Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice cries, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
You know what I love about Scripture? I love that Scripture consists of 66 books, written by about 50 different authors (give or take a few), over a span of roughly 2000 years. And in spite of the incredibly wide gap, the story is still the same. The opening of this verse is quoted, some 600-700 years later by the writer of the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The writers see these words as being fulfilled in John the Baptist. John is seen as the one who cries out in the wilderness and prepares the way of the Lord.
Of course, there is a long, complex history behind this thought, and I’ll give a brief overview of it before going much further. Isaiah first writes these words to those who will be in exile. After the return from Babylon, it is recognized that the Jewish people, while not physically in a foreign land, are still in a state of spiritual exile. In Malachi, the final book in the Old Testament, there is a promise. The promise is that Elijah, who never died, would return prior to the coming of the Messiah. He would be the one that would turn the hearts of the people before the “great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Mal 4:5). Mark, in describing the clothing of John the Baptist, is clearly correlating these two biblical giants. Mark is essentially saying, “The time of promise is at hand. Elijah has returned, and the coming of the Lord is not far behind.”
What is going on in the Isaiah passage? The way back to God is being made easier. You see, the exile was over rough terrain. It was a rugged land, a tough road away from the presence of God in Jerusalem (it was believed that God dwelt in the Temple Mount in Jerusalem). The path away from the presence of God is a rocky road. It is difficult. Things aren’t always that different from our geography. The same can be said of us today. When we stray from God, the path is rocky. It is tough, rugged terrain, and the road back can look just as intimidating. In fact, it can be so intimidating that there doesn’t seem to be any way that one can make it back. How many people have felt like this before? How many people think that the things they’ve done don’t deserve to return to the land of promise? How many people believe they are unworthy of making the trip back over the rugged land? But wait, it is not our task to go back over the rocky road. The dangers that lie ahead have been removed.
Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the road has been made smooth. That’s what is going on here. The barriers that can seem to be so overwhelming are easily removed by the Lord. The valleys are raised. The mountains are lowered. The rugged land is made plain. It’s not because we can get a bunch of backhoes and do it ourselves. No, in fact, it is quite the opposite. The harder we try, the worse the terrain gets. We can’t fix it on our own. Perhaps the first thing we need to do is realize this simple fact. I’ll say it again. We can’t fix it on our own. There is work that needs to be done, and it is not through our efforts, but through the power of he who was sent by the Lord. The road back has been made easier, but this was not done easily.
The Lord has been revealed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it is through these works that the road back has been made easier. It does not have to be filled with the unknown and pain that the journey out was filled with. It has been made level by the Lord. All we have to do is decide to go back. Did you know that some of the exiled Jewish people never returned? Some of them were enjoying the life that they had in Babylon, and decided to stay there. There were successful businessmen. They were popular people in their community. But ultimately, they were a people who had turned their back on their home. They had forgotten their roots and the promises that were made by the one, true God. The decision is there. If we make that first step, I’m not promising that the road will be easy. It is still a long way back to Jerusalem, but it’s not nearly as difficult.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
Reflections on Isaiah 40, Part 1 of sorts
Why am I calling this “Part 1 of sorts”? Because I’m relatively ambitious. At this point, I fully intend on continuing through the rest of Isaiah 40. However, I’m also horribly inconsistent when it comes to writing ideas. I love writing. I really do. I enjoy reading and studying as well. The problem isn’t doing the work – it’s the motivation. I get fairly unmotivated from time to time and months will pass before I continue doing any real work, as can be seen from the gaps in my archive to your left. So, yes, I fully intend on disciplining myself to the point that I can actually work all the way through Isaiah 40, but I am also realistic… or is that pessimistic… about the actuality of it all. But that’s enough rambling on that subject….
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins (Is 40:1-2, ESV)
Given the flow of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, it is no surprise where the Israelites are going. It continually talks about Israel’s (or, rather Judah – the southern kingdom) unfaithfulness, which climaxes in the word of God spoken through Isaiah to King Hezekiah in chapter 39 – Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon (Is 39:6-7).
Judah is done. They have gone past the point of safe return. Exile at the hands of the Babylonians is inevitable. What’s the big deal about exile? No people group in the ancient world ever returned from exile. Once you were exiled by a dominate country, you were done. It was the end of the line. Your people were intermixed with other races and eventually disappeared altogether as a distinct people group. There was no recovery. But wait a minute – didn’t God promise the land to Abraham? Didn’t he also promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky? Are God’s promises only temporary? This is where Isaiah 39 leaves the reader – anxious, uncertain of the future, in despair. But God is not finished with these people just yet.
What are God’s first words? “Comfort, comfort my people.” What in the world is so comforting about promised exile? The fact that it is not the end of the line. Now, Isaiah writes these words a century before the exile even happens, and the return, historically, was 50 years later (give or take a couple years). Yet, 150+ years ahead of time, Isaiah is so certain of the promises of God that in the same book he writes about exile, he writes about a return. God is so faithful that Isaiah writes in the present tense – not the future tense. The idea is not that the Israelites will return, but that they are returning. It is not a message of hope so much as a message of certainty. Now, I’m getting a little ahead of myself – what is the thrust of the first two verses here?
No matter how big of a mess we have gotten ourselves into, no matter what we have done to separate us from God – God is faithful, but God’s faithfulness does not preclude discipline. Discipline is often confused with punishment. Punishment is not restorative. Punishment merely addresses the symptoms. Discipline has a purpose. Discipline addresses the illness. After the exile, I don’t recall idolatry being a major problem with Israel – at least not in the classical sense of the word. They were not worshipping other gods, as had been the case for the majority of their history before the exile. Of course, by the time we get to the New Testament, there were other issues that needed to be dealt with, but the problem of worshipping idols was not one of them. There were things that replaced the idols which one could consider to be idolatry – money, pride, power, position, etc. – but the Israelites learned from their exile. Their illness was addressed, and Isaiah 40 begins the restorative process.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins (Is 40:1-2, ESV)
Given the flow of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, it is no surprise where the Israelites are going. It continually talks about Israel’s (or, rather Judah – the southern kingdom) unfaithfulness, which climaxes in the word of God spoken through Isaiah to King Hezekiah in chapter 39 – Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon (Is 39:6-7).
Judah is done. They have gone past the point of safe return. Exile at the hands of the Babylonians is inevitable. What’s the big deal about exile? No people group in the ancient world ever returned from exile. Once you were exiled by a dominate country, you were done. It was the end of the line. Your people were intermixed with other races and eventually disappeared altogether as a distinct people group. There was no recovery. But wait a minute – didn’t God promise the land to Abraham? Didn’t he also promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky? Are God’s promises only temporary? This is where Isaiah 39 leaves the reader – anxious, uncertain of the future, in despair. But God is not finished with these people just yet.
What are God’s first words? “Comfort, comfort my people.” What in the world is so comforting about promised exile? The fact that it is not the end of the line. Now, Isaiah writes these words a century before the exile even happens, and the return, historically, was 50 years later (give or take a couple years). Yet, 150+ years ahead of time, Isaiah is so certain of the promises of God that in the same book he writes about exile, he writes about a return. God is so faithful that Isaiah writes in the present tense – not the future tense. The idea is not that the Israelites will return, but that they are returning. It is not a message of hope so much as a message of certainty. Now, I’m getting a little ahead of myself – what is the thrust of the first two verses here?
No matter how big of a mess we have gotten ourselves into, no matter what we have done to separate us from God – God is faithful, but God’s faithfulness does not preclude discipline. Discipline is often confused with punishment. Punishment is not restorative. Punishment merely addresses the symptoms. Discipline has a purpose. Discipline addresses the illness. After the exile, I don’t recall idolatry being a major problem with Israel – at least not in the classical sense of the word. They were not worshipping other gods, as had been the case for the majority of their history before the exile. Of course, by the time we get to the New Testament, there were other issues that needed to be dealt with, but the problem of worshipping idols was not one of them. There were things that replaced the idols which one could consider to be idolatry – money, pride, power, position, etc. – but the Israelites learned from their exile. Their illness was addressed, and Isaiah 40 begins the restorative process.
Just some musings from a traveling pilgrim.
