Paige Dwyer-Outside Reading (1)

I have spent some time going through the Bible to find verses that talk about wilderness. It is actually a very common topic that appears in many chapters, including both the Old and New Testament. However, the context of wilderness is much different than what we perceive it to be in our class. It is not a place considered to be sacred but rather feared. It is a place of temptation and of suffering. In many chapters, the wilderness is known as a place for outcasts and exiles. One of the most common segments regarding wilderness would be Matthew 4:1-25. Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting the desert (wilderness). He was famished and thus, the devil utilized this opportunity to tempt Jesus. The tempter said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus replied, “It is written, one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus was tempted a few more times but replied that he is only to serve and worship the one true God. In the Bible, the wilderness represents a place where one goes when they have lost sight of God. Those who seek forgiveness are lead out of the wilderness by the light of the Lord and shown the path of righteousness. This is contrary to our conception of the wilderness, being a place of peace and serenity. However, the idea that I find to be in common between the Bible’s notion of the wilderness and our class’ conception is that the wilderness is place where one goes for self-discovery. Someone who ventures into the wilderness is obviously searching for something or trying to fill some void in their life. In the Bible, those who end up in the wilderness are either lead out by the light of God or forever remain lost wanderers. Nowadays, those who venture into the wilderness either seek some sort of enlightenment or simply find a new love for nature and the escape from reality.