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Israel Study Tour with Joshua Wilderness Institute
April 8-20, 2018
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We could hear the land
Today the Joshua class started by taking a two hour bus ride to the Wilderness of Zin which is commonly known today as Ein Avdat. The Wilderness of Zin is one of the deserts that the Israelites traveled through in Numbers. This is where Moses struck the rock for the Israelites twice so that they could receive water. Sadly, God forbids Moses to enter the Promise Land following this event. This is also where Moses sends his spies into the Promise Land. When they come back with the news that the land is flooded with giants, the Israelites complain and do not want to enter.
Ein Avdat
The Nahal Zin is 75 miles (120 km) long and drains 600 sq. miles (1550 sq. km). It is the largest wadi that begins in the Negev. The Nahal Zin was created by reverse erosion as the great height difference between the Negev Highlands and the Jordan Rift caused the underlayers to erode during the rainy season, resulting in the collapse of the harder strata of rock above. The landscape is mostly Eocene limestone, consisting of some brown-black layers of low-grade flint. The flint slows down the erosion of the limestone.
We started our hike into this beautiful canyon. As we walked through the canyon beside the towering walls, Ronan, our tour guide, challenged us to walk silently so that we could hear the land. We heard echoes, birds, and the steady stream that ran right next to us. When we had traveled deep within the canyon, Eric Simpson gave us his message on the Wilderness of Zin. He focused mainly on the disobedience of Moses and the Israelites. God is a loving caring God that will give us what we want. He gave the Israelites what they wanted when they didn’t want to enter the Promise Land, causing them to wander for 40 years.
Eric challenged us to not wonder what would happen if God gave us what we wanted, but to wonder what would happen if God gave us what we wanted and it ended up being harmful to ourselves. Following Eric’s message we hiked up to the top of the canyon and enjoyed a beautiful view. After leaving the Wilderness of Zin we drove to a Boudin camp, which is where we rode camels. Riding camels is definitely a hoot and a half. Each camel had their own personality and most of them didn’t seem too happy to have us on their back. After our camel ride and lunch, Ronan gave us a message on hospitality and showed us where it was biblical. He tied his message to the people who owned the Boudin camp, and explained how they were nomads. They welcomed us into their land and gave us coffee and tea and it was a great example of hospitality.
To finish our day, we took our two hour bus ride back to our hotel and the Dead Sea and finally went for a float in the sea. I personally got a drop of the water in my eye and it stung. It was awful, but it was amazing to float in the sea. The whole class enjoyed it and we all ran back to our hotel to enjoy the spa. Today was amazing and we still can’t believe that it was only our second day in Israel.
- Written by Ethan Chesney
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