Exodus stands out as a foundational and pivotal book for both the Jewish and Christian faiths. As the second book in the biblical canon, Exodus narrates the founding of the nation of Israel, the forming of their identity as the people of God, and their formidable journey “through the waters, towards the mountain for worship,” as L. Michael Morales puts it in The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus (Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2012). As the book of the beginning of the nation of Israel, Exodus’s themes reverberate for and are readapted by later writers of the rest of the Old Testament and the New.
One notable, recurring theme is the wilderness motif. Wilderness is a land of nothingness. It conjures images of loss of direction, dryness, barrenness, hunger, thirst, danger, scarcity, and divine absence. Therefore, wilderness is often used as a symbol to describe one’s state of being. When we consider ourselves in a state of wilderness, we feel stuck somewhere in life. We lose a sense of purpose and aimlessly wander around. However, wilderness is also a time for quiet reflection, a time with God, and an opportunity to hear from God. Therefore, wilderness connotes both space and time, danger and hope, an experience of loneliness and an opportunity for renewal. In this sense, wilderness is not just a phase that marks one’s transition from one realm to another but a crucial state in which to receive fresh insights for the future. Rather than only a state of being, wilderness can be a state of becoming.
In Scripture, the wilderness encompasses several significant events in Israel’s national memory, including the testing, the murmuring, and the way of Yahweh. The wilderness experience serves as a training ground for Israel to become the people of God, yet it is also full of many dark moments. In light of its pedagogical purpose, the wilderness is a necessary journey, contributing to Israel’s identity and spiritual formation, to their knowing who Yahweh is and who they are as Yahweh’s people, and how to trust and relate to this God. In turn, lessons gleaned from Israel’s journey in the wilderness teach us about our own state of being and becoming. I understand spiritual formation as cultivating a growing relationship and a knowledge of God so that one is formed toward God and Christ’s likeness in character and action. At Fuller, we are attentive to how our sacred texts inform and transform students’ way of being, thinking, doing, and becoming.
The wilderness motif of the Israelites reverberates through the rest of the Old Testament and extends into the New Testament. It is recounted in two blocks of materials in the Torah: Exodus 15:22–18:27 and Numbers 10:11–36:13. A negative portrayal of the journey is found in Numbers, where Yahweh refers to Israel testing him 10 times in the wilderness (Num 14:22). Additionally, both the murmuring motif and the rebellions of the Israelites also escalate in Numbers (Num 14:2-4, 36; 16:2). Later writers of the Old Testament use the wilderness motif both positively and negatively to suit their interests and needs (see Terrence E. Fretheim, Exodus, Interpretation; Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1991). For example, Israel’s forgetfulness of Yahweh’s provisions in the wilderness and her rebellion against him is recounted in Psalm 106:13–33. In the prophetic tradition, the wilderness motif serves two contrasting purposes. On one end of the spectrum, it symbolizes Israel’s honeymoon period with Yahweh (Jer 2:2; Hos 2:15). On the other end, it represents Israel’s rebellion against Yahweh (Ezek 20:13).
The wilderness motif is not limited to the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness but also the experience of Jesus in the wilderness while facing the temptations of Satan (Matt 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). In the Gospels, Jesus appears as the anticipated Messiah and the agent of the eschatological new exodus. Jesus will guide his people to a new mountain to worship and to establish a new covenant. In Matthew and Mark, allusion to the wilderness motif and the “way” language demonstrate Jesus as the new Moses. The structure of Matthew chapters 1–4 is patterned after the exodus: out of Egypt, into the wilderness. The flight of Jesus to Egypt recalls Moses and the Israelites in Egypt (Matt 2:15). In the beginning of Mark, he writes “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way—a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’” (Mark 1:2-3; cf. Matt 3:3). The messenger alludes to the angel in Exodus 23:20 as well as the messenger, Elijah, in Malachi (4:5-6). In Paul, the wilderness motif becomes a cautionary tale, warning the people of God not to repeat the same mistake that the Israelites made in the wilderness (1 Cor 10:1-12).
As I look back on my own past seasons of wilderness, I see the experience of “wandering around” without a proper direction in writing my dissertation, feeling confined and stifled in my ministry, living with discontent without any prospect of other options, and disillusioned about God. These seasons have all been formative in shaping who I am and how I see God and the world around me.
As much as we do not welcome the wilderness, it is crucial in our walk with God. Finding ourselves in a wilderness invites us to ponder, trust, and pray. The word wilderness in Hebrew (מִדְבָּר) also means “mouth” or “speaking.” May we hear God speaking to us in our respective wilderness experiences.
Chloe Sun is professor of Old Testament and the program director for Fuller’s Chinese Studies Center