Endurance 2

In the last lesson I gave you a sketch of some Biblical characters who showed endurance. If you missed it, click HERE

Our story is about a camel named, Shai, pronounced shay meaning gift. Shai lives in Israel. Israel is a small country in the Middle East.

Camels are amazing animals which have endurance. There are one-hump camels called Dromedary which inhabit the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. Two-humped camels called Bactrian are found in Central Asia.

 

Camels have been domesticated, meaning they live with and work for people. Many countries use camels to carry people and supplies.  

Shai is one of many camels working for a man named Amit, pronounced Ah meet, which means friend. Amit loves his camels and takes good care of them. He uses them to carry tourists and their belongings around Israel. Israel has many interesting places and landmarks that people want to visit. It’s more of an adventure for these tourists to travel by camel instead of a jeep. They pay Amit to take them.   

A group of tourists hired Amit to take them throughout all of Israel. This journey would last a few weeks. The group wanted to sleep out doors and visit all the wonders Israel had to offer. Amit was a little surprised they wanted to go this time of year because it’s hot. The best time to travel would have been earlier in the year.

Amit picked out the best strongest camels he had. He needed camels for the people, luggage, food, and water.  Twenty five camels for the six people and their supplies would be sufficient.

The day arrived for them to leave and they left before dawn. The sun barely started to crest the landscape. Amit wanted many miles behind them before the sun hit mid-day--the hottest part.  Everyone on the trip seemed to be in a pleasant mood, even the camels. Amit was relieved. Some groups of people were cranky.

For four days they traveled and stopped at interesting places for the tourists. The fifth day was brutally hot even before the sun tried to poke its head above the hills.

Amit walked around his camels talking sweetly in their ears. He did this every morning and night as he fed and watered them. “My pets how are you this morning? Did you rest well? We'll undergo a hard day but I know you will make me proud. It’ll be very hot today so make sure you take in enough water for our journey.”

Shai loved Amit’s soft mellow voice which almost sang to them. Shai felt loved and appreciated. Today like most days, Shai made soft noises of his own when Amit came near. Amit rubbed Shai’s ears as Shai wrapped his long neck around him. They stood that way for a minute. “Shai, you are my favorite. You’ll need to be strong and endure this journey today.”

Amit didn’t realize how right his words were.

In the late morning when the sun beat down it became almost unbearably hot and the wind picked up. At first they welcomed the relief of the breeze but soon it turned into a howling whipping storm. Amit lead the group to an out-cropping of boulders to hide behind against the storm. As they were nearing the out-cropping, one of the ladies fell off a camel! She landed hard and didn’t move. One of the men stopped and got down from his camel and ran to her. The strong wind made it difficult to tell if she had her eyes closed because of the dust or she was unconscious. He pulled her over to the boulders. By that time everyone had arrived safely behind the protection of rock.

Amit was told the lady needed medical attention. She had broken an arm and maybe some ribs.  Amit didn’t know who to send. He needed to stay with the group and no one else knew the way to the nearest town to get a doctor.

He stood for a moment rubbing his hands together with a frown on his brow. “Ah, yes. What a great idea!”

He ran over to Shai. “Shai, I need you to do an important job and you have to hurry! You my prized pet, are they only one who could possibly make it in this dreadful storm. You need to go to Bethlehem. I know you will find your way. Here is a note that will bring the doctor. You will need to bellow and moan until someone investigates and finds the note. Now go!” He swatted Shai on the rump and Shai took off with a leap.

Shai wasn't sure what Amit said. He remembered a person fell. He felt Amit’s fear and heard the note of command mixed with urgency in his voice. He recognized the word Bethlehem and thought he understood.

The wind was terrible. His long lashes kept most of the sand out of his eyes but he had to clear them with his third eye lid many times. His nostrils had naturally closed to keep the wind out and he only opened them for brief gasps of air. His long strides and wide feet made his journey steady as he raced to the town. He was lucky he was a camel. A horse would not have made it. The design of his body made his task easier. He was also a strong camel who normally went further than other camels on less food and water.

There were many more miles to go. On the road, he hadn’t passed any other animals or people. They must be in shelter. Shai kept going. In his mind he played the sound of his master’s voice over and over, which made him hurry.

Finally, he arrived at Bethlehem. As soon as he entered, he bellowed, moaned, screamed, and made a terrible racket. The wind quieted down a little bit so he was heard. Shai moaned loudly at a man who came to investigate. The man ran his hands over Shai thinking he was hurt. That’s when he found the note, which he read and patted Shai’s neck. Shai stopped making noise as soon as he saw the man reading.

Together they went in search of the doctor. The doctor grabbed his bag and splints and stuffed them into Shai’s pack. He led Shai over to the watering trough but Shai pulled away and bellowed. Shai got down for the doctor to get on him. The doctor shook his head and climbed on. “Okay, you must sense the urgency. Come on. Lead the way!”

Shai leaped forward into a fast smooth gate. The doctor was surprised how fast yet smooth the ride was. The doctor had a thick scarf tied around his face to protect his eyes and nose from the sand. The wind had quieted some more, so the journey back was not as bad.

They finally reached the group. Shai got down so the doctor could get off easily.

Amit grabbed Shai’s collar and took him to get water and food. “You are my smartest animal. I’m surprised how fast you made it back. You must not have stopped long, my friend.  Endurance must be your middle name!”

Shai drank gallons of water to quench his thirst and ate. Then he plopped down for a nap.

The doctor was able to treat the injured woman. He put a splint on her arm and wrapped bandages around her ribs. A patch of gauze was placed over the gash in her head. Shai glanced over. The lady sat drinking a mug of tea, and telling Amit thank you. With a contented sigh, Shai closed his eyes.

One time a man offered to buy Shai but Amit said he would rather sell his right arm. He would never sell his favorite pet. Shai was a special camel who had greater endurance than most. Camels have a special ability to go long periods of time without food or water in extreme temperatures.

Endurance is something we learn. We can strengthen our endurance and stamina. I hope you have a good understanding of endurance from these two lessons. Keep working on your endurance.

 

The verses are the same as last time. Memorize one you haven’t memorized yet:  Philippians 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ. 2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. . Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.

 

Endurance

I was recently with a group of children who were learning about endurance. This got me thinking what endurance means. Those thoughts took me to the Bible and the men and women whose character revealed endurance. First, what does endurance mean? Endurance is pressing on through difficult situations to complete a task. The fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc. Endurance is the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina.

Some of the people in the Bible who I thought of are: Noah, Moses, Nehemiah, Esther, Ruth, and Paul. There are many others but I will focus on these.

Noah worked on the first boat. The boat was massive, big enough to house at least two of every kind of animal. The boat held Noah’s family with food for all on board to last almost a year in turbulent water. It took Noah and his sons years to build the huge boat called an ark. During this time he was probably teased and laughed at for building it. He was on the ark with his family and the animals for over 200 days. His story is in Genesis 6:5 through chapter 8.

Moses took care of thousands of people in the wilderness for over forty years. They whined and didn’t want to obey the Lord. The Lord provided a pillar of clouds in the day and fire at night for Moses to lead them by. Their food was provided by the Lord through manna and quale. Moses listened to their problems. He helped them follow the Lord’s plan to build the sanctuary and its furniture. The Lord gave Moses the law and the Ten Commandments. His journey with the Israelites is recorded in Exodus 3-Deuteronomy 34.   

Nehemiah enlisted the help of many people to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem. The plan to rebuild the wall was carried out in a relatively short duration. It took them just 52 days. Nehemiah had teams of workers building a section of the wall at a time. The builders were under attack and needed a weapon handy while working on the wall. Guards were assigned to patrol and signal if an enemy came. Nehemiah and the people endured all this to make the wall a protection for the great city of Jerusalem. His story is in the book by his name: Nehemiah.

Esther was a queen who stopped a plot to kill all the Jews. She came up with a plan. Many days of fasting led to sacrificing her life by going before the king. The king did not like people to come before him with out him asking for them. The penalty was swift death unless he pointed his scepter at the person. The king did this for Esther because she found favor in his sight. She asked the king to a feast which turned into another and another. At the last feast, Esther unmasked the traitor and a decree to save the Jews was sent out. Esther had endurance and saved thousands of men, women, and children. You can read about her in the book of Esther.

Ruth lived in Moab and married a man from Israel. Shortly after they were married, he died. She went with her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Israel. There she supported herself and Naomi by gleaning wheat from a field belonging to a man named Boaz. He took a fancy to her and asked the men who worked for him to leave extra wheat for Ruth. Ruth gleaned in the hot sun day after day. Finally her endurance paid off. Boaz fell in love with her and married her.

Paul was an apostle of Jesus. He went from town to town preaching about Jesus. He started churches, taught, and baptized many who believed in Jesus. The majority of the New Testament was written by him. Paul was put in jail, and beaten for his faith in Jesus. Shipwreck and extreme pain during his life time were things he endured. You can read of his endurance in trials in 2Corinthians 11:25-33. The book of Acts is where you can read about his travels. Paul talked about his endurance: Philippians 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ. 2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Those people showed us endurance. The Lord Jesus showed endurance to a greater degree. He left His home in heaven to live with us. He was lied about, beaten, and nailed on a cross to die for you and me. Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I hope you have a good mental picture of what endurance is. We all need to strengthen our endurance whether it is to clean our room, finish our homework, take care of our pets, or practice for a recital or sport. How are you doing?

Memorize one or both:  Philippians 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ. 2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.