Blessing of the Wilderness

The Western Wall is so beautiful lit up at night. There is prayer made in this place consistently all hours of the day and night. It is truly beautiful.

It was after 10 pm when we entered the Western Wall Tunnels. This tunnel runs along the ancient wall. We walked far enough to see where the blocks end and the actual bedrock, the mountain herself begins. This is the mountain where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac, but God provided a Lamb. This is also the ground of the Temple, the Mercy Seat of God. Sacrifice was made here for atonement for sins. And finally it was this mountain where the atonement sacrifice was made for all of us through Jesus. When we hear that God is the author and the finisher of our faith, it is in the juxtaposition of these stories that we see His theme. He retells the same story with different characters to drive home how His divine economy works. When there is sin, a sacrifice must be made. Yet in Jesus, God, Himself, became our sacrifice and he requires of us is to believe that He has become our covering. Amazing isn’t it.

We reached a very special place located along the Western Wall. Meir shared with us that standing here makes his heart beat faster. If one could walk through walls, we could walk in a straight line to the Holy of Holies. Meir said that people come to this place to offer special prayer requests. I spoke up and all I got out was the electricity I felt standing here. He took my hand and said, “Come, make your request known.” So I place my hand on the wall and lifted the cry of my heart. Before I knew it, my eyes were wet and tears trickled down my face. I know He heard my prayer! God filled my heart with joy!

We continued on for quite awhile down the narrow, low passageway. We came to a room… probably another cistern. And watched a video on how the blocks were taken from the quarry, transported, and then set into place. This was a very intricate process. Each of the stones from the time of Herod, we had seen did not have mortar between them. They were carved so perfectly that each stone fit exactly next to and on top of each other without wobbling.

You may have read James Doss’ testimony from a couple of nights ago. He said, “I feel like there is this wedge being driven in me. To open me up, God is wanting to remove so much and yet put so much in me. If I spend too much time thinking about this work, I begin to weep.”

Mrs. Barbara pointed out later that without knowing it, he testified that the work God was doing in him was exactly the same process used in hewing the stones to fit the Temple Wall.

They would drive a wedge into the bedrock. Then pour water into it. The wedge would expand and split the rock from the mountain and then transport it to the site and chisel out the details. The rock must be broken to be useful. Awesome!



The next morning we got up early to get our day of traveling started. Mrs. Kathy shared on the bus. She reviewed how God was revealing to us the heart of Israel. She spoke of our time on Castel and how we could learn so much from the courage of these men. The song that came to her was “The Impossible Dream”. She shared the words with us interspersing their correlation to the fight for the establishment of the modern State of Israel and the battle for independence!


To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

We traveled on to En Gedi. They have added a new waterfall at the base of the park which is really exciting. So many times we have had to skip stopping by David’s oasis because we simply did not have the one to two hours it takes to
hike to the waterfall, but with only a 15 minute walk to this new one we had the chance to take our time, enjoying the spring of living water in a dry and thirsty desert.
I sat by the falls, and played my ocarina. Then David stood and played his harmonica. This wadi (valley) was made for music, specifically worship.
Many of you know that this is the area where King David wrote many of the psalms that have come to mean so much to us:
“As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after thee…”
“You are my hiding place; you always fill my heart with songs of deliverance.”
“You are my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?”
We found a nice shaded spot and Pastor shared:
David used humbling experiences to find God. You will be humbled. David was just happy with God. He learned courage. He learned this without anyone watching. Many get in to the ministry too early and must go through their lessons publicly. Thankfully many of my most difficult life lessons were experienced when I did not have the responsibility of a congregation, just the eyes of my family. We must be broken to be useful. A horse cannot be ridden until it has been broken.
David’s character was developed in the lonely place. Many resist the lonely place, but God must have His way in us. Because David embraced his lonely places and allowed God to use his places of brokenness to draw him closer rather than further from Him, he never faced the enemy in his own strength, but in the name and authority of God. David started by himself in the wilderness, learning how to fight, how to defend, and how to worship
He learned how to be a king by defeating the lion and the bear, defending his sheep and always remembering that it all was only by God’s grace.
When David approached Goliath, there was no question or ounce of give in him. He could not stand by as his God was being cursed and his people needed a defender from this roaring “lion”. He did what he knew how to do and that was to stand in the authority of the name of the Lord. God did the rest.
David returned to this wilderness of En Gedi after having spears thrown at him by the king he loved. Being knocked down can be hard. It is like someone who makes $8/hr getting a new job that pays twice that. And then through circumstances is knocked back down to their previous salary. It is humbling and humiliating, but what do you do in those places?
God took David for another lap in the Wilderness. Brokenness was his stronghold. Understand that circumstances will come to all of us in various seasons. David was brought back to the wilderness at third time by his son, Absalom. We may have to run to brokenness. If you fight the brokenness you’ll be fighting a fight you will never win.
We need to check ourselves by David’s attitude here in this last trek into the land of brokenness. Maybe God is done with me.
When I work with puppies, I do my best to help them know what their place is. I do this by taking their food away from them at various times during their eating process. They learn to be appreciative and to wait. God does this to us. He takes things from us, so we will learn to trust, but then He also gives so we learn how to be appreciative. We can’t live our lives barking and growling at the hand that feeds us.
If you would have known what made for your peace…
Why review this?
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” 1 Peter 4:12
We have been given promises, but the process takes us to brokenness first. God is God and I am not. David was cheered on by thousands and yet hiding in a cave alone. He feasted with kings… and beasts. There was only one constant in it all. He kept his heart before God. Exalted or broken keep your hunger for God. He’ll never leave you, nor forsake you! Believe that He is close!


Of course, we stopped to get our shop on at the Ahava Factory Kibbutz. Meir had arranged for us to shop here and then proceed down to the spa to swim and eat. It was fun watching some of the


newbies and old-bies floating around. James Miles said he loves it because it is the only time he is able to float in the water! Haha. But let me tell you… hot desert, hot water, and ah yeah did I mention the chemical burn of the salt water on any cut! Ummm…. Ouch! Lunch was very yummy and refreshing, so was the iced coffee. Of course Pastor found a nice shade tree and some free wireless internet. So fun was had by all!
We traveled north along the Israeli-Jordanian Border. A good part of this journey is in the West Bank. As we were crossing the checkpoint back into Israel. Meir informed us that an armed Israeli guard may board the bus to do a security check. Well, two of them did. They were very kind and smiling. The young lady was beautiful. As she exited the bus in the back, we discussed amongst ourselves that if we were soldiers on a 105 degree day in the desert we would board every bus with air conditioning too!
Our next stop… sigh… I wish we had had more time and cooler temperatures so we could have explored just a little more! Bet She’a

An. Geographically located at the junction of the Jordan River and the Jezreel Valley. This is near where the Philistines displayed the bodies of Saul and Jonathan. “How the mighty have fallen!” Men of the tribe of Benjamin (Saul and Jonathan’s tribe) snuck in at night and retrieved their bodies offering them a proper burial on the mountains of Gilboa.
The most interesting part about Bet She’ An is that the Roman ruins have remained mostly intact. These ruins date back to the time of Jesus. You really get a concept of the opulence of the Empire. Walking through the coliseum and down the cardo offers an insight into ancient, city life.
The heat caught up with us though and we only took 15 minutes to explore. You know you are hot when you start getting cold chills!
We made it to Galilee in the afternoon and spent the a couple hours resting. James and I were talking on our way to pool about what a wonderful life we have to be able to come here and be apart of this. Many people never leave their hometown or state and yet here we were halfway around the world, lounging under an umbrella overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
Tonight at dinner, we had an unexpected treat. We shared the dining hall with a Jewish family celebrating Shabbat. They sang before their meal and seemed to really enjoy each other. Then the fathers went to their children, whether they were still toddlers or grown adults, and held each of their heads speaking a prayer over them. Each father then kissed them on the forehead. They went around to each child and did this. It was so beautiful, intimate and sincere!
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1