Weird Stuff in the Bible

Demons in Dry and Desolate Places
Matthew 12 & Luke 11

Introduction
Where do demons like to hang out?
You know, other than the DMV, the Grammy Awards, or in that sauce they put in Chipotle wraps.
Where would you go- or perhaps a better way to say it, where should you avoid- if you want to stay away from demons?
Well if you asked the writers of the Bible, they had an idea about where demons liked to congregate. I mean, certainly you can find a demon just about anywhere. But what locations of the earth were considered the domain of demons?
Jesus made a strange (almost off-handed) comment in
Matthew 12:43, where He said:
When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
So what did Jesus mean about demons- AKA unclean spirits- who go through dry, waterless places when they are cast out of a human?
I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.
Turn to Matthew 12, and let’s get weird.
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(Continued)
Welcome to Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we explore scripture passages that are bizarre, perplexing or just plain weird. This is Luke Taylor, and today we’re going to be talking about demons who wander through dry and desolate desert places, and why they do that, and what Jesus was trying to teach us about it. He brings this up in
Matthew 12:43-45
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
Jesus also says it almost word-for-word the same in Luke 11:24-26, and I won’t read it again because it’s basically what you just heard there from Matthew 12.
So this statement about dry (or as some translations say, waterless) places is kind of bizarre, and most readers aren’t precisely sure what it means. But whether you understand all of the theology in Jesus’ statement or not, the lesson is pretty clear. And the application is the most important part, so it’s OK if we have a tendency to focus on that rather than the theology behind Jesus’ words.
And we’ll revisit the application as we wrap up later. But first, we are going to take a chance to explore the theology behind what Jesus says in this episode.

The Context
In both of these stories, when Jesus says these words, it is right after an exorcism. An exorcism is when a demon is cast out of somebody. In Matthew 12, Jesus was casting a demon out of a guy who could not speak or talk.
This could also be considered a divine healing, but the Bible makes it clear that this man did not have a natural malady or sickness that made him blind. There was a demonic spirit behind it. And so it says in
Verses 22-24
22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
So the Pharisees accuse Jesus of using demonic power to cast out demons. And Jesus tells them, “you really didn’t think that through, did you?” That the demons are all evil, and it really doesn’t make sense to accuse someone of using demonic powers save someone from demons.
Jesus uses many famous statements in this section of scripture, such as “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” It always kind of cracks me up when people attribute that to Abraham Lincoln, since Lincoln was quoting Jesus.
We’re going to read a lot of scripture today, so I won’t read it all right now, but this is all in the context of a demon being cast out of somebody. Jesus warns them about the unpardonable sin, about how a bad tree can’t bear good fruit, and He tells them that a wicked and adulterous generation seeks a sign. These people don’t need a sign to point them to God, because Jesus is God, but they are too evil to see it.
Luke 11 also has an exorcism in verse 14, and it’s probably the same story as what’s going on in Matthew 12, but it’s a much more condensed version. So that’s the context of this phrase about demons in dry places, but now let’s explore why demons would be there.

Unholy Ground
This will go back to what I’ve discussed a few times on the podcast in the past few months: territorial spirits, and the fact that different regions of the world are under the jurisdiction of various spiritual beings, both good and bad. Areas that belong to God are holy ground, and that’s why we spoke in last week’s episode about how Naaman wanted to take some dirt from Israel home with him when he returned to Syria.
In ancient Jewish thought, the wilderness and the desert was the territory of demons. Unclean spirits. Evil supernatural entities. The desert was no-man’s land. It was the domain of the dead.
Now, perhaps you’re wondering whether this was literally true or whether this was just superstition. Were the deserts actually full of demons? So let’s look at some Scripture references and we’ll see.
In Leviticus 16, there’s a rather odd ritual of taking two goats and, once per year, the sins of the tribes of Israel would be laid on one of the goats. The goat was then led out of the camp and sent out into the wilderness.
It says in verses 9 and 10
9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.
The wilderness belonged to the demonic, and the camp of God was holy ground. So they were essentially saying, “We are keeping ourselves clean; send that unclean goat out into what is unclean.” In fact, some translations might say, “Give the goat over to Azazel.” I’m using the NKJV this time, but the ESV will say “that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.” Who is Azazel? We’ll do a whole episode about Azazel next year, but in the meantime, I’ll just mention that he’s a fallen angel who shows up in the book of Enoch.
The next chapter of Leviticus,
Verse 7 says
So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore.
That’s in the ESV. I don’t know why I was using the NKJV before, I just like how it sounds, but ESV is a bit more accurate.
The demons were referred to here as goat demons. The ancient Israelites had certain animals that they associated with the demonic. So that’s why when God was judging people in the Old Testament, He would say things like
Isaiah 34:13-14
13 And thorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
It shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals,
And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
Or Isaiah 13:20-21
20 It will never be inhabited
    or lived in for all generations;
no Arab will pitch his tent there;
    no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But wild animals will lie down there,
    and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there ostriches will dwell,
    and there wild goats will dance.
So I’m reading all these verses to make this point: the desolate places were the habitations of demons. That’s why God was threatening to turn cities into wilderness. The wilderness was the desert, and the desert belonged to the demonic.
In Luke 8:29, Jesus helped a man who was living among the tombs, possessed by a demon.
It says
(For many a time it had seized him [the demoniac]. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
Because the desert is the abode of the demonic. After all, where was Jesus when He was tempted by the devil?
Matthew 4:1
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Jesus left God’s territory of Israel and went into the wilderness- the devil’s turf. And Jesus beat the devil in the devil’s own house. It was a home game for Satan, he had the refs on his side, and yet Jesus overcome all three of his temptations.
And there you go. There is a pretty good basis for what Jesus meant by saying this in
Luke 11:24-26
24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Kingdom Authority
So now that we’ve covered why Jesus said what He said, now let’s talk about what it means. Jesus was giving a warning right here: when a demon is cast out of somebody, often that demon will come back. It wants to return to the position of power it held before. And Jesus warns that it will come back with some buddies and try to dominate someone’s life even worse than what it was doing before.
This is a spiritual principle that is true in lots of areas of life beyond just demon possession. When God sets you free of something, you need to stay free of it, because if you relapse and go back into that thing, it’s going to be even worse than it was the first time.
For example: if you have a bad habit, it’s usually not good enough to just stop doing the bad thing. If you want it to stick, you need to replace it with a good thing.
Sigmund Freud is considered the father of modern psychology, perhaps the most well-known and most-often-quoted psychologist of all time, the guy who our psychological theories are often based on when therapists try to help people- and the guy had a cocaine problem. He said if you have an addiction problem, just try cocaine. You’ll love cocaine so much more than whatever else you’re having an addiction to and you’ll just forget all about that other thing. Freud himself died of lung cancer from his smoking problem. And this is the father of modern psychology!
Proverbs tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
But there is a kernel of truth to what Freud was saying. No, don’t try cocaine. But he was right about the concept that if you have an addition you want to get rid of, you can replace it with another addiction. If you have a bad routine, create a good routine in its place. Don’t assume that just because you stopped doing the bad routine for a few weeks that you’ve won the war.
Because addictions, bad habits, these things don’t necessarily have demons attached to them, but it’s possible. Demons can be attached to sickness and disease. Demons can certainly be attached to bad habits, especially if those habits are sinful.
And Matthew 12 and Luke 11 teach us that when we fix one part of our lives, the devil will often counterattack. He brings back more firepower and tries to pull you back into it. And if you do go back into it, you’ll be in a worse state than you were before you started.
So when you get the demons out- and I think this can apply to literal demons or even just our figurative ones- replace that empty space with the Holy Spirit. Fill that empty space with Jesus. If you get a bad habit that was eating up your time out of your life, replace that with some bible reading or prayer.
You hear about these government programs and 12-step programs that actually have very low success rates. Often drug addicts go into rehab multiple times. Alcoholics Anonymous has a less than 50 percent success rate when measured one year after completion. Then there’s a drug treatment program called Adult and Teen Challenge that’s run by Christian principles. It has a more than 75% success rate. And they do a lot of things differently than government programs do, but I think the key is that they don’t just detox and kick the habits for these guys who go through the program. They replace those bad habits with spiritual ones.
So guys, there are a lot of ways that this text applies. I’d even apply it to sharing the Gospel. If someone hears the Gospel and rejects it, the Bible says that they are worse off rejecting the truth than they were if they had never heard it.
II Peter 2:20-21 says
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
Jesus spoke of this concept again in Luke 12. I won’t read the whole parable, but He ends it with these words
In Verses 47 and 48
47 And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
So we can apply this concept about getting the demons out to many places in life. When God sets you free from demons, the cleansing must be followed by obedience, not complacency.
And when you learn the truth, it must be followed by action. Or else you’re held accountable for not following it. You’ll be judged, and your judgment will be worse than if you’d never even heard the truth to begin with. That’s why Jesus said to his 72 followers in
Luke 10:13-14
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
There was a greater judgment for Bethsaida because they rejected Jesus to His face. Whereas Tyre and Sidon were wicked cities that only rejected God up in heaven. Chorazin and Bethsaida would be held responsible for rejecting God in the flesh.
When the Holy Spirit visits you, you better submit to Him, or you’ll harden your heart to an even greater degree than it was before you encountered Him. And you’ll bring a greater judgment on yourself in the afterlife.
And if you’re set free from demons- demonic possession, demonic oppression, demonic attack- you better fill that void in your life with God. Because if you don’t, the demons will be back, and you’ll go running right back into their arms.

Next Time
And I know this episode is a little longer than usual today, but I’m wrapping up this whole series I’ve been doing on demonology today. There’s one more thing I’d like to say about Kingdom Authority in just a minute. I don’t even know where I’m going in next week’s episode.
I’d like to do a mailbag next week. I’ve had a few emails sent to me over the past couple months that I haven’t really responded to yet. So I’ll take a look at those, and if you have any questions or comments on demon-related subjects, send me an email to weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com
I’d love to take a crack at it next week. So leave a comment or send me an email. And make sure you’re subscribed so you can get that episode.
I know where I’m going in two weeks. I’m doing a special Christmas-themed episode. But in the true spirit of this podcast, it’s gonna get weird. Then Christmas is actually on a Wednesday this year, so I’ll take that week off from putting out an episode.

Closing Thoughts
In closing today, I want to say this about the series I’ve been doing on Demonology. We started it a few months ago with Mark 5 and the demoniac of the Gadarenes. That opened the door to talking about territorial spirits and sacred spaces or holy ground, and the flip side of that is what we’re talking about today: the unholy ground, the territory allotted to the demonic, the wilderness, the dry and waterless places.
This is where the demons can be sent when they’re cast out of a person. But they don’t want to stay there. They want to make a counter-attack. So Jesus’ message is to have your house put in order. Getting the demons out is a major victory, but it’s only the first step; it’s not the last step.
It’s not just getting the house swept and put in order. The demons find the house swept and put in order. The problem is that the house needs to be occupied. If it’s an empty house, the demons will come right back in. So occupy that space in your life with the Holy Spirit.
When you get saved, you have Kingdom Authority. This is what I was mentioning a couple of weeks ago with the comments about binding and loosing. And once you grasp that, it will change how you pray.
Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:18-19
“…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
It’s not about the hell you conquer, but the heaven you enter. Kingdom Authority is not about what you lose; it’s about what you gain.
So let me restate some thoughts that I already said before, but I want to tie it all together right here.
To be set free from demons is actually a bad thing if you don’t fill that space with Jesus. It would be better to not even know God in the first place than to know the truth but reject it. Cleansing must be followed by obedience, not complacency. Replace bad habits with good ones.
And use the Kingdom Authority that Jesus gave you. In that verse we read a few moments ago about Chorazin and Bethsaida, let me read you what Jesus said right after it about spiritual warfare
In Luke 10:17-20
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
It’s not about the hell you conquer, but about the heaven you enter. It’s not about what you lose, but what you gain. Kingdom Authority is not about the desert you send the demons into, but the Holy Ground on which you stand.
And if you think that sounds weird, I hope you’re a little more weird today, too. Thanks for listening, God bless you for sticking around until the end, and we’ll see you next time on Weird Stuff in the Bible.