Miḏbār: Wilderness & Provision

“They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God.” (Exodus 19:2-3)

Consider the sumptuousness of the gift of Torah in the context of its reception.

The Israelites were newly freed wanderers carrying the shrapnel of Egyptian trauma from their enslavement. Although they were now liberated, for the first time in generations they didn’t have a predefined roadmap for their day-to-day life.

Egypt might have been the quintessence of oppression, but it also provided an unwavering structure that was familiar. The desert - miḏbār - on the other hand, an uninhabited wilderness and desolate land, brought near absolute uncertainty and the desperate need for direction.

Miḏbār is a fearful place, but it is also where shepherds take their flocks out to graze. In miḏbār, we must trust our guide and rabbi, protector and herdsman.

This promise of provision is hidden in the word itself!

In Hebrew, part of a word’s meaning is found in the other words that share the same root. Here, another word with the same root as miḏbār is the word “dāḇār,” meaning “to speak” or “spoken word.”

Variations of dāḇār can imply truth or commandment, and even evoke the understanding of one getting behind something to drive it towards completion.

To the attentive eyes and ears and hearts, sights of the wilderness ought conjure an anticipation that the Shepherd is bringing us to a holy place to feed us.

And what will he feed us?

Not only literal food (”manna”) from heaven, but also the food of his spoken word, his “dāḇār,” his guidance and truth. For “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Disclosing mysteries of his kingdom and providing sustenance for the fold is what Rabbi Yeshua intends for our wilderness seasons.