72
The Desire of Ages
in which suspicion, unbelief, and impurity had become well-nigh all-
pervading. He distrusted his own power to withstand temptation, and
[102]
shrank from constant contact with sin, lest he should lose the sense of
its exceeding sinfulness.
Dedicated to God as a Nazarite from his birth, he made the vow
his own in a life-long consecration. His dress was that of the ancient
prophets, a garment of camel’s hair, confined by a leather girdle. He
ate the “locusts and wild honey” found in the wilderness, and drank
the pure water from the hills.
But the life of John was not spent in idleness, in ascetic gloom, or
in selfish isolation. From time to time he went forth to mingle with
men; and he was ever an interested observer of what was passing in
the world. From his quiet retreat he watched the unfolding of events.
With vision illuminated by the divine Spirit he studied the characters
of men, that he might understand how to reach their hearts with the
message of heaven. The burden of his mission was upon him. In
solitude, by meditation and prayer, he sought to gird up his soul for
the lifework before him.
Although in the wilderness, he was not exempt from temptation. So
far as possible, he closed every avenue by which Satan could enter, yet
he was still assailed by the tempter. But his spiritual perceptions were
clear; he had developed strength and decision of character, and through
the aid of the Holy Spirit he was able to detect Satan’s approaches,
and to resist his power.
John found in the wilderness his school and his sanctuary. Like
Moses amid the mountains of Midian, he was shut in by God’s pres-
ence, and surrounded by the evidences of His power. It was not his lot
to dwell, as did Israel’s great leader, amid the solemn majesty of the
mountain solitudes; but before him were the heights of Moab, beyond
Jordan, speaking of Him who had set fast the mountains, and girded
them with strength. The gloomy and terrible aspect of nature in his
wilderness home vividly pictured the condition of Israel. The fruitful
vineyard of the Lord had become a desolate waste. But above the
desert the heavens bent bright and beautiful. The clouds that gathered,
dark with tempest, were arched by the rainbow of promise. So above
Israel’s degradation shone the promised glory of the Messiah’s reign.
The clouds of wrath were spanned by the rainbow of His covenant-
mercy.