We drove from Jerusalem to Galilee in the burning heat of summer. Thankfully we had hired an air conditioned car and travelled along smooth, modern roads. We occasionally got out to take in the views or have a well needed drink. These stop offs were almost traumatic, stepping into the fiery furnace of Israel's burning sun and feeling the utter exhaustion of walking just a few metres from car to cafe, clutching water bottles to avoid going crazy. There was little dialogue, except my monologue of "ooh it's sooo hot" or "how do people live out here?" They do, nestled into the mountains and plains below, small communities of Arabs and Jews who eke out their existence cultivating this barren land into something edible and transportable. Occasionally, small Bedouin villages could be seen, looking like shanty towns of corrugated iron, washing strewn lines and the odd donkey or camel staring into the wilderness beyond. That wilderness continued for as far as the eye could see, a sight so yellow and barren that it was almost beautiful. A wasteland of hill tops and ravines, boulders and scraggy trees.
This sight is what Joshua would have seen as he stood on the mountains of what is modern day Jordan overlooking the famous river Jordan which winds its way down from Galilee, nestling between two mountain ranges which stand like monstrosities above what today is known as the African Rift valley. As Joshua looked across this valley, over the river and into the promised land, his eyes would have met the sharp, sandy hills of Judea. Beneath them, the odd settlement, including Jericho and the first city the Israelites conquered. Beyond them stretch miles and miles of the rocky Judean hills, a terrain difficult to move anywhere on.
But beyond these hostile mountains lay a land beautiful and unique, with the Mediterranean turquoise sea to its border, lush green fertile hills to the north, desert and the dead sea to the south. Did it seem like a land flowing with milk and honey to Joshua when he first glanced into it? Probably not but he trusted God that it would be and that it would become their home. He trusted God that he would lead this wandering nation into their inheritance and that Abraham's dream would be fulfilled..that his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky - and there are millions and millions of stars when you look into the desert sky at night.
This land with its extremes of terrain, the Negev so hot that you can hardly breathe, the snow peaked mountains to the north, the earthquake prone valley between the two, was God's chosen place for his people to conquer and settle in. This land that has never stopped being the focus of history, and wars and religions. A land which set the scene for the Bible's stories, people littered with faults and failings but who searched after God's heart and experienced much grace. Sometimes these stories are so vividly written that today I read them like they are still alive. And Jesus, who breathed and walked through this rocky hostile land, back and forth between Jerusalem which we had just left and Galilee to which we were heading, always to do the work of his Father, to walk in obedience and trust, just as Joshua had done all those years before and just as we are meant to do today.
God told Joshua that he would go with him, before him, that he should never be afraid or discouraged as he would never leave or forsake him, and he continues to tell us the same. That same God who brought his chosen people up out of Egypt to this land, chose his Son to walk in these very foothills until he would walk the hill of Golgotha, carrying the weight of the cross and the sins of the world. This same God chose me to hear his voice, his gentle whisper, his quiet waves of mercy and enables me to walk my journey, my path until I reach my promised land. It's a walk of faith like Joshua, walking in God's ways not my own, learning how to trust him, obey him and understanding that he always knows best.
Maybe learning to depend on God is one of the hardest lessons a Christian has to learn but it brings freedom and Life. I know that Joshua, David, the disciples of Jesus and many people since have had to learn that it is far better to walk side by side with the Lord than it is to walk your own way. To trust God and walk with him gives life purpose, safety and joy. To walk in the garden with God is a delight and a pleasure, having him accompany me each day with all the hurdles and crossroads and hills that life brings is far easier than walking it alone. The ground may be hot and dusty sometimes but the view is like one flowing with milk and honey, even if you can't see that view at first. It is there, stretching out beyond the mountains and, like Joshua, we can experience its fruit if we just keep going in faith.
This land with its extremes of terrain, the Negev so hot that you can hardly breathe, the snow peaked mountains to the north, the earthquake prone valley between the two, was God's chosen place for his people to conquer and settle in. This land that has never stopped being the focus of history, and wars and religions. A land which set the scene for the Bible's stories, people littered with faults and failings but who searched after God's heart and experienced much grace. Sometimes these stories are so vividly written that today I read them like they are still alive. And Jesus, who breathed and walked through this rocky hostile land, back and forth between Jerusalem which we had just left and Galilee to which we were heading, always to do the work of his Father, to walk in obedience and trust, just as Joshua had done all those years before and just as we are meant to do today.
God told Joshua that he would go with him, before him, that he should never be afraid or discouraged as he would never leave or forsake him, and he continues to tell us the same. That same God who brought his chosen people up out of Egypt to this land, chose his Son to walk in these very foothills until he would walk the hill of Golgotha, carrying the weight of the cross and the sins of the world. This same God chose me to hear his voice, his gentle whisper, his quiet waves of mercy and enables me to walk my journey, my path until I reach my promised land. It's a walk of faith like Joshua, walking in God's ways not my own, learning how to trust him, obey him and understanding that he always knows best.
Maybe learning to depend on God is one of the hardest lessons a Christian has to learn but it brings freedom and Life. I know that Joshua, David, the disciples of Jesus and many people since have had to learn that it is far better to walk side by side with the Lord than it is to walk your own way. To trust God and walk with him gives life purpose, safety and joy. To walk in the garden with God is a delight and a pleasure, having him accompany me each day with all the hurdles and crossroads and hills that life brings is far easier than walking it alone. The ground may be hot and dusty sometimes but the view is like one flowing with milk and honey, even if you can't see that view at first. It is there, stretching out beyond the mountains and, like Joshua, we can experience its fruit if we just keep going in faith.
