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Voice in the Wilderness
55
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the
deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.” God had called the
son of Zacharias to the greatest work ever committed to men. And
the Spirit of God would be with him if he heeded the instruction of
the angel.
John was to bring to men the light of God. He must impress them
with their need of His righteousness. Such a messenger must be holy,
a temple for the indwelling Spirit of God. He must have a sound
physical constitution, and mental and spiritual strength. Therefore it
would be necessary for him to control the appetites and passions.
In the time of John the Baptist, greed for riches and the love of
luxury and display had become widespread. Sensuous pleasures,
feasting and drinking, were causing physical degeneracy, benumbing
spiritual perceptions, and lessening the sensibility to sin. John was
to stand as a reformer. By his abstemious life and plain dress he was
to rebuke the excesses of his time. Hence the lesson of temperance
given to his parents by an angel from the throne of heaven.
In childhood and youth the power of self-control should be ac-
quired. Habits established in early years decide whether a man will
be victorious or vanquished in the battle of life. Youth, the sowing
time, determines the character of the harvest, for this life and for the
life to come.
In preparing the way for Christ’s first advent John was a rep-
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resentative of those who prepare a people for our Lord’s second
coming. The world is given to self indulgence. Errors and fables
abound. All who would perfect holiness in the fear of God must
learn temperance and self-control. See
2 Corinthians 7:1
. The ap-
petites and passions must be held in subjection to the higher powers
of the mind. This self-discipline is essential to that mental strength
and spiritual insight which enable us to understand and practice the
truths of God’s Word.
John’s Unusual Education
In the natural order of things the son of Zacharias would have
been educated in the rabbinical schools. But since this would have
unfitted him for his work, God called him to the desert, that he might
learn of nature and nature’s God.