David’s Stream

Stand for Israel  |  December 27, 2022

As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God. (Psalm 42:1)

In these well-known opening lines from Scripture, the psalmist invokes a stream, much like the stream shown above. Perhaps the body of water in this photo from Israel is the very stream mentioned in this beloved Bible verse.

The stream above, shown at the foot of Mount Gilboa, is known as Nahal David, or David’s Stream.

People of faith often associate David with streams of water—the streams to which he’d lead his flocks of sheep, or the location where he stopped before facing Goliath and “chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:40).

Later, when King Saul pursued David across the Holy Land, this actual stream was where David hid and “lived in the strongholds of En Gedi” (1 Samuel 23:29).

Ein Gedi means “Spring of the Kid,” and is named for the area’s wildlife, much like the stronghold there where David found shelter and safety—“the Crags of the Wild Goats” (1 Samuel 24:2). And this stream, David’s Stream, Nahal David, flows into Ein Gedi, before the larger stream ends in the Dead Sea.

Isn’t the Holy Land amazing—allowing us to see the very places we read about in the Bible? Isn’t Israel wonderful—bringing the words of the Bible, God’s Word, to life?

One last note—the mountain seen in the background, Mount Gilboa, was also an important location in David’s life. For it was there, facing the Philistine army, that “Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day” (1 Samuel 31:6). Remembering these brave Israelites who fell on this very hill in the Holy Land, David lamented, “How the mighty have fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:27).