On my flight from Bahrain to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I marvelled at the vast expanse of desert landscape below – no vegetation except for an isolated bush or tree; no rivers, fields or forests; nothing but emptiness mile after mile. The same held true on a later bus trip to the Al Quassim area west of Riyadh. Apart from occasional towns and ruins of historical buildings, the scenery consisted mostly of endless plains of dry sandy soil with scattered areas of barren scrub.
Riyadh is a sprawling city surrounded by the deserts of central Arabia. In the 1970s, most of the embassies moved from Jeddah to the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh. This area with its cultivated parks and gardens, as well as a wadi area with irrigated palm groves is like an oasis. The effect of water in the desert is miraculous – transforming a seemingly dead area into a living one.
Desert conditions result from extreme heat and lack of water. There are, however, degrees of barrenness. Even with minimal water, a desert is not lifeless. A few hardy plants survive and thrive. Tracks in the dust betray the presence of a variety of animal kinds – ants, beetles, caterpillars, lizards, hedgehogs and birds, among others. But life is not easy. A dead toad still sitting up, seemingly cooked in the scorching sun while hopping across the road, is a sobering sight.
The desert barrenness makes humans vulnerable. Without food and water in the intense daytime heat and harsh night time coldness, a person cannot survive for long. It is easy to get disoriented and lose one’s way in the monotonous terrain where everything looks the same. Furthermore, dust storms that drastically reduce visibility and rare torrential rains that turn the desert into a muddy swamp make journeying extra challenging. Many a traveller has met an untimely end in the desert.
Expanses of desert exist in the area where biblical history is set – the Middle East and North Africa. As a result, desert settings feature prominently in the Scriptures. They are spoken of as places of testing and manifestations of God, as well as areas of refuge or spiritual retreat.
Moses spent forty years in the desert after escaping from Egypt where his life was sought for murder. He married, had two sons, and lived with his father-in-law Jethro’s family when God appeared to him and gave him the special task of bringing his people out of Egyptian slavery. So, starting at age 80, he spent another forty years in a desert wilderness as he led the people of God, Israel, to the Promised Land. {101}
King David and the prophet Elijah both escaped into the desert before pursuers who sought their lives.{102}
Later, just prior to the time of Christ, in the desert of Judea, John the Baptist preached Jesus’ coming as the Messiah and exhorted to repentance.{103}
For forty days at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was tested in the desert by being subjected to Satan’s temptations. Later, he and his disciples retreated into the desert to get away from crowds.{104}
On their desert journey, the Israelites suffered thirst, hunger and discouragement. Without God’s loving leadership, provision and sustenance, they would not have survived their forty-year odyssey.{105} Human life can be compared to Israel’s desert journey – many times it seems dry, difficult and disorienting. One may feel like wandering through a giant labyrinth, going in circles, or hitting dead ends. After at the most a few decades, conscious human existence comes to an end, with the physical body slowly disintegrating into dust where it came from. Yet all is not hopeless.
The Scriptures provide a clue to the origin of this earthly “desert experience”. When our ancestors disregarded their Creator’s instructions, they alienated themselves and their descendents from God. Nevertheless, in his faithfulness, God did not abandon humanity. A means of reconciliation has been made available as God, through Jesus Christ, took on human form and died for mankind. While the first people lost access to the tree of life, the way has again become open for those who choose life over death. They have an opportunity to respond to God’s grace in faith and submission – as opposed to remaining separate and independent from God, which results in physical and spiritual death.{106}
While selfish human exploitation of the environment is causing present deserts to enlarge, the Bible gives hope for a future restoration of all things. The prophets spoke reassuringly to the Jewish people exiled in Babylon that one day they would again be restored in their own land. They also wrote of watered deserts springing into bloom. When even now with just a little rain, seemingly lifeless seeds in the ground germinate overnight and a barren area suddenly becomes carpeted in green, how much more will running springs of water accomplish! One can only imagine today’s inhospitable deserts having their thirst quenched by gushing water forming pools and lakes, and turning the wasteland into a paradise like garden.{107}
For the people of God today, the prophecies of deserts blooming have a powerful application to life in the Spirit. The hope for the deserts remains a hope for humanity. Of and by themselves, separate from God, humans in this life can be seen as spiritually dead, and after a relatively short bodily existence will also die physically. Through the Creator’s amazing grace, however, the Holy Spirit – symbolized as living water – has a transforming power both in the physical life and after death.{108}
Touched by the divine Spirit, a lifeless, depressing and meaningless existence will begin to reflect love, joy, peace and hope. The Spirit is like a seed of eternal life implanted within a person. When Jesus returns to the earth as a king over the kingdom of God, those who died in Christ, lying in the ground like dormant seeds, will come to life and no longer be subject to death. They will undergo an incredible transformation from mortal to immortal, from corruptible to incorruptible.{109}
The Word of God holds out a cosmological hope for humanity that is incomprehensible in its scope and magnificence. Ultimately, humans will be fully restored into the divine image for which they were destined and all things will be made new. A just and righteous rule of the kingdom of God will become universal. There will be no more suffering and death. All will know God, and the new heavens and earth will be filled with love and gladness throughout eternity.{110}