I know we need to pick up the pace if we’re going to make it through Deuteronomy anytime soon (at this rate, we’ll finish it by October…of 2032). But I made it a point when I started this project of stopping every time I saw something that caused me to reflect.
And doggone it, Deuteronomy 1:19 caused me to stop and reflect.
In his description of the area Israel just wandered through, Moses calls it “that great and terrible wilderness.” Let’s be clear: In saying “great,” he’s not arguing that it’s super-great and the-bees-knees. He’s saying it’s great in scope and size—sort of like our Great Plains near the American midwest. It’s just a huge swath of territory.
The “terrible” part is exactly how it sounds—terrible. It was hot, rocky, dry, and mostly uninhabitable, unless you count the “fiery serpents and scorpions” that called that area home (Deuteronomy 8:15).
Water was at a premium. According to Moses himself, there was none to drink; instead, “He brought water for you out of the rock of flint” (Deuteronomy 8:15).
The Wilderness of Sinai was not the type of place you would want to spend any amount of time in, and it certainly wasn’t the type of place that was meant to sustain over two million people for over forty years.
So why did God choose to take His people through this barren wasteland?
The simple reason is that it happened to be directly between Egypt and Canaan. It was simply the most direct route, even if the Israelites fumbled it at the end.
The other reason is that it was the perfect place to cleanse His people.
Wandering in the wilderness for forty years was never part of the plan. But when they became obstinate and disobedient at the point of decision, God sent them into the “great and terrible wilderness” in order to develop faith on His terms.
Think about it: With natural enemies around every corner, no natural provisions, and very little identifying markers to see where they were, it’s a miracle Israel lasted longer than five minutes. The only reason they did was because of God.
That’s what He wanted to create in them. If the first generation of Israelites thought that they couldn’t take the Promised Land because the men looked like giants, then the wilderness was the perfect place to develop that type of dependent faith.
For forty years, the Israelites learned to rely on God when it came to food (manna), water (from rocks), enemies (Amorites), direction (pillar of fire), and leadership (Moses). To depend on God was beaten into them day in and day out.
It’s little wonder why the second generation never hesitated once they reached Canaan. They were ready.
The frustrating thing is that these types of lessons are only seen in hindsight. Israel never realized they were learning dependence—it was simply developed over time through the harshest of conditions.
Isn’t that how our lives are? None of us realize that we’re wandering in our own “great and terrible wilderness” until we look back and see the growth that could’ve only come through an experience like that. We’re thankful for the experience…eventually.
This is what James 1:2-4 means when he says that the “testing of our faith produces endurance.” That’s the result. That’s what we’re aiming at.
Because of that, according to James, we should “consider it all joy…when [we] encounter various trials.” Not because we’re happy to be in the wilderness, but because we remember what the wilderness creates in us.
Maybe it’s not so “great and terrible” after all.