Deserts are often mentioned in scripture. They are sometimes referred to as wilderness. Deserts were areas that often were mostly uninhabited, but not always. Deserts sometimes had little life, but other times had life. Often flocks of sheep were raised here. Often times there was not much water in deserts. Deserts have multiple meanings in scripture both good and bad. The Jews wandered in the wilderness (desert) for 40 years. The number forty represents trials and temptations.
The first use of the word desert mentioned in scripture was when Moses was feeding the flock of sheep of his father-in-law Jethro and Moses came to the backside of the desert near the mountainside of God which is mount Horeb which is also known as mount Sinai so this was most likely the desert of Sinai referred to here. Mount Sinai is where Moses received the ten commandments from God. This is where Jesus as the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush. (Exodus 3:1-2 1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.) (Acts 7:30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.) Jesus told Moses to go to Egypt and free his people. God used a small bush to speak to Moses just as God chose Israel as the smallest of people to be his chosen people. God takes lowly things and makes them great just as he takes humble people and makes them great for him.
The Israelites wandered through six deserts during the 40 years they spent in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. They were the deserts or wildernesses of Shur, Sin, Sinai, Paran, Zin, and Etham and passed by the wilderness of Moab. Fourteen other deserts are mentioned by name in scripture for a total of twenty deserts. They were the deserts or wilderness of Beer-sheba, Moab, Kedemoth, Beth-aven, Judah, Ziph, Maon, En-gedi, Gibeon, Damascas, Edom, Jeruel, Tekoa, and Judaea. (Exodus 15:22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.) When the Israelites first came to the wilderness of Shur, they complained to Moses that the waters of Marah were bitter and they could not drink them. God had Moses cast a certain tree into the waters to make it sweet and drinkable. (Exodus 15:25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,) God can take the bitterness of life and make it sweet if we only rely on him and not man or ourselves.
(Exodus 16:1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.) When the Israelites first came to the wilderness of sin, the next desert they arrived in, they complained to Moses about a lack of food. God provided the Israelites with angel’s food in manna, the bread from heaven which represented Jesus who everyone needs for salvation. (Psalm 78:24-25 24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
25Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.) For those who trust in Jesus for their hunger, they shall never lack food. (John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.) The Israelites ate the manna for the full 40 years they wandered in the wilderness as they needed to rely on the bread of Jesus for survival in the desert and so do we. (Deuteronomy 8:3 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.)
The Israelites next came to the desert of Sinai. (Exodus 19:2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.) It was in the desert of Sinai that God had Moses take a census of all males that were 20 years old and older. (Numbers 1:2-3 2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;
3From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.) Of all of the men numbered, only Caleb and Joshua would be allowed entry into the Promised Land with all of the others having died in the desert due to not trusting God after the twelve spies returned from the Promised Land. Only Caleb and Joshua trusted God and so were allowed to live and enter the Promised Land. This is a lesson to all people that in order to enter heaven, they must trust God’s word and receive Jesus as their Saviour. The desert of Sinai is also were Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire to God and had their lives taken by God. (Numbers 3:4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father.) This is another lesson to obey God and his commands or your life will be taken by him. All of those who try to serve God and enter heaven their way such as by good works will have their life taken and their soul will spend eternity in hell. There is only one way to heaven and that is by God’s Son Jesus.
The next desert entered by the Israelites was the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 10:12 And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.) Moses sent the twelve spies to search out the Promised Land from the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 13:3 And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.) What a contrast from the desert they were in to the land God promised them if they had only obeyed God. God promises us a mansion in heaven to those who accept his Son as Saviour, streets of gold, and a place with no sorrow, pain, or tears. A person only needs to believe and trust Jesus to receive all of this. Those who reject Jesus will live their lives in a barren desert just like the Israelites chose.
The Israelites next entered the desert of Zin. (Numbers 20:1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.) Miriam died in the desert of Zin. This is also where once again the Israelites tempted God by complaining about not having water. This is when God commanded Moses to speak to the rock to give the people water, but Moses in his anger struck the rock and this sin cost him the opportunity to enter the Promised Land. (Deuteronomy 32:51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah–Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.) Those who disobey God will die including his man Moses. God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34 ¶ Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:)
The sixth and final desert that the Israelites passed through in their exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land was the wilderness of Etham. (Numbers 33:8 And they departed from before Pi–hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah.) Some of these deserts they passed through and encamped in more than once. Just as God did not let the Israelites thirst while wandering in the wilderness, he also will not let a person thirst who seeks him. (Isaiah 48:21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.)
The deserts contain many beasts and creatures of Satan. This is one reason that God had the Israelites pass through the desert in order to see sin and also to learn to trust in him for all things whether it is food, water, or protection. The wild beasts not only refers to the literal dangerous animals found in the desert, but here it mostly refers to Satanic creatures that like the desert and its absence of water, with water representing the living water of Jesus. Satan and his beasts do not like or want the living water of Jesus anywhere near them and will try to lead as many people from Jesus as well to a life in the desert. The satyrs mentioned are devils and owls are often associated with Satan with the screech owl here most likely being a satanic reference. (Deuteronomy 8:15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;) (Isaiah 34:14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.) Isaiah 13:21 speaks of the takeover of Babylon by wild beasts of the desert whereas Isaiah 34:14 most likely refers to the end of Edom. (Isaiah 13:21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.) Devils like to wander around in dry places such as deserts. (Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.) They also seek the unsaved who do not have the living water of Jesus and hence are living a life of dehydration. Many people are partially dehydrated due to not drinking enough physical water, but many more people are spiritually dehydrated as they do not have Jesus who is the living water. (John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.) The man of the Gadarenes who was possessed by Legion was driven into the desert since devils like the desert. [Luke 8:29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)] Deserts can often bring fear to people living in them due to the harsh conditions such as lack of food and water as well as the darkness. Only by trusting in Jesus can a person survive spiritually in the desert. Deserts in a Christian’s life can teach a Christian to have more faith in God. Times of dryness as in a desert will make a person seek what is truly important and that is Jesus.
Often times Jesus will have us move to a desert spiritually so that he might teach us a lesson and allow us to grow closer to him. Just as a person grows spiritually when they are in a valley, a person will grow spiritually during their time in a desert if they learn to trust God. The next time that God has placed you in the desert and you feel that God has abandoned you just remember that God uses all for good for those who seek his righteousness and that if God can take the dry bones of Israel as seen in Ezekiel 37 and once again make them a thriving nation, God can also take you out of the desert and make you a great soul winner and servant for Jesus. (Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.)When Abraham sent Hagar away with Ishmael, they wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba until they no longer had water. (Genesis 21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer–sheba.) It was only after she cried to God and God heard her and spoke to her, that she trusted God. God provided her with water and will provide the living water of Jesus to anyone who cries out to Jesus for it. The water God provided represents the water of Jesus that everyone needs. Just as some deserts will bloom and come to life after a rain, we can bloom as well when we are in a spiritual desert if we drink of the rain of God through his Son Jesus.
Sometimes God has people escape to the desert to escape the sinfulness of cities where they can be alone with God. God said it was better to live in the desert than with an angry woman. (Proverbs 21:19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.) John the Baptist lived in the desert and preached repentance. He prepared the way for Jesus. (Matthew 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,) God had John the Baptist live in the desert so he could rely on Jesus for life and to allow him the freedom from the snares of life to serve him. Isaiah had prophesied about John the Baptist and his preparing the way for Jesus. (Isaiah 40:3 ¶ 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.) (Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.) Jesus himself spent time in the desert to be tempted by Satan to show he was tempted just like every other man, yet he still did not sin. (Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.) (Mark 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.) Jesus was sent to the wilderness, since Satan likes the dry places and it is a spiritually unclean place and life is harsh, so it was a good place of temptation. Notice the wild beasts were there as well and how Jesus was there for forty days, since forty means temptation. Jesus went into the desert because he could not freely walk in the cities of Galilee after healing a leper who disobeyed his command. (Mark 1:45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.) Jesus went into the desert to rest with his disciples but was followed and it was here that he fed the five thousand with two fishes and five loaves. (Mark 6:31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.) This feeding of the people in the desert again shows our need to trust in Jesus as the bread of life during our journey in the desert place.
David escaped into the desert to escape his enemies and seek God where his soul thirsted for the water of Jesus as he was in a dry desert physically and spiritually. (I Samuel 23:15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.) (Psalm 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;) Just as David and the land of Israel needed the water of Jesus, so do all people. Deserts can be a place of evil, but they can also be used by God to clean up a Christian’s life so that they will grow for him. Deserts are often times thought of as dry places, but God has promised to make the desert of Israel into a plush place for life. (Isaiah 27:6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.) (Isaiah 35:1-2 1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.) (Isaiah 35:6 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.) God has partly fulfilled this prophecy and promise today as Israel produces much more food and has much more green grass than her Arab neighbors. Israel sells much fruit to the Arab world and other parts of the world just as God said she would. God has made the desert come alive and he can in your life too. This has all happened since Israel became a nation again in May 1948. Israel was 84% desert in 1964 and today is less than 62%. God still looks after his people, while the Arabs serve the false god Allah of Islam. The Arabs live in a physical and spiritual desert. Just as God can bring forth physical life in the desert of Israel, he will also bring forth spiritual life and growth to those who are living in spiritual deserts.
