of any of Them
It is impossible to describe in few
words what it requires several days
to see, One thought often comes to
the mind as the different scenes are
visited, viz: that> 9 visit to. the Holy
Land makes make; it easier to Understand
I significance to others. We have seen
the barren fig tree and the fruitful
vine; we have seen the lame and the
| blind and met the leper at the gate !;
we have seen the tiny lamp, such as
the wise and foolish virgins carried
lamps that need often 10 be reflled;
and we have seen the "whited sepul-
chers' = full Of dead men IS bones. -
We have been impressed with the
life-giving power Of fountain In a
barren land and can more fully real
ize the force of the promise that the
man who delighteth tim the law Of
the Lord = "shall be like q tree planted
by the rivers Of water
T. But no part of the Old Testament
has been brought more vividly to our
minds than the twenty third Psalm.
Life is much the same here today as
it was two, three, four thousand years
ago, and we have seen innumerable
focks, and have watched the sheep
following thee shepherd with conf
into new pastures or from hillside to
stream. No animal is more helpless
I than the sheep and no guardian more
tender than the shepherd. The sheep
know their masters voice, and we
have several times seen shepherd
| carrying lamb in his arms. The hills
about Jerusalem, the springs, the
| shepherds and their f1ocks will rise be-
| fore us whenever we read again:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
| want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pas
lures;
HE leadeth me beside the still waters.