Daily Topic for November 10, 2008
If these words were not in the Scriptures, we would scarcely believe them. Do the peoples “in the ends of the earth” hope there is a true and living God? Do they wonder who He is and where He is? Some missionaries have found people groups with hearts ready to accept Christ when they first hear the gospel. These missionaries have been amazed to discover that, even in the darkness of bondage to Satan, some people groups have so longed to know God the Creator that for many generations they have cried out to Him, pleading for a messenger to enlighten them!
Thank the Lord that He is the only hope and inspiration for all the nations. May those living “far away” experience His wonders!
Until the 1890s the region was known as Kafiristan. The word Kafir means “non-believer” in the Islamic tradition. But after being forcibly converted to Islam in 1895, the region’s name was changed to Nuristani, meaning “land of the enlightened.” The Nuristani peoples in this area of northeastern Afghanistan are ethnically distinct from the dominant Pushtuns. They have European and Mediterranean physical features; some even have blonde hair. They were noted as being distinct by Alexander the Great when he entered the region in the third century B.C.
Their region differs from much of Afghanistan because it is forested and it receives more rainfall than the rest of the nation. Once the people had elaborate irrigation systems for their orchards and crops. These irrigation works required constant maintenance that were not maintained during their frequent times of war and conflict. Entire orchards were cut down by their enemies, and there has been terrible deforestation. The Nuristanis were the first to rebel against the Soviet-backed Afghan regime in the 1980s, and they engaged in intense battles. Today, due to its proximity to Pakistan, Nuristan is a major crossroad for insurgents and a central base for the Taliban. The Nuristanis are extremely poor and their area is rife with violent ethnic and economic conflicts. The Nuristanis speak varying dialects of Nuristani and Daric languages that are mutually unintelligible from valley to valley.
Learn more at joshuaproject.netPray that the Prince of Peace will call believers to go to these war-torn people and demonstrate to them the ways of Christ.-JS