You were designed to worship God.  God created us in His image, and intends for us to live in relationship with Him.  As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:11, God has truly set eternity in our hearts. 

You often determine to sin against God.  Though created in His image, we persist in rebellion against Him.  As Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way.” 

These two dynamics (our worshipful design and our sinful disposition) form a fitting parenthesis within which all of human history can be explained.  Thankfully, God understood this reality and made a provision for sinful people to be made right with their Creator.  This was a plan God had from the foundation of the world, but was revealed progressively over time.  Old Testament scholar Ron Allen once explained this progressive revelation as a blooming rose — all the petals were there from the beginning, but as the flower opens over time, we can see more of its beauty.  In the same way, God’s redemption plan for humanity blooms throughout the Old Testament until gaining full exposure in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Knowing this helps us make sense of certain practices we see in Scripture . . . and certain archaeological ruins I visited on our tour of Israel.  In the desert ruins of ancient Arad on the edge of the Negev, we saw the excavated remains of a replica of the Solomonic Temple.  What in the world was a replica of the Temple (a building only intended for Jerusalem) doing in the wilderness?  And why was it destroyed?

The origin of Arad’s Temple (complete with a “holy of holies,” a sacrificial altar, and an outer court) is somewhat of a mystery.  Most likely Solomon himself (or someone after him) decided to build this replica to make worship of God more accessible to the people of the Negev.  At one level, this seems like a noble effort.  After all, the Temple was the place where atoning sacrifices could be made for people’s sin, allowing them to be reconciled to God.  It is not hard to imagine an ambitious King or leader thinking “If one Temple is good . . . two will be great!”  However, as God continued to bloom the rose of His redemption, He showed His people that there was only one sacrifice that He would accept for His people’s sin, and that sacrifice would be offered in Jerusalem.

King Hezekiah, in 2 Kings 18:1-4, was inspired by God to destroy all vestiges of pagan worship AND the destruction of all other altars throughout Israel to consolidate sacrificial worship to Jerusalem.  Therefore, Arad’s Temple copy was destroyed around 700 BC.  Interestingly, 2 Kings 18:4 also lets us know that the bronze serpent that Moses held up in the wilderness (see Numbers 21 for details) was also destroyed by Hezekiah at this time.  Apparently, the staff had become a relic for veneration by the people, shifting their focus to “lucky charms” instead of to God Himself.  It is possible that this staff was kept in Arad’s Temple, since the physical location of Arad was relatively close to the location where the staff was first raised (see references to Arad in the Numbers 21 reference above).

As God’s redemption plan blooms, He is preparing people for a singular specific sacrifice (made in Jerusalem) that would provide forgiveness for sins.  Through Hezekiah’s actions, the nation of Israel learned that sacrifices were only to be done in the method and place that God designated.  For hundreds of years, those sacrifices were made in the first and second Temples of Jerusalem.  Then, early in the first century AD, as all the rose petals finally come into view, God offers a final sacrifice for humanity’s sin in Jerusalem.  Only this time, the sacrifice was not made on the altar of the first or second Temple.  Instead, this sacrifice was made on a rocky hill outside the city gate in a place called Golgotha.  Jesus Christ was the singular sacrifice offered on the cross for you and for me.  As Isaiah continued in 53:6 (as first quoted above): “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.”

Like in the day of Arad’s Temple, people today seek reconciliation with God from many different altars:  the altar of good works, the altar of religious devotion, the altar of Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism.  We think that we can find many locations where forgiveness and eternal life can be found.  However, the blooming rose of redemption has taught us otherwise.  God has always had a very selective understanding of the sacrifices He accepts.  The destroyed Temple of Arad is another reminder to us that there is but one way to atone for our sin and reconcile us with our Heavenly Father — through Jesus Christ who is “THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life.”

Have you ever felt as though you were under siege?  Ever had an adversary or adversaries who simply will not leave you alone?  Here are a few examples of the foes who put us under siege today:

• A disease that simply won’t stay in remission.
• A friend or family member who has hurt you deeply and insists on adding insult to injury.
• Overwhelming feelings of doubt or depression that won’t go away.
• Spiritual attack from our ultimate adversary – Satan himself.

When you find yourself under siege, where do you run?  Some run to a trusted friend — others to solitude.  Some run to distraction, while others take refuge in an addiction.  Where do you tend to run when times get tough?  While you are thinking about that, let me introduce you to a mighty fortress from the first century — the Herodian fortress of Masada.

On our first full day in Israel, we visited this architectural marvel glued to the side of a 1,300 foot high cliff on the western shores of the Dead Sea.  Masada (the Hebrew word for fortress) was built by King Herod about 30 years before Jesus was born.  This fortress was designed by Herod to be an impenetrable escape against heavy attack.  Not only was Masada protected by its physical location on the rocky cliffs, it was also designed to be fully self-sustaining for indefinite periods of time.  In a land that saw only .25 inches of rain ANNUALLY, Herod had a series of water capturing aquifers bringing water from the wetter highlands and storing it in the enormous cisterns beneath Masada.  One million gallons of water could be stored in Masada’s storehouses — enough water to provide plenty to drink and to irrigate crops that grew in the fortress’s gardens.

In the first century, Masada probably felt like the most secure place in all of Israel.  Because of that, it should be no surprise that 1,000 Jewish rebels holed up in Masada’s fortress in 70 CE after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans.  For 3 years, the rebels held out behind Masada’s walls, but the Romans would not give up.  They built their own ramp up Masada’s hill and battered their way inside.  Rather than be captured by the Romans, nearly 1,000 rebels committed suicide on the night before the Romans took the compound.

Seeing Masada’s ruins reminded me of the temporary nature of all man-made protections.  No matter how perfect the refuges of man look, their walls will eventually be breached.  Sure, your friend might encourage you one day, but might let your call go to voicemail the next.  The addiction may give you a high one moment but leave you hollow later on.  Like the people of Masada, finding refuge in most things ultimately leads to death.

However, there is a better protection . . . a place where we can run when we are under siege to find ultimate comfort, hope, and protection.  King David wrote of this refuge in Psalm 61:1-3:

“Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I, for You have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.”

Though our man made walls cannot withstand the battering ram of our adversaries, the strong tower of the Lord is a refuge that never fails.

Where do you run when you are under siege?  Together, let us run to the Rock that is higher than us.  In prayer, cry out to God for His help.  Read Scripture to hear of His promises and His presence.  Locate yourself among the people of God that they might provide perspective you cannot have because of your proximity to your situation.  He is the fortress whose walls will never fail.  Together let us run to Him when we are under siege.

 

When boxers prepare for a prize fight, they first must attend a “weigh in” where all their measurements are taken and recorded.  Their height, weight, wingspan, etc. are all meticulously written down and used as a gauge to determine in which division the fighter will compete.  Also, these stats are seen as a good indicator of who will win the match in the ring.  These measurements, however, do not always prove prophetic.  (After all, Rocky Balboa beat Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.)  Sometimes it takes more than a tape measure to handicap the event.

For the past two weeks, my wife and I toured the nation of Israel together with a group of friends.  What we saw inspired worship, education, and passion.  However, what we didn’t see inspired something else . . . faith and hope.  Let me tell you what I mean.

Before going on a trip like this, you take out a map and a tape measure and size up the land you will be touring.  On the scales, Israel is only 263 miles long by 71 miles wide (at its longest and widest points).  This makes Israel only slightly larger than the state of New Jersey (and with a comparable population).  Further, the land is mostly covered with rocks, and water has been a historically significant issue (as the many ancient ruins of giant cisterns tell us).  At the weigh-in, Israel looks more like a lightweight than a heavyweight. On paper their land is not the biggest, the best, or the brightest.

As you know, the look of this land can be deceiving.  Though Israel is small, it has a divinely dynamic history.  On this land, God called a people, birthed a nation, delivered a Messiah, and (from this nation) will one day rule the world.  As I wandered around this country for 11 days, I became more and more convinced of one thing:  God chose the Israelites and the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River NOT because they were great, but because their weakness would provide the perfect canvas on which to paint His grace.  The people became a Priesthood and the land became Holy because of Him . . . not because of them.  They are both neon signs pointing us to His character, not theirs.

Don’t get me wrong.  The land is beautiful and productive and the people were warm and hospitable.  Most places and people on this earth are.  The thing that makes their past and their future so fascinating, however,  is their gracious God.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be writing a series of devotionals about my experiences in Israel, to try to put into words for myself (and others) some of what God showed me on my journey.  I hope today’s thoughts help point you in the direction of our gracious God.  If God can make the small nation mighty, and the rocky ground fertile, just think what He might be able to do in your own life.

We too are shallow soils that feel too small and/or insignificant to matter.  “God could never use/want me” is a refrain all too often thought, spoken, or felt.  “My situation is too desolate to ever produce any fruit” is another seed of dismay we often sow.  Our God specializes in blessing the weak and providing an oasis of hope in a barren land.  He wants to encourage your soul  . . . to inspire within us faith and hope in Him.

Would you join me on a written journey through the Holy Land?