In the desert (1)

"a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" (Mark 1:3)

Mark 1:3 is quoted from Isaiah 40:3. Of course Mark didn’t quote it literally but modified a little bit. The original version of this from Isaiah says, “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.’” Luke’s gospel added Isaiah 40:4, 5 while Mark quoted only a verse, “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Luke 3:4-6). The original of Isaiah has changed in Mark one time and much added more in Luke gospel. Why such things had happened? It is a question why we cannot get the same result from the same incident if we premise it as God’s word. The same matters will be repeated in the future again so let’s step forward by holding this question here.

‘The desert’ Mark quoted from Isaiah’s writing is the exact matching conception to the Jewish nation. There is no different view to clarify historical origin of the Jewish nation. The tales of their patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph are found after Exodus and it doesn’t have much historical weight. Precisely speaking this tales are found in retrospective way after the kingdom of David and Solomon when their national identity is firmly rooted. The incident to establish their national identity to be true to the name is Exodus, the emancipation incident escaped from Egypt Empire. They entered into totally new religious world by shifting the basis of their life from the civilization of Egypt Empire to Midian desert which remained as primitive natural status. In present-day term a religious, global ‘paradigm shift’ had happened to them.

It used to say they lived no less than 40 years in the desert. Except Joshua and Caleb (?) the people more than 20 years old at the time of Exodus all had died in the desert. It means Israel consisting of the people who were influenced by Egyptian politics, culture and order completely replaced with new generations. In the desert they were provided a necessary spirituality as the people of God and disciplined accordingly. For them the desert was everlasting spring water of spirituality.

As you know well Mount Horeb where Moses met the Lord God in flames of fire from within a bush and Mount Sinai where Moses received the Law including the Ten Commandments. Both mountains were the same place. Moses experienced the Lord at Mount Horeb, the holy place of Median through Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian and at last he could complete the Law, the essence of Israel belief. The mount of the Lord was a part of the desert. It means the desert rightly brought possible way to Moses to experience the Lord.

It may say not only the Midian desert but also the history of Israel itself would be called the desert. The destiny of a stranger thrown to the desert was rightly their history. They hold to fierce survival struggle like an orphan between the empires that had ruled Europe and Near Eastern regions. A person or nation who has to survive in the desert in reality couldn’t but show warlike attitude for they have to cross over the border of death and life every moment. The Israel’s attitude toward Palestine natives is rightly the same. As North Korea’s system seems abnormal to us Israel’s anti-Palestine policy also may be seen in abnormal.

However, the fact that Jesus came through Israel’s history that had experienced the Lord in the desert is decisively important to Christians. Precisely speaking, if there was no Israel of the desert there might be no Jesus too. Gospel comes through the Law and it cannot come without the Law. Jesus was clearly the son of Israel who received God’s word in the desert. If we remove the God of the desert we cannot fully understand Jesus and the salvation incident through him.