Friday, January 25, 2013

A Father Who Keeps His Promises


Olive trees at Noet Kedumim

Whether for early Christians or contemporary ones, a constant question plagues the heart and mind of the disciple: ‘Will God provide for me when I need Him the most?’ ‘When I have emptied myself of my dreams and desires in favor of following Jesus, will God fill the void?’ ‘Will He take over when I promise others that He is trustworthy enough to surrender their lives completely to Him?’

Today we visited a place which strengthened our faith that God, indeed, remains faithful and will always continue to keep His promises.

It is called Neot Kedumim. Haven’t heard of it? That’s because it isn’t recorded in the Bible nor is it a holy site regarded by the Church (or any religion for that matter). Neot Kedumim isn’t like the other holy sites we’ve visited over the past few weeks because it is a Biblical landscape preserve. Built on 620 acres, it is a reconstruction of the plants, trees, animals, and ancient tools at the time of Jesus. Though we learned a lot this day, water and grain harvests were the two major concerns which seemed to call God’s providential care in question the most.

The replica of an ancient cistern (a water storage pit dug into the ground up to 30 feet deep) highlighted the constant worry of the Israelites. In fact, they would pray for rain three times per day. As our guide said, for the Israelite “the sound of water was the sound of life.” Even the Hebrew word for Heaven is translated as “there are the waters.” When God freed the Israelites from slavery under the Egyptians, they complained because they were promised a fruitful land but were roaming in the desert instead. “Were there no burial places in Egypt? Far better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11).

Does the lamenting of the Israelites echo in our voices today? Do we forget how much God actually cares and provides for us at every moment of everyday?

God not only provided water for His people but cisterns and wells became places where a love relationship was established. Some examples include the meetings of Isaac and Rebeccah (Gen 24), Jacob and Rachel (Gen 29), and Moses and Zipporah (Ex 2). Likewise, it was no accident that Jesus met the Samaritan woman by a well and presented her with “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14).

In addition to the cistern, we visited a threshing floor where we learned the process of harvesting grain. Like the Eskimos who have 15 different words for snow, the Israelites had 7 words for harvest because it was so integral to their daily life. The challenge to farmers was their lack of seed. The sowing of seed was far from an exact science. Much seed was thrown on rocky soil or among thorns and totally wasted. Only some seed would actually fall on the rich soil but good weather and sufficient water were no guarantees. Sowers had to decide whether to use the seed in the making of bread to feed their families immediately or to re-plant the seed for the next harvest. Their plea is gut-wrenching: ‘Lord, what should I do?’ ‘Will You provide for us?’

Trusting God in moments of trial is an integral part of discipleship. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov 3:5-6). However, the psalmist reassures us that our trust in Him will always be fruitful: “those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy” (Ps 126:5).

Neot Kedumim combines Biblical scholarship with botany and zoology to bring the Bible to life. More importantly, it helps us to recognize how God used Biblical artifacts to speak to the ancient Israelite culture and encourage them to faithfully respond to His invitation of discipleship.