IN THE WILDERNESS

“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).

There are many references throughout scripture to a place called simply “the wilderness.”  Some of those references are to a literal place of desolation such as the wilderness of Sinai where God led the Israelites after they were delivered from Egypt, or the wilderness where Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted after He was baptized.  Other references to the wilderness seem to indicate a figurative place where God’s children are led to be proven and their faith to be tried.  It is apparent with all these references, though, that God draws all believers into the wilderness place so that they can learn to trust Him no matter what circumstances life may bring them.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul is drawing a comparison between the Christians of his time and the Israelites of old.  The comparison is just as applicable to modern day believers as it is to those of the first century. 

Paul wrote that the Jews were all “under the cloud,” meaning that after the Hebrews left Egypt the pillar of cloud was always present in the their camp and they could rely on it to lead them to wherever God intended them to go.  Just the presence of the cloud hovering over the tabernacle brought the Israelites comfort because it was evidence that God was with them.  This compares to the Holy Spirit that comforts every believer and guides their way into the Father’s will. 

Paul also wrote that the Jews all “passed through the sea.”  This, of course, is referring to the Red Sea crossing.   It was there that they faced certain death – in fact, they passed through death - but miraculously passed over alive and whole because of the miracle that God worked in dividing the sea for them.  Paul is comparing this to Christian baptism in which believers pass through death to new life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:3-5). 

Finally, Paul refers to the Israelites eating “spiritual meat” and drinking “spiritual drink” as they wandered in the wilderness and that these things were what sustained them as they wandered.  He is very clear when he writes, “…for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”  This comparison is very easy because Jesus refers to Himself as both the “true bread from heaven [or manna]” and “the living water.” 

Despite all of these advantages that the Jews had under Moses, Paul writes that God was not pleased with many of them because they were “overthrown in the wilderness.” His inference is that though we modern day Christians have been saved, baptized, led by the Spirit, and have been partakers of Christ, we can still be overthrown in the wilderness if we are careless.  Paul tells us also that, “…all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:11, 12).  There are many lessons that we must learn as children of God, and those lessons can only be learned in the wilderness.

God made it plain to the Israelites what the purpose of the wilderness was.  He told them, “…thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no.  And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live…Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.  Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-6).  The wilderness is a place that does not easily support life.   We are stripped of the things that we can normally depend on for survival.  It’s there that we learn to rely, not on our natural strengths or on the help of man, but on God for our every need.  The wilderness teaches us that we can’t function in the same way that we have become accustomed to all our life.  That old life doesn’t work in the wilderness.  The rules have all changed.  Foolishness becomes wisdom, weakness becomes strength, and death becomes new life!  We find that it is the Word of God – the heavenly Manna – that sustains us in the wilderness.  It is there that His Word comforts and nourishes us in ways that we have not known before. Faith becomes the key commodity that determines whether we survive or not.  This is the place also where we pass under the rod of God’s discipline and He proves His love for us through chastening.

The current health pandemic that we are experiencing has all of us walking through a wilderness to be sure.  We can’t meet together like we’re used to for mutual encouragement and support.  We can’t worship with our brothers and sisters as we have in the past.  It may seem like we’re in a dry and desolate place spiritually.  For some it can be a time of loneliness and isolation, while for others being confined together with children or spouse can create challenges that they did not expect and were perhaps unprepared to handle.  We may be tempted in ways that we are not used to under normal circumstances, and many of our faults may become more sharply focused.  Don’t despair.  God has us right where He wants us!  Yes, our world may have changed, but God has not!  He intends to “humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what [is] in thine heart, whether thou [will] keep His commandments, or no.”  This is a time to trust in the Lord for our every need and learn to let go of our self-reliance and self-centeredness.  This is a time to make our home our tabernacle and learn to worship God in spirit and in truth.  The message is clear and the messenger is sounding forth the call!  “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3). 

God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah and said, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19).  The “new thing” that God wants to do is to turn this time of apparent drought and desolation into a place of flowing rivers and fruitful fields.  “Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 35:6).  It is here that God can teach us that His grace really is sufficient and that His strength is perfected through our weakness.  It is here where we can learn that faith is the victory that overcomes the world. 

Ezekiel also spoke of the necessity of the wilderness when he said, “And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.  Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.  And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me.” (Ezekiel 20:35-38).  You don’t have to be in a church or a formal tabernacle for God to speak to you or to change your nature.  God wants to speak to you in the sanctuary of your home and the tabernacle of your heart.  He is a personal God, and He wants to speak to us in a personal way, even “face to face.”

With so many other distractions being erased for a time from our lives, it is a rare opportunity that we have to focus on the Creator of the universe and what He has for us to do.  As we draw near to Him, His Holy Spirit can begin to speak to us in new ways and direct us into new opportunities for ministry and witness.  He can open our eyes to the needs of others around us. 

Today, as I was hauling trash out to the curb I saw my neighbor come out on his front porch and I waved and said “hi” to him.  He just lost his dad last year and has been caring for his mom who is 88 for a few years and I know it has been a challenge for him.  As we began to talk, he told me how difficult it has been for him and how his siblings have been of little help.  He is unsaved and once led a very rough life having been in and out of prison.  After unpacking his frustrations and complaints for a while he told me that his mom (who is a believer) tells him that she prays for him every time that he goes out so that he stays protected from the Corona Virus.  She tells him that she prays the blood over him and that God will protect both of them.  I told him what a wonderful thing that is that his mother loves him so much to pray for him like that, and then I asked him if he knew where the idea of praying the blood came from.  He looked unsure so I proceeded to tell him about the angel of death, the Passover lamb that was without spot, and the shedding of its blood to save those who believed from the plague of death in Egypt.  I told him how that God had said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Then I shared with him about Jesus the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.  I told him how much God loves the world that He would sacrifice His Son so that we all could be saved by His blood, and I told him that if you were the only soul alive that God would have still given His son for you because He loves you that much.  There were many other things that the Lord gave me to share with him and he was very attentive to it all.  I was thankful for this opportunity and marveled how that we can be shut up in our houses and yet we can still find ways for our light to shine.  This is not the first chance I have had to witness to my neighbor, but God is faithful to water the seeds that have been sown in his heart over the years by his mother and by others.  I am confident that God will nurture those precious seeds and one day they will break forth in new life!  The words that I shared may have been for him, but it also blessed my spirit and encouraged me as well!

The wilderness may be a difficult place, but it is a place of spiritual growth where we begin to see God move in miraculous ways in our lives.  Though we are tempted and tried, at the same time we are encouraged and enriched by God’s promises.  Paul writes, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-13).  Peter also tells us, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4).  As we embrace and trust what God is doing right now, our faith will grow and we will be transformed. 

There is a verse in the Song of Solomon that paints such a perfect picture of the desired effect that God is looking for in us as we pass through the wildernesses of our lives.  It says, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?” (Song of Solomon 8:5).  When we have learned to lean on Jesus our Beloved and let go of the areas where we have leaned too much on everything else, then God has had His way in the wilderness and we have learned what true rest is.