Topical Bible: Deserts: Great and Terrible

◄ Deserts: Great and Terrible ►

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The Bible frequently references deserts as significant locations for spiritual events, testing, and divine encounters. These arid landscapes, often described as "great and terrible," serve as both physical and metaphorical settings throughout Scripture.

Biblical Descriptions and Significance

Deserts in the Bible are often depicted as vast, barren, and inhospitable regions. In Deuteronomy 8:15, the desert is described as "a vast and dreadful wilderness, with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land." This portrayal underscores the harsh conditions faced by those who journey through these areas.

The Wilderness Wanderings

One of the most notable desert experiences in the Bible is the Israelites' 40-year journey through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. This period is marked by trials, divine provision, and covenantal instruction. In Exodus 16:1-36, God provides manna and quail to sustain the Israelites, demonstrating His faithfulness amidst their complaints and doubts. The desert becomes a place of testing and reliance on God, as seen in Deuteronomy 8:2, where it is written, "Remember that the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart."

Prophetic and Messianic Contexts

Deserts also serve as settings for prophetic ministry and messianic preparation. The prophet Elijah, for instance, retreats to the wilderness to escape persecution and encounters God's provision and presence (1 Kings 19:4-8). Similarly, John the Baptist emerges from the desert, calling for repentance and preparing the way for Jesus (Matthew 3:1-3). The desert symbolizes a place of purification and preparation for divine mission.

Jesus in the Desert

The New Testament recounts Jesus' own experience in the desert, where He fasts for 40 days and is tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). This event highlights the desert as a battleground for spiritual warfare and a place of victory over temptation. Jesus' triumph in the desert prefigures His ultimate victory over sin and death.

Spiritual Symbolism

Beyond their physical characteristics, deserts in the Bible often symbolize spiritual desolation and renewal. Hosea 2:14-15 speaks of God leading Israel into the desert to speak tenderly to her, transforming the Valley of Achor into a door of hope. This imagery reflects the transformative power of God's presence, turning desolation into restoration.

Conclusion

Deserts in the biblical narrative are multifaceted, serving as places of testing, divine encounter, and spiritual renewal. They remind believers of the necessity of reliance on God, the reality of spiritual warfare, and the hope of transformation through divine intervention.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 1:19
And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which you saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

His Schools and Schoolmasters.
... WAS THE SCHOOL OF THE DESERT.""The child was in the deserts till the ... sisterless"a
lone man, he passed forth into the great and terrible wilderness of ...
/.../meyer/john the baptist/iii his schools and schoolmasters.htm

David's Deserts
... DAVID'S DESERTS. ... I do not think that we shall understand that great crime of David's,
if ... Such terrible crimes are not committed by men in a right state of mind. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/david/sermon iv davids deserts.htm

The Personality of Power.
... venomous serpents and scorpions, and is described as "all that great and terrible
wilderness," "a waste howling wilderness," and "a land of deserts and pits ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/gordon/quiet talks on power/the personality of power.htm

Ezra, the Praying Reformer
... and cut them off from other nations by mountains, deserts and seas ... All these things
are evidences of his great distress of soul at the terrible state of ...
/.../bounds/prayer and praying men/vii ezra the praying reformer.htm

David's Gratitude
... and to do for you great things and terrible, for Thy ... through Samuel, is referred
to; but the great truth that ... love is not drawn forth by our deserts, but wells ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/davids gratitude.htm

The Demoniac of Gadara
... was there, indifferent to religion, rearing great herds of ... Among the few terrible
glimpses given us of the ... rest he wanders through dry places, deserts of arid ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 5 1-20 the demoniac of.htm

Description of the Wilderness, and the Question About the Death of ...
... of people from two towns met, and made terrible war upon ... why it was that God allowed
so great a crime to ... to the passage before us, between the deserts of Scete ...
/.../cassian/the works of john cassian /chapter i description of the.htm

Pride Catechized
... If you had your deserts, you would years ago have been in the lowest pit of hell;
will you set ... See how everywhere the Lord is a great God and terrible. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 46 1900/pride catechized.htm

Circumcision Given as a Sign, that the Jews Might be Driven Away ...
... your God is both Lord of lords, and a great, mighty, and terrible God, who ... foresee
the events, which are future, nor foreordained his deserts for each one ...
/.../chapter xvi circumcision given as a.htm

Funeral Oration on the Great S. Basil, Bishop of C??sarea in ...
... with haughtiness even any ordinary person, to say nothing of so great a potentate ...
cause with impiety, not even though your threats become still more terrible.". ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xliii funeral oration on.htm