Topical Bible: Deserts: The Gentiles

◄ Deserts: The Gentiles ►

Jump to: Torrey's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical literature, the term "deserts" often symbolizes desolation, barrenness, and a place of testing or judgment. The concept of deserts is frequently associated with the Gentiles, representing spiritual desolation and separation from God. This entry explores the symbolic and literal significance of deserts in relation to the Gentiles, drawing from various scriptural references.

Symbolism of Deserts

Deserts in the Bible are often depicted as places of trial and purification. For the Israelites, the desert was a place of wandering and testing, as seen in the Exodus narrative. Similarly, the Gentiles, who were outside the covenant community of Israel, are often metaphorically associated with spiritual deserts—places devoid of the life-giving presence of God.

In Isaiah 35:1, the prophet speaks of a transformation: "The wilderness and the land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose." This imagery suggests a future hope where the desolation of the Gentiles will be turned into a place of life and joy through the redemptive work of God.

Gentiles and Spiritual Desolation

The Gentiles, as non-Israelites, were historically seen as living outside the covenant promises given to Abraham and his descendants. Ephesians 2:12 states, "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world." This verse highlights the spiritual desolation experienced by the Gentiles, akin to a desert devoid of water.

Deserts as Places of Encounter

Despite their association with desolation, deserts are also places where God encounters His people. The account of Hagar in Genesis 16:7-14 illustrates this, as she meets the Angel of the Lord in the desert, receiving promises for her son Ishmael, the ancestor of many Gentile nations. This encounter signifies that even in desolation, God’s presence can bring hope and promise.

Prophetic Visions of Inclusion

The prophets envisioned a time when the spiritual desert of the Gentiles would be transformed. Isaiah 42:11 declares, "Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar dwells shout for joy." This prophecy anticipates the inclusion of the Gentiles in the worship of Yahweh, transforming their spiritual barrenness into a place of praise.

The Ministry of Jesus and the Gentiles

Jesus’ ministry further emphasizes the inclusion of the Gentiles. In Matthew 4:15-16 , the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned." Here, the "Galilee of the Gentiles" is depicted as a place where the light of Christ shines, bringing life to those in spiritual deserts.

Paul’s Mission to the Gentiles

The Apostle Paul, known as the apostle to the Gentiles, played a crucial role in bringing the gospel to those outside the Jewish community. In Romans 11:17 , Paul uses the metaphor of an olive tree to describe the inclusion of the Gentiles: "But if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root." This imagery suggests that the Gentiles, once in a spiritual desert, are now partakers of the life-giving promises of God.

Conclusion

The biblical narrative portrays deserts as both literal and symbolic places of desolation and encounter. For the Gentiles, deserts represent their initial state of spiritual barrenness, yet through God’s redemptive plan, they are invited into the covenant community, transforming their desolation into a place of life and blessing.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 35:1,6
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 41:19
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Blessedness of Gospel Times; Or, the Revelation of Christ to ...
... of gospel times; or, The revelation of Christ to Jews and Gentiles, Isa ... voice, And
tuneful notes employ; Jerusalem breaks forth in songs, And deserts leant the ...
/.../watts/hymns and spiritual songs/hymn 1 10 the blessedness of.htm

Whether in Every Work of God There are Mercy and Justice?
... is due to them more bountifully than is proportionate to their deserts: since less ...
and mercy appear both in the conversion of the Jews and of the Gentiles. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether in every work of.htm

2 Cor. xi. 21
... in perils in the wilderness." Everywhere were contests set before me, in places,
in countries, in cities, in deserts.'. "In perils from the Gentiles, in perils ...
/.../homilies on the epistles of paul to the corinthians/homily xxv 2 cor xi.htm

Matt. xxii. 1-14.
... Wherefore Paul also saith, "And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy ...
you of late, them that wear garments of hair, them that dwell in the deserts. ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of saint matthew/homily lxix matt xxii 1-14.htm

Epistle xxxii. To the Clergy and People, About the Ordination of ...
... a one, to be estimated not by his years but by his deserts, merited higher ... scaffold;
there to have been conspicuous to the multitude of the Gentiles, here to ...
/.../cyprian/the epistles of cyprian/epistle xxxii to the clergy.htm

The Devil, Since He Emulates the Truth, Has Invented Fables About ...
... how that to those destitute of a knowledge of God, I mean the Gentiles, who, having
eyes ... let the wilderness be glad, and blossom as the lily: the deserts of the ...
/.../chapter lxix the devil since he.htm

Of the Question Why God Suffered the Jews to be Reduced to ...
... the guilt of their crime] through the deserts of other hidden transgressions. That
His sufferings also would be for the benefit of the Gentiles, was foretold ...
/.../augustine/the harmony of the gospels/chapter xiii of the question why.htm

Gratuitous Grace Exemplified in Infants.
... Men, however, may suppose that there are certain good deserts which they think are ...
He was discoursing about the Jews and Gentiles, when he wrote to the Romans ...
/.../anti-pelagian writings/chapter 44 xxii gratuitous grace exemplified.htm

Whether Justice and Mercy are Present in all God's Works
... by less than is bestowed by the divine goodness, which exceeds the deserts of every ...
in the conversion of the Jews and not in that of the Gentiles, since the ...
/.../aquinas/nature and grace/article four whether justice and.htm

John xii. 8
... When then shall each receive his deserts? ... If these heretics employ the wisdom of
the Gentiles, we must not admire, but laugh at them, because they employ ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of st john and hebrews/homily lxvi john xii 8.htm