The Valley of Baka

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84:5-7

Since the psalmist didn’t live in Jerusalem, he had to go on pilgrimage to be near God’s presence at the temple. Israelites were supposed to make this trip to worship three times a year. I think it’s difficult for us to really understand what it was like to have to travel by foot for days or even a week or more to Jerusalem to worship. But this was a shared experience for many Israelites. They would all travel the same roads and pass through the same places on their way up to Jerusalem to worship.

One of those places that they passed through was the valley of Baka. The word 'baka' comes from the Hebrew word for weeping or wailing. And we think that this was a dry or desert-like valley. Yet... the psalmist says that the pilgrims make it a place of springs. It’s hard to say for sure but it’s possible that the image here is of pilgrims weeping in the valley of Baka. They “make it a place of springs” because of the tears that spring forth from their eyes as they go up to Jerusalem to worship.

But if so, it’s important to note that salty tears aren’t the only source of water in this dry valley. The psalmist says that the autumn rains cover it with pools as well. This, I believe, is a picture of God providing water for His people in a dry, difficult place associated with suffering. This is a picture of God helping His people and providing for them as they travel the hard road to worship.

And what I want to point out to you today is this idea found in Psalm 84 that the road to worship can sometimes lead through a valley of tears. Mourning, weeping, and wailing can draw us nearer to God. They can, in the end, lead to worship. Because it is often in the dry, lonely, difficult places of life that God meets us and provides for our needs.

And that makes the hard roads of life, no matter how difficult they may be, precious to the believer. Even the hardest of roads can become precious to us if it leads us into God’s presence.

Maybe your own path has been painful. Maybe you have done more than your fair share of weeping. Don’t give up! The psalmist is telling you that the difficult road you are walking can lead you into God’s presence. It can lead you to worship, if you will let it. I know this has been true in my own life. My prayer for you today is that any difficult roads you must take in this life will lead you to worship in the very presence of God as well.