Grace in the Wilderness

 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him (Deut 32:9-12 KJV).

Deuteronomy 32 contains what is known as the song of Moses. It was to be a witness against them on the day that they would break their covenant with God and face the evils that would come upon them as a result (Deut 31:19-21). 

In the above passage quoted we read of the very beginning of Israel's relationship with God as a nation. This recounts the desert experience out of Egypt, and God's care and provision for His people, as He led them through the wilderness. It was here that God cared for them for forty years. And they lacked nothing (Deut 2:7). 

Now in the time of their backsliding, God calls them to remember their beginning,

Moreover the word of the LORD came to me saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown, Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD (Jeremiah 2:1-3 KJV).

The covenant made at Sinai was in effect a marriage between the Lord God, and His people Israel. Now they were unfaithful. They had turned from Him to serve other gods. They had broken the covenant and committed adultery. God asks what iniquity they had found in Him that would cause them to walk after vanity? Why did they not seek Him who had brought them through the wilderness, and into the land of plenty (Jeremiah 2:4-7)?

The immediate context of the book of Jeremiah is that of the Babylonian captivity. Much of the prophecy contained within it pertains to this. However, as with many prophecies found in scripture there is a future application as well. While the Babylonian captivity is often the focus here, the future is in view as well.

Hosea is a book of God's love, and Israels' unfaithfulness. Once again, the concept of marriage is in focus here. We get a glimpse of God's anger, his jealousy for His unfaithful bride. Yet we also see His love and desire to bring her back to Himself. Although God would bring judgement against the nation, His judgement was also intended to bring His wayward bride back in repentance (Hosea 2:1-23). In what is to be a future fulfillment of prophecy we read this,

     Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shall call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgement, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD (Hosea 2:14-20 KJV).

At this point in time Israel is still an unfaithful wife. We have not yet seen the day when they return to the Lord in godly sorrow as a nation. This is yet to come (Zech 12:10-14). First must come the valley of Achor.

Joshua 7 records the sad story of Achan and the trouble he brought upon Israel on account of his sin. As a result of his taking some of the spoil out of Jericho, things that had been devoted to God, and were not to be taken by the people themselves, God's favor was withdrawn from the camp of Israel. When his sin was discovered, he was stoned along with his family and possessions. Only then did God's favor return again to Israel. Before he was stoned Joshua asked him why he had troubled Israel, and then told him that the LORD would trouble him that day. The place where he was put to death was called the valley of Achor, which means trouble (Joshua 7:24-26).

In Hosea we read that the valley of Achor, or trouble, will become a door of Hope. It will be through extreme distress that Israel will reach the point where she returns to her husband (Isaiah 54:5). 

Jesus speaks of a day to come when Israel must flee to the mountains. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all the things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled (Luke 21:20-24 KJV).  

In a parallel passage Jesus mentions the abomination of desolation as the signal to flee (Matt 24:15-22). It will be a time of Great tribulation such as the world has never seen. This coincides with the revealing of the man of sin (Antichrist) mentioned in 2 Thess 2:3-9).The city will be trodden underfoot by the Gentiles for 42 months (Rev 11:2).

In Revelation 12:1-17 we read of a sign in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars upon her head represents Israel. This woman gives birth to a child who represents the Messiah, Jesus. A dragon with seven heads and ten horns represents Satan who tries to destroy this child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:1-12). We have seen in biblical history how Satan has used various empires to wipe out Israel in an attempt to stop the coming of the Messiah. Think about the slavery in Egypt, and the edict to throw the male babies in the Nile, or Herod's command to destroy the male children under two years of age, an attempt to destroy the child who was to be the king of Israel. 

This child is caught up to the throne of God and Satan turns his attention toward the woman who flees into the wilderness to a place prepared by God, where she is fed for 1,260 days (Rev 12:6). One thousand two hundred sixty days comes out to 3 1/2 years. 

Coinciding with the revealing of the Antichrist, I believe, is the war in heaven where Satan is cast to the earth. It will be a time of unequaled woe in the earth. Satan will pour out his great wrath, as he knows his time is short (Rev 12:7-13). He persecutes the woman (Israel) who is given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent (Rev 12:14).

This also refers to 3 1/2 years (see Daniel 7:23-25, 12:7, Rev 13:5). The final seven-year period on this earth as we know it will be split in half, with the final three- and one-half years known as the great tribulation. This will be the time of Jacob's trouble, yet he will be saved out of it (Jeremiah 30:7). We see here the loving care of God. He knows what it will take to bring His erring people back to Himself. He also knows how to preserve them through this greatest of all trials. Indeed, the valley of Achor will be a door of hope. God will bring His erring people back to their beginning so to speak. He will bring them literally into the wilderness where He will once again speak tenderly to them.