"Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down declares the Lord" (Obediah verse 4).
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Actually, the book of Obediah was written to the Edomites, not the Nabateans who literally carved the city of Petra out of the rocks. But there was a sense in which those who inhabited this area of southwest Jordon thought themselves invincible. After the Edomites were destroyed, the Nabateans moved in and built their civilization. By controlling the trade routes they became very wealthy and powerful, developing a civilization that would last nearly 400 years.
The drive to Petra was 3 1/2 hours. During that time we passed landscape similar to Nevada's; it was extremely barren. Jordan is not an oil-producing state and it gets very little rain. In terms of population, it is about equal to the size of Israel, a little better than 5,000,000. The primary sources of income are phosphate mining and tourism, though there is some agriculture. We saw some greenhouse/nursery operations and some chicken ranches.
What makes Jordan such an important state in the middle east is its leadership. The royal family is highly regarded because their leadership is stable and sound. Jordan is an important dynamic for stability in the region. Any foreign aid we send them is well deserved. Jordan is predominantly Sunni; they are less rigid and easier to get along with.
This day the temperature was in the high 30's and low 40's. As we hiked the 2 1/2 miles into Petra I was glad that I had packed a fairly warm jacket. The city of Petra is a necropolis, a city of the dead. Many of the dwellings carved out of the rock were actually tombs. After the Nabateans left, the Bedouin's used them for dwellings.
Petra was our only site that day. We were there for about 4 hours. By the time we returned to the hotel it was nearly 7 p.m..
The Nabateans had a secure income, secure water and a secure dwelling place, yet when a civilization does not walk in God's ways, it is not secure.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
1 comment:
Did you feel like Indiana Jones? Isn't that where he found the Holy Grail in the movie "The Last Crusade?" Hopefully you took along your leather jacket, hat, and whip just in case.
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