Day 33: Voice in the Desert

Read: Matthew 3:1-12

 Matthew 3 | NIV Bible | YouVersion


What a strange guy John the Baptist must have seemed!  Scripture describes him as wearing clothes made from coarse camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist.  He ate locusts and wild honey.  When God told the priest Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son in their old age, they were instructed to raise him as a Nazarite—one set apart for service to God.  Some speculate that because his parents were elderly when he was born, that he was orphaned young.

Luke 1:80 tells us that he lived in the desert.  Prophets used the isolation of the uninhabited wilderness to enhance their spiritual  growth and to focus their message on God.  By being in the desert, John remained separate from the economic and political influences so that he could aim his message against them.  He also remained separate from the hypocritical religious leaders of his day.  His message certainly differed from theirs!

So what drew the crowds out to the desert to listen to him?  Well, some probably came out of curiosity.  Who was this wild man preaching in the desert?  There was probably a novelty and curiosity factor for some.  But also John’s message was different.  He was the first genuine prophet of God for 400 years!  Unlike the religious leaders of his day, his message carried the ring of truth.  The weight of its authenticity was felt by those who heard him.

I think John had a challenging role.  Most of us love the spotlight.  We want the fame, the attention.  But John’s entire mission was to point the way to another, One who John described as One who would be so great that John would not even be worthy to be his servant or to carry his sandals.

Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that John chose life in the desert, because he knew he had to beat his own will, his own pride, his own desires into submission to the purpose for which he had been born: to point the way to the Messiah.

Is there some work God wants to do in you during your desert days?  What mission is God calling you to fulfill?  What does God have to do in you before He can work through you?  Ask God what lessons He would have you to learn during this desert season.

 

Listen: Seasons (Live) - Hillsong Worship - YouTube

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