Though sung beautifully and heard annually in Handel's "Messiah,” this powerful Scripture from Isaiah 40:3”“4 remains obscure in our memory and understanding:
A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”
Simply put, verse four informs us that everything exalted (by culture or self) will be humbled and everything humble (also by culture or self) will be exalted. At some point on the physical plane and already on the spiritual plane, everything and everyone will be brought to the same level. Keep in mind the following positions:
1. God loves everyone.
2. If he loves everyone, it means he loves more poor people than anyone else.
3. The Gospels tell us that the poor people heard him gladly.
4. The elite of the world rule the world and represent less than five percent of the world. They are the mountains.
5. The common people are the valleys.
Nothing in our nature or culture agrees with that scripture or interpretation. Men in business, politics, entertainment and, yes, even in the church seek status or mastery over others. If nothing else, this passage gives me pause.
So, what is the level ground that is our ultimate future? Amazingly, it is the same level ground as from the beginning ”“ God loves people!
The offer and broadness of mercy so permeates the Old Testament, that to deny the availability of God's mercy to the masses seems ridiculous. So, if we can't deny mercy, what can we do with it? We modify mercy. Tampering with the Law through the centuries, rabbis pushed people into spiritual prisons that easily could have hung signs over the cells stating, "Judgment accepted, Mercy banned.”
The sad truth hovering over all of this? Simple! No one could keep the law, much less the additional rules the rabbis had developed. This prompted Jesus to complain that they taught the rules of men as if they were the laws of God. Pharisees never complimented Jesus except by accident. All they did was to criticize Jesus and oppose him and seek to kill him. At a moment of pharisaical judgmentalism, Jesus reminds us that God desires mercy rather than sacrifice.
However, the commandment for us that preceded the prophecy about valleys and mountains describes the nature of mercy: "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”
Our assumption is that Jesus needed such a highway, but I see it differently. Straight and level highways describes the condition Jesus wants for his people. Straight so that no one need ever get confused or lost. Level so that even the weakest feet need not stumble. What a beautiful view of mercy. The weary, the burdened, the child will find the highway inviting and restful.
Here is my concern: With too many rules and expectations and performance demands, I bent the highway and filled it with potholes and bumps. I repent of that and wish only to repair the places I created that cause tender feet to falter. I want to study mercy. When I pray "Thy will be done,” I want that will to spread his mercy to a world that God loves but who doesn't know him or of his mercy. It's easiest when the ground is level.
My next concern? Am I a mountain, hill or valley?