In biblical times, people were exiled to the desert by their enemies ----the ones around them and the ones inside them. The desert was useless ---barren, uninhabitable except by most unpleasant creatures. If you went there it was unlikely many people would follow you. Today, of course, the desert is anything but barren. With modern irrigation and water-diversions, it is in danger of disappearing altogether, replaced by casinos, water parks, golf courses, and retirement villages. As a desolate image, it’s lost a lot of its meaning.
A metaphor these days for desolation and isolation might be the landfill. ‘Been to one lately? You go there to dump that old couch or bedsprings, or anything else even the alley-cruisers reject. They charge you by size or truck full. Then they tell you where to drop it off. You can drive for miles down what barely passes for a road, over this wide treeless expanse, till you get to the dumping area for your junk.
It smells. You pray you see the rats and the snakes before they see you. That’s right. You pray. Even on a busy day, it seems there’s no one around for miles and miles. Prayer just pops out of you. If God wanted to talk to you alone, this would be the place. (Sorry, I just can’t shake the image of God as some mob boss, sneaking up behind you and saying “Hey Louie!!!!” God loves to do that in the Old Testament, just to see Abraham or Moses jump out of their skin.) It is a most uncomfortable place. I think God loves to talk in uncomfortable places. It’s quiet there.
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