Our last day of field study for the semester started with an early bus time of 6:30am with a quick stop at Starbucks. Originally we were going to stay at a different hotel but sewage had backed up....you can imagine it would not have been pleasant to stay there. So, we were booked in another hotel and the old one treated us to starbucks for the inconvience...nice! We woke up to the sun by traveling down to Wadi Arnon, a major river flowing through the region. We traveled to the plains of Moab and discussed the significance of the Ruth story and how similar the land was on this side of the Rift Valley versus where she had come from in Bethlehem. Our next stop landed us on Mt. Nebo at a church with a mosaic map of the ancient land at a Greek Orthodox church (unheard of in such a Muslim country) - it's amazing. However, it was the final stop of the day that left the biggest impression. This is what I wrote in my report for the day:
Getting a view of land from Mt. Nebo and discussing the Moses story revealed so much more depth to that narrative. For Moses to have brought the people, after forty years of wandering, to this place and not be able to enter the land must have been heart breaking. I can imagine the people, as Moses is preparing them to enter the land, grow excited to see what God had in store of them and anxious to find out how it would affect their lives. It reminds me of how I entered the semester. I walked into the land of Israel with little understanding, being minimally prepared by others who have gone before me, and had to adjust to the newness of the land. But even more so, I have been affected by my journey through these lands. Just like the Israelites were changed by the land, enjoyed the land, but also struggled through their experience of a new place, I too have gone through similar disappointments and triumphs this semester.
As we were called to consider how the Israelites did not know their future or what life would look like now that they finally reached the promise land, I am struck by how God calls us to be faithful to what he has given us so far and to trust his plan for the future. It is true that I have little knowledge about what my future will look like or what it contains, God has protected and provided this far, what makes me think he will not in the future? I am reminded of a devotional that was given in class. In discussing how this land is a land between, our lives can also be a “land between” of sorts. The land has been fought over, traveled through, influenced by other cultures and beliefs. I often find my life being pulled in different directions, my heart being cluttered by outside influences, and my soul being fought for in the spiritual realm. However, God carried his people through this shifting and changing land and He will continue to do this for me as one of his children.
Psalm 16 comes to mind when I think about this land and about my own life. Psalm 16 is a reminder how to live as we grow in relationship with God and His communion with us. It celebrates the land God has given the author and how God had continually been his “portion” and has been faithful. The author than finds himself thankful and confident in trusting God’s plan. When reading the scripture I can echo the author, “my boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places”. God has orchestrated my life in a way that should cause me to celebrate, be thankful, and trust in His continued provision. So, it is with a heart of gratitude that I leave Israel, trusting God will care for me as He has cared for the Israelites. Even in my doubt or my own Israelite type of rebellion, God will continue to call me to himself and carry me through every desert I face.
Wadi Arnon
Wadi Arnon
The Plains of Moab
Church at Mt. Nebo - Medeba Map - Jerusalem in the circular portion in the middle - Jericho is off to the upper left of Jerusalem where the palm trees are
View of the land from the Mt. Nebo site
Art depicting the staff and serpent episode of Moses when he was asking for deliverance of the people from Pharoah
The Step Pyramid near Cairo
The Step Pyramid near Cairo
Friends in front of one of the pyramids in Giza
The Famous Giza Pyramids - and Natalie, Jenna, and Me
The Sphinx from a little distance with one of the pyramids in the background
Sleeper Train!!
Train Station in Giza
The Temple of Philea
We took a boat ride down the Nile to a little Nubian village
Israel city names carved in a Ancient Egyptian temple - communicated Egypt's connection to Israel in ancient times
Camel ride up to St. Simon Monastery - they are smelly animals!
Luxor Temple at Night
Luxor Temple at Night
We took jeeps off-roading in the Sinai....it was great fun!
The Sinai Desert
Sunrise on Mt. Sinai - worth the hike at 3am!
