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DESCENT INTO DARKNESS
by Barri Cae Mallin
Shalom. My name is Barri Cae. I was raised in a Jewish home and was saved in 1980
in my cousin's Jewish delicatessen. To God be all the glory. Shalom.
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If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He
who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, "From his inmost being shall
flow rivers of living water." - John 7:37-38 |
Water is a precious commodity to
Israel. Hezekiah recognized this in approximately 700 BC when he constructed
an underground tunnel to bring water into Jerusalem.
As for the other events of
Hezekiah's reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the
tunnel by which he brought water into the city. . . . - 2
Kings 20:20
It was Hezekiah who blocked
the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the
west side of the City of David.
- 2 Chron. 32:30 - |
On my last trip to Israel, our group took the opportunity to walk through this
amazing tunnel. This experience was one of the most memorable experiences of
the tour, and recently the LORD brought this back to my memory.
We descended down a few steps and entered a dark cave. Some had flashlights,
but they were of little use. The entire journey occurred in darkness. The
tunnel was just large enough for us to walk through; the tunnel was within
inches of my head and on either side of my body. We felt our way along the
path in total darkness. After about five minutes, I was tired of this journey.
The footing was slippery and rocky. Water depth varied from inches to feet, I
could feel the water level at my knees at times. How long had that water been
there and how clean was it? The smell was as you would expect - stinky and
rank. It was dark, dark, pitch black. If one used a flashlight, it was only to
see more tunnel, and only good for a few steps ahead. We knew that the
destination would take perhaps a half-hour, but I lost all sense of time. All
I knew was to keep walking forward, very carefully, feeling the sides of the
tunnel as I walked. I knew eventually we would reach the destination.
Some people sang; others chatted; then silence. We kept walking. It seems as
though those in front of us got way ahead of us. At times, those behind us
lagged way far away. I had to work at not being fearful. I had to dispel any
thoughts from my mind that I would not make it. I had to not think about what
was lurking in the stagnant water. I had to trust God.
Sometimes God leads us into a dark place. We know that He had led us to this
difficult place, and there is nothing that we can do but trust Him. It is
unsettling to us. It is dark. We must surrender all our 'control' to Him, as
there is absolutely no one else who can bring us through. Will we make it?
Will we cave in? Will the darkness consume us?
We kept walking. And walking. I wish I could illustrate how difficult this
journey was for me. I did not like it. It was uncomfortable. I slipped a lot.
At times, I grabbed onto the person in front of me for support. I quoted Bible
verses in my head. There was silence at times. We were all in the same place,
progressing in the darkness, one step at a time. Yet, after perhaps thirty or
forty minutes of this, do you know where we ended up? At the Pool of Siloam.
The man born blind went and washed there, per Yeshua Jesus' instructions, and
he was healed (John 9:1-12).
During the last day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, water was drawn from
Siloam. Yeshua Jesus referred to this in John 7:37-38 when He said ,
If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who
believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, "From his inmost being shall flow
rivers of living water."
Siloam, the place of miracles and blessing.
Are you in a dark place? Has God led you to a place where all you can do is
trust Him? Are you in a place where all of your controls have been pulled
away, and all you can do is go forward, standing on the Rock, progressing one
step at a time? Keep walking and Rejoice. He will bring you to His pool of
Siloam, His place of miracles and blessings.
Copyright © Barri Cae Mallin.
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This article may be read in its original form at www.barricae.com,
Other devotionals by Barri Cae may be found
at www.barricae.com
and www.injesus.com. To receive them by email,
inquire at
barricae@comcast.net.
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