Manchaca UMC

Lesson 2: The wilderness is a place of intimacy with God. 

Though many people often point to the violence found in the Old Testament, I believe that at its core it is a love story. The love story is between God and the people of ancient Israel. It describes a marital relationship (This is also true in the New Testament; Revelation describes a great marriage banquet and the church is called “the bride of Christ”). In fact, the prophets often term sin against God “adultery.” Many scholars see the Covenant at Mt. Sinai as a wedding ceremony with the Ten Commandments as the vows and the cloud of God’s presence over the mountain as a wedding tent called a chuppa. I consider this to be a “destination wedding” of sorts. Today couples often choose to have their weddings at out of town destinations which can also serve as the place of the honeymoon. For example, places like Hawaii, the beaches of Mexico and resorts in the Caribbean provide places to both wed and honeymoon (I have nothing against this practice except while I have colleagues who have had opportunities to perform destination weddings in Italy, Acapulco, Jackson Hole, Vail and Kauai, my farthest trip to perform a destination wedding was to Waco!). The wilderness provides the destination for the wedding of God and Israel at Sinai. The wilderness surrounding the mountain provides the place of their honeymoon as well. Later when the prophet Hosea talks about God bringing back the wayward bride, he says that God will “lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her (2:14).”

This teaches me that the wilderness is a place of great intimacy with God. As we noted last week, God speaks more often in the wilderness in the Bible than anywhere else. It is no wonder since there are fewer distractions in the wilderness than in the town or village. People can focus more on hearing God there. God also does more miracles in the wilderness. Neither is that a surprise since the wilderness creates a greater dependency upon God. In the wilderness it is harder to provide for ourselves by our own efforts alone. Therefore, our own wilderness experiences of difficulties, despair and loneliness provide a great opportunity for increased intimacy with our Lord.

Perhaps you can remember the joy, excitement and freedom you felt when you first accepted or trusted in God’s great love for you in Christ. Many liken this moment to a mountain top experience. In reality, we best recapture that experience in the valley or wilderness. With fewer distractions, we may slow down and focus on God through prayer, solitude, study or reflection. Unable to lift ourselves out of our difficulty, we turn to God and begin to both trust in, and look for, God’s grace and help. We may even begin to notice small miracles or “Godincidences” which we had missed before. It is in the wilderness where we have the best opportunity for a second honeymoon with the One who loves us the most.

~David