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
And the rough places smooth;”
Crooked places straight, rough places smooth -- Aren’t these mostly the same? You know what we need to do.
Definitions (see: AHLB):
The word for rough is rekec (H7406) and means:.
Hmm, I’ll bet we can learn more from related words:
That didn’t help. Ah, let’s look at verses where these words are used:
Exodus 28:28 Then bind (tie) the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that it can be on the vest’s decorated belt, and so that the breastplate won’t swing loose from the vest.
Exodus 39:21 Then they bound (tied) the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that it could be on the vest’s decorated belt, and so that the breastplate would not swing loose from the vest — as YHVH had ordered Moshe.
Psalm 31:20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from human plots (snare), you conceal them in your shelter, safe from contentious tongues.
Aside from our verse here in Isaiah, this is it. Two verses for “tie” and one for “snare”. How can they connect that with the word “rough”? Not really seeing it so we're going to need to rely on the verse as a whole to sort this out.
Let’s pivot to the second word in this phrase, smooth which is bika (H1237):
Uh, didn’t we see “valley” already? And it wasn’t this word which means there has to be more to the story. Onto the related words:
Is this telling us to “tie the halves”? Taking what was whole, that is now divided, and making it whole again? It seems there is a repair of brokenness here.
I think we can agree that most people have some level (ok, a lot) of brokenness in their lives. Whether it’s broken relationships or a broken heart, we are internally divided.
Some people had it even worse and have since developed a broken view of humanity and subsequently, a broken spirit.
Once people embrace this uncomfortable state of brokenness, they then become agents of brokenness themselves. It seems the more division a person has experienced, the more they divide. It happens in the bar and it happens equally so in the church. Broken men break men.
It is possible, however, to get this repaired.
The opposite of brokenness is unity, or oneness. In Hebrew, the word is echad. Yeshua and the Father are one (echad). A husband and wife are one (echad). Yeshua and the Bride are one (echad).
The idea is that once the two come together it is impossible to separate them. They are no longer two individual entities. They are so organically entwined they are indistinguishable from one another.
What are we called to do then? The next step in the job description of the one crying out, is to bring this person into an intimate relationship with God. That is done once they understand and embrace their identity is that of the Bride. Getting here is not easy though. Navigating poor doctrine, peeling back layers and layers of lies, clipping the ties to wounds…yeah, not easy. And it isn't done overnight.
But once they believe it, everything changes. They are playing a different game than everyone else in the world --and they love it. The seductive whispers of the world are no match for the true intimacy offered by the Bridegroom, Yeshua the Messiah. Their life has finally been handed over to God so they have no need to build a life for themselves.
They are free.
But only after the broken pieces are tied together.
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.
Once this happens, we then address the internal brokenness that has them close but still functionally separate from God. The part of them that is still connected to the world must be put to rest. An impartation of identity, specifically as the Bride, must take place in order for them to abandon their old ways in full. Tie up the broken halves so they can be complete, with no fractures.
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