Masada is not mentioned in the Bible but was a place where the Jewish Zealots hid when the Romans attacked. Masada calls us to trust in God and to stand for what is true.
Masada is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. The events surrounding Masada occurred during the time period between the Old and New Testaments, so it's not directly referenced in biblical texts. However, Masada is a historically significant site, particularly known for the events that took place there during the Jewish-Roman War in the 1st century AD.
Herod the Great built the mountain fortress of Masada in 31 BC above the western shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. He feared revolt and wanted a place to make a stand that was difficult to attack and easy to defend. The fortress, with large places to store food, vast cisterns to store water, and defensive structures, was accessed only by a narrow path up the 1,300-foot mountain.
King Herod, an Edomite appointed by Roman rulers to oversee Judea, built the fortress and made it nearly impregnable, but it was the Jewish Zealots who hid there one hundred years later who made Masada famous.
In AD 70, the Romans attacked Judea and overran Jerusalem. Masada was the last holdout and center of resistance. General Flavius Silva couldn't directly attack the fortress, so in AD 72 he put thousands of slaves to work building a siege ramp. It took months to complete and when the troops broke into the fortress in AD 73, they found 953 people dead of a ceremonial mass suicide. Two women and five children hid in a cistern and survived to tell the story. They quoted Eleazar, their leader, saying, "Since we, long ago, my generous friends, resolved never to be servants to the Romans, not to any other than to God himself, who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice."
The story of Masada teaches us the enduring lesson of perseverance and courage in the face of adversity. Despite being outnumbered and facing overwhelming odds, the Jewish Zealots at Masada chose to stand firm in their beliefs and resist Roman rule. While the way we hold onto what is true may vary depending on situation, God calls us to hold onto Him and to build our lives on the Rock on whom we can stand. God is our refuge and strength; in Him we find the courage we need to stand for what is right.