Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
“The work God does in the wilderness is preparing you for what’s on the other side of it.”
On the far side of the wilderness was the ‘mountain of God’. It is called the ‘mountain of God’ as Moses had his divine encounters with God on that mountain. He met God at the burning bush and it was the same mountain (Mount Horeb) where he received the Ten Commandments. The wilderness experience of Moses lasted for 40 years. After enjoying the luxurious lifestyle as the Prince of Egypt for 40 years he found himself demoted into the wilderness as a shepherd for the next 40 years. Moses was royalty by adoption but he had the blood of the Hebrew slaves running in his veins. God exiled him into the wilderness for him to ‘learn’ divine royalty and ‘unlearn’ the worldly autocracy.
Wilderness experiences made Moses ‘unlearn’ the Egyptian bureaucracy and tyranny. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action (Acts 7:22). The environment had to change for Moses to ‘unlearn’ the leadership style of Egypt and to ‘relearn’ the ways of God. He made known his ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel (Psalm 103:7). Historians say that ancient Egypt under the veneer of its grandeur and mysticism was horrendous. Their judicial system was brutal, medical practices were horrifying and their religious beliefs were insane. The wilderness weaned Moses and helped him to unlearn the wrong thinking, speaking and reacting patterns. The wilderness experience mellowed him to shepherd the Hebrew slaves. God put him with a bunch of sheep to rewire his brain to respond and not to react. Wilderness prepared him for what was on the other side of the wilderness.
Wilderness is a place of unlearning and relearning:
1. Information: Wilderness is a place where we slow down to hear and become accustomed to God’s Word and God’s voice. When Moses was steeped in the pomp and glory of Egypt, he was not sensitive to God’s voice and leading. It was only in the wilderness that he understood his call. Saturate yourself with God’s Word in the wilderness.
2. Transformation: Wilderness is a place of transformation. Transformation is a process of change in the core nature of a person. Wilderness experiences make us unlearn the wrong thinking patterns and belief system and relearn God’s ways. The wilderness leads us to the mountain of God.
3. Reformation: Wilderness prepares us for the reformation. Reformation is a process of changing an institution or practice. We cannot influence reformation unless there is transformation within us. We can never impact the world around us, unless we unlearn and learn what we have to in the wilderness.
Wilderness prepares us for what is on the other side.
Exodus 3:10 “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Prayer: Father God, give me the humility to unlearn what I have to let go and relearn Your ways in the wilderness of disappointment, frustration or humiliation. Amen.
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