WALK THE LAND
However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. 16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Luke 5: 15-16
Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 6: 12
We have celebrated the Passover and Easter here in Israel and now life is settling back into its busy routines after the holidays. How easy it is to become so caught up in the frantic busyness of life that we drift away from God. It is hard to truly know him when we are rushing about, His voice drowned by the cacophony of noise and the tumults of our thoughts. Even Yeshua, in the busyness of his ministry often found it necessary to take some time out, withdrawing from the neediness of the crowds around him, to draw near to the Father and hear His voice. I too find that I have to do this from time to time.
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| Migdal (Magdala), Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee from Mt Arbel |
For me, one of the great pleasures of living in the Land of Israel is its many natural areas, parks and reserves, to which I can withdraw and hear God. In spite of the dense population of the Land, now nearing 8.4 million in an area only the size of New Jersey (or Southland in New Zealand, or of Wales), we still have large areas of wilderness, which are greatly valued and protected.
I have just returned from a 3-day break up in the Lower Galilee, an area of great natural beauty and an area which our Lord, Yeshua, would have known intimately. At this time of the year many Christian pilgrims visit the Land to celebrate Easter and to 'walk in the steps of Yeshua'. Sadly these visitors are usually herded onto buses and rushed from 'holy site' to 'holy site', most of which these days are covered with a Catholic or Orthodox church. There is value in this, but it leaves me rather cold. I find it much more meaningful to get out, put on my dusty sandals (or trainers) and walk the Land, just as Yeshua did two thousand years ago. That way I can feel the Land, see its varied and stunning landscapes and its wildlife, smell its perfumes, and experience its weather. This brings the Bible to life for me. I can know the weariness Yeshua must have felt after a long day of walking its hot and dusty trails. I can picture the landscape, the plants and the animals described by Yeshua in his parables. It brings me closer to Yeshua than sitting in a church or so-called 'holy site'. I would therefore encourage any of you who plan to visit the Land, to put aside some time to walk in the wilderness or just to sit quietly under a tree and soak in the essence of the Land.
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| A Galilean landscape |
When I first arrived in Israel, in the early '80s, Israelis were in love with their Land. Nearly every popular song was a celebration the Land. Families spent their holidays hiking its trails, and the common rite-of-passage of every young person was to walk its length. Sadly this has been somewhat lost today. Now family outings, if they occur at all, are often to the local shopping mall, cinema complex or water park, and holidays are enjoyed abroad. In spite of this trend, on weekends and holidays the parks, beaches and forests of Israel are still overflowing with hordes of people indulging in the national pastime - 'al ha-esh' (on the fire) barbecuing with family and friends. As fun as that is (I enjoy a good 'al haesh' myself), it is scarcely conducive to quiet contemplation or prayer. It is possible to be so involved in socializing that one does not even notice the surroundings.
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| Israelis enjoying the Sea of Galilee at Passover last year http://img.mako.co.il/2016/04/24/751978_B.jpg |
On Easter Friday this year my congregation traveled together to the site of the ancient city of Shiloh, where the Tabernacle stood for some 400 years before King David established Jerusalem as the capital of the nation of Israel. Standing on the hillside where the platform of the Tabernacle can still be discerned, I looked around and was impressed by the similarities of its position to that of the Temple in Jerusalem. It stands on the side of a hill (not on the top) and that hill is surrounded by higher hills on every side, just as in Jerusalem. Why is the LORD's house not on the highest hill? I believe it was because the pagan religions of the region tended to raise up their idols and altars on the 'high places'. God wanted the nation of Israel to separate themselves from such practices. Just before the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land, God spoke to Moses and told him to tell the people these words:
When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess.
Numbers 33: 51-53
God was not to be worshiped on the 'high places' of the pagan gods but at the place that He chose. Throughout the times of the Judges and the Kings of Israel these 'high places' were a continual temptation for the people of Israel. They did not destroy them as God had commanded, fell again and again into idol worship and even set up altars and a priesthood to God in those high places, contrary to His express command. (See for example 1 Kings 3:3, 1 Kings 12:31, 1 Kings 13:3, 1 Kings 14:23 etc).
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| Walking towards the site of the Tabernacle at Shiloh (by the shelter) |
While at Shiloh I also looked down into the valley below and saw the road snaking its way through the high mountains of Samaria. The modern road follows an ancient route that connected the Galilee to Jerusalem and passed through Samaria. We know that Jesus used this route on at least two occasions for we have the account of his rejection by a Samaritan village in Luke 9: 51-56 and his meeting with the Samaritan woman in the town of Sychar (John 4).
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| Three roads of antiquity: The Via Maris (purple), the King's Road (red) and the Samarian Road (blue) http://guide-israel.ru/39847-doroga-praotcev/doroga-praotcev-sinij-via-maris-fioletovyj-i-carskij-put-via-regia-krasnyj/ |
When we read the Biblical accounts of Yeshua's journeys it is easy to gloss over them, but what do we know of the difficulties He would have encountered? How long would it take to walk from Capernaum to Jerusalem? Using the shortest route it is about 75 miles (120 km) and at a normal walking pace this would take at least 4 days. This route is very mountainous, with many steep climbs. Capernaum lies at an altitude of around 200 m below sea level and Jerusalem is around 800 m above sea level - an overall climb of around 1000 m (3000 ft). Most of the route lies in the ecological zone of steppe grassland, so there are few trees and little shade. For most of the year it would be very hot and dusty. There are no perennial streams so water can be obtained only from wells.
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| The Samarian highway from Shiloh |
According to an article "On the Road" by Merilyn Hargis
"Jesus, like many of his contemporaries, crisscrossed the country numerous times. Assuming he went from Nazareth to Jerusalem annually for each of the three required annual feasts using the shortest route through Samaria, a distance of 75 miles each way, he would have walked a minimum of 13,500 miles before beginning his ministry. On at least one of his later pilgrimages, he went from Capernaum to Jerusalem by way of Jericho, 106 miles each way. Estimating conservatively, Jesus probably walked at least 15,000 miles in his lifetime."
15,000 miles is about 2/3 the circumference of the Earth at the equator. That is a lot of walking! I wonder if Yeshua ever got blisters or inflamed tendons or sore muscles? How many pairs of sandals did he wear out?
News in Israel and Matters for Prayer
- On the same day as we went to Shiloh there was another terror attack in Jerusalem. A 21 year old woman, a student from England, was stabbed multiple times in the chest on the Light Rail train as it passed near the Old City. She later died of her injuries. A pregnant woman and a 50-year-old man were also lightly injured. An off-duty policeman and a passerby managed to wrestle the attacker to the ground before he was able to hurt anyone else. The attacker was a Palestinian man with a history of mental illness. Please pray for the family and friends of the murdered woman.
- This past Friday morning three mortar shells fired from Syria landed in the Golan Heights. They fell in open areas and resulted in no damage or injuries. Although these mortars were most likely 'spillover' from the internal fighting in Syria, Israel holds Syria responsible for what emanates from its territory. Consequently, later that day, Israel attacked positions affiliated with the Assad regime from which the mortars were fired.
- Some 1200 to 1300 Palestinian prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike on Monday to protest the conditions of their imprisonment. The strike was called by the popular Fatah leader, Marwan Bargouti, who is currently serving 5 life sentences for orchestrating terror attacks against Israeli citizens during the Second Intifada. The hunger strikers are demanding more family visits, more television channels and access to cell phones.
- This week there have been several other terror attacks. Today a man brandishing a knife attacked a group of Golani soldiers but was neutralized before he injured anyone. On Monday a woman stabbed a female soldier and wounded her in the upper body before being neutralized. Tragically this female attacker, a mother of 9, later told her captors that she had carried out her attack in an attempt to commit suicide because her life had become unbearable as a result of abuse from her husband who was threatening to deport her to Jordan. Two days ago, an 18-yr old man from the Palestinian territories attacked and lightly wounded 4 people in the lobby of a hotel in Tel Aviv.
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
2
Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3
Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,
4
Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5
For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7
Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
8
For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9
Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.
Psalm 122
