The land is most intriguing. The language of the Bible makes the land its own poetry. It is the land, I feel, that shaped the thought and faith of the people whose lives criss-cross scripture’s pages. The Bible captures the pregnancy of the land; the land that is fought over, has always been fought over.
The land is the victor playing games with the races and nations of peoples who would subdue it, always subduing their will. The stones defy the flesh and blood that seek to possess it, and in time, become the gravestones for the bones. The land has survived them all; buried them all.
Is it the blood spilt on the land or the deep affection for the land that makes the land Holy? i recall the Old Testament claim for a right to the land was a moral one. Israel would only live in the land if she obeyed the Law and worshipped the One Lord. When choosing the worship of false gods, when serving injustice, when indulging in immorality, Israel was thrown our of the land. The Land is Holy and Intolerant.