A Fortress Built by Man

            Towering over the western shore of the Dead Sea stands the mountain fortress of Masada.  It was built by Herod between 37 and 4 BC.  It is a magnificent structure, and was built to be a final refuge in case Herod’s enemies got the upper hand on him.  It contained store houses and cisterns that could keep the occupants supplied for years.  There was even a swimming pool, as well as the customary bath houses and two palaces.  In short, a community of people besieged at Masada could hold out for many years with all the customary comforts.

            Looking out over the wall of Masada, a series of ancient camps all connected by a wall that encircled the fortress could be seen.  These are the remains of the Roman army that besieged the Jewish rebels here for over two years, until the fortress at last fell to the Romans.  This was the last holdout of the Jewish rebels in the revolt that brought about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.  The Romans, knowing the futility of attacking the fortress on the paths leading up to the fortress, built a giant ramp that allowed them to attack the Western Gate of Masada.  The fortress fell, and the revolt in Judea was ended.

            Staring out over the besieging armies camps, it came to mind how like our own lives Masada can seem.  We build up a palace of comforts, ideals, and beliefs that seems indomitable.  However, the trials and temptations of life lay siege to us.  They can surround us and test out our weaknesses, until finally they break through our defenses and overthrow us.  Worst of all, our own wants and desires can undermine our stronghold from within, demonstrating to all that the foundations we had built up our fortress on were faulty from the beginning.  On our own, our fortresses will always fall just as Masada did.

            However, Psalm 127 reminds us:

                        “Unless the Lord build the house,

                                    they labor in vain who build.

                        Unless the Lord guard the city,

                                    in vain does the guard keep watch.”

Our fortresses should be built on the foundation of the Lord and His ways.  He alone can preserve us from the trials of this world.  What the Lord builds the world cannot undo.  If we allow Him to direct our lives and to build them in Him, our fortress will glorify God and never fall to the attacks of anyone or anything that may try to destroy us.  We, “like living stones . . . (can be) built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood . . . acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).