Month: November 2017

Since it was founded, Israel always held a position of a world leader in modern irrigation.

Theodor Herzl who was the “Visionary of the state” of Israel, wrote in his book: Altneuland (Old-new land) about his vision of using the water from the Jordan river to irrigate the desert.

This idea was implemented in the Israeli National Water Carrier project many years later. The National water carrier is a national project of taking water from the Sea of Galilee and use the water in the desert of the Negev. This project was one of the factors that led to the six days war.

Simcha Blass, An Israeli engineer, was the one that invented the plastic drip irrigation. Today it is used all over the world, and not so many know that it was invented in Israel.

For many years, Israel is an exporter of leading irrigation systems that include drip irrigation, sprinklers, water filters, pipes and many more.

in the last decade, Israel became also the world leader in seawater desalination.

There are 5 different desalination facilities in the Mediterranean shore of Israel and one in the Red Sea shore. As for today, 75% of the drinking water in the taps come from desalinated water.

From a country that was always in shortage of natural water resources, it now exports water to its neighbours countries and help them build desalination facilities.

Why Israel from all countries?

I want to suggest two reasons to this question and they are both from the Bible:

‘A land for which the Lord your God cares’

First reason: The Blessing:

For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; ¹¹ but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, ¹² a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.

¹³ ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹⁴ then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. ¹⁵ And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ ¹⁶ “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, ¹⁷ lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. (Deuteronomy 11:10-17)

When the sons of Israel are about to enter the land of Canaan, The Lord tells them that this country is different than the county from which they came.

It is completely dependent on the grace of the Lord and His eyes are always on it.

Rain and water is the most important resource in this land and they will need to rely completely on the Lord in order to be sufficient with water.

The blessing of the water in Israel, which is not a country rich with rain, is the blessing of The Lord.

I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
(Genesis 12:2)

‘Rivers in the Desert’

Second reason: The Prophecies:

There will be on every high mountain
And on every high hill
Rivers and streams of waters (Isaiah 30:25)

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose (Isaiah 35:1)

For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
⁷ The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water; (Isaiah 15:6-7)

“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
¹⁸ I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
¹⁹ I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
²⁰ That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isaiah 41:17-20)

I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19)

He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
And dry land into watersprings. (Psalms 107:35)

So many prophecies about water in the desert!

 

 

…and the days are coming, says the Lord