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;
The crooked places shall be made straight”
We're again needing insight on the deeper meaning of the phrase: the crooked places shall be made straight (see: AHLB).
The word for crooked is akobe (H6121) and means, well, crooked.
Related words include:
Root
Verb
Noun
(Note: Add a yod to this word and you have Ya’akov = Jacob)
This is one time our deep dive didn’t clearly open up a depth of understanding. So let’s pivot into the other usages of this word:
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than anything else
and mortally sick. Who can fathom it?
10 I, YHVH, search the heart;
I test inner motivations;
in order to give to everyone
what his actions and conduct deserve.”
Hosea 6:8 Gilead is a city of evildoers and defiled with blood.
Ah, deceitful and defiled. This is a bit more clear. So we’re talking about crooked as in a crook -- you know, those guys that rip people off.
(Note again: Remember Jacob's name?)
And for straight we have mishor (H4334):
Related words:
Verb
Noun
Root
Putting this all together, we end up with something like this:
The deceitful and defiled need to be straightened out.
I think we can all agree with this, right? Well, let’s test you a bit to see if you really want to agree with this.
When we think of someone that’s crooked, we tend to imagine a sleazy and slimy charlatan looking to do whatever is necessary to make a buck. This isn’t wrong but it does paint an incomplete picture of what it means to be crooked.
Is it possible for a kind, thoughtful, and sincere person to be equally crooked? Absolutely.
Let’s pull up that verse from Jeremiah again: The heart is more deceitful than anything else and mortally sick. Who can fathom it?
If we’re looking to know what it means to be crooked, we tend to not include ourselves by default. In fact, if you were asked to list 50 people you’ve known over your life that you’d consider had deceitful tendencies you likely wouldn’t be on it (if you’re being honest with yourself). We like to measure our “goodness” based on our intentions so we get a free pass.
Intentions seem to originate in the heart. Our well-meaning intent is birthed from a position of wanting to “do the right thing”. We may have a flutter in our heart that wants us to alleviate pain for our kids, or maybe it’s that we just plain want to help someone else.
Good intentions, correct? But what does it mean to alleviate pain for someone else? How should you really help?
This is where we get deceived. We assume we know how to help others, and we think we know how to get rid of pain. But all we really know is how to make matters worse.
Keeping someone from pain is not our job. Pain is the master-motivator and it is used by God to call people into repentance. When we medicate that pain, we interfere with His Ways. And what do you expect happens when we get in the way of the work Abba is doing? I think we have a Bible full of examples of those that had a better plan than God.
When we decide to be a god for someone else, expect death and destruction to follow. Despite our best efforts, we ultimately move the line even further for those we’re trying to help. They end up worse off and we end up making excuses.
If you look back over your years of helping others, I’d guess there are many instances where you tried to put a bandaid on a wound that was much larger than you thought. You tried giving money but they dug themselves even deeper than before. You decided to intervene in an argument only to realize you weren’t given all of the information. And relationships become even more fractured.
Abba wants people healed, not medicated. And the only thing you have the ability to do is medicate. Healing belongs to Him. He wants them to seek Him above all things, not seek you to bail them out again.
He wants them straightened out. All of the tiny bends of compromise He wants pulled taught. That means it’s going to hurt. And it needs to hurt. So let it.
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.
Tether one end of their cord to His truth then pull aggressively on them to straighten the crooked places. As uncomfortable as it is, let it hurt. Don’t make excuses and avoid trying to medicate. The resulting pain will produce something you never will -- dependency on Abba.
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