Day 6: En Gedi, the Refuge of David and Jesus

To spend all day with an archaeologist/historian who follows Jesus has been a very interesting experience. Even though we have 60 people in our traveling squad, Rachel and I spend a good chunk of our eating/travel time asking RVL questions. He is an impressive source of knowledge on food, animals, plants, rock formations, and wars. I don’t have enough down time each day to write how much we have learned.

"Thus says the LORD: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

'Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.'" - Jeremiah 17:5-8

Jeremiah is making a pun on on the Hebrew letters "ARR" (cursed, also arar'e tree) in this passage. We totally miss the pun in English. The word curse and arar'e bush are the same word. This particular type of bush looks beautiful on the outside and is empty on the inside. This is what we will be like if we live in our own strength. Yet we will be in God's presence - "blessed" - if we are planted by streams of living wadi (in a wadi). This word picture comes alive in a new way.

Today we hiked around En Gedi in the Negev Desert on the edge of the Judah Wilderness. David came here to hide from Saul, and later Jesus is said to have come here during his 40 days of testing before he launched into his rabbinic ministry. En Gedi is one of the most unique places in Israel because there is the largest oasis in the Middle East surrounded by vicious desert everywhere else.

We saw all kinds of wild animals as this is a major water source. When you don’t know where the oasis is, you wonder why all of these animals are wandering in the desert. Most parts of the desert you see almost no animals. The animal we focused on today was the ibex, the wild deer/goat of Judah. David asks God to make his feet strong like the ibex in Psalm 18. RVL observed that David did not ask for his path to become flat. He asked for his feet to be strong enough to handle the difficult path.

Then we began a very difficult hike to illustrate the difficult path of life. Along the way, we kept running into streams and pools from the oasis of En Gedi. RVL used these moments of water to illustrate the refreshment that comes from God. When we are looking to God as our strength, we are then able to pass on God’s refreshment to other people. RVL described a story where other people were able to extend God’s living water to him. This is what the church should be.

“Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” – John 7:38 from Proverbs 18:4

We are often unable to offer this type of peace to other people, because we are not looking to God for strength. Or because all we do is give and no one is investing in us. This is part of the importance of a God-following community in my life, and I was challenged to consider how my own selfishness pushes other people away from positions to really invest in me.

Last we looked at the Synagogue at En Gedi. So sad that Gentile Christians burned this Synagogue in the 6^th century because they believed that the Jews killed Jesus. RVL observed that it is not always the person of Jesus who has turned Jews away from their Messiah; it has often been Gentile Christians who have turned them away. How could Jesus be the Messiah when His followers have killed so many Jews? Convicting on behalf of us and our ancestors.

This was our most difficult hiking day so far, as we hiked 10+ miles over rocky hills in 100+ degree heat. I began to feel pain for the first time, and we had several people on the voyage not be able to finish. This is particularly difficult for Rachel, so please pray for our strength.