AND THEY TOOK THEIR JOURNEY FROM ELIM, AND ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CAME UNTO THE WILDERNESS OF SIN, WHICH IS BETWEEN ELIM AND SINAI, ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH AFTER THEIR DEPARTING OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT. AND THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL MURMURED AGAINST MOSES AND AARON IN THE WILDERNESS. AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SAID UNTO THEM, WOULD TO GOD WE HAD DIED BY THE HAND OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, WHEN WE SAT BY THE POTS, AND WHEN WE DID EAT BREAD TO THE FULL; FOR YOU HAVE BROUGHT US FORTH INTO THIS WILDERNESS, TO KILL THIS WHOLE ASSEMBLY WITH HUNGER. Exodus, Chapter 16, Verse 1-3.
In the Wilderness of Sin the Children of Israel SINNED against God. They were a rebellious lot. They were doomed to WANDER in the Wilderness for forty years because they tempted God and did not believe Him even after all the miracles He performed in their presence. Their hearts became filled with DARKNESS in the Wilderness of Sin. The Wilderness of Sin was a type and shadow of life without Christ. It is a type and shadow of spiritual darkness. It is a type and shadow of the contempt the Children of Israel had for the Lord as they were going through a time of testing. God lead them into the Wilderness to be tested in order to PROVE to them what was in their hearts. They were lacking in spiritual understanding and FAITH in God.
In reality, the Wilderness of Sin was not just a place where the true hearts of the Children of Israel were revealed, but a place where the worship of Satan was prominent. The word “sin” in the above Scripture is translated from the Hebrew word “midbar-sin.” “Midbar-Sin” is not just a word for sin, but mainly a word which refers to the “Moon-Deity Sin.” Midbar Sin was worshipped around the entire area of Arabia, Mesopotamia and LEVANT. I capitalized the word LEVANT because that word has been in the news lately.
The Islamic Terrorists, who are torturing and murdering people in the Middle East, call themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and LEVANT or ISIL. Levant means “to rise.” I think we can safely say the “rise of the Levant” refers to the Moon God, Allah, since it is Allah’s will that all men be in submission to him. The short term goal of ISIL is to create an Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East by seizing Israel, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan and a few other Arab Nations. However, their long term goal is to bring the entire World under the subjection of Islam which is demanded by the Moon God Allah, or Satan. Islam is not only a religious system, but also a political one. Satan has always desired to rule the entire World. He is already the God of this World, but this World and the FULLNESS THEREOF belongs to the true God, Jehovah.
The Islamic State of Levant began in Iraq. Iraq has been called by many the “Cradle of Civilization” because Civilization began there. The Garden of Eden is said to have been in what we now call Iraq. Ancient Babylon was where the nation of Iraq is now located. When ISIL first surfaced in Iraq, they took the city of Baqubah as their Capitol.
Satan is the God worshipped in all religions outside of Christianity. No, he is not called Satan by those religions, but he is the mastermind behind all false religions. Satan is called by many different names in many different religions. He has always desired to be worshipped as God. Satan tried to get Jesus to bow down and worship him when he tempted Christ in the Wilderness. He promised he would give Him all the Nations of the World for His obedience if He would only obey him. All the Nations of the World would one day belong to Jesus, but it would not be Satan who would give them to Him. He would obtain them by paying the price for sin for all mankind when He shed His Blood at Calvary.
I will not go into any more detail about Islam. There are many good books which have been written exposing the deceptive teachings of the Koran and the Prophet Mohammed written by some very good Authors. The intent of this book is to bring people to an understanding of Truth and help them to draw closer to Christ. For those who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior, this book is a call in the WILDERNESS OF SIN for them to repent of their sins, and accept Christ as Lord and Savior in order that they may find Eternal Life. See John, Chapter 3, Verse 16.
THE REBELLION
AND ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL JOURNEYED FROM THE WILDERNESS OF SIN, AFTER THEIR JOURNEYS, ACCORDING TO THE COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD, AND PITCHED IN REPHIDIM: AND THERE WAS NO WATER FOR THE PEOPLE TO DRINK. WHEREFORE THE PEOPLE DID CHIDE, WITH MOSES, AND SAID, GIVE US WATER THAT WE MAY DRINK. AND MOSES SAID UNTO THEM, WHY CHIDE YOU WITH ME? WHEREFORE DO YOU TEMPT THE LORD? AND THE PEOPLE THIRSTED THERE FOR WATER; AND THE PEOPLE MURMURED AGAINST MOSES, AND SAID, WHEREFORE IS THIS THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT US UP OUT OF EGYPT, TO KILL US AND OUR CHILDREN AND OUR CATTLE WITH THIRST? Exodus, Chapter 17, Verses 1-3.
The Wilderness was a place of testing for the Children of Israel. There was a direct route from Egypt to the Promised Land by which God could have led them. However, God chose first to show them what was in their hearts and expose to them their shortcomings and rebellion. They were a stiff-necked people whose will had to be broken before they could receive the promises of God. They wandered in the Wilderness for forty years because they were a rebellious people. “THE PEOPLE DID CHIDE,” complained or argued with Moses, and in doing so they tempted the Lord in the Wilderness.
God was trying to instill faith and patience in His chosen people. Instead, they murmured and complained against Moses. In doing so, they were tempting the Lord. Even after seeing all the Miracles God performed in Egypt and the Wilderness, they did still not trust God. They failed to UNDERSTAND what God was trying to teach them. The main thing God was trying to teach them was that they could TRUST Him no matter what adversities they would experience. God led them on their journey through the Wilderness and always provided their needs, even where resources did not exist.
We fail many times in our own life because we do not believe the promises of God. We travel daily through a WORLDLY WILDERNESS on our journey through life. God is trying to teach us to trust and lean on Him during trials and adverse situations we encounter which we have no strength or power to overcome on our own. We KNOW what God has promised, but fail to receive the promises of God because we murmur and complain instead of believing God will do what He said He would do. God is not like men who lie, but has always been faithful to fulfill His promises when we by faith and patience believe.
This World is a type and shadow of the Wilderness in which the Children of Israel journeyed on their way to the Promised Land. The Promised Land represented the Promises of God. It was a land filled with Milk and Honey, a land of provision filled with every life sustaining thing they needed. The only thing they needed to obtain the Promise of God was Faith.
On this Earth we all live in a Wilderness. Some people live in a Spiritual Wilderness. We who are born-again live in a land of Promise SURROUNDED BY THE Wilderness. God has promised to supply all of our needs “ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY BY CHRIST JESUS.” Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 19.
People without Christ live and journey in the Wilderness of Sin. They are spiritual subjects of Satan, the lesser light. People who have been born-again are subjects of Christ, the Greater Light. We live in a Land of Promise where God assures us He WILL supply every need we have. However, God does makes it rain on the just and the unjust, JUST because He is JUST. The JUST, however, live by FAITH in God. The unjust live by faith in themselves and their own ability to get what they want or need. As Christians, we give God the credit for the rain, and all He provides for us. The non-Christian does not care where the rain or provision comes from, only that it rains.
BUT GOD WHO IS RICH IN MERCY; FOR HIS GREAT LOVE WHEREWITH HE LOVED US, EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN SINS, HAS QUICKENED US TOGETHER WITH CHRIST, BY GRACE ARE YOU SAVED; AND HAS RAISED US UP TOGETHER, AND MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS. Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 4-6.
As Christians we may live in a Natural Wilderness. However, in Christ we have been lifted up to dwell spiritually with Him in Heavenly Places. We dwell far above the Principalities and Powers of Darkness who control and ravage the souls of mankind that wander aimlessly in the Wilderness of Sin. Read Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verses 18-23.
To those who dwell in Darkness the VOICE of the Lord cries out in the Wilderness of Sin to repent of your sins and receive Christ (Life) as your Lord and Savior. Christ is the Light which will lead you out of Darkness and Spiritual Death to become a NEW Creation in Him. Seek the Lord while He may be found. He will give you VICTORY, REST and PEACE from your life of SIN DESPERATION and DESPAIR. God’s peace which passes all understanding has the ability to keep you safe during times of trouble..