Into the Wilderness

When I learned the 23rd Psalm in first grade, I never imagined the setting in the way that I saw it today. I was unaware that this Psalm was written as a desert Psalm - one that was written with the delivery from a desert wilderness in mind. As our day began, the focus was on how our God is a good shepherd. We studied the scriptures through eastern eyes which gave new perspectives on God’s Word as the day’s journey unfolded.

Our first stop was the wilderness of Paran, also known as Makhtesh, which is a rocky desert area west of Jordan. We descended into the wide valley full of loose stones and rocky mounds. Pictures of Moses and the Hebrews wandering through this wilderness came to mind - the grumbling, the frustration, the vast number of people were all playing out in front of us. As we stopped for our first lesson, we learned that Rabbis like to say, “The place to find God is in the desert.”

The Bible tells us that the Hebrews wandered through Paran and Zin on their way to the promised land. After experiencing one wilderness of barren stone, Zin was subtly different. The terebinth tree, often translated as an oak tree, provided great shade and gave us a picture of what an oak of righteousness meant in an eastern context. Evidence of a water source indicated by numerous shrubs was validated when a small stream later revealed a calm pool of water flowing from a spring. How gracious is our God to give such springs in the deserts of life. The Bible says He leads us beside still waters - what a picture of life and provision this is!

After hiking out of the Zin wilderness, we ventured to Tel Arad in the Negeb desert. Here we saw pictures of community as we looked through the remnants and replicas of dwelling places. It was obvious by looking at the regional remains and the scriptures that if anyone is going to survive in the desert, they have to have community. God commands us to love Him with all that we have and love our neighbors as ourselves. We experienced an object lesson when we met a Bedouin, or Arab shepherd family, on a moments notice. The ladies were not only quick to open their community to us, but served almost 50 people hot tea and bread. How convicting it was to contrast our busy culture with theirs.

The day’s journey came to an end as we gathered at the Salt Sea (Dead Sea) - the lowest place on earth. Despite the lack of physical life in the sea, for thousands of years it has accounted for so much community life in the region. It was another reminder of how God provides life in the middle of hopeless deserts.

Today highlighted that our God is One who can provide life even in the valley of the shadow of death - even in the harsh desert wilderness. Not only does He provide life, but He does so at the expense of Himself through His son, Jesus Christ. His covenant promises to restore our soul if we will follow Him, and He vows to give us goodness and mercy as we need it. What a good shepherd He is!