“Why the Dead Sea?”
We have heard of dead people, dead beasts, dead trees and dead flowers, but is there such a thing as a dead sea? There is and they call it dead because it receives all and gives nothing. This body of water – the most remarkable in the world – is at the southern end of the Jordan Valley in Palestine.
It is 47 miles long and ten miles wide, 1292 feet below the sea level and is in one of the hottest regions on earth. It receives 5,000,000 tons of water daily into its bosom from the Jordan River, but gives none out to refresh and nourish the valley below, which has become an arid desert.
Its water is five times as salty as the ocean, is bitter to the taste, oily to the touch and leaves a yellow stain. No fish live in the water, no flowers bloom or fruits grow on its shores, no birds sing in it neighborhood. Its barkless driftwood and shores are incrusted with salt. Its setting is a scent of desolation and gloom, looking as if the curse of God rested on the entire region.
This is a striking emblem of the selfish life. Selfishness is the base of all sin.
-----------Gospel Herald