One of the reasons why I went to Calgary besides taking my girls and some other youth to our district youth conference, was to finish these scrapbook pages I insisted I had to do for Sherri on Masada. Her husband Mel went to Israel last February and she started 2 books at our last Spring Fling...one for her husband and one for Mel's friend who took him. Mel is every scrapbooker's dream photographer...he takes awesome pictures of the details of everyday life in Israel. Anyway, years ago my pastor taught a series of bible studies on Masada and the place has always captivated my interest. Hence the need to scrapbook these photos for Sherri.
The fortress itself was nothing short of an architectural masterpiece with natural cisterns, groves, walkways, colonnaded porticos, gardens and storerooms for arms and provisions sufficient to supply 10,000 men for many years.
Herod used Masada only as an occasional winter resort and possibly a few vacation trips and after his death in 4 B.C., a Roman garrison was stationed there until A.D. 66. A large scale Jewish revolt broke out at that time and they made a raid on Masada, displacing the Romans. As fighting continued throughout Palestine, many zealous Jews made their way to Masada to strengthen their garrison.
After the fall of Jerusalem under Titus in A.D. 70, the few remaining Jews who evaded capture, made their way across the Judean wilderness to Masada to continue their battle for freedom.
In the fall of A.D. 72, Falvius Silva, the
Roman general, took his Tenth Legion, it's auxiliary troops, thousands of Jewish POW's and laid siege to Masada, then defended by Eleazar. For long months the patriots defended themselves against the Romans, but eventually completed an enormous earthen ramp (using Jewish POW's) to the top, placed battering rams against the walls, and set fire to the fortification. In the meantime, inside he walls, Eleazar gave a speech which set in motion a page in history never to be forgotten. When the enemy broke through the gates, what they found was one of the most touching tragedies in human history. The Jews, not wanting to fall into the Romans hands and a fate much worse as a POW, decided it would e better to die at their own hands. So embracing loved ones, with sword or dagger, they dealt the fatal blow. Collecting all their treasures in piles, they fed them to the flames. Next they chose ten men by lots to slay all the rest. When the deed was done, they again cast lots to determine who would kill the nine and fall on their own sword.
April 15, AD 73. When the Romans broke through, they found alive only two women, and five children, who concealed themselves and a mass of 960 dead bodies.
