The Illusion of Random

Nomadism is in essence a life of consistent movement. Pastoralists move to find new pasture for herds, letting the wild growth recover again when they move on. Their movements might appear to be random, but they are almost certainly not. They will have seasonal patterns and established routes to their movements. Pastoral nomads use land that is unsustainable for other uses, such as argriculture or settlement. One third of the world’s surface fits into this category. Nomadism is a tradition that best cares for and manages this land without large scale terra forming efforts. Some nomadic patterns move in circular motion, others are vertical, moving up and down a mountain. Any appearace of randomness is only our lack of understanding of the factors at play.

Sometimes our lives feel really random. It is hard from our perspective to understand how the events and people who we come into contact with are significant to the patterns of our lives. When you let God direct your life nothing is truly random. He uses apparent co-incidences in the ways that are best for us.

Through the seasonal pattern of migration there will be significant places that become locations of ceremony in the lives of a nomadic tribe. River crossings, or mountain passes for example are places of risk for their herds. I’m not exagerating to say that nomads are never athiests. Nomads are forced to come to terms with the fact that much of what affects their lives is beyond their control. They work hard to mitigate these risks but also take into account spiritual forces. All of these significant geographical points become places of worship or spirit appeasement.

In the Old Testament, as God led his people on more than one nomadic journey he had them place stones together to make an altar for sacrifice and to serve as a memorial to future generations. He commanded worship at these intersections. The story of Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan is one of these.

Joshua 4:1-7

When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. 3 Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”

4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

Sometimes life feels repetative and boring. Sometimes it feels insignificant. But the randomness is an illusion. God is weaving together a pattern in your life that will result in us seeing his Glory and love in our lives and will increase our faith in his goodness.

Remember along the way to mark memorials honouring Him. So that when future generations ask us about the faithfulness of God we will always be ready with a story to share.