“And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.”
Exodus 16:1
Dear members and friends,
The Scripture at times emphasizes a certain location like the wilderness of Sin located “between Elim and Sinai.” To many people, it could appear like nothing more than a geographical detail. But for Swedenborg, the places along Israel’s journey represent successive states in our spiritual life.
Elim was a place of twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; a place of refreshment after the difficulties of leaving Egypt. Swedenborg explains Elim as a state of consolation and refreshment after temptation. Sinai, on the other hand, is where Israel will encounter the Divine law. Thus, Sinai represents a deeper state in which Divine good and truth are received and put into life.
The Israelites have not arrived at Sinai yet. At this moment, they are at a place between Elim and Sinai. And it is precisely there that they complain about hunger. According to Swedenborg, this is a spiritual hunger. After leaving behind an earlier state of consolation, we enter a kind of wilderness. What once gave us satisfaction may no longer be enough, while the deeper spiritual life we seek has not yet become our own. We know something of truth, but we have not yet fully made it our good. This is an important stage of regeneration. The spiritually deepening process happens in between consolation and understanding. This is precisely about moving from knowing what is true to loving what is good. Thus, ultimately, it takes us from leaving an old life and to becoming a new person.
It is significant to notice that this is where God gives Israelites food. “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.” (Exodus 16:4) The manna represents, in Swedenborg’s interpretation, the good of truth, or the spiritual nourishment that comes from the Lord and sustains us as we journey toward a fuller spiritual life. The quail, associated with the evening, represents natural delight through which something spiritual can also be received and experienced in our outward life. There is something beautiful about this. God does not wait until Israelites reach Sinai to feed them. God feeds them on the way when they are really hungry.
The wilderness in the Bible, therefore, does not mean that God has abandoned people or God is simply absent. Instead, the wilderness is the very place where people learn that their life does not depend upon what they can produce for themselves. They must receive their nourishment day by day from their God.
Perhaps this is also true for us as well. There are times when we have decided to leave an old way of living but have not yet found a new one. Or we might have already left the old way of living and thus feel lost in the process because we are not certain of where we are heading. This is what Swedenborg explains as spiritual hunger, which often accompanies uncertainty and even disappointment. The consolation of yesterday has passed, while the clarity of tomorrow has not yet arrived.
This is what is meant by being in between Elim and Sinai. Swedenborg, however, suggests that this in-between place is not spiritually empty at all. Rather, it is a place of formation and affirmation on where we are heading. Here, the Lord teaches us a new kind of dependence: a willingness to receive the good and truth we need one day at a time. This is why the manna was not given all at once. It was given daily.
Perhaps regeneration is like that. We are rarely transformed in one dramatic moment. More often, the Lord gives us enough light for each day, enough goodness for today, enough truth for today’s journey. Our wish might be to arrive at Sinai as soon as possible. But the truth is that the Lord meets us in the wilderness with spiritual food. Thus, the question for us should not be just, “Where am I going?” but also “How is the Lord being present with me today by giving what I need for today to sustain me on this journey?” For the wilderness between Elim and Sinai is not simply the space between two destinations. It is where we learn to receive the bread of heaven.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a moment and devote this for a deep contemplation. And let us remember, the presence and guidance of God is stronger when and where we are in struggle and thus in need of divine help.
Blessings,
Rev. Junchol Lee