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Hello,

Thank you for the excellent question.

Wilderness is life out of the ordinary. In most parts of our lives, we are likely to live within particular safety, routines, and location(s). Wilderness takes away all of that. You may not know where you are going, your life will certainly not be routine, and it is uncertain whether what you do (or not do) may be safe.

Wilderness is a place where many people do not like to go. (In the corporate world, that is the concept of "change," and people often tend to not want any changes from their routines). Why do people not like change? For the most part, it is because they do not know what outcome they will get after all the changes occur. People tend to want to remain in safety without many changes.

However, for growth to occur, changes are required. It is for that reason the Bible talks about many times of "wilderness." Several examples may be:

1. When the people were "comfortable" living as slaves in Egypt. Israelites may have enjoyed being free, but they complained that they wished they were back in Egypt whenever problems hit. Now, was their "wilderness" a good thing? Yet, people hated being there.
2. When Israel was ruined because of their sins (see stories in the book of Kings), they were taken captive to a foreign land. In those times of "wilderness," we can find great heroes who placed their faith in God, such as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
3. In the book of Genesis, Joseph was sold to slavery and sentenced to many years in jail. God established his position in a country of great world power back then (Egypt) to have significant influence through this wilderness. I am sure Joseph did not enjoy the "wilderness," yet, it was through it that God accomplished His purposes for Joseph.

There are many others in the Bible; look for when individuals were taken out of ordinary living. Jesus, too, went through the wilderness (Matthew 4:1 ). After the times in the wilderness, Jesus began His ministry.

To your question, is the wilderness used figuratively? It is a life out of the ordinary, and it is often a time of trial to see whether the person truly believes in God, even in times of uncertainty.

Please write back if questions arise. Thanks.

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