Tallulah Gorge State Park, Tallulah Falls, Georgia
Some time later, God tested Abraham… “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” ~ Genesis 22:1-2 Most of us at least have a general idea of what’s about to happen, but today, I want to talk about what’s going on in these two verses. First, there’s a difference between being ‘tempted’ (which is what Satan does to us) and being ‘tested’ (which is what God does). According to my NIV footnote for these verses, “Satan tempts us (I Corinthians 7:5) in order to make us fail. God tests us in order to confirm our faith (Exodus 20:20) or prove our commitment (Deuteronomy 8:2).” God, because He’s omniscient, already knows our level of faith and commitment. The tests are for us. This ultimate test is taking place about 50 years from when God first called Abraham back in Chapter 12 – so he had time to grow his faith, and most scholars agree that Isaac was most likely about 25 years old. Not the little boy we see in all the pictures! One thing no one ever seems to mention, is that sacrificing children to a god is a decidedly pagan practice. Never what God wants. And it’s murder. Also never what God wants. So you have to wonder what’s going on in the minds of these two men. This is what they call a ‘foreshadowing’ of the sacrifice God and Jesus took on for us. Mount Moriah is where, many years from now, David had the first temple built, and today, it is the place where the Muslim Dome of the Rock now stands (since 69AD). And this is the first time the word ‘love’ is used in Scripture. And now that you have some background, hopefully it will help you understand the next few days a bit better. In the meantime, think about this: How do you handle the tests God gives you? Are you totally caught off guard, and freak out about them? Is your plan to just wing it and hope for the best? Or are you preparing for them, a little every day?
Even though Blaine’s step-counter said we only hiked about 5 ½ miles today, it certainly felt like a whoooole lot more! It must be the stairsteps – over 1,600 of them total! And the fact that we were hiking up and down hills (in addition to the steps) And the reason for all this? We visited the Gorge today. Down in, and then back up out of the Gorge, which at its lowest depth is 1,000-feet. That’s a lot of vertical for two people who’ve gotten used to the flatlands of Florida!
But we did pretty well. Blaine of course, faired better than I, but I managed to keep up; probably because he slowed down or waited for me to catch up. 😊
We were going to take lunch with us, but then suddenly it was 11:15am and we still hadn’t left home; so we ate an early lunch, and took off just before noon. We were gone about three hours.
An astoundingly stunningly beautiful three hours!
We discovered later today that the nearby town of Helen released some water Sunday, so that’s probably why.
VERY clear emerald water in the pools!
We’ve got a lot of walking and climbing to do before we get there.
Down, across, and back up.
It’s 80′ above the water.
I was trying to capture the beauty of the dogwoods here, but as you can see, I was unsuccessful. : (
It also gave me an opportunity to catch my breath and slow down my heart. : )
It’ll take us a while to get back over there. : )
since they’re stone, but there were no signs to verify.
Or so says Blaine’s flower app.
If you look close, you’ll see a small bag on a rock to the left and in front of Blaine.
It’s our chocolate chip cookies warming in the sun! Yum!!
You can barely see the Devil’s Pulpit.
It’s that rounded rock with the white on the tip. I should’ve marked it. Sorry.
They grow on bushes and have a sweet scent – sort of like honeysuckle.
You’ll learn more about the Wallenda Tower if you read the IC pictures.
and partially repeat our steps to get to the Interpretive Center.
There’s more information on her at the IC. Pretty remarkable woman!
Longstreet was a Confederate General, good friends with U.S. Grant, and became an enemy of the South following the war because of his views on reconstruction and voting for Grant for president (among other things). He died in 1904.
Once we’d completed the most strenuous portion, we stopped at the Interpretive Center for a change of scenery, and grabbed some cooling air. The IC ended up being much more than we would’ve guessed and it was quite nice. And full of history, too! Which as you know, if you’ve done any reading of this blog at all, is a point of great interest for us.
Personally, we didn’t get it. . . .
We finished up the trails, and headed back home. Showers, rest, and a dinner of processed, fried shrimp sandwiches. Not the healthiest thing, but easy, short prep time, and tasty! I make the sauce myself – equal portions of Hellmann’s, Miracle Whip, Chili Sauce, Cocktail Sauce and Horseradish. For our two sandwiches, I’ve learned that I need an eighth of a cup of each. Just in case you’re inclined to give this guilty pleasure a try. Oh! And I put shredded cabbage on mine. Blaine likes his with just shrimp and sauce.