The Dead Sea
by Sandra Pena de Ortiz
Title
The Dead Sea
Artist
Sandra Pena de Ortiz
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
FEATURED PHOTO: Nature Photography FAA group - 08/09/2013
FEATURED PHOTO: Artists News FAA group - 08/05/2013
FEATURED PHOTO: Nature and Landscape FAA group - 08/02/2013
FEATURED PHOTO: Photography and Texture FAA group - 08/02/2013
FEATURED PHOTO: Comfortable Art FAA group - 08/02/2013
FEATURED PHOTO: Excellent Self-Taught Artists FAA group - 08/01/2013
FEATURED PHOTO: Memories and Nostalgia FAA group - 08/01/2013
I shot this photograph of the Dead Sea during my trip to Israel in April, 2007. The sight of it is so incredibly beautiful, magnificent, and has a strong impact because of all the history and symbolism behind this place. One amazing fact is that the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the entire earth in any mass of land. To be exact, it is 423 meters (1,388 ft) below sea level. The Dead Sea borders Jordan and the Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea. Moreover, while the major flow of water is from the Jordan river, the Dead Sea has absolutely no water outlet. This is highly significant and symbolic. Why is it called the Dead Sea? Actually, the name in Hebrew means the "salt sea". In Genesis 14:3 it is referred to as such: "All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea)". The fact is that in the Dead Sea, the amount of water that evaporates from it is much greater than that which flows into it from the Jordan river because there are no outlets. The result, the Dead Sea, which is actually a lake such as the Galilean Sea, has the highest concentration of salt in the world: 340 grams per liter of water. Amazing! Such high salinity prevents the existence of any life forms in the lake; thus the name, Dead Sea. Actually, this is not completely true. You see, new research by marine microbiologists has discovered that there are specialized bacteria that seem to flourish in deep craters that form as a result of the activity of fresh water springs. It is possible that the salt concentration in this microenvironment is the only place in the lake that allows for the growth of this very basic form of life. However, mainly, the Dead Sea is dead and again, this originates in the fact that it has one major inlet flow, the Jordan river, and no outlet. To me, this brought to mind a very significant symbolism, which has to do with our Christian life. The Lord Jesus is the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45b) flowing into our human spirit (Zachariah 12:1; John 4:14). However, the eternal life that flows into our spirit needs to flow out. First, we need the flowing in, but we also need the flowing out. If there is no life flowing out from within us, it will be difficult for new life to flow in and eventually we will be spiritually dead. Think about it!
Uploaded
August 1st, 2013
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