Look at all that Water!

February 6, 2020

by: Janet Aslin

Thursday, 6 February 2020 | Last week I spent four days on the Golan Heights, taking part in an organized prayer tour. Our Israeli guide was experienced, knowledgeable and obviously loved the opportunity to introduce us to the rich history of his country. He was also very enthusiastic about the recent rainfall and rarely missed an opportunity to point out “all that water.”

On the first day, I happily looked to the right or to the left at whatever body of water he was pointing out. Sometimes it was a small stream rushing alongside the bus, other times it would be a shallow pool of gigantic proportions in the field that we were passing. We saw waterfalls and reservoirs that were full to the brim. The second day was more of the same—we’d get some history of the Druze village we were passing through and then the familiar call in a voice filled with wonder, “Look to the right. See all that water!”

I’m sorry to admit that on the third day I found myself thinking, “Enough already! I have looked at so much water. I really want to know the name of that community I see in the distance and not have my attention drawn to another stream running at full strength.” Just as quickly as the thought came, I felt remorse. As visitors to the Land, those of us on the tour bus could not begin to understand the joy that our Israeli guide felt when he saw “all that water” after years of drought. He could not contain it.

As one who loves Israel and the Word of God, I am familiar with passages such as: “For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year” (Deut. 11:10–12). Rainfall reminds the Jewish people of God’s care for them and for the Land He has given them as an inheritance.

We did not pass the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee); we just saw it from the Golan Heights. I understand from our Israeli guide that when the snow on Mt. Hermon melts and flows into the Kinneret, it may reach its full capacity for the first time in decades. And, after years of pumping water that had begun to deplete the aquifers, they are now being replenished and those involved in agriculture on the Golan can breathe a sigh of relief. May this be the return to many years of plentiful rainfall during Israel’s winter, rainy season!

Posted on February 6, 2020

Source: (Bridges for Peace, February 6, 2020)

Photo Credit: wowtravelblogs.com/YouTube/screenshot