The thing you notice first when you come to the Judean desert is how quiet and peaceful it is. Makes you want to speak almost in whispers, so you don’t disturb the almost sacred stillness of it.
This is the land of genesis, where our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the twelve tribes walked and lived.
Walking around the Judean desert it isn’t difficult to envision Abraham on these ancient paths with his livestock, praying and thinking about God’s promises for the future.
One of the many privileges of living or visiting Israel is being able to just go out into the Judean desert and visit these ancient biblical lands.
The first thing that amazes people when they come to the Judean desert in the winter is the sight of a flourishing green desert, not of a barren dry one. There’s an abundance of life here.
There’s 4000 years of documented history that ties us to this land, and yet unfortunately we still find ourselves having to fight for our land and our God-given right to live in it.
Israel has always had a lot of enemies, there’s nothing new under the sun. It’s part of the journey, having to fight both physical and spiritual battles to protect God’s inheritance.
While standing in the middle of the Judean desert you can’t help but marvel at everything the Lord has done. He made Abraham promises and spoke about the future generations that were to come, and here we are, those generations the Lord told Abraham about, standing in the Land He gave our forefathers.
It’s impossible to walk around the land of Israel and not see clearly how God’s biblical promises are coming to pass.
In today’s troubled times we often pray for God’s spirit of encouragement, yet when we arrive at the Judean desert and stand in this land of Genesis where it all began, we can’t help but feel absolute and complete shalom — peace.
In the silence and stillness of the desert you can hear God the loudest, and if you open the eyes of your heart you will be able to see a flourishing and blooming desert land.
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
Isaiah 35:1-2
