The Wonder That is Egypt

The moment I set foot on the ground of Cairo, Egypt, I thought, “What a beautiful and glamorous place.” Then, upon further inspection, I realized that what I was looking at was actually quite ugly, but I still felt the same way about it. Looking out, I saw buildings that were mostly blockish, concrete slabs, and I thought to myself, “They look more like foundations of a city than an actual city.” In a way, I suppose, they are. When I look out on Cairo, I see the foundations of what once was; the beauty, power, and creativity that was ancient Egypt. I now, more than ever, wish to see Luxor as well, to fully experience this phenomenon.

In the Egyptian Museum I did get to see the extremely famous burial mask, as well as the entire collection, of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, but I was equally excited about so many other artifacts that I had the privilege of seeing: The collection of King Khufu, creator of the Pyramids, the face of Hatshepsut, the woman Pharaoh, the bust of Akhenaten, as well as various artwork of him and his wife, Nefertiti, and the huge statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep III with his wife, Tye. I saw many other things as well as these that excited me greatly. It honestly doesn’t even feel real when I was looking at these things.

We had the incredible opportunity to ride camels on the site of the Pyramids of Giza, and while the laughter and the joy of my team delighted me, my favorite moment was when Alannah and I were ahead a bit, and there was silence. We were coming around a dune, and the pyramids were once again coming into our sight. That was when I was able to see the Pyramids as they once were; gleaming white, capped with gold, proclaiming the power of Egypt.

The Cave Church is literally the largest Christian church in the Middle East, with an incredible history behind it, and it is really unique and beautiful, but I had never heard of it in my life. Built overlooking Garbage City, where people live in more trash than I had ever seen in one place before, sorting through it to recycle, for a living, there stands this incredible tribute the Lord, serving as a meeting place for any who wish to enter. These very people, living in this city, were the ones who decided, at some point, to start carving the story of Jesus into the rock., until it became an entire sanctuary, where up to 70,000 people have met at once, for a night of unified prayer. The significance of the location and the motivation to do it there is a whole story in and of itself, which I won’t write about here, but I encourage you to read about. Upon entering it, I could feel the spiritual atmosphere, and the love that this place represents.

We were inductively studying the book of Exodus while in Cairo, and I saw love in it where I had never seen it before, as well as a deeper understanding of the Bible as a whole, and the story that it tells; of God setting apart a nation for himself, that all the world may be saved through it—a story of a God who always intended to dwell with man, with a love so ferocious that he was willing to abandon all else for it. I now have a better understanding of the reality and the events of the Exodus, the man Moses, the Israelites, as a people, the meeting at Mount Sinai, and the significance of the Tabernacle, as well as what it stands for and reflects.

While there was so much—an entire week full—of content and revelation that I found in Exodus, one thing that did really stand out to me was the concept of the Tabernacle, a sort of makeshift Temple, created so that the Lord would have a place in which to dwell among his people. The concept of Temples, in general really, and how it applies to the New Testament and to who we are now, no longer in need of a physical Temple, but creating one within ourselves. Following the Lord is about being a part of his plan to love the world. Walking in faith and obedience, as one created in the likeness of God, I daily prepare a place in which Heaven and Earth meet. The physical world is a means by which he speaks to us, reflecting what is the spiritual realm. As brief as they may have been, I have seen directly into the spiritual on several occasions, but I need to learn to see the union of physicality and spirituality, in its honest simplicity. He will choose to reveal more whenever he pleases, but it will be intentional, and for specific purpose.

From Cairo, we drove, through the desert, to Sharm El Sheik, reading through the rest of the Pentateuch on the way, and looking out at the beautiful but harsh wilderness, it gave these books so much more context, to me, and it really brought them to life. I tried to imagine a crowd of something like two million people walking through this terrain, under the unrelenting sun, kicking up clouds of dust, led by a single man, mediating between them and their God—a man driven by so much purpose, so much devotion, and so much love.

Now my school is in Sharm El Sheik, staying in a resort on the beach of the Red Sea (Yes, it is also quite something to imagine as it relates to the Exodus) which I have parasailed over, swam in, snorkeled in, and been thrown into. It is so lovely here, and has been so refreshing, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Tomorrow we set out for Sinai, and then Israel will be our next destination. I will try to write again as soon as I can, but I am extremely limited in both time and wifi access. Stay tuned though, as I will try my best!

Thanks for reading!

-- Emily

#travel #spiritual #word #bible