Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
Hosea 2:14-15
God uses the voice of the Prophet Hosea to call Israel back to Himself. The Lord is the only One who truly loves her and the One who can supply all her needs. God rebukes Israel for her idolatry, sorcery, injustice, faithlessness and numerous other sins, calling her to return to Him.
The Lord promises to remove His blessings, showing the impotence of the idols and shameful behavior of Israel. God promises to take Israel into the wilderness to bring the people to their senses and turn them back to Himself. In the wilderness, He promises to speak to her heart about His love for her.
The wilderness is a difficult place to be. In the day, it is hot and at night it gets extremely cold. There is also a lack of water. However, God chose this place as a place for them to encounter His love. In the desert, they could hear His voice more clearly.
We know that John the Baptist “grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel” (Luke 1:80 ESV). In the wilderness, John the Baptist becomes a powerful, uncompromising man, who brings the messages of God to his generation.
Yeshua, led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, is eventually tempted by the devil. The wilderness is the place where the Son of God resists the evil one and emerges powerful in the Spirit.
Sometimes in our walk with the Lord we might say that we are having a “wilderness experience” or we feel like we are “in the wilderness.” The truth is that God allows these seasons of dryness in our lives to draw our attention to Him and Him alone. If we are turning to Him in the “wilderness,” we are sure to hear His voice. We can trust that God will restore us back to Himself, give us a new song, strengthen us, and make us fruitful.
Editor’s note: This article is a section from Andrey’s book Come With Me Into His Presence.