El Desierto

In the story of Exodus, God rescues his people from slavery to take them to a new home, a distant garden full of abundance. But God did not take Israel directly there. Rather, he led them along the longest path through an arid and hard desert. But why? Why did he take them through the desert? Yes, that's a great question. Let's explore the biblical theme of the desert. Here's something interesting. The story of the Bible begins in an empty and lifeless desert. But then, God's life causes a spring of water to spring from the dry ground. From that spring, God plants a garden. A garden full of God's very life. And then, outside the garden, God forms the human being from the dust of the desert. And places humanity in the garden. Exactly, to be connected to God's life. But to remain close to God's life, humans have to learn to triumph in the garden. And we are told that this implies listening to God's voice. But there is another voice in the garden. Yes, the voice of a deceiver who says, You cannot trust God. In fact, God is hiding something from you. You could live life in your own terms. And humans hear that voice. And as a result, they end up out of the garden, in the desert. Ah, so the desert represents the tragedy of being disconnected from God's life. Exactly. Throughout the Bible, different people end up in the desert for different reasons. Sometimes as a result of their own decisions. Like when Moses kills an Egyptian and then has to flee to the desert. But the desert can also be the result of other people's bad decisions. Like what happens with Hagar. She suffers mistreatment and flees to the desert.

But in both stories, God comes to meet her in the desert and provides for her needs. God meets Hagar in a well and promises her a blessing for her family that would last for generations. And God meets Moses in the desert and prepares him to lead his people out of slavery. Okay, so let's go back to our first question. When Moses frees Israel from slavery, why does he take them through the desert instead of taking them straight to the promised land? Well, the people of Israel had not yet learned to trust their life to God. So God takes them through the desert for a time of preparation. Preparation? Well, the desert is really hard. But God walked with them and provided just what they needed every day. Why not? Well, God was teaching them to trust that he would be with them every day. He was preparing them to listen to his teaching and stay connected to his life. Ah, so the key to survival in the desert is the same key to success in the garden. That's right. The desert is a place to practice how to be people of the garden. Okay, but the intensity of the desert was too much for Israel. Most of them did not listen to God. Some even wanted to return to slavery. And they stayed there, in the desert. So it was the youngest generation, those who grew up and were trained in the desert, who were ready to enter the land of the garden. And when they entered the land for the first time, their trust in God was strong. But it didn't last long. Soon the Israelites began to think that the goodness of the earth came from their own wisdom and strength, or that it was a gift from other gods. They forgot the God who provided them with everything. And this led to idolatry and violent injustice, which ultimately led them to exile and back to the desert. So the biblical story is quite pessimistic. Humans fail in the garden, but we also fail in the desert. Despite this, God remains committed to his purpose of bringing humanity to the garden. And so God meets us again in the desert, but this time in a new way. At the beginning of his life, Jesus spends 40 days fasting in the desert.

There he revives the pilgrimage of his people. The deceiver tempted him to stop trusting in God and take control of life and power according to his own terms. But where Israel and humanity failed, Jesus triumphs by trusting in his Father and listening only to the voice of God. And then Jesus announces the arrival of the kingdom and the life of God, giving gifts to the people who were living in their own types of deserts. Yes, Jesus healed people and fed them, sometimes in authentic deserts. And he called people to follow him, to listen to his voice and to share his gifts of the garden with everyone else. And after his death and resurrection, Jesus went before all of us to open the way to a land of heaven. to our garden of the future. But we are not yet on that land. In a sense, today we are like Israel, like pilgrims through the desert, which is hard and dangerous. But Jesus promises to be with us, not necessarily giving us what we want, but what we need. And while he prepares us to inherit the land of the garden that God has prepared for us, he invites us to trust in Him, to listen to Him, to follow Him, and to put into practice being people of the garden in the desert. Copyright © 2020 Mooji Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved. No part of this recording may be reproduced without Mooji Media Ltd.'s express consent.