The Desert

I've been out in the desert all week. Ive been trying to think of interesting things to tell you about being in the desert but besides running into a lot of camels and hiking up about 35 tels it was sort of three days of a lot of the same.

We traveled through what is known as the "Negev" the southern part of Israel that is extremely dry and arid where only one people group in all the history of civilization has ever permenently settled... And archeologists don't really understand how they did it.  They lived in the middle of nowhere, controlled the spice trade through this land and somehow thrived at their little cities dotted across the desert- one we visited even had a wine press!

It's barren down here though. It's the biblical land of the exodus. I'm feeling a lot more compassion for the Israelites who complained to Moses after coming into this land. From the lushness of the Nile banks to endless sand dunes and dry shrubbery. The psalmists use the inagery of the negev to illustrate what gets left behind when you come out of a dark or dry place and into grace or hope or redempion. Overall, It's not very inviting and certainly doesn't seem very promising. Let's be honest, I'd probably have complained too. 



As I navigate a strange time in my life though I am strangely drawn to this barren desert land.  Even though it seems lifeless and hopeless it was created by God and the route chosen by God for his people. As they wandered through the wilderness His presence didn't depart from them- instead it sustained them. They woke up to bread each morning, just enough to get them through the day and at the end of it they turned and praised.  It's easy to feel like this land is God forsaken. It's easy to feel like a life is God forsaken because it wanders through the wilderness that is so unviting, that scripture describes as thirsty and venemous, but that doesn't make it Godless nor does it make it hopeless.  For us, the hope of traveling in the Galilee next week is giving something to look forward to. For the Israelites it was the lush hillside of the Judean hill country and their promised homeland. For a life it's the promise that God doesn't depart from us and is moving us and building us up for good and ultimately hope of glory in heaven.

*** no pictures yet because I don't have my computer here to upload off my camera... I'll add then when I'm back in Jerusalem**