BibleProject Podcast

Episode Summary: "Why Is There Wilderness Imagery in the Lord’s Prayer?"

Date: November 24, 2025
Hosts: Tim Mackie, John Collins (+ guest contributors)

Overview

In this rich Question and Response (Q&R) episode, the BibleProject team unpacks listeners’ questions from their extensive "Wilderness" series. The discussion weaves together Genesis creation imagery, wilderness as a paradigm for divine testing and preparation, intertextual motifs in the Hebrew Bible, and the surprising presence of wilderness imagery in the Lord’s Prayer. Drawing on both biblical texts and audience insights, Tim and John highlight how the narrative of wilderness spans both "in between" spaces and ultimate transformation, underlying the spiritual journey of both biblical figures and readers today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis, Eden, and the Wilderness Prototype

Edwin (Philippines) asks: Is the formation of Adam from dust in Genesis a prototype for the later biblical wilderness motif?

• Wilderness Pattern Set in Genesis
  • Tim affirms Genesis sets the prototype: Adam is formed out of lifeless, rainless dust (wilderness) and then placed into the garden (Eden).
    • [03:15] Tim Mackie: "The human's formed outside of the garden... and put inside."
  • John asks if this implies a sort of spiritual preparation before the “test” in Eden.
• Testing: Garden vs. Wilderness
  • Testing isn’t just a wilderness theme – it occurs in both abundance (the garden) and scarcity (the wilderness). The key question: “Can I trust the voice of God?” regardless of circumstances.
    • [05:01] Tim Mackie: "Whether you have more good than is good for you, or... an extreme lack of... good, the test remains the same."
• Reading Patterns Backwards; Spiritual Preparation
  • Tim notes caution when reading later patterns back into earlier stories. The “breath of God” (Genesis 2) can be seen as conferring a unique capacity for choice and responsibility but the preparation is the test itself in the garden, not before.

2. Parallels in Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones

• Ezekiel recasts Israel’s exile as “wilderness of the nations” and envisions spiritual rebirth similar to Adam’s creation: lifeless forms are given new breath, symbolizing Israel’s moral and spiritual recreation ([07:06]–[09:10]).
• The test and spiritual preparation links the exodus, exile, and Adam’s creation.

3. Biblical Imagination and “What Ifs” in the Wilderness

• John and Tim discuss Second Temple “what if” traditions: imagining Adam's possible journey through an actual wilderness before Eden—did Adam have to hike, learning trust as preparation?
  • [12:55] Tim Mackie: "Let's say it was a five-day hike... that would have been five days of the human... 'Man, I'm thirsty, hungry'... then [in the garden], 'Ah, thank you.'"
• These thought experiments help modern readers meditate on scripture’s wisdom, recognizing that "the stories are a way to ponder real-life questions" ([14:41] Tim Mackie).

4. Fiery Sword, Purification, and Reentrance to the Garden

Natalie Fox (PA) asks: Is the fiery sword guarding Eden related to purification imagery, like going through the fire?

• Fire/Sword as Wilderness Motif
  • Fire and sword mark the barrier after Adam and Eve’s exile—a recurring biblical image of testing and purification leading to transformation.
    • [17:19] Tim Mackie: "To get back... into the garden land, you have to go through the sword or the fire... Fire and sword are purification."
• Prophetic and Narrative Parallels
  • Prophets use fire to symbolize purification (see Zephaniah, Isaiah 43). The Daniel story (the friends in the furnace) and Abraham/Isaac (fire and knife at Moriah) echo this theme: the journey through fire (testing) leads to refined, faithful living.
    • [24:00] Tim Mackie: "God has created human beings in a way that they image something that can endure through the fire."
  • The motifs develop: what is at first the sword/barrier can, in later stories, become the purification process to restoration.

5. Narrative Links: David, Nabal, Jacob, and Laban

Ifrec Umana (Georgia) asks: Is there an intentional hyperlink between Nabal (David’s antagonist) and Laban, Jacob’s rival, since their names are reversals?

• Intentional Literary Parallels
  • Tim confirms the literary design: David’s wilderness journey mirrors Jacob’s, and both cross paths with a flock-owning antagonist whose name is a wordplay mirror—Nabal/Laban.
    • [27:00] Tim Mackie: "You're 100% right. There's an important set of hyperlinks and parallels between David fleeing from Saul and... Jacob fleeing from Esau... and he goes into exile, meets Lavan, which is Nabal backwards."
  • Both sets of stories involve younger, chosen protagonists escaping a murderous elder, shepherding, hostility, and ultimately God’s faithfulness.
• Wisdom through Parallels
  • The narrative links highlight different causes for wilderness: Jacob’s is partially self-inflicted; David’s is due to others’ treachery. Both stories teach about navigating hardship.
    • [33:39] Tim Mackie: "Sometimes I can end up in the wilderness because of my own folly... sometimes because of somebody else's."

6. Wilderness Imagery in the Lord’s Prayer

Darndas Dabbler (Connecticut) asks: If the Kingdom of God has arrived, why does the Lord’s Prayer include wilderness motifs like 'daily bread'?

• Manna & Daily Bread
  • "Give us today our daily bread" echoes God’s provision of manna in the wilderness—a daily trust exercise ([39:02] Tim Mackie).
    • [39:02] John Collins: "That's wilderness, the bread of the moment."
  • The caution against storing manna and the 'wormy' results connect to temptation and trust—paralleling both wilderness and Eden tests ([39:35]–[39:50]).
• Is the Kingdom, or Garden, Here?
  • The Lord’s Prayer is a “test prayer” not limited to the wilderness—Adam and Eve could have prayed it in Eden. Even in abundance, trust must be learned ([43:51]–[44:38]).
    • [44:26] Tim Mackie: "It's a test prayer... the prayer of those facing the test."
  • Final fulfillment—a state where the prayer is unnecessary—arrives in the new creation where every desire is satisfied in God.

7. Jesus’ Gethsemane: The Garden, the Wilderness, and the Test

Gareth (Leeds, UK) asks: Is Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane a new ‘wilderness test,’ or is he modeling trust for us?

• Jesus as the True Human
  • Gethsemane is the culmination of Jesus’ 'wilderness' journey: he faces the test of aligning his will ("desire") with the Father's ([48:33]–[49:51]).
    • [49:51] Tim Mackie: "Here's Jesus in... the garden, facing another threefold test... bending the desires of his flesh into union with the desire of the Father."
  • Hebrews explains Jesus’ suffering perfects humanity—God’s own Son fully participates in our weakness and need, making him both our model and enabler ([53:23]–[56:01]).
    • [54:48] Tim Mackie: "What if the complete Son of God became one with incomplete, mortal, dying, suffering humans and then actually completed humanity?"
• The Continuing Test and Transformation
  • Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection show that "going through the fire"—yielding to God’s will even to the point of death—leads to real transformation for both him and his followers ([58:03]–[59:41]).
    • [59:25] Tim Mackie: "It can be bent into union with God's will. Jesus did it... If I'm with him, I can hang too."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the universal test:
  • "The test is, can I trust the voice of God?"
    — John Collins ([04:53])
• On spiritual preparation:
  • "Moral or spiritual preparation through a test is about God inviting me to grow and mature."
    — Tim Mackie ([09:11])
• On imagination and 'what if' readings:
  • "What if [Adam] had to take a couple-day hike into that garden to find his way... actually had to listen to the voice of God and follow... a training time..."
    — John Collins ([11:55])
• On the purification fire:
  • "God has created human beings in a way that they image something that can endure through the fire."
    — Tim Mackie ([24:03])
• On narrative hyperlinking:
  • "The comparison and the contrast will teach you wisdom by comparing their different life stories."
    — Tim Mackie ([33:13])
• On the Lord’s Prayer as 'test prayer':
  • "So the Lord's Prayer, then, is training us to think of myself every day as being in that wilderness generation."
    — Tim Mackie ([43:46])
• On Jesus' surrender:
  • "Bending the desires of his flesh into union with the desire of the Father... unifying his human will with the divine will."
    — Tim Mackie ([49:51])

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Genesis & Prototypical Wilderness – [01:46]–[10:53]
• Ezekiel & Spiritual Preparation – [07:06]–[10:04]
• Imagination & Second Temple Texts – [10:53]–[14:08]
• Fire and Sword: Purification Motif – [15:37]–[25:01]
• David/Nabal/Jacob/Laban Parallels – [26:28]–[36:43]
• Lord’s Prayer & Wilderness Imagery – [38:05]–[45:08]
• Jesus in Gethsemane: The Final Test – [46:20]–[60:24]

Conclusion

This episode masterfully links the recurring wilderness/garden motif across scripture—from Eden to Israel’s exodus, Jesus' temptation and Gethsemane, and even into spiritual disciplines today. Through responsive dialogue with listener questions, Tim and John demonstrate that the biblical narratives are not just ancient stories but living wisdom, inviting all readers into the ongoing journey of trust, transformation, and divine partnership.