Isaiah 40:3-5 Pt 1

0:01 All right, this morning, back to Isaiah chapter forty. Isaiah chapter forty. The goal today is, really, I would like to say, to complete the entire section of verses three through five. That's probably not even going to come close to happening. We will do kind of an overview of versus three through five, and then we'll try to work on some very specific things and you'll just see how this all plays out. I was listening to a sermon on Isaiah forty three through five on the way here, and well, when you're listening to a sermon on Isaiah chapter forty, Versus three through five, and you end up with these three points as a believer, there are three things we must do to prepare the way. Number one, we should arrive to church early so that we can prepare ourselves for worship. Number two, we should meditate on the screen for that day's sermon before arriving. And number three, we should review the hymns that are going to be sung before we get to church. That's three points from a sermon on Isaiah forty, verses three through five. Literally, I don't even know, like I don't even know what to do that. Now, there are other good things in the sermon. To be fair, there was he did offer some historical context, did provide some good things. But what point is giving you the historical context of you then

1:34 going to immediately leave the historical context to make it about the things we're supposed to do, right, I mean, there's so many issues here, so many issues here. So we're and again that's why we're doing Isaiah forty through fifty five because yet I mean I think now, I don't even know. I'm over at probably sixty sixty five sermons now and I've yet to find one that even and that's everything from Presbyterian Reform, Baptist and dependent babbtid. I mean, you named the group, and it's like, I don't understand why Isaiah forty through fifty five pastors seem incapable of just preaching the text. I don't get it. But we can criticize that or we can do what we can. So we're doing what we can. So we've already spent a lot of hours working on Isaiah forty.

2:23 One of the things we accomplished before last week was an observational outline of Isaiah forty. Right, So if you have your observational outline pull it out because we need to follow that to some level. Right, last week we spent two plus hours and Isaiah chapter forty, verses one through two. Our observational outline called this section what God's called a comfort his people Isaiah forty verses one through two. Let's read those two verses. It starts with comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry under her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. So this section we referred to as God's call to comfort as people.

3:20 We broke it down into two parts. Right, we had the command to comfort and Isaiah chapter forty, verse one as a repeated imperative comfort comfort my people. We had the declaration of this kind of this comfort or kind of the specifics and there were it was addressed to Jerusalem, and what were the specific things. Warfare has ended, iniquity has pardoned, received double for all her sins. We broke all of that down. I think we did a pretty good job. Nobody had any questions. I always just assume that means because I answered all of them, all right, So hopefully we covered that very well. That brings us today in our observational outline to the next section. And we broke it down verses three through five. I know others go like three through maybe eight, but we broke it down three through five. And we called this section what a voice of preparation, and we called it a voice.

4:21 We did not use the voice, and we'll get into that in greater detail. All right, do you remember any of the way we broke this down. We broke this section down into how many parts? Three parts. The first part is verse three. The voice of him, please, not the King James uses thee, but the voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye. The way of the Lord makes straight in the desert a highway for our God. And we refer to that as the voice to a call to prepare the way, right, the call to prepare the way. The next one is verse four, and which reads, every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hills shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. Everybody see that we called that transformation of the land. And then what did we have in verse five. Yeah, the revelation of God's glory, and I'll read it, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it right. So that's how we broke it down in our observational outline. So the goal today really is we're going to kind of do at least a it's definitely not an in depth kind of a general teaching on verses three through five. Once we do that, we

5:51 will back up and start looking at some of the individual issues that we have to deal with in this text. I may mention some of the issues as we work through this, but hopefully it will be beneficial. All right, So is everyone ready? All right, let's do this first, Isaiah forty verses three through five. I'm going to read them all together again. Pay close attention, right the voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare you. The way of the Lord makes straight and the desert a highway for our God. In fact, let's just stop right there in verse three, just as your casual observation, what issues, what questions, what difficulties immediately come to your mind when you look at verse three What are some of the immediate issues, the immediate questions that come to your mind when you read verse three?

6:52 Okay, who's calling? Or would you say? Who is the voice? Okay? So the first thing is the identity of the voice? Is everybody okay with that? I think that's fair. Right? Is it the voice? Is it a voice? Are we supposed to identify the voice? I think that's fair? All right? What's next? Okay? It is? It's okay. Why in the wilderness? All right? Prepare you the way in the wilderness? Right? Okay? I think that's a good question.

7:34 Or the location here, maybe the identity of the speaker, maybe the identity of the location. There we go, that's a good question. This voice is telling someone to do what prepare you the way? Who's supposed to do the preparing? And they're supposed to make straight the desert of the highway for our God? How do you make a highway for God? Those are some basic questions any good Bible student should have right now, and my estimation right and this is why I hate sermons, because sermons come along and they're not really interested in trying to answer those questions as much as trying to say how can I take this verse and give you three points of something you can do something practical. That's why I can't stand sermons the sermons. And I know people get very upset when I say that, But here's my argument. Ever since I've become a Christian in the eighties, I heard it.

8:39 All through the nineties, I heard it and into the two thousands, all the way up to twenty twenty four, I have heard it over and over and over. And this is the constant. It's always like, it's a crisis. It's a crisis in the church, and it will say the people in the pew are biblically illiterate, the people don't know the Bible, the people don't know Well, we've had a billion sermons and we can't fix biblical illiteracy. We can't fix the ill logical illiteracy. So then that tells me at least it part who's to blame the church? Okay? I mean, if we've had billions of sermons and people are still biblically and philologically illiterate, then now, on one hand, I blame the people sitting in the peu because there's no excuse to be biblically illiterate that you own a Bible. Okay, so that's on you.

9:28 But if all the sermons aren't. Fixing it, And then we saw what happened in church history right when we got into the nineties and kind of moved on even starting in the eighties. It probably even started a little bit before that. It became this kind of mentality, Well, the pulpit is not there to fix the problem. What is there to fix the problem? Two words. The first one starts with the S and the second one starts with a G. Small groups. The pulpit can't do that. The pulpit's not and they will say this passionately. The pulp it's not a place for this in depth academic approach. We've got to have a small group.

10:09 So then small groups were supposed to be the place where we really dig into the text. And what did small groups become? Talk about our feelings, hold hands, seeing kumbai ya have a snack, and so that we can make friends because we really need each other well or whatever. Okay, obviously I'm negative. So when we just go through and ask those questions, in my mind, a sermon should be already anticipating those questions. And what should a sermon, attempt to do address them, deal with them, no matter how long it takes. Now, as soon as you start that, then it no longer becomes in most people's mind a sermon.

10:53 And that's where people will get frustrated with me. I just wish you would just like it would be like a sermon. I mean, I've had that criticism them here with some of the people who have left, is say, I just wish you would preach what do you mean? You wish? What do you want? And they can never clearly and articulate what they want. And I know what they want. They want three three little points and then want to feel like a church. They don't want it to feel like a school. I'm sorry when you have a text like that, if you're gonna deal with that text and try to answer those questions, it's gonna feel like what it's gonna feel like a school. It's gonna have to all right. Next verse, every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hills shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places played. What jumps out in those verses? What questions jump out to you in those verses? Oh, this is the big one. Is this literal? This a good question, is this literal? What do you think percentage wise most churches and most Christians do with this verse? Do they look at it from a literal or figurative perspective?

12:09 Definitely figurative. Now I want you to listen to me, right, So we have literal, which would be very wooden like if we do it in a very little let's put this in categories very literal or possibly literal, but maybe or maybe it's literal, but not in a very specific way. I'll try to explain. So what most will do this the valley should be exalted, the mountains and the hills shall be made low, and the crooked should be made straight, and the rough place is plain. They will turn this into a metaphorical idea that this is about preparing yourself spiritually, and this is removing anything that's in a way spiritually speaking.

12:55 But could it be that it's using kind of an allegorical or metaphor oracle. Let me do it that poetic language, but it's still referring to something more literal. I'm gonna at least pose that question because I struggle with the way a lot of people handle this all right, right, verse five, And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. What jumps out of your out at you? In verse five? All right? The glory to me at two words? What two words do you think jumps out at me? Nope, one starts with an A, the other one starts with an f All flesh, why has that become complicated? All flesh are gonna see it? Is that every human being like, what are do we? Is there some qualifier here? So we've got a lot of questions to work through, do we not? So let's go through the tech. We'll do kind of a little bit of teaching on this, and then we'll see where we can go.

14:05 All right, So those are a lot of questions. Keep those questions in mind. If we don't answer them to someone, make sure that we get to them. All right, We're not going to obviously be able to finish all of this today, So let's start, I think where we always need to start, the context of the passage. Context. Now we've been working on context. Over and over and over, but we and we're going to break context down into two parts immediate context, broader context. Right, everyone here should know the immediate context. What is the immediate context of Isaiah forty verses three through five? Well, it is a part of Isaiah forty which begins the Book of Comfort, which goes from Isaiah forty to Isaiah fifty five. This section shifts the focus from judgment to restoration, addressing whom.

14:55 The Babylonian exiles. So the key for the media context is what section of scripture Isaiah thirty nine. Look for the specific verses that talk about going into captivity? Okay, yeah, chapter thirty nine. Does everybody have them? You should just know them, like by heart? Five through eight. Everybody got that five through eight. That's the immediate context, all right? Now? Why is that so important? Now? I gotta be careful here, So I'm gonna go this direction, and I may walk myself into my own hermeneutical trap. I but it's something we have to address, right, Are you ready? Isaiah thirty nine to five through eight?

15:49 Is the Babylonian captivity literal? Yes? As the people mentioned? Is a specific king mentioned in Isaiah thirty nine five to eight? Is he a literal king? Okay? Yes? All right? Is Babylon a literal place. All right? So right before we get to forty, do we can we not agree. That that's literal? Okay? Go to Isaiah chapter one. How does Isaiah chapter one? I think maybe versus one? And following me, how does it begin Isaiah chapter one? Starting verse? I think maybe one? Okay, wait, so we have a vision concerning what are they literal? Okay?

16:44 Go on? Is Isaiah literal? They say, the son of a literal person? Okay? Go on? Concerning what during the reign of Issiah? Is he a literal? Okay? Keep going? Is he literal? Okay? Keep going? He has is he literal? Keep going? And Hezekiah is he literal? Okay? Kings of is Judah literal? All right? So what am I trying to establish? That? All throughout the book, literal places, literal uh, literal events, literal things are occurring. So just now I know may be walking myself into a hermeneutical trap. But if I get trapped, I get trapped because I like to work the way I like to teach.

17:38 Some people listen online, get it, some people don't. I like to walk through this with you like we're doing it in real time. Okay, I may have notes, but I like to I'm willing to change anything in real time. Okay, So just so here's what I would say. The immediate context is literal captivity to literal Babylon. Everybody got that, Okay. These verses Isaiah forty three through five seem to present a call to prepare for God. I think that's fair. Right, Some commentaries will say to prepare for the Lord's coming. Okay, I'm just gonna say for God, it doesn't doesn't. Look at the verse again, it says to make a highway for your God. Is that what it says Isaiah forty I'm sorry, Verse three, make a highway for you God?

18:38 Does it say God is going or coming? Okay? All right, that's fine. I just want to make sure that we're looking at it as carefully as we can, all right, And you know, okay, all right, so we can say then, I think that's fair. Then we will say that this is a prepare for the Lord's coming, all right. And some will say that this context emphasizes certain things. I'm not gonna mention that at this point in time. So there's the immediate context. What's the broader context. Well, the broader context. Isaiah forty was written in the context of Israel's future exile in Babylon, because remember Isaiah forty was written before it occurred, right, and then that's talked about in Isaiah thirty nine six through seven, and it points to, ultimately in the historical setting, the eventual return under whom Cyrus. Okay, we cannot forget that name, Cyrus, Cyrus Cyrus. Now let me ask you a question. Is Cyrus literal? Okay? He was the king Persia, right, because the Persians conquer the Babylonians. Okay, okay, so the Persians

20:10 are literal, Babel everyone here is literal. Just keep that in mind. Okay, because this puts us in a kind of a hermeneutical. You see where this? You see? I can't? I think you can see where I'm going? Right? If so much of this is literal surrounding it, how do we get in here and everyone just goes crazy with the figurative? Right? I'm not saying my literal is going to work, but okay, all right, right, I'm saying it. It could be using poetic language, which you may have some form of hyperbole, but it's still pointing to something literal. Does that make sense? You can use a metaphorical kind of language, but you're still pointing to something tangible.

20:58 Right. If I say it's burning up in here. I think I'm gonna die. Okay, well that's metaphoric, that's exaggerated, that's hyperbole. But I'm pointing to a literal temperature, right, and it's literally warm, it's literally hot. Does that make sense? So you can use a kind of language, but you're still pointing to something tangible. But what most people do is they a'll take this section use metaphorical language to point to something spiritual. That's where we're gonna We're gonna have to struggle with her. Right. So the historical setting is the Babylonian captivity and the Ultimate deliverance. The passage reassures the exiles that their deliverance and restoration are certain because God is faithful to his covenant.

21:47 I don't know if we can be that specific, but it does seem to say this. If this is spoken to the people who are in captivity, which we know that it is, it is obviously telling them that God is going to show up. God's about to be involved. What seems to indicate that they I mean, if we talked about this, they're in Babylonian captivity, they're suffering, they may be asking where is God? And this seems to tell them God is. Going to show up to some level. All right, I think that that seems to be okay, right, agreed? All right? Now, we do know that in Isaiah forty for a broader context, kind of for a broader context. We've looked at the immediate and how kind of a broader context, kind of a historical context. We cannot deny this In the New Testament, this passage is applied to John the Baptist, we cannot deny that.

22:48 We can see this in Matthew. Three, Mark one, and Luke three. We will address that. I know that's where all sermons want to go. Well, let we can we at least say, within the immediate context, within the broader context, within the historical setting, can we agree to this much? For the people in Babylonian captivity, being told that John the Baptist is coming seven hundred years from now is of no value to them? Can we agree? And if this is about God showing up in Christ seven hundred years from that point, that is of no comfort to them? Right now. I know people say, oh, that should have brought comfort to them, should it? You're in Babylonian captivity. Hey, go ahead and start preparing because seven hundred years from now, God is going to show up in the person of Christ. This has to have something more what right, And this message is to bring comfort to the people in bondage, So it's there's gotta be something for these people. So there's kind of the immediate context, broader context, historical context. I just want to make sure we see all of those factors coming together, all right. So now let's kind of work through the passage itself. All right, let's start in verse three. We see the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness.

24:19 We have the voice here. Now, let's just make sure we know this a voice or the voice will get into greater detail. Many will say the voice here is an unidentified messenger or maybe a prophet. It's someone calling someone to prepare for God's coming. Right, does that make sense? Now? And we say it's unidentified because does Isaiah identify the voice? No? Does not? Right? So can we at least be honest that the text does not identify the voice. So I think we can at least say that it seems to be calling people to prepare for God's coming, and its historical context, this refers to preparing for God's intervention to deliver his people from Babylon.

25:13 Can we agree to that statement. That in this context it's calling people to prepare for their ultimate release from Babylonian captivity, or for at least God's intervention in their captivity. Maybe that's a better way of putting it. So this voice is telling someone to prepare for God's ultimate intervention in their situation? Is that fair? I think that's an accurate way to present this, right, I think that's an accurate way to present this. Now, in the New Testament, of course, the voice is identified as John the Baptist. Now here's what I would say.

25:59 Here's a question, and you're ready. Does the New Testament identify the voice and Isaiah forty verse three? Or does the New Testament use the voice in Isaiah and can and just to use it to identify or to explain what John is doing? In other words, is the New Testament kind of saying John the Baptist is being just like that voice in Isaiah forty verse three? Because everybody says well, the New Testament identifies the voice. No, the New Testament, I think is simply saying John the Baptist is doing the exact same thing.

26:45 He's serving in the same role. I don't even know if we want. To Okay, well, I think it's more just I think just it's saying, hey, you want to understand John the Baptist, understand Isaiah forty verse three. What do you think that's fair? Does anyone think I'm being unfair to the text? Do you need the New Testament versus? Okay, there's Matthew three to three. What okay? Well, guys identified? Okay, all right, right, he is preaching in the wilderness in Isaiah. All right, so we say it's more of an identifying all right. Now, should we take that identity and read it back into Isaiah forty or do we see Isaiah forty is possibly having two different purposes to identify, to speak of the voice that that time, and to speak to a voice coming later. But it has to at least be there's got to be something for the original people. Okay, there has to be something. Can we agree with that? Right now?

28:17 So we have a voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Now we're trying, we're gonna we're just walking through this and breaking it down in a general way. Okay, So we have a voice that we can say is at least unidentified in Isaiah. Some will say it's identified in the New Testament as John the Baptist. I think that there has to be two elements going on here. There's a voice that is that's relevant in their historical setting, and then there's a voice that's going to come later. I think that's the only way to understand it. But it's a voice of him that's crying where in the wilderness. According to some translations, all right now, according to some wilderness is literal and spiritual. Right now, I'm going to struggle here, right, Why am I going to struggle here?

29:13 Because what did I what? I've been trying to demonstrate all the literal stuff all around this, So I. Don't I don't. I don't like making this a metaphorical wilderness. I don't like that. Right. So if it's a literal wilderness, then what is it most likely referring to? Well, here's according to one source, you're ready, the wilderness is literal or a literal desert. Because the geographical root from Babylon to Israel basically was a wilderness or a desert. So this seems to be saying, hey, here's a voice coming to this desert, this wilderness that is literally the root that will take you.

29:56 From Babylon back to Jerusalem. What needs to be. Prepared that route? Okay, yes, if we make it metaphorical, this is what people do that it's a spiritual metaphor for the barren state of Israel and exile, that the voice comes to it barren like desert of the people who are spiritually in the wilderness, they're spiritually bearing. I'm not a fan of that.

30:39 Well, basically, then what this is going to turn into is the preparing is to prepare themselves spiritually. Who's gonna yet, right, I know? So yeah, I know through the wilderness, right, I mean, like, I don't know. I have a hard time here. All right, So we have a voice unidentified, can we agree, at least in Isaiah's time, unidentified possibly identified in the New Testament, at least for that situation of him that cries in the wilderness. We have the wilderness possibly like you know, a literal wilderness, and it says prepare ye the way of the Lord.

31:20 Everybody see that prepare ye, the. Way of the Lord. Now, this preparing seems to reflect a custom of preparing roads for royal processions. So the way it would work in that time if a king or royalty was coming along, right, people would go before to. Do what. Cleaning the road, but then would do it literally, like literally like get the road ready, get the road ready. Okay, so does that kind of see But once again that's a literal. It's using a literal image here now. Now this imagery seems to portray God as a king coming to lead his people back to the promised land. Okay, so you're making a way for the Lord, and you're making away for the Lord to come, do what.

32:16 Deliver the people? Okay, right now, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Everybody see that phrase a straight highway again, Now, according to some symbolizes removal of obstacles that hinder God's people from experiencing his salvation. To how that goes straight metaphorical and spiritual. Again, Hey, God's going to come and he's going to bring salvation. You've got to. Make straight that way. Now, there's all kinds of thilological issues with that, right, So wait a minute, before I can be saved, I've got to do some I've got to start making things right before God saves me. Well, there's all kinds of issues with that, right. So then this gets into and it just gets into a major theological divide, does it not?

33:13 How a part of Christianity believes repentance is a work of God given to us. Another part of Christianity's repentance is something you do, and then we don't. Even within Christianity, there's not even an agreement on what repentance is because some people believe repentance is simply a change of mind, where other people believe repentance is simply a change of action, and it has some more practical implications. So that just leads us into a See, if we go with that direction, then guess what we're going to do. If we go with what they're doing here, we're gonna be doing what We're gonna read our theology into the text. You can't read your theology into this text.

34:01 You can't do that. Why that's why again, why I hate sermons A pastor simply reads the theology of the church into the text, and then everyone says amen, because they already agree with said theology. If we turn this into preparing the way for salvation, you end up with a million theological issues. If we're saying that this is an actual preparing for God to come and deliver the people, then what kind of preparation and who's supposed to do the preparation? Are we referring to? What does it mean to make straight a highway? Well, this would seem even if we go symbolic, it would seem to be removing what whatever the obstacle is to keep them from literally going back? Is there a literal obstacle keeping them back? What's the literal obstacle? Babylopians, they have to be If they are removed, then you prepare the way I'm going with. I know I'm going with a much more literal way here. I just have to at least consider this, right, I think we have to all right now? In a spiritual sense. This is how one source says it. It reflects the call to repentance John the Baptist ministry and the removal of barrier sin idolatry that separate humanity from God. Well, that's taking

35:33 it to the New Testament. We're not going to get to the New Testament right now. So but if you bring, if you read that back into the Old Testament, then are you saying, hey, Israel, prepare the way, make the way straight? And how do you do that? You get yourself right spiritually. You've got to get yourself right spiritually or God's not going to deliver you from captivity. That's not the way this works. He guarantees them they're coming out of captivity. Is like, you've got to get yourself ready? Do they get themselves ready spiritually? What happens when they go back into the land? Right, But from a spiritual standpoint, doesn't God have to send profits to them to motivate them to finish the work.

36:28 Right? Exactly? So they don't get themselves some spirit See if you turn this spiritually, it just turns. I know, it preaches good. Right, Hey, these people need to prepare themselves for God. And ladies and gentlemen, you sitting here this morning, you need to prepare yourself every day for God and discermon that I listen to. How do you do that? You get to church early and you prepare yourself to worship it. Just stop it. That's not what this text is about in my estimation. Does that make any Does everyone see where I'm going here? All right? So we've talked about the voice, and we talked about everything associated with this voice here, I think, and we looked at everything in verse three.

37:13 Could you agree that we kind of took verse three apart? Did we answer all the questions? No, we haven't answered all the questions, but we're doing our very best to break each section down. Okay, we will work back. I'm just right now this hour. What I'm trying to do is just get us through all the verses. Okay, anything else there? So what you can kind of hear my thesis starting to form right that the voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness prepare you the way of the Lord makes straight in the desert a highway for our God. That this is a literal voice telling literal people to prepare the way in some literal way for God and somehow literally make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

37:57 And when I say. Literal, there is metaphorical language being utilized, but it's pointing to something tangible they're in a tangible wilderness. The route from Babylon to Jerusalem is wilderness. There's literal things that are in the way. Does that make sense? All right? So verse four, what do we have happening in verse four? We call this the transformation of the land? Right, Okay, every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hills should be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight in the rough places plain. All right, let's break this down.

38:43 All right, this imagery, I think we can agree. You can tell me if you agree with this depicts a drastic transformation of the natural world. Can we agree that it seems to depict a drastic transfer? Okay, So if it symbolizes anything, what would it be symbolizing. Well, one source would say the removal of all barriers to God's purpose. Okay, So if you're going to say every valley shall be exalted, every mountain, hills shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough place is plain.

39:25 If you take all of that, using all of that geographical language in a metaphorical way, what has to be removed for them to be delivered? Again, I'm going to point to who has to be removed the Babylonians, the Babylonians. So it's using a metaphorical language, but I think it has to be pointing to that. Here are you ready? This is how one this sea just. Drives me crazy. Valleys lifted, mountain lowered signify the leveling of inequalities, the removal of human pride, and the undoing of oppression.

40:16 Come on, now, come on, that's vast figurative. It's allegorical. Yeah, hey, so what you guys need to do is do you do who's doing this? Who's gonna be making the valleys low in the mountains like, the mountains low and the valleys high? Who's gonna be breaking this all down? Is it? Are the people to do this for themselves? They're the humble themselves? Like? Or is God doing it? Like? Well, even if you do it allegorically, you're ripping. The verse so far out of context, I say, right, yeah, I mean, I mean when it says every valley shull be exalted, just here's what I would say.

41:06 Verse four. Clearly, Verse four is not telling them to do this. Verse four seems to say this is what's going to happen, don't Can we agree that there's a massive change. Three they're told to prepare. Four seems to transition from what they are to do to that this is going to happen, and that those things happening there seems to going to be beyond what the people can do, because even if you're using it in a symbolic way, the people can't do what. They can't exalt a valley, they can't bring a mountain. I mean, they're they're they're they're captives. They can't do any of this stuff. So this seems to be saying, this is what's going to happen, all right, well, and then us we could read the un and even ground should become level and the rough place is a plane. This emphasizes accessibility and ease as God clears the way for his people. Spiritually, it points to the removal of sin, rebellion, and injustice, making the way for God's kingdom to come in fullness.

42:18 I don't get that, well, that. Would be like, yeah, that would be It definitely wouldn't be us, and it would be Israel. But I don't think that. I don't think this is a referencing to the future. This is referencing what's going to happen in this situation. I know. Look, I've got no problem saying that verse four is using some type of poetic language, right, But I think it's poetic language to describe that everything is going to be removed so that.

42:58 They can do what be delivered and all of it. So if it's symbolic, what is it symbolically referencing everything that's holding them back? And I don't think that this is like God is coming to fix all of your sin problem, because he doesn't fix all of their sin problem because they still sin after they go back, right, So then that's not what it's referencing. It's gonna be referencing physical, physical things that would obstacles with physical obstacles or obstacles as. Far as the nation is concerned, how they're being held. All of that's gonna be said, All of it's gonna be taken. Care of, is it not?

43:40 You know what? We I don't have the ability to do it now. If I did, I would look it up if you had internet connection. You know what we should really look at. What were the things that occurred literally and physically when the Persians defeated the Babylonians. What happened what occurred? They're like, was there massive destruction, massive upheaval or did the Persians just walk in and the Babylonians like we quit or was there battles and things destroyed? I mean, wouldn't that wouldn't that be an important question because we know literally the Persians have to defeat the Babylonians.

44:27 We know that literally, right, And what year. Did you say it happened, Sarah? Kay, I don't have it five point thirty nine. I don't know if it was a one time battle, if it was a lengthy I mean that those are questions like at this point, I don't I didn't even think about asking those questions until right now. But okay, okay, okay, so someone someone prepared the way for him to come in. He opened the gain, and he walked in. Okay, so it around So yeah, all right, that's interesting. Okay, So maybe it doesn't go that direction. Okay, but that's I'm glad that you have that information. All right. So all right, Oh don't know what to do with that, Okay, I just don't think put it this way. I have a hard time with all of this being turned into some spiritual thing.

45:45 Does everyone see my issue? Here. Now we'll stop because we're right at the top of the hour and I wanted to finish this part so that we could get to the next. But we'll put it all back together in the next hour and see if we can really make some good time and see we can go through. So right now I'm presenting more of a hermonutical. I told you I was going to walk myself into a hermautical trap, right, but I just the voice of Him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare you the way of the Lord makes straight the desert a highway for our God. Every valley should be exalted, every mountain and hills shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough place is plain. I'm going to argue, yes, there may be some metaphorical language being used, there may be some illustrative language being used, but it's got to be pointing to something tangible. I have a hard time saying, hey, Israel, prepare your way for God, and all of this stuff is going to happen, and that means all of your your pride is going to be Like I don't get all of this supposed spiritual transformation that's going to occur.

46:51 I just don't see it because we know when Israel gets to the land, some of the people don't even want to leave. Remember there was some issues that people didn't even want to go. And then when they get there, there's there's they basically aren't getting everything built and they have to send profits to go. Could you start getting things done? And then what happens long after that they go back into captivity to Rome. So I mean, come on now, like I I don't see this as like, hey, God, God's going to come in and fix all of your sin problems. That No, God's going to come in and remove all the obstacles so you can go back.

47:33 That's what it's. That's what it has to be. So all right, we'll stop there and uh, we'll just see what happens. All we can do is walk walk through it the way we're walking through it, in a very non sermon like way, so that we can so we can struggle with this. See if I if I do it. In a sermon way, it's just gonna be me just basically giving you basically just one understanding of it, right, spoken in somewhat of an authoritative or dogmatic, assertive way. I may mention some of the other options, but I got to go quick because I got to get it done in a sermon, right. I mean, if we know, if you went to any church today and they were preaching on Isaiah forty verses three through five, they would finish it in forty minutes. You know that, and I know that we're not going to finish it.

48:27 In probably three weeks. Okay, there's a difference, now, is am I saying that going that in depth is always good? No, it can be difficult, but it's the This text. Has to be done with in a better way than it can't turn into what I heard on the way here. Get to church early. So you can get yourself ready to worship, review the text for the sermon, and review the hymns. Are you kidding me? That's what Isaiah forty three through five is reduced to. Now, I'm not saying that that's all he reduced it too, but the fact that played a part in the. Sermon was just insane to me. I just started laughing. All right, so we'll see what we can do and we can put this together. Right.

49:12 I wish it was. They didn't it's not following my strategy here because this hour was supposed to finish this overview kind of but that's all right. Well, pray and we'll get started the next hour or God, we come before you this morning. Lord, there is so. Much here that I just got to admit, Lord, I don't quite understand how this is to be understood or interpreted. But Lord, the one thing I do know is that these words had to mean something to the original people. And Lord, let me not take these and apply them to me without looking at what it meant to the original people. Forgive us for mishandling your word. Help us understand this text, and help that mean something to us.

49:53 And we asked this in Jesus name, and God's people said