Scars in Israel

by Jon M. Davis
I have this scar on the corner of my eye. I was young when I got it. I remember a rock just smaller than a baseball hurling toward me in slow motion. All I remember after that was lots of blood. I don’t even remember the name of the kid that threw the rock.

I received that scar because of something foolish that I was doing- throwing rocks.  It will forever serve as a reminder of what not to do. I am sure that many of you are like me and have some of those reminders, some physical, just like I do.

Today was our first day in Israel. About an hour after getting off of the plane, we hit the trail. We landed in a place called Gezer. Gezer is like the gateway into the Shephalah. This is a valley region between the coastal plains bordering eastern Israel at the Mediterranean Sea and the Judean Mountains to the west. Many events, especially battles, took place in this region throughout biblical times.

The significance of this region was its strategic position geographically along trade routes, natural resource deposits, etc. It was the gateway to the sea or the “Via Maris.” This area, the Shephelah, was and is where worldviews would collide. Most of the pagan worshippers from the southwest would attempt, and sometimes succeed, in attacking the Israelites here and moving into the northern part of Israel.

Because of this, there are numerous “scars” left behind. Some of which shouldn’t be there, but they are. Let me give you an example. In Deuteronomy 12:2-3, God gives very clear instructions to the Israelites to destroy all the high places of worship of the other gods of those people who opposed them. However, numerous accounts show us that this did not happen. The Israelites were disobedient and the scars of these places litter the hillside where we were today.

We stopped at place today that was a Canaanite worship place. No one knows the story of this place, but it is widely suspected that it was built for sacrifices. There it stood just yards away from where Solomon built cities and fortified the gateway to the sea. But, he did not destroy them as he was instructed. Because of actions like this, the kingdom of Israel began to slip away from God. (You can read more about this is Joshua16, 1 Kings 16 and numerous other places in the Old Testament).

There stood these massive stones almost mocking God. Dead and worthless, without value or story to tell, they pollute the holy land as a reminder of what disobedience looks like- it leaves scars.

Do you have scars in your life caused by your disobedience? Is there evidence of you not doing something you were supposed too, with the scars to prove it? Are there stones standing in the places that God gave you to conquer, yet you refused to do so?

Why do you let “dead stones” scar your life as constant reminders of a blessing that you missed? At Kingsland we want to set up markers and milestones to remind us of certain moments in our lives, but we must examine how many dead stones we leave behind and must knock down to rebuild what God has for us.