Don't Camp Out In The Valley of Baca

            In the Bible, the Valley of Baca is mentioned only once, in Psalm 84. “What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings” (Psalm 84:5-6 NLT).

            In most translations, as in the NLT above, Baca is rendered as “weeping”.  The Hebrew word baca is related to bakah. Bakah means “to weep”. Baca refers to a type of weeping tree – a tree that drips with resin or gum-like tears, such as balsam, mulberry, or aspen trees. In 2 Samuel 5:23, in the ESV, bakaim is translated as “balsam trees”.

            Verse six of the Psalm says those on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem walk through the Valley of Weeping. They don’t make it a permanent place to dwell. It’s a place the people of God occasionally walk through. So when we’re in that valley, we’re not to lower our shield of faith and give up. No! We’re to shout that the Valley of Baca is not where we live. We’re headed to a better place. We’re just passing through.

            This is similar to what David wrote in Psalm 23. In verse four, he states, “Even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me...” (TPT). David was going through. Not staying in.

           And David certainly knew about deep darkness. In Psalm 3:1-2 (TPT), he wrote, “Lord, I have so many enemies, so many who are against me. Listen to how they whisper their slander against me, saying: ‘Look! He’s hopeless! Even God can’t save him from this!’”

       Sometimes when we’re travelling through the Valley of Baca, we’ll run into naysayers who will speak unbelief and doubting to us. For certain, Satan will. He’ll whisper in our ear that God is not faithful. Our heavenly Father may have helped us in the past, but He won’t this time. The problem is too big. Like Satan did with the Israelites, he'll point out the giants and the walled cities and tell us we’re too puny.

         When that happens, we must not listen. We mustn’t talk the problem, but dwell on the covenant we have with God. That’s what David did. Verse 3 of Psalm 3 says, “But in the depths of my heart I truly know that you, YAHWEH, have become my Shield; You take me and surround me with yourself. Your glory covers me continually. You lift high my head” (TPT).

      As you read through the Psalms, you’ll notice David often began in sorrow and ended in faith and praise. In verses 6 and 7 of Psalm 6, he wrote, “I’m tired of all this-so tired. My bed has been floating forty days and nights on the flood of my tears. My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears. The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope” (MSG).

      Then it seems to dawn on him that speaking his misery is not helping him, for he says, “Get out of here, you Devil’s crew: at last God has heard my sobs. My requests have all been granted, my prayers are answered” (verses 8-9 MSG).

      Going back to Psalm 84, the Valley of Baca can be a place of blessing. “When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. They will continue to grow stronger...” (verses 6-7, NLT).

      Our God is the God of the valleys as well as the mountains. We must not make the mistake the Arameans made in 1 Kings 20, where they stated Israel’s God was “a god of the mountains and not...of the valleys” (verse 28). They attacked the Israelites on the plains near the city of Aphek. The Israelites were vastly outnumbered, but God gave His people a great victory, showing He is Lord, not only of the mountains, but also of the valleys.
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      So when we’re in the Valley of Baca, we must keep marching through. We’re not to stop and set up our tent in defeat. If we’ll continue to trust God and walk in faith, He WILL bring us out the other side to a place of refreshing springs and numberless blessings.