ISAIAH 40: 3-5. [ADVENT I SERIES PART II]
A VOICE OF COMING
[Matthew 3:1-3, John 1:19–23]
Like other prophets, Isaiah was given visions (1:1), but he also received words. In our text an unidentified voice or voices calls out with Good News (v.3). This Good News must be announced, and a herald and forerunner of the coming King has been called upon to express God ultimate hope for mankind. Though humanity continues to pass away, there is hope for something eternal. That hope is the Word of God which not only will be fulfilled but will stand forever. That Word here is comfort & restoration based on the atonement & forgiveness provided when the Glory of the Lord is revealed.
It is the ultimate origin and the content of the word of God that matters, not its messenger. Yet John the Baptist, to whom the words are applied in the NT, was prepared by God to be such an unidentified voice (John 1:19–23) that through the proclaiming of the word of God would prepare the way for God’s arrival. This prepared way is here made clearer; and, because it represents God’s purpose for His people, it is called His highway. [Isaiah 35:8–10 also speaks of a highway for the returning exiles, implying perhaps that it would traverse the desert (35:1).]
God’s highway of comfort and restoration is based on atonement and forgiveness. This way [derekh] will be prepared and God will come. Frail humanity will be visited by the eternal God who will indwell His people. We are told to proclaim these glad tidings with the strong voice of gladness and certainty.
This second Sunday in advent we will look at the voice’s second word or perhaps it is a second voice. It is A WORD or VOICE OF COMING, found in verses 3-5 of Isaiah 40. Our passage answers how comfort can be offered to a sinful, ruined people. This response to the climatic command of verse 1 which began a new section of Isaiah’s book is found in verse 3. ‘A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”’
The abrupt bursting in of an unnamed second voice, again calls for our attention. The call and cause for encouragement is the coming the Lord into the sphere of human activity. Neither Israel nor any other human agency is the cause of the comfort here extended. It is the coming of God, the revelation of Him to human sight.
It calls for faith on the part of the people. They do not yet see the King, but they dare to believe that He is coming. It also asks for some form of activity on the part of those who had formerly been paralyzed by discouragement and hopelessness (as in v. 27).
The emphatic, reverberating call is to prepare “the way for the Lord in the wilderness.” What is determined in heaven is to be executed on earth. The highway for our God is to be built in preparation for His coming by what originally would be thought to be mysterious celestial agents. God Himself is preparing a route by which God will arrive to lead them on their journey home from the land of captivity.
The verb “prepare” (pannû) introduces the idea of the removal of obstructions. The obvious obstacle to the coming of the Lord is human sin. Mankind has been broken down by transgressions and cast-down by sorrows and regrets. Lofty thoughts of pride need to be humbled and self-sufficiency subdued by self-renunciation, the ‘crooked things’ or better ‘the rugged things’ of oppression are to be made straight or smooth. Evil is to be forsaken and the deep harsh valley of human need is be filled. Nothing of human power or devising can remove such obstacles or fill such lacking.
The matter or means of preparation is further spelled out in verse 4. “Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;”
The voice announces that there will be a way made across “the wilderness” that separates them from their homeland. The whole concept is, of course, figurative, declaring in dramatic fashion that the Lord will let nothing stand in the way of the exiles’ return. Some might see it as the valleys and hills as representing the numerous physical difficulties for the refuges and the uneven and rough places as political or even psychological forebodings as to their release or journey [Coffin, Henry. The Interpreter’s Bible. Vol V. Isaiah Chapters 40-66. Abingdon Press, Nashville. 1956. P 426.]. Dr. Young interprets it as the people’s repentance rather than their journey home to Zion [Young, New International Com. Book of Isaiah, Vol III. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1972.]. No doubt coming back often has dual significance in Isaiah, combining the physical and the spiritual [(7:3), though the verb “to return” does not occur in our present image.] John the Baptist’s command is to call for repentance [yet the NT fulfillment of an OT passage often moves the concept from the physical to the spiritual. Still the passage seems to prophesy a future physical return along with one of spiritual dimensions.]
John’s duty was to bring back the people to obedience to the law and to remove all self-confidence, pride in national privileges, hypocrisy, and false-religion so that they should be ready for His coming (Mal 4:6; Lk 1:17).
So it seems the moral preparation of repentance, even more that the physical restoration of a people, is key to understanding the passage. Such a return or restoration is a highway fittingly prepared by God for the coming of His glory. The revelation of His glory to the individual soul must be preceded by preparation; but that raising out of sin cannot be done by man. Christ must touch a heart before the heart can be prepared for His coming. [The coming was not contingent on human preparation so that the ‘glory of the Lord’ would not ‘be revealed’ unless men made a highway for Him. John the Baptist came crying in the wilderness, but his fiery message did little to build up a spiritual highway for the footsteps of the King. John’s immovable humility pierced to the very heart of the prophecy when he answered the question ‘Who are you?’ with ‘I am a voice. The voice was unnamed; why, what does it matter who I am?’]
Because of the unparallel manifestation of God’s self-revelation, verse 5 states what happens for those who prepare the way in their life for the Lord. “Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Then (waw connective) indicates that the direct result of the Lord's coming will be the revelation of His glory. [The revelation of God's glory is one of the main concepts in the book of Isaiah. Words for" glory" occur 37 times: 20 in chs. 1-39 and 17 in chs. 40-66, 5 of which are in ch. 66. The great sin of humanity is our attempt to usurp the glory of God to ourselves without submitting to Him.]
Certainly, the emphasis now must be on God rather than the exiles. When this One comes it will be the revelation of ‘the glory of the Lord,’ and will be for all mankind, not for Israel only. Jesus’ lowly life and shameful death are a strange revelation of God’s glory. If His life revealed God’s glory, then it cannot consist in power or any of the majestic ‘attributes,’ but in love, mercy, and patience. His sacrificial atoning life is God’s revelation or revealing for all flesh which will one day culminate in all acknowledging His glory. Nothing in the world deterred Him in the revealing of the glory of God, not deserts, mountains, or valleys, not men, demons or any earthly kingdom or power. He is unstoppable reality.
Isaiah thus added the emphatic statement “for the mouth of the LORD has spoken (v.6; cf. 9:7; 37:32). It anticipates Christ’s “truly, truly I say to you.” The certainty of God’s glory being revealed and that all flesh will see it is secured because it has come from the very mouth of the Lord. [1 Pe 1:24, 25 applies this passage distinctly to the gospel word of Messiah (compare Jn 12:24; Jam 1:10).]
IN CLOSING
What we have before us is an amazing new revelation of the glory of the Lord. If it ever was it certainly is not now for Israel only [as in her temple, for instance], but for all mankind (v.5; 60:1–3).
Let’s therefore reflect and personally apply our advent Scripture. We each have obstacles in our lives that hinder us from hear¬ing God's word. That's why God says, 'Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God' " (v. 3). When it comes to communicating with His people, God wants nothing to hinder His truth from reaching us. He wants every obstacle out of the way.
God asks people to prepare the way for the coming King. Think about obstacles that may be blocking God's access to your life. What's blocking His access to your life? Acknowledge (or check) any that apply.
__ any voids or areas of deficiency or need lacking in seeking Him (valley) that need to be filled?
__ any problems or barriers (mountains and hills) to Him that need to be brought down or made low?
__ any broken relationships that make the way rough and need to be smoothed out?
__ any crooked or wicked way, any twisted behavior that needs to be straightened out?
__ any sin or unholy behavior that keeps you separated from fellowship with God?
Now pray about what you need to do to remove these obstacles. Write notes below or on a separate sheet of paper.
Perhaps other people are hindering His truth from reaching you. I challenge you to listen and obey in the importance of this moment and let God's power and presence transform your perspective.
With your head bowed, let’s pause to pray. Ask God to help you remove any obstacles that are blocking God's access to your life. Invite God to grip you with His awesomeness.
PRAYER; Father, just as You sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus, help me to clear the path in my heart, too. Show me the distractions in my life that block me from all-out worship of You this Advent. Lord, I await Your coming! As I celebrate the first Advent––the first coming––I look toward the day where I will see You face to face. I imagine what it will be like. Give me a heart, Lord, that looks for Your coming on a daily basis. Help me to live my life where I'm constantly seeking Your presence. My offering to You today is my righteous life for I know I am only clean because of Jesus. Show me today how I need to be refined, purified, forgiven. Give me the strength to ask for forgiveness and to then change my ways.
[Sarah Martin, from “The Awe & Wonder of Advent: Day 18”]
