A Hiding Place Fit for Kings. The caves surrounding the springs of En-gedi provided a meeting place for Judah's enemies but also a hiding place for its greatest king, David.

EIN GEDI A Testimony to God's Grace and Provision

2 CHRONICLES 20

 IF YOU WANT TO FIND where history took place, just look for the water holes. Because En-gedi represented one of only two springs that offered fresh water west of the Dead Sea, every nomad, wanderer, and warrior stopped there as they passed. The Bible records Ammonites, Edomites, Meunites, and Moabites, Judah's neighbors east of the Jordan, gathering there before their attack on Jehoshaphat (2 Chr. 20:1-2).

But En-gedi served as more than a popular pit stop. With regional water so scant, the spring hosted numerous settlements throughout history. God allotted En-gedi to the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:62). David's familiarity with this oasis and its caves allowed him to select hiding places there while fleeing from the jealous King Saul (1 Sam. 23:29, 1 Sam. 24:22). David may have written Psalm 57 and Psalm 142 here; the superscription for each psalm mentions David composing it in a cave. The Hasmoneans made En-gedi t heir royal estate and administrative center in the second century BC. Eusebius described En-gedi in his Onomasticon as being "a very large village of Jews". The area has a Canaanite temple, as well as Roman forts, a Byzantine fort, and an Israelite fort, all situated to protect the nearby roadway.

A vibrant blotch of green on an otherwise colorless landscape, En-gedi came to symbolize not only beauty but also that which stands out as unique. Solomon's fiancee compared him to "a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms from the vineyards of En-gedi" (Song 1:14). Even today, the Ein Gedi National Park remains a distinctive oasis for flora and fauna. The most common animal is the ibex, a wild Nubian goat from which En-gedi got its name: "the rocks of the wild goats" (1 Sam. 24:1-2).

Even in an area that served as a symbol of God's judgment the area surrounding the annihilated cities of Sodom and Gomorrah En-Gedi has flowed for thousands of years as a long-standing testimony to God's grace. We live in a world cursed by humanity's sin, but we always have an oasis of grace in God's Son, Jesus.