It's been a long time ...

It's been five years now since I have been to Israel ... and I have never been there with a digital camera! But on this very day, five years ago, we had the most incredible day studying Psalm 23 out in the desert ~ many of the psalms are desert psalms ~ I had never realized that before.
The most loved and well-known shepherd in the Bible is David, but I learned there were many other shepherds ... all of the patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob ... even Rebecca was a shepherd, wandering out here in the heat of this wilderness. I wondered then and there ... WHY didn't the shepherds head up north and stay in Galilee where there was more water and much greener pastures? The answer was because Galilee was where the farmers lived and raised the crops ... and that couldn't happen if the sheep were eating every growing thing!
We did a lot of walking that day. We hiked down into a wadi and learned that the most dangerous thing in a desert is ... ??? I thought sure the answer would be the LACK of water or heat exposure, but the answer was actually WATER ... flash floods. But the shepherds are well trained and know just how to watch the sky and what to look for ... you can't wait to HEAR water coming because by then it would be too late.
And those green pastures I'd always imagined ... were this! Just tiny bits of grass here and there surrounded by boulders and cliffs. But the shepherd knows all about that too. Do you see the lines on the sides of those hills? Those are actually called "paths of righteousness." We watched sheep follow shepherds along some pretty steep hills. And these shepherds were young children actually, sometimes as young as 10-12 years. We talked a lot about God giving us everything we WANT versus everything we NEED ... and sometimes we need just a sprig or two of grass to keep living!

We hiked some more and learned about the still, quiet waters where the shepherd leads the sheep. These pictures are taken at Ein Avdat (literally, "spring of Avdat"). The shepherd knows where these springs are out in the middle of this vast wasteland. This place is farther south in Israel than I had ever been before.

The tree in this picture is an acacia tree. It can lie dormant for 100 years ... and still live! It gives shelter and shade in the desert.

We walked for miles in the heat (it was wonderful) to a Bedouin camp and learned a little bit about how they live. Their #1 thing is hospitality. You can stay at a Bedouin camp totally free for three days ... even if you are their enemy. They will feed you and take care of you. Our guide knew one of the young men in this camp and he had to beg them NOT to kill a goat to serve us a meal.

See the young girl dressed in red at the right side of this picture? She is a shepherdess. She is attired this way so that she stands out against the desert ... so that no one will approach her and say it was "an accident" ... that they didn't see her. The Bedouin are very protective of their girls. If you are caught anywhere near her out when she is away from the camp, it is assumed you have harmed her ~ and they show no mercy about that.

We did eat their very delicious bread ~ see how she prepares it? ~ and drank the sweetest hot tea I have ever tasted. If we emptied our cup, they were right there to fill it up to the very tippy top every time. The only way we could get them to stop pouring us more was to leave some tea in our cup!

This is our group at Tel Arad, listening to Pastor Ed teach. We were outside almost 15 hours that day. I grew up loving Psalm 23. Understanding its desert context was such a rich experience. All throughout Scripture, when people wanted to meet personally with God, they went to the desert. Moses! The children of Israel! Elijah! The Apostle Paul! Even Jesus! I'm thankful that God doesn't give me everything I want ... but that He faithfully meets the deep needs of my heart.

Michael Card wrote his own rendition of Psalm 23. I can't find it anywhere on Playlist or you would be listening to it right now! Here are the lyrics.

My Shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd
and so I lack nothing.
In meadows of green grass
He lets me lie down.

Beside the still waters
He patiently leads me
restoring my soul ...
restoring my soul.

For His holy name's sake
He guides me by right paths

Though I may stray to

the vale of deep darkness

I fear no evil for You are there with me
Beside me Your rod and staff

they comfort me.

You prepare a table

before my enemies.
My head you've anointed
My cup's overflowing.

Your goodness and mercy

will follow me all the days of my life

and I'll make my home place

in the house of the Lord ...
and I'll make my home place
in the house of the Lord.