The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;"
We have already learned what “every” means so that should save us some time here. In summary, it’s providing what is needed to make someone or something whole or complete -- which is shalom.
This means we have another action item out there in the wilderness so we need to again see what’s behind the curtain (see: AHLB).
The word for mountain is har (H2022) and does in fact mean mountain or hill. But the family of words that use the same root open up a little more understanding:
What we have here is a slow swelling. The AHLB makes the following observation:
In Hebrew thought all things are in motion.
A mountain or hill is not inanimate but the head
of the landscape rising up out of the ground.
Again, slow swelling. Pregnancy is a very clear picture of this process, and on a more nuanced level, pride is a clear picture, as well.
Hill is gibah (H1389) and does mean hill. While not as raised up as a mountain, this one can be more subtle in its danger. Above others but still others above you. An illusion of safety since there are others more prideful than you. Relativism is very dangerous.
The text we’re considering now then takes this concept and brings it low, or shaphel (H8213):
We’re carrying the same overall theme as the valley being lifted up, and that theme is pride.
Before, we saw pride in the context of us being lower than others and then held there. Our quest to prove our importance (pride) is a heavy weight we keep in tow. There, we needed healing to finally see ourselves as Abba sees us.
Here we are considering a different flavor of pride. This is the state we occupy when we actually are above others -- and we think we’re entitled to it.
It seems pride in both forms is just an inaccurate view of ourselves. Pretending we are lower (false humility) or pretending we are higher (pride as we know it). With the pride of feeling lower than others, we needed healing. For the pride of being above others, we need humility.
What does it mean to be humbled?
Simply speaking, we are humble when we have seen ourselves as we truly are before God -- and we realize just how broken and frail we really are. This isn’t a bad thing at all. We need to look upon the Messiah and understand that we are not living up to God’s standard. This is how we remain humble -- I’m not better than anyone else on earth because I have seen myself through Abba’s eyes.
#1 - Getting a true view of ourselves will bring us into a humbled state.
That’s part of it but there is also something more. We do not like the idea of being the lowest so we seek to elevate ourselves any opportunity we get. But we need to realize it’s the pressure of man that puts us in this perceived lowly state. Our fear of man fuels a quest to prove once and for all that we matter. And man’s standard is continually moving. Abandoning the world’s standard will allow me to ignore how I look in the eyes of men and will allow me to remain humble.
#2 - The fear of man must be confronted or else we will live in a perpetual state of striving.
This means we do not care how we appear in the eyes of man. It’s the eyes of God, not the eyes of men, that allow us to see and know who we really are relative to all others. Getting here also puts us in a position of full servanthood.
We just need to get there.
Usually, we’re humbled when the thing we’ve built to put us above others crumbles and falls. While this sounds good when it happens to others, if it’s us we tend to not care much for it. We know pride is bad and we hold others in judgment for operating in it.
But our pride is cloaked in justification. Our wounds and pain have given us a license to put others beneath us. Besides, if they are lower I must be higher, right? This is really bad math and it leads us into destruction at every turn.
We need to fall. For most of us, we need to fall badly. It needs to hurt and it needs to be embarrassing. It seems we only truly respond to pain so it’s time to pray for that pain to come. It’s going to suck horribly but it is going to be the best thing you can experience.
With the valley, we needed to see ourselves through Abba’s eyes in order to see our true value. On the mountain, we need to see ourselves through Abba’s eyes in order to see our true position. Once you realize your role on this earth is to be a servant of all, suddenly your futile quest to build yourself up becomes an embarrassment (hopefully).
If you don’t self-correct (because most prideful people won’t), it’s up to the one crying out to share with you your miserable state. Think this can’t possibly be your job? Look no further than the Voice Crying Out, John the Baptist. The pride of the Pharisees was beyond what was tolerable and he made no qualms about exposing them (notice how the call to repentance is embedded in his scathing rebuke):
Matthew 3:7 But when Yochanan saw many of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim coming to be immersed by him, he said to them, “You snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming punishment? 8 If you have really turned from your sins to God, produce fruit that will prove it! 9 And don’t suppose you can comfort yourselves by saying, ‘Avraham is our father’! For I tell you that God can raise up for Avraham sons from these stones! 10 Already the axe is at the root of the trees, ready to strike; every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in the fire! 11 It’s true that I am immersing you in water so that you might turn from sin to God; but the one coming after me is more powerful than I — I’m not worthy even to carry his sandals — and he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh and in fire. 12 He has with him his winnowing fork; and he will clear out his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn but burning up the straw with unquenchable fire!”
In summary, the first job of the one crying out is to immediately deal with this issue of pride. The pride of falsely lowering one’s value (the valley), and the pride of assuming they are far above so many others (the mountain). These must be dealt with properly before anyone (yes, anyone) can experience what is soon to follow.
The end of this story is that we absolutely must walk in the manner the prophet Micah outlined in chapter 6 verse 8:
Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.
Abba has established authority within you out in the wilderness and it’s there you are crying out.
Calling others to turn from their ways and follow THE Way. And that way is the Messiah. It’s the Torah.
Understand this all begins in darkness and no one will see clearly. But you are called to make a taught path full of a necessary tension. And this path is to rise high above everything else. Do it for our God.
Bring shalom to those that try to cover their pain with pride. This comes with a definite introduction to healing. Lift them up and help carry their burdens. But those that have lifted themselves above others must be brought low in order to be made complete. Introduce healing and teach humility.
Bring shalom to those that have esteemed themselves above all others. Teach them about the Messiah and His righteousness. Teach them the Ways of God. Show them how we are called to walk as Yeshua walked as He is our model for walking in the Ways of God. Then give them a mirror and ask where the Messiah is in that person looking back. Can they see Him? Do others see Him through them? If not, why? Have they ever seen themselves through the eyes of God? Do they understand their true state before Him? Or is it the fear of man that has them in bondage? It’s time for them to confront the truth.
Full Series:
Day 1 - A Voice Cries Out in the Wilderness
Day 3 - Make Straight in the Desert a Highway
Day 6 - Make the Crooked Places Straight
Day 7 - Make the Rough Ground Smooth
Day 8 - The Glory of YHVH Revealed
Day 9 - All Flesh Will See It Together
Day 10 - The Mouth of YHVH has Spoken