Through the Valley

When Bible writers say that Jesus went down to Jericho, they're not kidding.  Jerusalem is over 2500 feet above sea level, and Jericho is more than 800 feet below sea level.  And they are only 20 miles apart.  My ears popped several times as we went down, down, down.  Along the way there is nothing but wilderness.  But this is not a Yellowstone or Yukon kind of wilderness.  It is one hill after another of nothing but rocks and sand and a plant every hundred feet or so.  Rocks on the hills, rocks in the valleys.  Everywhere you look, rocks...rocks...rocks.

And we saw a few herds of sheep, shepherds on donkeys, and a ton of camels.  I always thought of David as the shepherd boy leading his flock of sheep around in these lush country meadows, playing tag with them, skipping rocks, and using old tree stumps as target practice.  But the reality is that his life was filled with rocks.  Up the hills, through the valleys, looking for those one or two plants and some water.  Out here water is life.  And in this wilderness, there is not a whole lot of water.  But there are rocks.

The Jericho of Jesus' day (I found out there are three Jericho's) is located in an oasis.  This oasis is in the flat, fertile, lower Jordan valley at the base of the wilderness mountains.  The difference between Jericho and the surrounding desert is striking. We descended through nearly twenty miles of rocks and sand and there it was.  Less than half a mile from these desolate hills was this beautiful oasis, filled with trees, gardens, fruits and veggies.  

Tradition tells us that just outside Jericho, at the base of the mountains is the Valley of the Shadow of Death made famous by David's Psalm.  The picture above is that valley.  You will notice the steep hillsides, the rocks in the dry riverbed, and if you look really close you can see the old Roman road from Jerusalem to Jericho running horizontally across the top third of the photo (it is lighter in color than the surrounding mountain).  The valley floor was about 150 feet below us and the temperature the day I took this picture seemed like it was 150 degrees. Up to this point, this place was anything but pleasant.

But then came the moment, and Scripture came alive.  We recited the Psalm together.  "The Lord is my shepherd..."  I only got two lines into it before I realized that there were no still waters, no lush country meadows, and no tree stumps here.  Just rocks.  It made no sense.  "He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness..."  That path across the valley is anything but righteous.  "Yea, though I walk through the Valley of Death..."  Who would walk through that valley?  "Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me..."  Could this be it?  "You prepare a place for me..."  For me?  "You have anointed me - my cup overflows..."  Why me?  "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me..."  How can this be?  "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  Wow!

And there it was, in that moment, surrounded by the wilderness at the Valley of the Shadow of Death I discovered this:  God is life, and He is all I need.  Praise His holy name!

John