"The Judean Wilderness"

After we left our Jericho area lunch stop we moved on up towards Jerusalem, but we stopped on the side of the road about ¾ of the way to Jerusalem. Yoni wanted to show us a canyon and talk to us about the wilderness. He warned us that where we stopped would appear barren but that after stepping off the bus there would almost immediately be a band of Bedouins trying to sell us trinkets. Yoni brings all his groups to this location and perhaps a few more guides do also, although it is not a usual tourist stop, therefore the Bedouins have taken advantage of this. PUFF! Sure enough, where there was just barren country side, immediately a donkey, camel and 4 or 5 Bedouin men of all ages appeared. Almost eerie really…. These Bedouin were apparently part of a group called the Tabare Bedouin and are one of the oldest Bedouin groups dating back at least 2000 years. Bedouin actually prefer the wilderness as their living environment. The Israeli government has made some overtures to these folks to build them towns or some permanent housing and apparently all offers have been refused.

So we trekked up a little rise and then went down a sheep’s path about 50 yards and Yoni had us sit on the side of the path looking north in a canyon: “This is the Parat Canyon, it separates Ephraim from Benjamin, and goes west- east all the way to Amman, Jordan. Parat means ‘fruitful ‘and there is a spring up the canyon called En Parat, or ‘fruitful spring’. One has to know where the water sources are or they could die in this wilderness one day without water.” Indeed, there was an impressive canyon or valley that sharply fell from where we sat. Some later said they had a hard time concentrating on what Yoni was saying because he was so close to the edge and they worried about him falling down into the canyon. Apparently it was somewhere in this huge canyon that God told Jeremiah to bury a linen garment and then later to dig it up.(Jeremiah 13)

While we sat listening to Yoni, he read us the story of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10. Yoni made the point that if one man could die in one day without water, how much more vulnerable to death would a wounded and beaten man be. The dangers of the wilderness were well known to all peoples during Jesus time, yet religious men walked around a hurting man essentially assuring his death by not assisting him. Yoni made the point that the roads were not wide as they usually were sheep trails that became roads with high traffic, and that the men talked about in the parable would have to literally go out of their way to avoid the wounded man! Obviously then, this was not just a parable about being a good neighbor, rather Jesus was also making the point that we may hold in our own hands the life or death of another person. This is even truer if we think about the spiritual death or life we may offer or withhold.

As we sat looking at the view and taking in all that Yoni was sharing, we could appreciate a little better how the hills of the Judean Wilderness are lined with many, many paths that are parallel to each other. Almost like cords running alongside the mountain sides endlessly for miles and miles. These were narrow paths. “Narrow” is the way that leads to life…these paths were made by centuries of sheep grazing. The paths are narrow but they lead from home to the pasture and back again. Psalm 23 talks about paths of righteousness…these may be narrow, but they take us from home to where we find life.

The Judean Wilderness…death is around the corner if one doesn’t have water or know the water sources, yet paths are all over the place that lead somewhere to safety. No big signs point the way or neon lights flashing directions…just paths…paths that lead to Righteousness. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me.”