HEBREW WORD STUDY – IN THE WILDERNESS ALONE – BIMABAR BISHIMON  במדבר בישימון  Beth Mem Daleth Beth Resh    Beth Yod Shin Yod Mem Vav Nun

Psalms 107:4-5: “They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.(5) Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.”

Deuteronomy 8:3: “That he might make thee know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceed out of the mouth of the LORD does man live.”

Our first impression in reading this verse is that it is referring to the children of Israel and their wanderings in the wilderness.  You that can not be as this verse says they found no city to dwell in.  They were not seeking a city. A city meant a permanent dwelling the children of Israel could only build their cities in the Promised Land. It also says these people wander in a solitary way.  Definitely, they were not solitary.  The word solitary is bishimon which is another word for wilderness or desert but it carries the idea of a wasteland or a wasting away. It comes from the root word yashim which means to a feeling of desolation.  Yet, the word for wilderness is midabar which is built on the word dabar, speaking from the heart. Prophets and people of God would go into the wilderness, like Paul, Abraham, John the Baptist to be alone and hear from God.  Even Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness to commune with the Father and he repeated Deuteronomy 8:3 man shall not live by bread alone.  So these people are people who long to hear from God but are yet alone, seeking some excitement and activity.

If we examine the context we find the writer is speaking of the redeemed. The Jewish sages related this verse to Deuteronomy 8:3 which teaches that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.  They make this relationship because Psalms 107:5 does not say the redeemed were hungry and thirsty such that the bodies became weak, but that their soul fainted.  The word soul is nephesh which speaks of the immaterial part of you, possibly your mind, or that part of you that makes you, you.   Your personality, your character or your thought process.  Our immediate thought is that the verse is saying when they became hungry and thirsty they lose heart, they just want to give up, they bishimon waste away.   The word city is ‘ir which really means excitement or an awakening.   It takes on the meaning of a city as a city was considered a place of activity, encounters and pleasures. 

The word hunger is re’evim which comes from the root word ra’av which means starvation not only physical starvation but spiritual starvation.  The same with the word thirsty is tsame which is commonly used as a figure like thirsty for a favor, love or friendship. In other words these are people who are redeemed, yet they long are hungry and thirsty for deeper understanding of God, they reel like they are the only ones and they feel as if they are wasting away. They long for a city or a place of activity, entertainment or excitement, but because of their walk with God they cannot become a part of just any city.

The sages teach that this passage in Psalms 107 is not referring to an actual wandering in the wilderness alone but to the spiritual condition of one who has been redeemed, who has turned their life over to God and yet, they still hunger and thirst for a deeper relationship with God, a deeper knowledge of God and they feel so alone. The context speaks of the Jews who are on different spiritual level than others and feel so alone. They cannot stop being Jews, they cannot go to another land or culture and yet within their own community they feel like they are bishimon, alone.

Let’s put this into a modern Christian context.  You like your church, you have friends there but somehow the sermons do not speak to you, it is the same old same old.  You feel people are taking advantage of you, you just do not feel real joy in attending church anymore and you feel like you are wandering in a wilderness, alone.  You hunger for deeper understanding of God’s Word, being around those who love God like you do.   So you start looking for another church or ‘ir city where you can find the excitement, pleasures, activities and encounters like you once knew. But there is no other ‘ir -church. They all seem to cater to families and new Christians and you just don’t find that depth you are looking for. I believe the Psalmist is speaking of someone like you. 

The answer is not to find a new church but to pray, call upon God to lead you to those in your church who feel like you do and start a home fellowship or get together with them maybe with just three or four of you, study the Word together, worship together. That is the reason for our All Access, not to compete with the church but to give these mature believers tools to study the Word of God in depth so they do not hunger and thirst and thus can stay in their home churches, enjoy their friends and being a part of a home church body.

My study partner and I are feeling like we are in a wilderness, alone.  I have attended many churches.  The sermons are great, they are filled with Scripture and God’s love, but they do not go to the depth that I long for.  I don’t blame the pastor, he must feed his people on their level.  I am not into the new contemporary Gospel music so I do not enjoy their worship as I feel very much alone in worshipping God.  I do worship God there and these people do love God, but it would be nice to have some who love God like I do and we can worship in anyway we please. Yet, I am an Aspie, I have Asperger’s Syndrome and I just cannot feel a part of any fellowship.

Still, I can fellowship with like minded believers on our All Access.  We are opening up a prayer line on our All Access so members can offer prayer request.  I pray for all our members but it will be nice to have specifics to pray for.  I open each class fifteen to twenty minutes early to just fellowship with those who come online early. Unfortunately, being autistic, I tend to focus on talking about God’s Word rather than general chit chat.  Still, I feel I am coming out of that wilderness.

Our next move is to find two or three people in the Chicago area who also hunger and thirst like we do invite them over for dinner or coffee, turn on our Zoom and have a time of fellowship both live and online. So, if you are also hungry and thirsty, don’t leave your church, join our All Access and maybe together we can come out of that wilderness without you searching for a new church.