DEVOTIONAL – TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2012
Holy Land Devotional
by Steve Herman, Richwood, UMC
One of the most stunning sights in Jordan is the city of Petra. It was the home of a civilization known as the Nabateans. They became very rich as traders and built their city within natural defenses along the trade routes. Their architecture was influenced by the surrounding cultures with which they traded, including Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek. Their civilization flourished at the time of Christ, but there is no evidence of Christianity ever being adopted by the Nabateans. Eventually they, like others, were conquered by the Romans. Today the main remains of the culture are the many magnificent facades they carved into the walls of the cliffs. The most famous façade pictured here and in the Indiana Jones movie is called the Treasury, because of its opulent appearance. But in reality it is like the other facades, an empty tomb. How ironic, a wealthy culture that built great monuments to their dead, so close to the kingdom of Christ, but untouched by it. Less than 100 miles away lies another empty tomb, carved in much more simplicity, that changed the world forever. During Lent, the Nabateans cause me to examine what I am building with my wealth, and what I will leave behind.
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