One man frequently associated with wilderness living is the individual we know as John the Baptist (or John the Baptizer). John witnessed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, but he was a prophet in his own right, bringing a message that we need to “walk the walk” and not only “talk the talk.” Brethren traditionally do not observe feast days, but John the Baptist is a man we Brethren can appreciate. In the Roman Catholic tradition, all saints are remembered with prayers on their feast days. In most cases in the Bible, the context suggests that the key characteristic is sparse population, rather than minimal rainfall, although the two factors are closely related. Deserts are usually also wilderness areas, but a wilderness does not necessarily have to be a desert. A desert is an area that is sparsely vegetated because it receives little rainfall. Wilderness refers to a region that has sparse vegetation and is mostly uninhabited. Is it “wilderness” or “desert”? Some English versions (for example, CEV and GNT) refer to “desert,” rather than “wilderness” (as in NIV and NRSV). Jesus, too, is tested in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4), receives revelation there (Mark 1:9-11), and goes to the wilderness to pray (Luke 5:16) and to be alone (Luke 4:42). Abraham, Hagar, Moses, and Elijah all encounter God in wilderness settings. Similarly, in the Bible, the wilderness functions as a place of both testing and revelation.įor the Israelites traveling to the land of Canaan, the wilderness serves as a place of testing. Time spent in the wilderness engaged in challenging activities and separated from the distractions of modern life can have positive outcomes. Outward Bound and wilderness therapy programs today view the wilderness as a good location for self-improvement and behavior modification.
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