The area surrounding Ein Gedi, near the Dead Sea, is bleak. Desert scenes and HOT temps! It isn’t a place you’d go just for fun.

 

It really wasn’t fun when David was hiding from King Saul. The guy who whipped a rock at Goliath’s head was already a legend among the people. Saul couldn’t stand that, and so he did what power-hungry leaders do: he decided to eliminate the competition. David hid from the King’s henchmen for a long time, eventually settling south of Jerusalem, in a bleak place.

 

Sitting there looking up at the stars in the night sky, he wrote some of the most famous words of all time, words that comfort us to this day.

 

Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

 

Ein Gedi is an oasis in the desert. Cool water flows from the cliffs into deep pools, and green plants hang from the rocks. It was here that David first understood just how far God’s mercy and grace go. It was here he felt the presence of the Lord in a powerful way. He fed David there, in the wilderness, even as the King’s men hunted him all around.

 

God treats us the same way. He loves us through the terror, and provides for us in our own times of hardship.

 

Let’s pray.

 

Lord, your mercies follow us everywhere. We thank you for your provision, all the time. In Jesus’ name. Amen.