Road to Gaza (part 3)

April 27th, 2007 by admin

I can’t help wonder what was going on in this Ethiopian eunuchs mind when he traveled all this way to Jerusalem to present his offering and his pilgrimage ended with a sign that said, “NO EUNUCHS!” Well, there may not have been a sign but the fact of the matter is, Jewish law excluded him from the assembly of the Lord. So after a long journey of seeing the Temple but not being allowed into it, he makes his way home back to Ethiopia. Was he sad? Mad? What was going on in his head? “So close and yet so far.” “How can I ever get into the assembly of the Lord as a man emasculated?” “What kind of loving God would make such a rule?” “My place will always be outside the temple assembly.” “What good is all of this?”

So he heads home on a long journey with scrolls in hand and reads out loud the Prophet Isaiah.

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

-Isaiah 53

peace.

johno~

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  • nir alon

    johno, thanks for the referral and your kind words!

    the desert road south to gaza … it’s been bugging me the last few days. read a little, looked at maps and this is my conclusion:

    from old city jerusalem, the temple mount, through jaffa gate (in arabic “bab el-khalil” – the gate of the friend – the gate to hebron) south to bethlehem – 7.5km.
    bethlehem south to hebron, today road 60 inside palestinian authority territory, through the hills of judea, 34km.
    hebron south to beer- sheeba, road 60, 56 km.
    south all the way until now.
    beer-sheeba to gaza, north-west, road 25, 43km.
    total 140km, desert road all the way.

    this route would also make sense in regard to places to stop for food and water on the way in ancient times. also, traveling in a chariot would require use of good roads as opposed to just cutting through the wilderness.

    possibly from hebron south on road 60 to shoket- junction, then west to gaza on road 31, bypassing beer-sheeba from the north, saving about 5 km but skipping a rest stop.

    does this have any importance in your journey on the road to gaza? probably not. but i’m at the “huh?” stage and this technical aspect is something much easier for me to relate to. but, if ever you decide to literally/physically travel this road (and i’d love to do it with you!), it’s better to narrow down the options of which road it really was.

    nir
    jerusalem

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