Mount Nebo was where Moses, the heroic leader who led the Israelites out of slavery and Egypt died, before entering the promised land. He did get to see it though from the top of the mountain. We will shortly be at the same spot he was.
In advising governments especially emerging countries trying to uplift their people, I have recounted the story of 40 years of wandering in the desert. That's more than a generation worth of humanity and it is what it takes to help purge a defeatist mentality that has become ingrained in a people who have been enslaved for centuries before.
Some books of the bible can read like a Tom Clancy novel. Consider this plot:
Moses led the Israelites to Mount Sinai, where he was given the Ten Commandments from God, written on stone tablets. However, since Moses remained a long time on the mountain, some of the people feared that he might be dead, so they made a statue of a golden calf and worshipped it, thus disobeying and angering God and Moses. Moses, out of anger, broke the tablets, and later ordered the elimination of those who had worshiped the golden statue, which was melted down and fed to the idolaters.
He also wrote the ten commandments on a new set of tablets. Later at Mount Sinai, Moses and the elders entered into a covenant, by which Israel would become the people of YHWH, obeying his laws, and YHWH would be their god. Moses delivered the laws of God to Israel, instituted the priesthood under the sons of Moses' brother Aaron, and destroyed those Israelites who fell away from his worship. In his final act at Sinai, God gave Moses instructions for the Tabernacle, the mobile shrine by which he would travel with Israel to the Promised Land.
From Sinai, Moses led the Israelites to the Desert of Paran on the border of Canaan. From there he sent twelve spies into the land. The spies returned with samples of the land's fertility, but warned that its inhabitants were giants. The people were afraid and wanted to return to Egypt, and some rebelled against Moses and against God. Moses told the Israelites that they were not worthy to inherit the land, and would wander the wilderness for forty years until the generation who had refused to enter Canaan had died, so that it would be their children who would possess the land. Later on, Korah was punished for leading a revolt against Moses.
When the forty years had passed, Moses led the Israelites east around the Dead Sea to the territories of Edom and Moab. There they escaped the temptation of idolatry, conquered the lands of Og and Sihon in Transjordan, received God's blessing through Balaam the prophet, and massacred the Midianites, who by the end of the Exodus journey had become the enemies of the Israelites due to their notorious role in enticing the Israelites to sin against God. Moses was twice given notice that he would die before entry to the Promised Land: in Numbers 27:13, once he had seen the Promised Land from a viewpoint on Mount Abarim, and again in Numbers 31:1 once battle with the Midianites had been won.
On the banks of the Jordan River, in sight of the land, Moses assembled the tribes. After recalling their wanderings he delivered God's laws by which they must live in the land, sang a song of praise and pronounced a blessing on the people, and passed his authority to Joshua, under whom they would possess the land. Moses then went up Mount Nebo, looked over the Promised Land spread out before him, and died, at the age of one hundred and twenty.
At this juncture, it is worth highlighting that M told me last night, speaking as an experienced blogger herself, that I cannot cut and paste from Wikipedia. In my defense, I am using it to add factual historicity to the opinions I express in these writings. So, in a way, yes I am justifying plagiarising 🙃.
Well, we are also plagiarising Moses' journey too. Like him and his flock, we are travelling from the south to the north through Paran desert (complete with the odd camel on the road through the former territories of Edom and Moab, now aptly renamed Wadi Musa or Moses Canyon) to the Eastern banks of the Dead Sea and will also be atop Mount Nebo. It took him 40 years to get here on foot and we will do it in 4 hours, in a Kia Cerato chauffeured by Waseem ("the best driver in Jordan", according to one of his many "cousins" everywhere).
The Dead Sea is receding at a swift rate; its surface area today is 605 km2 (234 sq mi), having been 1,050 km2 (410 sq mi) in 1930. The recession of the Dead Sea has begun causing problems and multiple canal and pipeline proposals, such as the scrapped Red Sea–Dead Sea Water Conveyance project, have been made to reduce its recession. We were glad to be here, partake of its mud therapy and float in its waters, one of the saltiness in the world. By we, I meant me coz D found it too much trouble to change our of her jeans just for a salty dip and muddy scrub plus her back acted up. So, I did.
And it's an experience I would recommend to everyone, NOT. First, saltwater got into my eyes three times and had to be washed off by the thankfully ever ready Ramada staff. Then water got into my mouth and it sure was like eating a large spoonful of salt. And then to top it all, I entered the waters with my glasses and handphone thinking that I will get some nice shots in situ. Well, the wave washed over me and I lost my glasses and wet the phone. Oh yes,did I fail to mention that the Dead Sea (though just a lake) actually had waves! It felt like I voluntarily put myself through the plagues.
All said, the water and mud is supposed to have therapeutic properties. I had some scratch wounds (from itchy dry skin) which stung a bit but now feels so much better. And my skin fresh off the mud bath does feel baby smooth. So, would I do it again... well, I just might but with a lot more care next time.
From the Dead Sea, we went to Mount Nebo and here we saw what Moses apparently saw: the expanse of the Promised Land ahead of him. I can only imagine how he felt to have come so close and yet not finish it. On the other hand, these men and women of faith, its often about the journey rather than the destination and what a journey of courage, heroism, struggle and faith that Moses had.
And so it is with our journey this time that I draw many lessons, especially from the failure of public service, responsible child raising and from the fortitude of my pain bearing better half.
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