SO MOSES BROUGHT ISRAEL FROM THE RED SEA, AND THEY WENT OUT INTO THE WILDERNESS OF SHUR; AND THEY WENT THREE DAYS IN THE WILDERNESS, AND FOUND NO WATER. AND WHEN THEY CAME TO MARAH, THEY COULD NOT DRINK THE WATERS OF MARAH, FOR THE WATERS WERE BITTER: THEREFORE THE NAME OF IT WAS CALLED MARAH. AND THE PEOPLE MURMURED AND COMPLAINED AGAINST MOSES, SAYING, WHAT SHALL WE DRINK? AND HE CRIED UNTO THE LORD; AND THE LORD SHOWED HIM A TREE, WHICH WHEN HE HAD CAST IT INTO THE WATERS, THE WATERS WERE MADE SWEET. Exodus, Chapter 15, Verses 22-25.
Among other things, the Wilderness was a type and shadow of life without Christ. Without Christ men are Spiritual Vagabonds. They can be compared to the Walking Dead. They are physically alive, but they are spiritually dead. They lack the Life of Christ which is the Light (understanding) of Christ. IN HIM WAS LIFE AND THE LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN.
The Children of Israel lived in a Spiritual Wilderness like the natural Wilderness they journeyed in after they were delivered from their taskmasters in Egypt. Like a Natural Wilderness, a Spiritual Wilderness is a place of desolation where DESPAIR, hopelessness, and desperation thrive because Christ is not present there.
The Children of Israel lacked Spiritual Wisdom and Understanding. The first place they came to after crossing the Red Sea was the Wilderness of Shur. They played the HARLOT before God in the Wilderness of Shur. The word “Shur” means “to travel about as a harlot.” Because they were filled with unbelief they became despondent and desolate. Their hearts were filled with Spiritual Darkness and Fornication.
After three days in the Wilderness of Shur, the Children of Israel journeyed to a place called Marah. “Marah” means “bitter.” They could not drink the water there because the water was bitter. Like the bitter water, the Children of Israel became bitter. They murmured and complained against Moses because they did not have any WATER to drink. The Lord then showed Moses a tree and threw it into the water and the water became sweet. The Tree being thrown into the water is a picture of the Cross. The sacrifice of Christ is able to change the bitter waters of the soul to sweet waters pure enough to drink. The sweet water is a picture of Christ the LIVING WATER. When we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are drinking sweet water from the River of Life.
The Children of Israel were in despair. They were without any life sustaining water. People who are in despair become desperate. People who are desperate do desperate things. They did not understand that the reason God brought them through the Wilderness in the first place was to teach them to trust Him in whatever desperate situation they might find themselves. Many times when God’s people find themselves in desperate situations, they murmur and complain instead of using their faith and trust in Him. Faith is the key which opens the door to provision when we are approaching God with our needs. When we murmur and complain, we are sowing seeds of rebellion and discord.
FOR GOD, WHO COMMANDED THE LIGHT TO SHINE OUT OF DARKNESS HAS SHINED IN OUR HEARTS TO GIVE THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST. BUT WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS, THAT THE EXCELLENCY OF THE POWER MAY BE OF GOD, AND NOT OF US. WE ARE TROUBLED ON EVERY SIDE, YET NOT DISTRESSED; WE ARE PERPLEXED, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; PERSECUTED BUT NOT FORSAKEN; CAST DOWN BUT NOT DESTROYED. 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verses 6-9.
In the beginning, God Commanded the Light to shine out of the Darkness so Christ and the KNOWLEDGE of His Glory could shine in our hearts. We may face many difficulties and trying times, but we are not destroyed, distressed or in DESPAIR because the POWER and GLORY of God sustains us. We have this TREASURE, the GLORY of God in the face of Christ, in our earthen vessels if Christ is our Savior. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God because we have placed all our faith, hope and trust in Him and His power to deliver us from all our troubles. As Christians and vessels of these Heavenly Treasures, we have been commissioned to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and share the glorious Gospel of Christ with others.
AND THEY (we) SHALL BUILD THE OLD WASTES, THEY SHALL RAISE UP THE FORMER DESOLATIONS, AND THEY SHALL REPAIR THE WASTE CITIES, THE DESOLATIONS OF MANY GENERATIONS. Isaiah, Chapter 61, Verse 4.
Jesus came to set sinners free from the bondage of sin, to heal the broken hearted and proclaim deliverance to the captives. The OLD WASTE CITIES speak of people who are lost without Christ from the desolations which have scourged many generations. As vessels and ministers of Christ, we are commanded to go into all the World and preach the Gospel, the good news that Christ died on the Cross. The Light of Christ now shines in the Darkness to set free those who are spiritually blind, barren, distraught and destitute.
Raising up the former desolations is about Restoration. Restoration is about restoring and REVIVING the lives of people who have been destroyed by sin and desolation. A heart without Christ is a heart which is desolate of the Life and Light of Christ. We are all in need of a Savior to save us from the bondage of sin.
People without Christ live in a Spiritual Wilderness of Despair and Desolation. Unlike the Promised Land, which is filled with an abundance of peace and rest, the Wilderness of Despair provides no peace or rest. The soul without Christ (Light) is a Spiritual Vagabond roaming the Earth in total Darkness. The Darkness which permeates the soul of the Spiritual Vagabond yearns for peace and rest, but does not UNDERSTAND where peace and rest can be found. The Light (Christ) that shines in and through the Darkness can only enter in through the KEYHOLE of the soul. In order to accept Christ as Lord and Savior, one must bypass all reason and receive Him by FAITH. Faith is the key which bypasses reason and opens the door to all Heavenly promises.
THE LORD REDEEMS THE SOUL OF HIS SERVANTS: AND NONE OF THEM WHO TRUST IN HIM SHALL BE DESOLATE. Psalms, Chapter 34, Verse 22.
The Voice of the Lord is crying out in the Wilderness of Sin to all who will repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Lord is our Redeemer. He redeems the souls of all who wish to serve and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. All who trust in Christ will be delivered from Spiritual Darkness. The Spiritual Vagabond is spiritually blind and destitute, living without hope in a Wilderness of Despair. The Light of Christ will bring Wisdom and Understanding to all who will call on His name.