A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:3

Wilderness. Majestic mountains, deep forests, waterfalls and meadows, golden plains and rugged deserts. In America we love our wildernesses mainly, I think, because we don’t have to live in them. To us, wilderness is a place we can go when we want to with our hiking gear, or our camping gear, or our RV’s, taking with us as few or as many of the comforts of home as we please.

Wilderness in the Bible is utterly different. There was and is lots of wilderness in the Middle East, and God used it to shape His people individually and en masse. God’s people spent time in the wilderness being prepared: for ownership, for ruling, for ministry, for saving the world.

Forty Years Wandering

The Israelites, upon their exodus from Egypt and 400 years of slavery, were not prepared for freedom, let alone sovereignty over the promised land. God led them slowly through the wilderness, providing everything they needed, then took a year at Mt. Sinai to teach them about being His people. He guided them the rest of the way to Canaan, where they threw a massive hissy fit and refused to go in. Back to the wilderness for thirty eight more years. God used the wilderness to prepare his stiff-necked and rebellious people to conquer and enjoy the promised land. He taught them the lessons they needed to live as a free and responsible nation. He kept at it until the children of the freed slaves were ready to go in and take possession of the land.

The Making of a King

David spent 14 years hiding from Saul in the wilderness. He learned to lead men. He made mistakes and learned strategies and tactics. He wrote exquisite poetry. Psalm 18 praises God for delivering him from the hand of Saul, and a mighty psalm it is. Psalms 34, 52, 56, 57, 59, and 63 (very beautiful, one of my favorites), are subtitled with specific incidents from David’s time in exile in the wilderness. Reading these and many other Davidic Psalms, you can easily picture him huddled at a campfire or in a cave, pouring his heart out before God, slowly becoming the king God planned for him to be.

Locusts and Honey

God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. We don’t know how long he was out there before God spoke to him, but I think it must have been a good while. By the time he started preaching and baptizing, Matthew tells us he was wearing “a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” His clothing would not have been worth mentioning were it not highly unusual. Ditto with the diet. Scripture paints a picture of a man who has lived alone in the desert for a long time. God used the wilderness to prepare John for a tremendously important task: introducing Jesus to the world.

Jesus in the Wilderness

Even Jesus was prepared for His work by forty days in the wilderness. The Spirit of God led Him out to be tempted by the Devil. For over a month he ate nothing and was “with the wild animals.” We aren’t told anything else about what Jesus did during that time, but Jesus’ habits during the following years would indicate lots of prayer. Lots and lots of prayer. At the end of the forty days Satan showed up to tempt Jesus to create food to relieve His hunger. He dared Jesus to test God’s care for Him, and offered Him everything on earth if Jesus would fall down and worship him. Jesus batted each challenge aside with the Sword of Scripture, and then was served by angels. Then He set about reconciling the world to God. It took three years and His death on a cross, but at the end He was able to say, “It is finished.” His preparatory time in the wilderness worked an eternal benefit for all of us.

What is your wilderness?

How’s the internal landscape where you are? Are you in a dry and weary land where there is no water? Perhaps your wilderness looks like grief, or heartbreak, or financial ruin or intractable pain. Perhaps God is preparing you for some work He has for you to do. Be assured that God has you there for a reason and for a season, even if you can’t see the sense of it now. If you are in a desert of your own making (rebellion and disobedience) as the Israelites were, turn to God with all your heart and soul and He will lead you out of the wilderness in His perfect time. Either way, read Psalm 63 often, and earnestly seek Him. Praise and bless Him for His love and mercy, and for your sure satisfaction when your desert sojourn is ended. Remember Yahweh upon your bed, and meditate on Him in the night watches. He has been and will be your help and your sure foundation.