As I said last time, at this time of year it feels like a long wilderness! Probably more especially this year, with the cost of heating so high and it feels much colder in our homes. So I’ve been thinking about bible characters who experienced wilderness seasons in order to learn from them. Last time we looked at Joseph, today will be David and then next week Elijah and finishing with Jesus.

David was the most famous, and probably the best, King, Israel had. But his journey to the throne was not a straight-forward one. He is anointed king at the age of seventeen, but actually only ascends to the throne at thirty. So he had thirteen years of waiting. Some of that time he was in complete obscurity, then he was in King Saul’s palace and his last season before ascending to the throne. He lived as an exile in the wilderness for years. Pursued by the king he had never wronged. 

It’s in this wilderness that David learns how to lead. He has about four hundred men with him for whom he becomes responsible. He spends time in the wilderness of Ziph, which was a mountainous desert region. It’s thought to be here that David wrote Psalm 63. He is physically suffering as a result of the desert around him, but instead of complaining, he turns his mind to God and talks of his longing for him. Verse 1 says: 

You, God, are my God,

earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,

    my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

    where there is no water.

He knows he is going to be the next king of Israel, but he has to wait. He has to learn what it means to trust God, not just for himself, but for the men he leads. 

In the wilderness, we find David experiencing a time of testing. He is given more than one opportunity to kill Saul, but each time, even though he is tempted to by his followers, he restrains himself to wait for God’s timing.

One time, he is pursued by Saul and his army around a mountain, the situation looks dire. Then Saul is suddenly called away to fight a real battle. It’s here that David takes his men to a place called En Gedi. 

This would have felt like a paradise in comparison to the desert he’s been in. En Gedi was and still is an oasis in the desert, a place of waterfalls, springs and palm trees. After a time of being pursued and longing for water, this must have felt like the garden of Eden. 

Can you imagine how it would have felt for David and his men to be hot, exhausted and constantly pursued? To be looking for refuge, for food, and water. Then to come upon En Gedi. Can you imagine their joy as they leapt into the freshwater pools and stood under the waterfalls? Washing away the sweat and dust of the desert. 

This story is an encouragement for us. We can be in a battle, or a dry season, and even in the midst of that, God is our En Gedi. He is our place of refreshment. We can rest in Him. Enjoy him, drink in the peace of His spirit and find nourishment from His word. 

David went on to have more seasons of wilderness and struggle, but he had a place of ultimate rest, and En Gedi was a symbol of that rest and restoration. 

David is called a man after God’s own heart, and this is because he spent time pursuing God’s heart, learning what was important to Him. We can daily come to God and find our En Gedi moments as we spend time with him. He is our oasis and place of rest. 

So no matter where you are today or how you’re feeling, find time to get to En Gedi and enjoy the refreshing of God’s waterfall of grace and love.