The famous turbulent river that Moses was forbidden to cross over, and Israel refused to cross when the ten spies brought back reports of luscious crops but large fortressed cities of Canaanites and led to a whole generation of Hebrews to die in the wilderness, is now a mere trickle that by next year may dry up completely. The Jordan River that in 1847 was described by a U.S. Naval officer as a “deafening roar of the tumultuous waters”. It is today expected to dry up in 2011 according to the a team of Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian environmental scientists.
In the ancient of days, the river was a natural habitat where in the biblical times was a lush growth of trees and a vast variety of bushes, plants and flowers. It was inhabited by a large population of native animals that included not only the lion, leopards, boars and the fleeting and agile ibex, but also otters, foxes, hyenas, jackals plus over 100 species of birds. Of that one hundred it is reported that 23 birds are unique to the land of Israel.
First this famous river of antiquity originated from four source streams flowing down from the Mount called Hermon. It divided the Roman Province of Palestine with the coastal Mediterranean coastline and the central hill country to the west and the region of Transjordan to the east. Called the “Descender” that continued its descent from Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea, others have suggested that its name means “Perennial River” or the River Dan, whose descendants were well known in history to have used Dan’s name to all the rivers which they crossed in their wanderings from the Israel to Northern Europe, before the Northern Tribes of Israel were exiled to Khurasan in the Land of Media; the Don (Dan) River, the Dnieper, the Dniester, and the Danube River.
The four stream sources of water that descended down towards the Sea of Galilee are known as the Upper Jordan River. It flowed southwest into the Huleh River Basin area, just north of the Sea of Galilee. Once a large lake surrounding by large sections of “reeds”, it is accepted by ancient scholars that this marsh land may have been the source of the papyrus needed for manuscripts during the era by the Greater United Monarchy of Kings David and Solomon and their world empire, in alliance with the Phoenicians under King Hiram of Tyre. In the year of 1950, this region was drained to create more farmlands. Remaining was an 800 acre Huleh Native Wildlife Preserve.
On the Israeli controlled regions of the banks of the river in the West Bank, is the site called Qasr al-Yahud, which in Arabic is called the “Castle of the Jews” or the “Crossing of the Jews. Here it is reputed to be the site where the ancient Hebrews, called the Children of Israel, finally crossed the Jordan River led by their new leader, Joshua (Yahshua) into the Promised Land.
Across at this same location on the banks of the Nation of Jordan, it is called the al-Maghtas or the “Baptismal Site” of the young Jewish rabbi called Yahshua HaNotzri, who in a natural mikveh along a river bank, he was immersed by his cousin, Yohannes (John, the Baptizer), the Essene “Voice in the Wilderness”.
The Lower Jordan River that Flowed between Modern Syria, Jordan and Israel
Over the last fifty years, since Israel came into being a nation for the Jews, the combined use of the waters of the Jordan River for drinking water and agricultural irrigation by its three paralleling nations of Syria, Jordan, and Israel, over 98% of the waters of the Jordan and its tributaries have been diverted. According to scientists, before the 1930s when the first dam was built on the river by the Nation of Israel, over 45 million cubic feet (1.3 billion cubic meters) cascaded down this river. Today, a mere trickle of 700 million to about 1 billion cubic feet (20 million to 30 million cubic meters) flows down these same river banks. According to Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, according to their recent report, "You can almost jump across this river. In other places, you don't need to even jump - you can just cross it. It's ankle deep…You struggle to see the water."
One of the few mutual international efforts by Israel with her Islamic neighbor, Jordan, to save the Jordan River, both countries agreed to stop dumping of wastewater into the river. Both of them are building water treatment plants expected to be operational in the year of 2011. Yet if no wastewater is emitted into the river, it may dry up completely. What was once the narrowest part of the Jordan is now the widest area, reduced in some areas to a trickle. Today, lower sections of the river are clogged with sewage from Israeli, Palestinian West Bank and Jordanian villages and towns. Though praised by the environmentalists, another concern has now risen. The water sewage reprocessing plant, rather than emit the water back into the Jordan River, may eventually use this water instead for agricultural use, in the arid regions where any water sources are immensely valuable.
Other environmental reports also recommend that freshwater be used from the Sea of Galilee and the Yarmouk River, the largest tributary of Jordan to bring the volume of water up to one-third of its ancient flow rate. According to Israel National News:
Israel National News – “Hebrew University's senior Middle East expert Professor Moshe Sharon blamed the Syrians for much of the shrinkage. Sharon pointed to the dozens of dams built on the Yarmouk River and its tributaries by Israel's northern neighbor, which blocked the natural flow of water to the Jordan. In the past, he noted, the Syrians have attempted to block the upper Jordan altogether, as well as find ways to pump water from Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) which feeds the Jordan.”
As Israel Today noted in a news note, “Site of Jesus’ baptism now a Cesspool”, we read:
Israel Today – “As an indication of how severe Israel's water crisis is becoming, the site along the lower portion of the Jordan River where Jesus was likely baptized by John the Baptist may soon be declared off-limits due to pollution. The baptismal site welcomes more than 100,000 Christian pilgrims who wish to also be baptized there every year. Though it sits right on the border between Israel and Jordan in a closed military zone, coordination between the Israeli army and Jordanian authorities has kept the site open to tourists. But the ongoing regional drought has largely dried up the once-mighty Jordan River. The only thing flowing into the lower Jordan today is raw sewage from the nearby Palestinian town of Jericho, which has badly contaminated the baptismal site that lies just a mile or so downstream. According to a report by The Media Line, Israeli officials are considering erecting signs at the site that read: "Polluted Waters. Entry Forbidden
Jordan River entering the Sea of Galilee
Maybe this is a “Signs of the Times” where the landmark where the Jewish Nazarene began His mission to “Find the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel” has now been surrounded by military war zones and polluted cesspools, demonstrating how significantly man has destroyed the very nature that was created for his pleasure and enjoyment.
Credit to Israel Today – “Study: Jordan River could Run Dry” – May 5, 2010
Credit to Israel Today – “Site of Jesus’ baptism now a Cesspool” – July 29, 2010
Credit to Hana Levi Julian – “Jordan River: Drying Up?” – Israel National News – May 2010