"Wilderness of Judah"
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The wilderness east of Jerusalem continues to amaze me every time I see it. It looks like an endless ocean of hard packed sand dunes. Yet most of what it is just at sea level if not lower. These mountains off to the east, in essence do seem like mountains or large hills, extending into the sky, yet when compared to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it really sits quite low. How amazing is God?
"walking along the ascent of adumin"
"This is for sure where Jesus walked" |
At first glance it appears to be wasteland, desolate, bare, and dry, ready to consume an irresponsible traveler. After taking a closer glance, the brown shrubs is actually full of nutrients for the desert Bedouin. Walking not a mere 200 feet I’m already tired, sweating, and missing the sweet comforts of a nice air conditioned home or even a nice air conditioned car that can take me across the vast hills of the wilderness. “How weak am I to be called a follower of Jesus?” I think to myself, as Jesus himself took this twelve hour trek from Jericho up to Jerusalem. The bible talks about being worthy of following Christ and dropping everything and following him, but one does not truly know the sacrifices until one has seen where Jesus has walked literally. Yes, it’s figurative language, but when you can see where Jesus literally walked you come to appreciate the sacrifices a disciple of Christ makes. Seeing the landscape, makes one picture Jesus totally different. Often my good buddy says, “Jesus is not this weak looking man as portrayed by many illustrators and movies. Jesus was a carpenter, Jesus was a very buff, and cut strong man, to be able to handle the ins and outs of carpentry work.” After seeing the landscape, Jesus definitely does not seem to be the gentle, light skinned, soft, man as movies portray him. Rather he seemed to be of darker, thick, sand beat skinned, tough man who can weather out the treacherous desert-like wilderness of Judah.
"Lush Green Modern day Jericho to the front"
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As we come upon the Oasis of Jericho, I think to myself, “Does this really seem like an Oasis? Compared to the lush green locations of various places throughout the world, it may not really seem like much of an oasis. But, in reality, it truly is an oasis in the middle of a desert. Filled with lots of green, it’s amazing how life can grow in the middle of a desert. Of course we now know why and how such a place can exist due to the underground springs from the rains west of the watershed ridge. Flowing out 1000 gallons of water per minute, to feed the inhabitants of the city; Jericho is the city of Palm Trees. As I look upon the place, just like Jerusalem and the Land Between as a whole, it wouldn’t be a place I’d like to live. Although there are plenty of water and lots of green, the heat is just beating down on a person. I can’t imagine how people lived in ancient times with no air-condition. We truly are a blessed and spoiled generation, to have our conveniences the way we do. But Jericho itself is quite an amazing city.
"And a Desert mountain behind"
If you look closely you can see a monastery |
I can definitely see why Joshua would choose to take Jericho first on his way to the Promise Land. It provides everything you would need to supply a whole army and a large group of people waiting to settle down. The elder, children, and woman can be partying it up and relaxing in Jericho safely behind the confines of this desert wilderness, while the men embarks on a treacherous journey to claim the land that the Lord has already given to them. I really did not find Jericho of much significance to the Bible and the life of the Israelites, other than the fact that the Lord handed Jericho over to Jerusalem.
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Now after seeing Jericho, the Lord had it in His mind already to give the Israelites a life line with support as they carry on their journey to claim the Holy Land. The Land Between was and still is such a hard place to make a living and the people of the Bible were tough people challenged in so many aspects of their life, their faith, and devotion to the Lord. But when all is said and done, “All things are possible with God” Matthew 19:26.
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