Day 02 - Negev Desert

Today, we wandered in the Negev desert. The rocky soil, beating sun, and lack of water were the backdrop of our day.  

Wadi Zohar

After we had hiked quite a ways and were sweating, baking, and exhausted from the sun, we stumbled upon an acacia tree. Everyone crowded under it to enjoy the shade. We felt our bodies sag with relief in that cool, protected place.

Then we read Psalm 121:6, “The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.” We discussed God being always with us, ready to offer rest and respite. He may not take us out of the desert, but He will comfort us in it.

The images of the Psalms came to life in a new way in this place. We went on to read Psalm 81 which talks about honey from the rock- another image of sweetness from a hard thing or a gift coming out of difficulty. We shared examples of times that this was true in our own lives.

Arad

This area is mentioned in Numbers 21:1, 33:40, Joshua 12:14, and Judges 1:16. We walked into an ancient stone house where we once again enjoyed the shade. Then we discussed what community looked like to the ancient Israelites as they wandered in the desert, needing to go at the pace of the weakest and neediest and having to rely on each other to survive in such harsh conditions. Our leader asked where we feel at home in a community and how we can offer true community to others.

Next, we walked over to a shallow ravine between two hills. We learned how ancient Israelites made a covenant by splitting animals in half and laying them on both sides of the ravine, so their blood flows down. Then the more powerful person in the covenant would walk through the blood as a promise that if they didn’t uphold their promise, they would suffer the same fate as the animals. After the less powerful person walked through the blood path, the covenant was sealed.

Then we read Genesis 15:17-18 when God makes a covenant with Abraham, but God is the one who walks the blood path TWICE! Abraham doesn’t walk the path because God knows that Abraham could never keep the covenant perfectly. So, God promised to do it for him. This shows us God’s heart and grace right at the very beginning. He will be a God for His people, with His people, and do whatever it takes to keep them by His side.

Finally, we saw a temple that follows the specifications for the temple in Jerusalem, right down to having two stone tablets carved where the 10 commandments were in the holy of holies. However, according to the Jewish faith, there is only one temple. So, this is a historical site that offers more questions than answers.

Avdat

Our last stop for the day was a site where the Nabatean people made wine. Their technology was quite impressive! In the same site, there was an early Christian church as well as a Roman structure. It was interesting to see how the site had obviously changed hands over the course of the centuries with each people group imprinting their own story on it.