Israel (the true Israel), and of nature. Jesus went often to the mountains to pray alone with the Father. Was not the hand of the Lord still with him in the desert? Is it mere speculation to suppose that John “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” as Jesus was in later years? Indeed, it is hardly probable that the devil left John alone during these years in retirement. Those who flee from society merely to escape temptation should remember that Jesus met the devil in the desert as well as on
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