Desert of Jordan – Lessons Learned, Beauty Found

The boundless golden landscape of Jordan is a unique thing of beauty, yet at the same time, the endless emptiness can lead one to a feeling of abandonment and emptiness.  The vastness seems infinite, but Jordan is eight times smaller than Texas.  This is the land where the Israelites wandered for forty years due to disobedience and lack of faith. As we drive along the barren beauty, I wonder what good came from such a long journey. A journey leading from slavery to freedom. At each site I visited, reality and understanding entered my mind and heart; here, I began to grasp the journey through life and God’s desire for me.

A visual reality opens my heart to a clearer understanding that God is by our side even through pain and suffering. As we search for our own “promise land,” we must have faith that God has a plan to guide, help, and be there for us.  Through our faith and trust, He will lead us through our wilderness and temptations. He is leading us to the new promised land, the New Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God. 

We arrive at Mount Nebo within a short drive from our five-star hotel on the Dead Sea.  The view shifts from rolling golden mountains and valleys to a glorious view overlooking the Promised Land. Here Moses was given a glimpse of the Land of Milk and Honey, the land he was forbidden to enter.  I’ve always understood the milk and honey to refer to goodness, to fertile land, thinking the honey referred to the bees pollinating and fertilizing the land.  But, according to our guide, honey refers to the nectar from dates, not bees. I guess this is an example of the old two sides to a coin theory… I’ll leave it up to you to determine if the honey referred to in the Bible is from bees or dates.

Pristine 531 Byzantine Mosaic

Within the Franciscan compound is a modern church incorporating portions of a Byzantine Basilica uncovered in the nineteen thirties. Beautifully preserved ancient mosaic floors are open for visitors to view.  One of the mosaics was dated to August 531 due to a Greek inscription that includes the names of three workers who created it and Elias, the bishop.  The pristine condition of the mosaic is due to a second mosaic layer placed on top of it within a few decades. The older mosaic was uncovered in 1976 when the top layer was removed for restoration.

Fellow pilgrims told a story of the Peacock I had never heard before. In ancient times Christians adopted the symbol of the Peacock as it was thought the flesh would not decay, thus representing immortality. It is also associated with the resurrection of Christ because it sheds its old feathers every year and grows newer, brighter ones each year. Additionally, if a Peacock was portrayed drinking from a vase, it symbolized a Christian drinking the waters of eternal life. Finally, the ” multitude of eyes” upon its bright fan suggested the all-seeing eye of God.

I am truly blessed. THANK YOU LORD

Deuteronomy 34: 1-8 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.