Arab Adventures

Here are some of the sites we got to visit in our first few days in Jordan. Since half of my squad was staying at the same hostel for only a few days before we split up again, we decided to take advantage of group prices and book a tour to see some of the Biblical sites in Jordan. 

Mt. Nebo

This is the place where Moses looked over the Promised Land. At the top there is a replica of the staff with a bronze serpent over it that represents the one that Moses made in Numbers 21:4-9. In this Bible story, the Israelites started grumbling and complaining again and the Lord judged the people with fiery serpents that bit the people and some of them died. The people repent from their grumbling, questioning of leadership, and distrust of the Lord and the Lord is merciful and provides a way for them to be saved. 

“And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “ Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” (Numbers 21:7-9)

Moses made a staff with a snake and the people only had to look up to the snake to be saved from their infirmities. This was a representation of what Jesus would later do on the cross to save us forever from our infirmities and sin. The Lord is Holy and Just and there are consequences for sin, but in his mercy and love he doesn’t let us stay in our sin, but wants to walk free and provides a way for us to be saved. The Gospel of John also mentions this story and compares it to the way Jesus saves us. 

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”. (John 3:14-17)

• The Israelites looked up to the snake on the pole for healing from their wounds

• We look up to a Savior on a cross for healing by His wounds

• The Israelites looked up to the snake on the pole to be saved from death

• We look up to a Savior on a cross to be saved from our sin by His death (and resurrection). 

This was a really special opportunity to look out over this point and see for myself the area and be reminded of the way that the Lord provided for us so that we can have eternal life. 

Bethany/ Jordan River

After Mt. Nebo, we went on to Bethany to see the supposed Baptism site of Jesus and the Jordan River. It was interesting to see the Jordan River as I had always pictured it in my head as very blue and with no trees around it. 

The Baptism of Jesus takes place in Matthew 3:13-17.

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened up to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

Bethany was also special for me because it was the location of one of my favorite stories in the Bible. The story of Jesus being anointed by Mary takes place in Matthew 26:6-13 and in Luke 7:36-50. 

Matthew 26:6-13 “Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Mary poured out extravagantly all that she had at the feet of Jesus. I want to live in the same way. 

Dead Sea

To conclude this day, we ended with heading to the Dead Sea. I was excited to see it and float. It was a cloudy day and not very warm, so as we were driving I was preparing myself for it to be similar to a cold mountain lake in the summertime in Northern California or the Pacific Ocean on the West Coast. When we got there we started heading down to the water and I stuck my feet in. Surprisingly, it was quite warm; much warmer than I had imagined it to be. The rocks near the shore were coated with salt so it was sharp on our feet, but I started walking out farther and farther until I leaned back and floated… It was so amazing to actually float for myself in the Dead Sea. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we were there to see a stunning sunset. 

After about a week in Jordan, we headed to the desert of Wadi Rum for a mini-debrief over Christmas. We celebrated the Birth of our Savior and the Hope that He brought to the world in the middle of the desert of Wadi Rum. We slept in tents, had lots of cups of Bedouin tea, had a candlelight Christmas Eve service and got to stargaze. Our first night there, the Bedouin men shared some of their traditional music with us. At the end, they invited us to share some of our music with them. They had seen some of my squadmates’ instruments as we were coming in and my squadmates John and Bradon grabbed their guitar and drum and we started to sing “King of My Heart” and “I’ll Raise a Hallelujah”. After we worshiped and shared these songs with them, they told us that these songs touched them and that they felt something from them. We were able to explain the songs further and invited them to our candlelit Christmas Eve service too. We also changed teams during this debrief to my current team, Abundance! 

We ended our debrief time together by stopping by Petra before heading back to Amman to start our ministry with some of our hosts for the month. It was amazing to see some of these Biblical places where Jesus walked and lived. 

One of the verses that was spoken over my squad from the beginning is 2 Corinthians 2: 14-17 (TPT). We are praying that this is true of us wherever we go. Wherever we go, whether we are going on an adventure or if we are pursuing ministry our aim is always to live in a way to reflect Jesus to everyone we are around. 

“God always makes his grace visible in Christ, who includes us as partners of his endless triumph. Through our yielded lives he spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere we go. We have become the unmistakable aroma of the victory of the Anointed One to God— a perfume of life to those being saved and the odor of death to those who are perishing. The unbelievers smell a deadly stench that leads to death, but believers smell the life-giving aroma that leads to abundant life. And who of us can rise to this challenge? For unlike so many, we are not peddlers of God’s Word who water down the message. We are those sent from God with pure motives, who speak in the sight of God from our union with Christ.” 

Thanks for reading!

-Elizabeth