Psalm 29:8

Psalm 29:8  

The desert places

     The desert lands south and west of the Dead Sea have a number of different names in the Bible. The northern land, bordering the Mediterranean and covering a wide area between Goshen in Egypt and Canaan, is called the Wilderness of Shur. The southern desert is Sinai. In the middle, moving from west to east, is the Wilderness of Paran, part of the much larger Wilderness of Zin which was within the Negev Desert. (Negeb in the Scriptures). In the middle of these wastelands was an oasis settlement called Kadesh Barnea. Kadesh means “holy” and it is probable that the Israelites encamped at this oasis for much of the 40 years of their desert wanderings. Barnea means “desert of wandering” so Kadesh Barnea was the “Holy Place in the desert of wandering.” Long before the Israelites settled at Kadesh, Abraham had lived in this area following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 20:1), and the LORD appeared to Hagar, Abraham’s slave-girl, at a well “between Kadesh and Bered” (Genesis 16:14). After the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, Kadesh was at the south east border of the land of Judah (see Joshua 15:3) and was probably fortified at this time to protect Judah’s boundary.

From Kadesh, Moses sent the 12 spies to check out Canaan. In Num 20:1 we read that nearly forty years after leaving Egypt, Moses’ sister Miriam died and was buried at Kadesh Barnea in the Desert of Zin. In Num 20:2-13 the Israelites became desperately short of water. Moses struck the rock twice with Aaron’s stick and water gushed out. The spring at Kadesh is called Meribah (meaning ‘complaining’) because the people of Israel complained against the Lord (see also Numbers 27:14).

Why are we having a geography and history lesson? Simply because the place names in the Bible are not random. David knew the history of Kadesh and of all the places in the desert, this town had the most significance to Israel. It was here that God shook the nation on more than one occasion, but it was here that He also cared for His people. If the voice of the Lord meant anything during Israel’s past, it was at places like Kadesh where the people had lived, loved, suffered, made decisions, endured and been protected. In this remote, sparse land God had still been their God and their deliverer. The voice of the Lord shakes even the desert places in our life journey. Hallelujah!

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