In the heat of the Negev

It will be hard for me to find words that capture the experience from yesterday. Even photographs (when I can upload them) won't speak loudly enough of the majesty and vastness of the wilderess. I have to say that despite the heat and misery, this was one of the most profound days of the trip thus far.

We're going back to the Old Testament wanderings of God's people before they entered Promised Land. The Negev. As the Israelites left Egypt, the highest things on the horizon were structures built by men. So God brought them to a place to teach them about his power. One would wonder why God would have His Chosen people wander in the Wilderness for so long. Why not zip them right to the Land He would give them?

Perhaps it was to teach them about his power. The mountains of the Negev and southern Israel were beyond anything man could construct. "Because you have failed to trust me" he tells Moses. This desert and these mountains would insist that changed.

The experience for the Israelites was all about God's capability in a place where there is no other option but to trust Him. It was a genuine wilderness (with all the connotations that stirs) experience where you are forced to re-establish the baseline. The word "wilderness" is used over 300 times in the Bible and it is almost always in the context of faith-building. This wilderness and this experience set the standard in Scripture for what wilderness would mean to all people.

We started at En Avdat, an incredible canyon that rivals the jaw-dropping slot canyons of America's southwest. We wandered up the canyon in 110 degree heat, that was much cooler than the hour-long experience on the bus when the air-conditioner failed. Think 110 degrees outside and only one window by the driver that rolled down. Don't rely on the vents to cool your imagination though because hey were shooting out heated air. We got a glimpse of the suffering of the people of Israel. :)

We moved to the Grand Canyon of Israel, a place called Maktesh Ramon. This wilderness is a place where people visit, but no one remains, where people travel, but no one lives. I wish I could show you what we saw. Again, even photos won't do it justice, but when I get back to Jerusalem, I will try.

It is a place of silence. It is a place to experience God.

Tozer writes "The Old Testament is a marvelous rhapsody on the creation. Even Moses soars in his acute consciousness of the presence of God in all creation. Then, go to the Psalms, with David literally dancing with ecstatic delight as he gazes out upon the wonders of God's world.

"In our generation, how rarely we get into a situation where we can feel the impulses of nature communicated to us. We seldom have time to lift our eyes to God's heaven."

I praised God this morning that He would bless me with this experience and the opportunity to lift my eyes up.Read more