Death in the Desert
The cords of death encompassed me, and the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. Psalm 18:4 NASB
Torrents – Escape! Escape to the waste places! Run for your life away from the wicked and their overpowering influence. How else will you survive? How can you resist the constant barrage of cultural deviations from the way of the Torah? The desert fathers were right: this system of the world is so evil, so destructive, so deceptive that a man can live for God alone only if he flees. Isn’t that what David realized? Weren’t those peaceful nights under the stars simply reminders of the wonder of YHVH, the majesty of His presence? Weren’t those days in the desert heat nothing more than the warmth of God’s love, the care for His creation? Why stay in the turmoil? Go to the empty places where God is real.
We expect to find the goodness of God in the land where no man can live without Him—in the desert below Jerusalem, the place of His covering. But we often find something else—something unexpected but frighteningly real. We often find nahal.
The Hebrew word has two root meanings. One is a wadi, dry river bed in the desert that becomes a torrent in the rainy season. The other is a palm tree (perhaps, since the meaning of the term in Numbers 24:6 is debated). When the sky is crying, death rushes through desert ravines. If we are not prepared for the change in weather, we will be caught in the grip of the storm. Escape from the clinging damp that attacks the soul in places where God is dishonored does not mean running to Paradise. Even far from the maddening crowd we are subject to the surprise of deadly forces. In truth, there is nowhere on earth that offers perfect peace apart from the presence of the Lord. We must rely on God’s protection, not our own constructions.
Have you longed from those empty places as retreat from the pressures of the world? Have you touched the realm of the divine in the places where men cannot survive without His care? Do you desire a permanent vacation from temptation? David’s psalm reminds us that even in the wilderness, where God sovereignty is on display, there is still danger. There is the danger of entering the wadi, just to find a bit of relief from the heat of His gaze. But the shadow of the wadi is the place of the torrent when the tears of heaven descend on our psychic landscape. When we seek relief from the light, even in the place where God resides, we are apt to be caught in the sweep of an emotion we didn’t expect, a torrent of consciousness that overwhelms. Better exposure to the sun than false security in the shade.
Topical Index: wadi, nahal, escape, shelter, Psalm 18:4
Is the storm without, or is it within? A house divided cannot stand. A sandy foundation is gonna wash. A soul that is attempting to serve itself is essentially fractured from itself. A soul that is submitted to its Maker is at peace with itself.
We are a chip on our own current until we are rebuilt – excuse me – regenerated (that’s a better term when we are talking about “lively” – living – stones, anyway) on the Rock of our salvation. What is the cement that anneals us – makes us ONE – with that Rock, where no storm can tear this House – excuse me – this Body apart? Um, that would be obedience. Obedience secures me to that offered salvation. Obedience is what keeps me one with Him. In that secret place, the storms are all outside.
“… we are apt to be caught in the sweep of an emotion we didn’t expect, a torrent of consciousness that overwhelms. Better exposure to the sun than false security in the shade.”
Better to be caught in a torrent of consciousness in YHWH, of awareness of our shortcomings, than being an ostrich hiding and ignorant, avoiding confrontation.
What shall we do with the poor ostrich?
I have no deserts to escape to where I live. However, I have cravings often to go sit alone in the woods for extended periods of time. There is such energy of life in the quiet of a thick woods setting. It is expertly equipped to strip life down to simple points. Earth, wind (sky) and fire (sun) and critters. Exhilarating, it can be. (Channelling Yoda in this time of new Star Wars times).