One Step at a Time - June 25, 2014

Today’s field experience took us to the Negev and to the southernmost border of Canaan. The first stop was Tel Arad, a settlement which included an Israelite fortress at the top with a Canaanite city at the bottom. An archaeological find at the fortress has some implications for how we understand the worship life of the Israelites. Inside the fortress is a temple with a layout similar to other Israelite temples, including the outer court, an altar for sacrifices, an inner court (holy place), and the holy of holies. However, this holy of holies contained two incense stands and three standing pillars, indicating the worship of more than one deity. How is this possible when the scriptures are clear that there is to be one temple in Jerusalem, and the Israelites are to worship the one true God, Yahweh?

Before we are too hard on the Israelites, perhaps we need to take a look at our own lives. How often do our daily activities and even our worship line up with God’s clear commands in scripture? I think it is too easy for us to look back at the Israelites and judge from a privileged position. We need to remember that the average Hebrew in the land did not have access to the scriptures. They lived within a culture which worshipped localized, regional gods. Having multiple gods for different purposes and life needs (water, sun, fertility) was the context they lived within.

How easy it is for us in the U.S. church to separate ourselves from the many “gods” of our day? What is it that we worship in our daily lives? What “must” we have in order to live the life we want and what lengths do we go to get them? Comfort? Entertainment? The right job? A spouse and/or children?

Later, as I took a one-hour hike up through the Avdat Canyon to the top of the mountain in temperatures close to one hundred degrees, God impressed upon me once more the lesson of looking only to the step right in front of me, not gazing up at how far I need to go. Just as the Israelites had to trust God for the provision of water and food in the wilderness, so I needed to trust his provision for the strength needed to make it to the top. After that experience, I will never again judge the Israelites for complaining to Moses about dragging them out in the wilderness to die. I had a 3-liter water pack strapped to my back, trail mix in my pocket, and the promise of an air-conditioned bus at the top, yet I questioned why in the world I had done this. One hour in the hot wilderness and I was complaining!

This trip is giving me a glimpse into the difficult life of the Hebrew people and showing me how much more I am like them than I would like to admit. Yet, I remember: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but he will rejoice over you with singing,” (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV). I praise God that he is loving, compassionate, and patient, with the Israelites, and with me.