For the past couple of weeks of Lent, I have been pondering the parallels between Jesus’ 40-days in the wilderness, which is the focus of Lent, and the Israelites 40-year journey in the wilderness. As I was listening to a devotional a couple of weeks ago, the parallels struck me, and I have been fleshing them out in my head ever since.
As the Israelites left slavery, left Egypt, left all they had ever known, they did not know who they were. As they headed out, the Lord knew their frailty. He sent them by a different way so that they would not encounter warring enemies and turn back in fear. But before their wilderness journey could really begin, they had to pass through the waters. We all know the story. It was terrifying, but passing through the waters was their pathway to salvation. And then their journey began. New life.
And it all goes south from there. (They were actually going north, but you know what I mean…)
If there’s one thing that is sure about walking through a wilderness, it’s that there will be tests and trials. Wildernesses are not known for being hospitable and easy.
It isn’t too long, and the Israelites are hungry. But instead of sending a delegation to ask Moses, “Excuse me, Sir, but all the food we brought with us is gone, and we were just curious what your plan was for feeding all 3 million of us while we’re out here?”, they attack Moses and tell him they want to go back to Egypt. Back to SLAVERY. They would rather be captive than be inconvenienced or hungry one. more. day.
God gives them food. As much food as they need. Every-day food. But the food was also a test. A test of their trust in His word. He told them he would send it every day, except the Sabbath. If they hoarded, it would spoil. If they decided they would just wait and gather on the Sabbath, they would go hungry. Furthermore, every evening, he would send quail into the camp in droves, and they could just grab a few to cook up for dinner. Would they trust His word?
Spoiler alert: They did not. They continued complaining and the anger of God burned against them in an actual fire, burning up the camp – until Moses intervened.
They decide to be ok with the manna and quail and continue on, reaching right to the banks of the river of the Promised Land. This is it! The peace and rest they have been promised is in their sight! All they have to do is take it. So they send some men in to scope it out. They come back with fantastic reports – grapes so big it takes 2 men to carry them, milk and honey flowing through the land, and giants. HUGE giants. And the people freak out in fear. “We can’t go there! They’ll squash us like bugs!”
Caleb speaks up – “It is risky, but God is giving us the land. And He is with us. We can to do this!”
He doesn’t win the election. As a result of not taking the risk He gave them, God tells them they are going to wander IN THE DESERT for 40 years until all of them are dead, and then he strikes down the 10 men that incited fear instead of faith. Then the people are really upset, and they come back the next day to Moses and tell him that they are sorry and they are going into the land now. Moses tells them not to do it because the Lord is not going with them. But they forge ahead on their own and are routed severely by the giant enemies.
Never enter a high-risk situation without knowing it is God who is leading you there.
The people don’t really know their God yet or how to respond to His leading. So God decides to spell it all out for them. Literally. With his finger – on a stone tablet. He calls Moses up the mountain so that He can begin to define Himself, and His people. While Moses is up there – for a MINUTE, because it takes a long time to define a people – the people are all in awe. For a few days. Then they got bored with this God that rumbles on a mountain and takes their leader away.
So they made their own god. With help from the guy who is about to be appointed high priest of the Most High God. God has crummy helpers sometimes. The people decide there’s got to be an easier way to worship. The Egyptians have all kinds of pretty statues to worship. They want one too. So they made a calf and worshiped that.
Fail.
God is so gracious though. He puts up with their nonsense for 40 years, keeping them alive and daily showing them more about who He is, and who they are as His people. Eventually, they got to enter the Promised Land, but they did it the hard way. And it never really got a lot better. They always had a problem with their identity and following the God who was ready to spare no cost to be with them.
They encounter test after test:
– Will you trust me to provide for you my way?
– Will you listen for and follow only my leading into risky situations – doing it my way?
– Will you worship only me – my way?
No. They would not. They did not. Every one of these tests and many more was an epic fail.
Enter Jesus.
After centuries of failing every test on knowing and trusting who He really is, God decides to come Himself – undercover. He comes robed in flesh, so He looks like one of them. They don’t recognize Him, but that’s no surprise. They’ve never really been very good at knowing Him anyway.
And Jesus is about to make a new people – calling humans from every tribe, and tongue, and nation, and language, and religious background into the Truth of His own identity. But first, He has to undo what the Israelites did so badly.
He first passes through the waters. The only person on the planet that knew His identity was in shock. “You want ME – to baptize YOU?? Seriously??”
“Yes, this is the way it has to be.”
And as He rises out of the water, He is met with a technicolor display of His true identity. God shouts from the sky – “This is my Son! I love Him! I am so pleased with Him!” And the Spirit comes down, rests on Jesus…
… and then leads him into the wilderness to be tested.
But unlike His people, Jesus aces the tests – brought to Him by Satan himself.
“Are you hungry Jesus? These rocks would make good bread”
“No thanks, I am going to listen to every word from the mouth of my Father and make that my food. I could make rocks into bread, for sure, but that’s not the way my Father wants it done.”
“Here Jesus, imagine the spectacle you could make jumping off this temple roof. Nothing will happen. You can call for angels to catch you.”
“True, the angels would catch me. But I am not going to take a big risk just for a great story. My Father has not asked me to throw myself off the roof, and He doesn’t like to be tested.”
“OK, how about this? I’ll give you the world, but you give me your worship.”
“Worship belongs to me alone. I’m done talking. Don’t let the door hit you…”
The Second Adam walks through the wilderness and does everything the Israelites couldn’t do. He knew who He was. He trusted His Father. He listened for one voice only. He gave us a pattern for walking through our own wilderness journeys.
Do you find yourself in a wilderness journey right now? I do. And watching Jesus walk His journey through Lent has been just the thing to meditate on in this season.
Here are my take-aways so far for doing a wilderness experience right:
1. Don’t enter a wilderness without knowing WHO you are, and WHOSE you are. You identity must be firmly rooted first.
2. When you enter a wilderness, remember that you are DEEPLY loved.
3. Remember that you are not “wandering” in the wilderness. The Israelites didn’t wander, Jesus didn’t wander, and YOU don’t wander. We are LED into the wilderness. By the Spirit. Loved – and led. We are not alone.
4. Listen. There are many voices in the wilderness, but only one matters. Listen for that one only.
5. “OK” things that are not “God’s” things are wrong. There’s nothing wrong with turning rocks into bread if you have that ability. But if that is not the way the Lord wants to provide that food – it is wrong for that moment.
6. Wilderness journeys are always self-limited. They seem long, but they do come to an end. Be faithful during the journey and keep your eyes on the Prize.
A dear friend gave me a T-shirt last year that I love, and which holds a lot of story for me. “Love the Desert” She also turned me on to a book that I’ll probably talk about more later – but they make a great pair. There’s a lot of beauty in the desert. Sometimes you have to look hard and listen hard, but it’s there. If you’re in the desert – listen hard and look for the beauty. And don’t wander there without knowing that you are His, you are loved, and you are led.
