Come, Follow Me

About the Journey

Melody Kube

It began for me, as a research project into the worldview of Siberian Nomads for the purpose of reaching them with the gospel of Christ. We worked for 12 years as missionaries in Siberia focusing on indigenous people groups. Our study of nomadic reindeer herding traditions and other aspects of their culture was essential to bringing the good news of Jesus in a way that was most understandable to them. I knew that there were some nomadic stories in the Bible, like Abraham and Moses, but I was shocked to find out how deeply the nomadic worldview runs throughout scripture. As my years of research went on I came to see that nomadism is a huge part of the Heart of God and that he takes every opportunity to share it with whoever is willing to listen and follow him. I began to see nomadism everywhere in the Bible. Far more than a few stories that appealed to nomads, there were huge swaths of meaning in the whole of the Bible that we, as settled “civilised” folk were missing out on through our lack of understanding of nomadic ways. Our ignorance of pastoralism, migration patterns, and solitude were hampering our understanding of significant stories, and metaphors that would help us better understand what the scriptures are about. 
It is my hope that this blog will help bridge that gap for you. That even in our busy, western, urban lives we can grasp the depth of meaning behind God’s revelation of himself to us as “the Good Shepherd”. 
I also hope that this collection of posts may be a catalyst for sending more missionaries to the many nomadic people groups around the world who are yet to hear the Gospel of Jesus. If we can gain a better understanding of nomadism in the Bible we can learn to pass along to them a gospel that is not wrapped in the example of our settled ways, but instead can spread with them on the backs of their camels, horses and reindeer as it was intended to. I am pleased to pass along the insights that their nomadic lives bring to our understanding of the Bible, but it would seem unfair for that blessing to stay with us. May it instead return to the nomads of the world; and be a catalyst for a move of the gospel that reaches “the ends of the earth” with the knowledge of Jesus Christ.