Secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), Reverend Kenneth Mtata, has posted a cryptic message on his Twitter handle about the Biblical story of the children of Israel’s 40-year wilderness journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.
Mtata said Israel’s desert experience reinforced a sense of dignity, shared leadership, just laws, the economy of moderation and monotheism. He wrote:
1. Dignity (free from slavery)
2. Succession/ shared leadership (Moses-Miriam to Joshua-Caleb)
3. Just relationships (law)
4. The economy of moderation & equity (equitable daily manna supply)
5. No idols (only God to be worshipped).
Mtata’s remarks come when government officials have, at various forums, compared Zimbabwe’s crises to Israel’s desert experiences.
Government sympathisers and “regime enablers” have compared the so-called “New Dispensation” to the Biblical period when Joshua led the travel-weary Israelites across the Jordan River to take possession of Canaan (The Promised Land).