Amman is the capital of Jordon. Jordan is mainly
desert except for the Jordan valley which is watered by the River Jordan
and is a fertile area which produces fruits and vegetable. The ancient
people of Jordon are the Ammorites who are the descendents of Ben-Ammi,
the son of Lot and his younger daughter (Gen.19:38). The son of Lot and
his older daughter is Moab who is the father of the Moabites (Gen.
19:37).The land of the Moabites lies between the Amorites in the north
and Edomites (descendent of Esau) in the south. All these people
provided challenges to the Israelites, the descendents of Abraham during
the exodus. Somehow ancient quarrels are never forgotten. Saul protected
Jabesh-Gilead against Nahash, king of the Ammon (1 Sam. 11:1ff) which
made him a popular hero, popular enough to be confirmed as king.
In 250 BCE, the Greek general Ptolemy II Philadelphus
built a new city over the ruins of Rabbath Ammon and named it
Philadelphia (not to be confused with the church in Philadelphia in Rev.
3:7). Philadelphia is one of the ten cities of the Decapolis mentioned
in the New Testament (Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31).
Travelling through Jordan, I cannot help but notice
the desolation of the desert in spite of the modern highways and the
air-conditioned bus we are in. Jordan is the beginning of the Great
Arabian Desert. Water is scarce and precious. Water means life and
death. I try to imagine the newly freed slaves from Egypt moving through
these arid and hot plains but find it difficult. There was a King’s
Highway which ran from south to north to join the great trade route. The
highway was flat with water sources readily marked. Instead the Edomites
refused the Israelites led by Moses passage through their lands and the
King’s Highway. The Israelites have to work their way north by the
alternate wilderness way (Num.20:14-21).
