The Investment Report : Cowboys in Israel, who knew?

I recently took a grad study trip to the Negev Desert, you know, that big tan colored triangle that is basically the lower half of the country of Israel and frequently mentioned in Scripture, 110 times actually. You’ll recall the Children of Israel spent a lot of time (40 years) wandering this area of the country. Part of the trip revolved around the vision that David Ben-Gurion had for the future of the people of Israel in the Negev. David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel had a dream that 5 million Israeli citizens would someday be living and flourishing in the desert.

The story we heard from our guide is that at 67, the prime minister was traveling through the desert when he saw tents pitched near the road. There must have been something about ‘these’ tents that made him take notice and he had his driver/body guard pull over so he could investigate.

What he found, was a group of 13 Texans who’d come to fight in the War of Independence and decided to stay and raise cattle and horses. The then Prime Minister was so impressed he asked to join them, and by a slim margin was accepted (by vote) the following year by the Kibbutz Sde Boker, or the “Cowboy Field” when it became an official entity. Ben-Gurion spent much of his time at the Kibbutz during his remaining years as prime minister and retired to live, write, and work there until his death in 1973.

Even in death he could not bear to leave this beautiful place, and while nearly all former prime ministers are buried on Mt Hertzel in the National Cemetery in Jerusalem, David and Paula his wife are buried overlooking one of the most spectacular vistas I have ever seen, with modest grave stones, marking only their names, birth, death and date of Aliyah.

Just south of the Kibbutz is Ben-Gurion village an academic and residential village and the University that bears his name where world class research is done focusing on ecology and reclaiming the desert. With plenty of room for growth (at this point about 8% of the 8.2 million population of Israel lives in the Negev) whole towns are popping up around specific industries like I.T., manufacturing concerns like SodaStream, University towns filled with students and staff, the military has a large and increasing presence in the desert in training facilities, and lets not to forget the lone farms.

As we know, this is an area that plays a prominent role several times in scripture, including passages in the book of Numbers describing the 40 years the people wandered in the desert. From my vantage point, just paces from Ben-Gurion’s grave, and driving through the desert, I can appreciate the challenges the Children of Israel faced, and am left with and a stunning reminder to trust God always, even when there are giants involved.