You may recognize the name of En Gedi from 1 Samuel 24, the story of yet another attempt by King Saul to hunt down and kill David, God’s anointed King.
When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the [a]Wilderness of Engedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to search for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
On the way he came to the sheepfolds where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the cave’s innermost recesses. David’s men said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will hand over your enemy to you, and you shall do to him as seems good to you.’” Then David arose [in the darkness] and stealthily cut off the hem (edge) of Saul’s robe.
Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the hem of Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, since he is the anointed of the Lord.” So David strongly rebuked his men with these words and did not let them rise up against Saul. Saul got up, left the cave and went on his way. 1 Samuel 24:1-7.
The beauty of En Gedi is in the unexpected–it is an oasis. By definition that means it appears out of nowhere in a place without water. It is an area where the wildlife is abundant as evidenced in the photos below taken on my recent trip to En Gedi.
Rooted and Grounded 