40:3), our taking that command seriously leads to the result that "the crooked shall be made straight" (Isa. You may be wondering why God has allowed various afflictions in your life. When Naomi returned to her people with her daughter-in-law, Ruth, she was destitute and bitter. He has given us inspired letters. They Mount up on Wings of Eagles Nothing can make crooked things straight. That you may know that I, the LORD, Johnson refers to the mysterious call emanating from Isaiah 40:3. God will break into pieces the gates that hold us back from our destiny. However, you know if you just have this bent inside, you know, like a habit pattern, that just sends you off each time and sometimes we may not even be aware of these kinks that kneejerk in us, or why we just seem go that way; we just go for that ride and bump! V Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. For many, the crooked path is a religious or works path, even Christians. And he said God did this. And Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. We must see ourselves working as Zerubbabel worked: his hands lay the foundation, his hands bring forth the headstone, but the work has God in the midst of it. I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron . Encouraging Bible Verses & Scripture Quotes: #1. As Christoph Starke (1684-1744) observed, it costs time and labor to level mountains.8 He adds that God seeks fruit and is not contented with mere leaves.9 God is looking for straight paths to be built. Our problem is that we get so used to seeing crooked things that dont get straightened out, we become discouraged when something crooked affects our lives. Again, another verse with reference to the crooked places made straight - to bring light and direction to those who are blinded and cant hear the right ways. And crooked places straight. When we entered this world, we took on some inherited corrupt code if you like from the program DNA and yes; although we are not machines, we can take Click now to subscribe. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. In the Progamming World that we live in where binary machine code governs the known universe, all is not infallible and the best laid plan can go awry. - Luke 3:5 I've always. Lets receive this strength to enable us to be victorious over every obstacle. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, Then there are gates, not just any little wooden gate, but a huge metal gate, it is formidable and imposing, designed to stop us getting through. And if the grace of God is in them, it will bring it out, and cause it to display itself. R You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword andhave taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. (2 Sam. Those that build, those that reconstruct: they are the ones that shall be of Thee.. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Acts 2:17 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. At the beginning and most of the time when we choose a pathway, all appears to be the right way for us; we do our sums and sometimes we even have a real emotional fuzzy to say all is well, so off we go! However, in Is 42:16, the Lord said, I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These metaphorical highways are built by the casting up of stones to create a way through the wilderness. The person on the straight path is focused, eyes on what is ahead. God will make the crooked path straight. Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. The crooked path is also the spiritual and emotional way or road a person is traveling through life. And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. Let Him break them down, so you can walk through. While God forgave the repentant David for his sins of adultery and murder, David still faced consequences for his actions. It is a heart surrendered and submitted to God, worshiping, praising, and obeying Him. And cut the bars of iron. Thats just me and I cant help it!" He is considered a foremost expert in the thinking of R.J. Rushdoony. It is a path that does not go straight for a destination, but winds and twists around obstacles in its way, requiring a lot more energy to get to the destination than the straight road, like an ancient Roman road. Minor Prophets, But God was able to bring good out of bad. n God will be nobody's co-pilot. And look, you blind, that you may see. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. There's nothing man in his own power can do to make the crooked man straight. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. 2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight : I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: Read Isaiah (KJVA) Read Isaiah 45:2 (KJVA) in Parallel Lexham English Bible for Isaiah 45:2 2 "I myself will go before you, and I will level [the] {mountains}. Peace be upon Israel! where you come into alignment with Him, united in your thinking, Publication date: Apr 23, 2023. No results were found while searching for [% query %]. The literal crooked path reminds me of a path or road with many meandering loops, turns, and bends. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways. It can also be a twisted place, like the coils of a serpent. You see it is just the way to go in our personal development and the maturing process to reach out to God and make that connection to get on track, we need to accept that our limited way of thinking will lead us down the wrong track and in time it will be evident. CJB Every valley must be filled in, every mountain and hill leveled off; the winding roads must be straightened and the rough ways made smooth. There is a voice crying out in the wilderness of our soul that persitently and compassionately calls us to the right path of life. 2, p. 96. Run and not grow weary For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Satan, who is wily and slippery, was trying to discourage, depress, and even defeat me. And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. 7:13 to justify letting their hands hang limp rather than making straight paths (Heb. Quoted in John Philip Lange, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Mark-Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, n.d.), vol. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,. Jesus sets us free, but not free to continue to live in and with our sin. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. Spence & Exell, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, n.d.), Vol. Of stones of the desert, children of Abraham; 2. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers who envied him. Vengeance are The . God makes the crooked places in my heart straight; and 3. In an introduction to eighteenth-century Scottish pastor and theologian Thomas Bostons bookThe Crook in the Lot, J. I. Packer describes a crook this way: But in Thomas Bostons usage thecrook is the crooked, that is the uncomfortable, discontenting aspects of a persons life, the things that the Puritans called losses and crosses, and that we speak of as the stones in our shoe, the thorns in our bed, the burrs under the saddle, and the complaints we have to live with; and the lot is the providentially appointed path that God sets each of his servants to travel. 17. The Crooked places are made straight. But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1993), p. 300. F We will see a supernatural highway appear with miracles breaking through, the reversing of circumstances that are oppressive obstacles to our welfare in our cities. 3, p. 28. 10. Terms of Use Privacy Policy Copyright Policy, Temptation, Armor of God, Prayer, Devil, Satan, Lust, Pride, Greed, Lust of the flesh, Pride of life, Galatians 5, Vices in Galatians, Doubt, Trusting God, Saving faith, Believing in Christ, Doubting Thomas, Resurrection, Click Here to Subscribe to BCL's Free Monthly Newsletter and Weekday Devotional, Why It's Reasonable to Believe in Jesus' Resurrection, When Pastors Water Down the Truth of Gods Word, The Connection Between Jesus' Miracles, Faith, and the Coming of the Kingdom. Isaiah 40:5 - The idea is, I will take away everything that would retard or oppose your victorious march. Walk as children of light, But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. Edward J. There can be no salvation apart from repentance. I have repented and am now a much different (and better) person than I was in that past life, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them (Isaiah 42: 16 NKJV). God has given us the gift of His Word, which will help us to evaluate properly whether something in our lives will make the path crooked or straight. 29 He gives power to the weak, God moves by faith, that is His way and we can allow our thinking to be aligned to the higher ways. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. We are all different and need our type of time and adjustment which is unique to us, since we are individual and no two are alike, so dont despair or get frustrated when things dont suddenly go away overnight. Now there is a highway which is straight and it appears in the desert of life, there are no potholes and cracks, no twisting and turning in a dangerous fashion and it is created when our vision is adjusted to Gods ways. Jesus came and made it all possible and now the way is open for this glory to be revealed, which will transform any place of gloom to a haven of restoration. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. (A few thoughts about repentance. The mountains will be brought down, reduced to level ground that you can easily walk through and your vision wont be blocked anymore, you will be able to see the sun shining through and the brightness of your new day. How do you receive the Holy Spirit guidance? It is what Jesus tells us it is in His gospels. E They shall run and not be weary, And here are three passages, out of many, that I found: I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I receive you as my Lord and my Savior. New King James Version 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. Now in Isaiah 45:2,3 - And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. The crooked path is the way that leads to spiritual and emotional emptiness and death never to fulfillment! Old Testament History, 36:26). The crooked place is a place of deceit, a perverse and wicked place. 16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) It is the path of an unfocused life twisting and turning aside from every road block and difficulty that life places in the way of the person on that path. ForI was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, andhere also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. His water is living and changes the landscape of our parched soul to a place of vitality, that will bring forth a bud, we will see life coming forth where there was once barrenness. Young provides key insights into Isaiahs prophecy. 10, Section 2, p. 66. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. Dominion, 1701 Rand Morgan Rd.Corpus Christi, TX 78410(361) 241-6100, Sunday School 10AMSunday Preaching 11AMSunday Evening 6PMWednesday Evening 7PMWednesday Bible Club 7PM, 2011-2021 Bible Believers Baptist Church, All Rights Reserved. So, I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is Gods call through Christ Jesus to the life above (Philippians 3: 13, 14 Good News Translation). It is straight because God either removes the obstacles, like mountains (like the mountains of disease, divorce, loss, financial difficulties, addictions, etc.) After Moses struck the rock at Meribah to bring forth water instead of speaking to it as God commanded him to do, God did not allow Moses or Aaron to enter the promised land (Num. Hallelujah! LEB "I myself will go before you, and I will level the mountains. We see in our opening scripture from Isaiah 40, that even a humungous, monstrous mountain in your life can be brought down to a level place for your progress to continue. Is working with stones worth your time? Well, His plan is to help us and let us see that there is a better way to go in life. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, When God commands us (for prepare ye is in the plural) to prepare the Lords way by making the highway in the desert straight (Isa. And not just for me. Verse 21 speaks of God knowing Egypt, and the Egyptians knowing the Lord, Whom they perform sacrifice and oblation to, vowing vows to Him and performing them. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. S And great fear came upon all who heard of it. What did God mean when He spoke to me about making the crooked straight? A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. God says He will make the crooked places straight, so that we can see with our imagination, the good things and have the faith that will move that mountain in our life, bring us up out of that rut, the valley and the circumstances that hold us back and prevent us from achieving in life. And in the American culture today, if Jesus was physically alive, and He spoke these words, and CNN got a hold of them, He would be crucified all over again. The apostle Paul, once a persecutor of Christians, came to a place in his life where he knew it was better to be with the Lord when his work in this world was finished: For to meto live is Christ, and to die is gain. Am the God of Israel.' The highway allows Egypt and Assyria to serve God together in blessing to the world. Life can get pretty rough when we veer off course - going down a bumpy track that is tough going and taking us away from the good things in life. It is a transformed heart, the heart of a new creation. Jesus restores and redeems He makes crooked paths straight. How is it that when we are unlearned in any field or challenge this is waht we do? He heals our broken hearts and He seats us at His right hand in the heavenly realms, with all the powers and principalities of the dark world beneath our feet. 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. . When God commands us (for "prepare ye" is in the plural) to prepare the Lord's way by making the highway in the desert straight (Isa. It also, can bring a loser mentality and a hopeless attitude, that can paralyse us and keep us from reaching our potential and restrict us from dealing with the challenges that we face. There is meant to be some challenges in life which are all part of the learning curve, that is fine and dandy for healthy development, so yes we can have some crashes on the way and that can be just how things are meant to be with the growing, learning and gaining new experiences in life. It is not an easy book to read, but it might be one of the most important books you read. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.. On the flip side, the sins of my past life have been used by God to teach me important lessons about His grace and mercy, and how to extend compassion to others. You are not enough! (and notice how satans accusations are always general. 59:8). His greatest fear is that you will walk in the truth, you will walk on the straight path, and he will not be able to sap your strength, divert you from your destiny in Christ, negate your Kingdom power, and make your straight path crooked. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. As we know, the way things turn out are not always what we considered and that is OK as well, as we need the element of mystery to be on an adventure, but I am talking about when we end up in the ditch and we are just plain bogged down with no way up anymore. Christians do not need to fear the crooks God allows in their lives but can instead rest in Gods faithfulness. There is no change in the things themselves, but in our views of and feelings towards them. Of stony hearts, hearts of flesh.15. Rather, the King will arrive at the appointed time, and whether or not we have straightened our crookedness will determine if we face His wrath or His reward when He does. Conclusion: everyone of these problems took time to straighten out. Ultimately, he was called out of prison to interpret Pharaohs dream and give him counsel concerning the coming years of plenty and drought. 2. The Lord protects the strangers;He supports the fatherless and the widow;But He makes crooked the way of the wicked. Regeneration is the process through which Jesus makes the crooked straight. U Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. Neither faints nor is weary. How does God make the crooked places straight? They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity. I will level the mountains/make the crooked places straight. When we are bumping around making gross mistakes and yes even outright bad choices, is the best time for us to reach out to Him while He may be found, we must give up our stubborn harmful ways, as the further we go down the beaten track, the deeper the hole. Made by Refuge Creative | 2022 | Hendersonville, NC. Naomi's husband foolishly took his family to Moab to escape a drought in Bethlehem-judah. similar features to illustrate a point. If we could, we wouldn't need Jesus and His salvation. The Israelites had been taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. Nevertheless, through miraculous circumstances, Ruth ended up married to Boaz, her deceased husbands kin. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Software and operating systems can also inherit properties from previous generation code and as each advancement comes there still is, the features of the original inherited, like in the OS - MS Windows; K Only to be discovered after much testing, or way down the track when an unknown situation arises, or when a user presses all the buttons at once and it blows! The valley of lack and despair that leads to depression and heaviness of soul will be raised up again to provision and the joy of a new day, a spirit of praise will put a spring in our step to a brand new day in God. That is why this distress has come upon us. (Gen. 42:21). I was in the presence of real wickedness and perversion. Going astray doesnt always happen overnight, at the beginning of a journey all seems pretty much aligned together at the starting point. Ecclesiastes 7:29 tells us that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. When we translate that into the imagery of paths, roads, and highways, we arrive at Isaiahs indictment of man: The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace (Isa. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. D From this place of power he was able to save his brothers lives. In Greek, deceive (related to deceitful) means to go astray, to wander or roam about, to be led aside from the . The everlasting God, the LORD, Just allow God to adjust your vision, look to Him when you are limited by your thinking to see a way out and begin to be a person of faith. For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. Something must be out of alignment and whacky in our decision making processes for us to be persuaded to take off down a wrong track.