Descend into darkness
Written By:Dr. Jeffrey Seif
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:
2 Kings 20:20 “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 Chron. 32:30 “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.”
On a past 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 at 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. 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‘s instructions, and he was healed (Yəhôḥānān 9:1-12). During the last day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, water was drawn from Siloam. Yeshua referred to this in Yəhôḥānān (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.
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Hello Dr. Seif, I was a student at CFNI. Your classes were my favorite. I’m the one who loaned you the bulletin board about Israel 🇮🇱 in 1994… I am happy that I was in your classes. Bea (Nelson) Ashford
I love this. I pictured this graphically in my mind as if I were there. This is a great parallel of where we are today. Cling to the Rock that is greater than I. Blessings!