I have always been fascinated by the amount of ink the Bible gives to wildernesses and deserts.  Have you noticed that?  Hagar, Moses and Elijah go to the wilderness and find God.  Moses was walking in the wilderness when he came upon a bush that was burning but not consumed.  The children of Israel had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years before entering the Promised Land.  John the Baptist went into the wilderness to preach, and the crowds followed him there.  When Jesus was tempted, he had gone into the wilderness for 40 days.  And here we find Jesus and the disciples feeding the 5,000 in the wilderness.  This "desert place" theme is a prominent one in the Bible.