וְהָיָה־שָׁ֞ם מַסְל֣וּל וָדֶ֗רֶךְ וְדֶ֤רֶךְ הַקֹּ֙דֶשׁ֙ יִקָּ֣רֵא לָ֔הּ לֹֽא־יַעַבְרֶ֥נּוּ טָמֵ֖א וְהוּא־לָ֑מוֹ הֹלֵ֥ךְ דֶּ֛רֶךְ וֶאֱוִילִ֖ים לֹ֥א יִתְעֽוּ׃
거기 대로가 있어 그 길을 거룩한 길이라 일컫는바 되리니 깨끗지 못한 자는 지나지 못하겠고 오직 구속함을 입은 자들을 위하여 있게 된 것이라 우매한 행인은 그 길을 범치 못할 것이며
Rabbeinu Bahya
A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Massey 3: Why were all these journeys spelled out in the Torah? It was a reward for these parts of the earth which willingly accepted the people of Israel on their soil. This region, though it had always been barren, etc., will flourish in the future after the final redemption of the Jewish people as we know from Isaiah 35,1-2: “the arid desert shall be glad, the wilderness shall rejoice and shall blossom like a rose. It shall blossom abundantly, it shall also exult and shout. It shall receive the glory of Lebanon, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon. They shall behold the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our G’d.”
If the desert will receive so much reward for merely tolerating the Jewish people on its surface, how much more will he be rewarded who welcomes Torah scholars into his home. You find that whereas on the one hand some deserts will be transformed into habitable regions, there are regions which were always habitable and will be made into desolate, arid land. This is the meaning of Malachi 1,3: “I have hated Esau; I have made his hills a desolation, his territory a home for beasts of the desert.” Isaiah 41,18 says specifically that the desert will become a pool of water. You know that nowadays there are no trees to be found in the desert. In the future trees will grow there. We have this on the authority of Isaiah 41,19: “I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias and myrtles and oleasters; I will set cypresses in the desert, box trees and elms as well.” Whereas nowadays people are fearful to travel through these regions, in due course “I will make a path through the wilderness, rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43,19).
If the desert will receive so much reward for merely tolerating the Jewish people on its surface, how much more will he be rewarded who welcomes Torah scholars into his home. You find that whereas on the one hand some deserts will be transformed into habitable regions, there are regions which were always habitable and will be made into desolate, arid land. This is the meaning of Malachi 1,3: “I have hated Esau; I have made his hills a desolation, his territory a home for beasts of the desert.” Isaiah 41,18 says specifically that the desert will become a pool of water. You know that nowadays there are no trees to be found in the desert. In the future trees will grow there. We have this on the authority of Isaiah 41,19: “I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias and myrtles and oleasters; I will set cypresses in the desert, box trees and elms as well.” Whereas nowadays people are fearful to travel through these regions, in due course “I will make a path through the wilderness, rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43,19).