Biblical Places Spiritual Spaces - The Wilderness of Zin
Travel south from Jericho past the Dead Sea toward Eilat and you will find yourself in the Wilderness of Zin. Halfway along that highway there is a turnoff to Shaharut, where Camel Riders offers tours through the desert. Our friends Mary and Roy Kendall have taken us to Shaharut twice for a few days of listening to God.
We trekked for three days in the Negev with five camels and nine friends along with our guides Shaiya and Yael. We slept in a big goat hair tent, made coffee Bedouin style, baked bread, cooked over an open fire, slept under the starrs, and learned how people survived in this arid region.
The desert is a good place to go to listen to God. There is an absence of modern noise, and life gets down to the basics. It’s just you, your camel, the rocks and sand, and God’s creation. We even had a wolf invade our camp one night and carry off three bags.
Our caravan heads off into the wilderness
Laura aboard Shariff
Here is the photo I took.
Our rest stop.
Shaiya showed us how to bake bread.
Make a fire with the brush, producing many ashes and coals.
Make the firepit ready for the bread
Throw the bread onto the coals
Build a fire on top of the bread
When the fire burns down, the bread is ready!
Clean off the soot and ashes and the bread is ready to eat!
Delicious, hot desert bread.
We prepared our meals there as well.
Arielle and Moselle learned desert baking skills.
It was a very cold night!
Our campsite where a wolf walked over a few of us and took Carly's backpack.
Significant things happened in the Wilderness of Zin that are recorded in the Bible:
1 In the first month of the year, the whole community of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin and camped at Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried.
2 There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the LORD’s presence with our brothers! 4 Why have you brought the congregation of the LORD’s people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? 5 Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink!”
6 Moses and Aaron turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face down on the ground. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to them, 7 and the LORD said to Moses, 8 “You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.”
9 So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the LORD. 10 Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock.
“Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.
12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”
13 This place was known as the waters of Meribah (which means “arguing”) because there the people of Israel argued with the LORD, and there he demonstrated his holiness among them. Numbers 20:1-13
This is a sobering passage of Scripture for all Followers of Jesus.
Let’s consider the characters of this account, understand their actions, explore any contextual data associated with the event, and evaluate the consequences of their decisions.
The Characters:
Yahweh: Almighty God, Our Heavenly Father who along with his cohorts The Holy Spirit and Jesus are the organizers, creators and rulers of this universe we live in.
Moses: The former Hebrew prince of Egypt who led God’s people out of slavery from Egypt, brought them the commandments and ordinances of God to the Hebrew people directly from God on Mt Horeb, who spoke with God on a regular basis ‘as a friend’ (Exodus 33:11)
Aaron: The spiritual leader of the Hebrew people, one who led them into worship of Yahweh.
The Hebrew people: Descendents of Jacob, who lived in Egypt of over 400 years, who were forced into slavery by the Pharoah, were miraculously delivered by God through many manifestations of His power and personality, who have a tendency to grumble among themselves and to their leaders about the conditions of their existence.
Their Actions:
The Hebrew People: They grumbled about not having enough water, along with any grains or fruits and placed the blame on their leaders in a very rebellious manner.
Yahweh: He appeared to Moses and Aaron in the Wilderness Tabernacle and instructed them to assemble the people, take the staff that was a symbol of God’s power to and speak to a particular rock, commanding water to come forth from it.
Moses: Felling frustration in dealing with the grumbling rebellious people, Moses shouts to them, accuses them of rebellion against him and Yahweh, and instead of simply speaking to that particular rock and commanding it to bring forth water, he strikes the rock twice with the staff of God’s power and authority, thereby releasing a gushing stream of water, enough for the entire group as well as their livestock.
Contextual Data: Desert travelers understand the rain patterns of the desert, how water is channeled and often stored in wadis and cisterns, and to discern the strata of the geology where water is accessed. When the Hebrew people eariler grumbled about the lack of water (Exodus 17:1-7), God told Moses to take the rod and strike the rock once, which he did, and the water flowed out. This time God commanded him to simply hold the rod and speak to the rock. It was a test of Moses’ faith as well as that of the grumbling people.
The Consequences:
The Hebrew people: They relied on Moses to provide for them and turned against him, provoking him to strike the rock in a manner that would loosen accumulated water that naturally got trapped in the geological formation. They continued to place their faith in Moses to provide for them, never understanding the personal relationship that Yahweh desired to have with them. They continued to grumble against Moses and Yahweh, and spent the next decades wandering around the Negev Desert until they all died (except for Joshua and Caleb). They never entered the Promised Land.
Yahweh: He was disappointed in the Hebrew people and became angry at them for their disobedience and rebellion and decided that this generation of former slaves were not worthy to enter into the His planned future for them as property owners in an abundant land where fruits, vegetable, grain and water were plentiful. Yahweh was also disappointed with Moses, taking things into his own hands and not having the faith to allow God to provide for the Hebrew people. He decided that another leader would take the people into The Land.
Moses: Angered and frustrated with the Hebrew people, Moses ignored Yahweh’s instructions and rather than just speaking to the rock while he held on the to symbol of God’s power, he decided to take that staff and utilize his own power in securing the needed water for the people. He decided to ‘do it my way’, as our popular culture often dictates. Thus, Moses displayed a lack of faith in God, and utilized God’s symbol of authority as his own. As a result of these two grievous breaks in his relationship with Yahweh, he lost his privilege of leading the Hebrew people into The Land.
Later on when Moses was giving the final instructions to the Hebrew people before they crossed into the land, God made clear Moses’ consequences for his disbelief.
48 That same day the LORD said to Moses, 49 “Go to Moab, to the mountains east of the river, and climb Mount Nebo, which is across from Jericho. Look out across the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the people of Israel as their own special possession. 50 Then you will die there on the mountain. You will join your ancestors, just as Aaron, your brother, died on Mount Hor and joined his ancestors. 51 For both of you betrayed me with the Israelites at the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. You failed to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel there. 52 So you will see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.” Deuteronomy 32:48-52
Yahweh explained to Moses that the break in the relationship at Meribah was considered betrayal by Yahweh because they did not allow God to be the one who provided water to the Hebrews, thus diminishing God’s power and character to the people.
Having grown up in an Egyptian culture where there were many gods, Yahweh’s purpose to demonstrate that He was greater in His love and care for His people than all the so-called gods of this world was thwarted by Moses’ presumptuous actions.
Principle: We must be careful to never use God’s authority as our own to do things outside of His will for us.
Principle: God has many promises for us in this life and the next. To receive them all in abundance, obedience to His voice in what we do, what we say, where we go, and what we do with the resources He gives us is critical.
Mikaela leading Shriff with Laura and Lukas on our first camel trip, 1999
This lesson was echoed in the prophetic writings in the Hebrew as well as the Christian Scripture.
I heard an unknown voice say,
6 “Now I will take the load from your shoulders;
I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.
7 You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you;
I answered out of the thundercloud
and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Psalms 81:5-7
Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,
7 for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care.
If only you would listen to his voice today!
8 The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
9 For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw everything I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’” Psalms 95:6-11
The writer of Hebrews used this incident as an example to the followers of Jesus as to their acceptance of what Jesus had done on the cross and their obedience to His commands.
That is why the Holy Spirit says,
“Today when you hear his voice,
8 don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled,
when they tested me in the wilderness.
9 There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw my miracles for forty years.
10 So I was angry with them, and I said,
‘Their hearts always turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”
12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
15 Remember what it says:
“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled.”
16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? 19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest. Hebrews 3:7-19
The writer was addressing Jews who were followers of Jesus who continued to go to the Temple and offer sacrifices for their sins. He encouraged them to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross on Passover as the once and for all sacrifice for our sins. The didn’t need to do any more ‘works’ to receive the grace of God and be included in the Kingdom of God.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, *said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:28-30
The work of salvation was accomplished by Jesus once and for all.
In our modern Christian culture, some believe we must obey God’s rules so that He will favor us and grant us entrance into His Kingdom. It can become a continual struggle, working our way into Heaven. We don’t understand the full measure of God’s grace and continue to doubt our salvation. We have not entered into our ‘rest’ of assurance of being members of God’s intimate family.
Principle: God wants to assure those of us to whom He has given His Holy Spirit that we are members of His Family forever.
One of the most memorable places we stopped in the Wilderness of Zin was a waterfall.
Yes, it does rain in the Wilderness of Zin an average of 2 to 4 inches. The rainfall forms streams and over the years the streams carve out canyons or wadis. This particular wadi (riverbed), called the Wadi Isaron, has a 150 foot drop to a natural pool/cistern below.
We were at this same “waterfall” in September on our first camel trip, and there was water below in the pool. The second time was in March, at the end of the rainy season, and the cistern was dry. I asked our guide Shaiya why, and he gave me an explanation that has deep spiritual significance.
Shaiya told me that the annual evaporation rate in the desert is 4.5 meters or about 14 feet a year. That means that if you have a standing pool of water 14 feet deep, after a year of no rainfall, all the water will naturally evaporate and the pool will be empty. The Bedouins, the desert people of Israel, know this, and they annually would come to this pool, and clean it out, removing all the rocks and sand, which can naturally fill it, so that it’s depth would be at least 5 to 8 meters (16-25 feet deep). This way, when it did rain, and the river formed, and the waterfall suddenly came to life, water would fill the cistern, and there would be water all year in the pool.
The Bedouins could then count on having a secure place to come for water. This is a very important factor in desert life. The key is to keep the cistern clean. If you didn’t, the pool would become shallow due to sand and rock filling it, and even though the pool would be filled during the rainy season, water would quickly evaporate. After a few months, the pool would be dry.
Shaiya explained that a Bedouin family who lived to the east in Moab would cross into Israel each year and clean this pool, so that they would have a secure place of water in their yearly grazing and wanderings. Due to the political problems, and closed borders, this tribe had not come to the pool for the past few years, and the pool/cistern had filled with sand and rocks.
Even though there had been plenty of rain, there was no place to “catch and hold” the water.
As I thought about this, suddenly I realized a spiritual principle.
God has made me to be a “container”.
But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8 NAS
He wants to continually fill our container with His Holy Spirit.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, Eph 5:18
However, often my “container” often gets filled with other things.
What things?
Me and My Desires;
Things that the world system tells me I should be doing or desiring;
Distractions - Things I see on my computer or phone;
Emotions that have nothing to do with God;
Schedules filled with activities that have no spiritual significance.
Think about what things will naturally fill our containers. Simply turn on a television, or go to the internet, and watch how suddenly your “container” gets filled with “junk”. The result is that sometimes there is often little room for the Holy Spirit in our container.
Even when I do get a “filling” at church, or in a private worship or prayer time, or through a rich reading of the Word time, my cistern sometimes gets crowded with other stuff. It naturally evaporates over the next few days, and once again I find myself dry and thirsty, looking for refreshment.
The Bedouins knew that if they kept their cisterns clean, there would always be water there to refresh then, even during the driest times.
There is a lesson here for me, which I have meditated on ever since.
Keeping our cistern clean is a lifelong task. It’s like cutting grass on the lawn- you have to do it on a regular basis. When I haven’t, that’s when the wees begin appearing.
It’s essential that we Children of God keep our vessels clean, so that He may fill them up to overflowing. When that happens, then there is a lot of Spiritual Fruit in our lives, because we have an abundant amount of the Holy Spirit with us, even in those troubling, stressful moments. We won’t react according to our human nature to circumstances then, but continue to walk through life as God intends us to by loving Him, and those He places around us.
Paul gave an example of this principle of ‘keeping the vessel clean’ to his friends in Thessalonica when he wrote:
Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
The "vessel" Paul was referring is a "Loutrophorus". It was common for every unmarried woman to keep this two handled jug filled with water- for a special occasion: the nuptial bath before her wedding. The image is to keep the water in this special vessel clean and pure.
This was in regard to sexual issues, but the principle applies across the board with all our “issues”.
“Keep your vessel clean!” said Paul.
God wants to use you today to touch someone who is in need of His Love.
Are our cisterns fill of sand and rocks?
Do we have enough “water” to get us through even the driest times?
This has been a valuable visual lesson in the Wilderness of Zin that has followed me ever since!
Handy Links
Back to Biblical Places Spiritual Spaces
Ready for some delicious coffee? Check out our Rio Coco Beans!
Leave a comment
Please note, comments must be approved before they are published