Isaiah passes on a call; in the wilderness prepare a way for the LORD. The New Testament connects this call with the appearance of John the Baptist. By his preaching in the wilderness John prepares the way for Jesus Christ.

Is the wilderness in Isaiah 40 just a detail with the purpose of making a clear connection between Isaiah’s prophecy and John the Baptist? Then it seems something from a long time ago, and not relevant for us anymore. After all, we do not live in a wilderness. Or does this contain something more; a meaning that is still relevant?

The place where the way for the LORD is to be prepared is remarkable. When you read further in Isaiah 40, there is something else that is remarkable. In verse 4 it says that “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low.” That seems rather bold. When you construct a road, then leveling the ground is part of it. Potholes and undulations must be closed and leveled off. That is normal. But what it says here, goes a lot further: whole valleys must be filled, and mountains and hills are to be leveled. What is the reason for these drastic changes to the landscape?

The Residence of God’s People⤒🔗

The Israelites were (from home) quite familiar with deserts, mountains, and hills. But the Israelites to whom the text is speaking did not live in their own country at the time. They were staying in the flatlands of Babylonia, in exile. Their city — Jerusalem — and God’s temple had been destroyed (see Isa. 44:26, 28; 45:13; 48:20). In earlier prophesies of Isaiah, the wilderness is an image of the coming judgment of God over Jerusalem (Isa. 27:10; 32:13-15, also compare Isa. 51:3; 64:10). When hearing the word “wilderness” therefore, the exiles can think of the miserable situation in which they find themselves for years already.

Now they have just heard that God is going to change their situation. He gives instructions to comfort and encourage the people of Jerusalem. The time in which the city had to perform slave-labour work, pay her debts, and carry God’s punishment is now past (Isa. 40:1, 2). Subsequently they hear from a voice which calls that a way is to be prepared for the LORD in the wilderness. The LORD himself wants to come to the place where they reside. He wants to visit them in their deplorable situation as exiles in a foreign land.

A Way for the King←⤒🔗

The way that is to be prepared is meant in the first place for God himself. It is about “a pathway for our God”. Later it becomes clear that God also makes a way for his people, through the wilderness. By this road he will bring them from exile back to Zion (Isa. 42:16; 43:16-20; 49:8-13). But it is not yet time. Something else must happen first. God comes to his people, to reveal his majestic glory to all people (Isa. 40:5).

This means that he comes as a king. When a king with his entourage takes a certain road, then that road must first be fixed and prepared. I saw that myself years ago in Lubumbashi, in the Congo. As President Mobutu was planning a visit, some road work was finally being done again. The neglected streets improved a lot from this.

The desert roads from Isaiah’s time could really use some extra attention if a king wanted to make use of this road. Therefore, some scouts went ahead of the king, to call on the people to remove obstacles on the road and to clear the way. When you heard their voices, you knew that the king was coming soon.

Double Meanings←⤒🔗

Thus far everything fits the pattern. But here the preparatory work goes a lot further, as we said. Valleys must be lifted up, and mountains and hills must be made low. Why is all that necessary? What is meant by this here, where it concerns the coming of God himself?

Isaiah 40:4b gives us an indication: “the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” Isaiah uses some rare words here. The Hebrew word which is translated with “uneven ground” only occurs here with this meaning. You find the same word one other time, namely in Jeremiah 17:9, but there it means “deceitful”. Also, the three consonants of this word are the same as in the verb “to deceive”, or “to trick” and you find the consonants also in the name Jacob (compare with Gen. 27:36).

The Hebrew word that is translated with “rough places” cannot be found anywhere else in the Old Testament. The meaning is clear from the context: it is meant to contrast with the word “valleys”. In Psalm 31:20 there appears a word that looks very much like it. It has the same number of consonants, and those are more important in Hebrew (than in other languages). In Psalm 31 it means something like “intrigues”.

It seems that the prophet uses rare words on purpose; words which have a double meaning. Whoever listens well, does not only hear him speaking about rough land with rocks, but also about deceit and intrigues. We can add to this that the word that has been translated with “a plain” or to “honesty” (Isa. 11:4; Ps. 45:7; Mal. 2:6).

What must happen is that deceit and intrigues must be exchanged for honesty and justice. It means a complete turn-around. The text perhaps expresses this, because “uneven ground” at the beginning of verse 4b and ‘a plain’ at the end of verse 4b have in Hebrew exactly the same consonants, but in reverse order.

High Mountains←⤒🔗

Let us go back to the valleys, the mountains, and the hills in Isaiah 40:4a. Could they perhaps also be images for human behaviour? In the light of Isaiah 2:12-18 that is quite likely. There, mountains and hills represent human haughtiness and pride, which especially show itself in the worship of idols (Isa. 2:18, 20). Human haughtiness blocks the view of him who alone is truly high and exalted: LORD of the heavenly powers (Isa. 2:11, 17). Everything that takes place is pushed aside, so that only his majesty shines forth.

The clearing of obstacles which impede the coming of the LORD goes very far indeed. A complete turn-around is necessary in human behaviour. Whatever is high will be brought low and whatever is low (the valleys) will be raised (compare with Isa. 41:15; Isa. 57:15; Luke 18:14). God comes to visit his people where they reside: in the wilderness. The manner in which you can prepare yourself for his coming is that you bow humbly before him and that you stop with lies and deceit. Then his glory will become visible for everyone to see.

The Place of Preaching←⤒🔗

In the New Testament, Isaiah 40:3 is referenced in all four of the Gospels, each time in connection with the appearance of John the Baptist. In John 1:23 John the Baptist himself says: “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” In the three other Gospels it is the evangelist who references the words of Isaiah. Luke gives the longest quote. He writes that God turned to John in the wilderness. Subsequently, John went “into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. 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, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:3-6; see also Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3).

When you place this text beside Isaiah 40:3-5, then you will see several differences. In the context of this Scripture study, the difference at the beginning is the most interesting point. In Isaiah 40 a voice is heard which says that something must happen in the desert or the wilderness, namely, to prepare a way for God. With the four evangelists, the place where the voice is heard, is “in the desert”, while “the wilderness” is missing. The difference is connected with this, that the four evangelists all used the Greek translation of the Old Testament — the Septuagint — (but for some small variances). This translation has in Isaiah 40:3 “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”’

According to current understanding, the translation of the Septuagint is less obvious, although this translation is not impossible in every respect. As the four evangelists all use this translation, a stronger emphasis lands in the desert as the place where the voice is heard. Therefore, there is a stronger connection with John the Baptist, to whom God spoke in the desert and it was in the desert where John preached his prophetic message. (Luke 3:2; Matt. 3:1; Mark 1:4). Why did John preach in the desert?

Place of Repentance←⤒🔗

The return from exile which is announced in Isaiah 40 and subsequent chapters seemed to have come to pass. Admittedly, many Jews still lived in Babylon or elsewhere outside the Promised Land, but Jerusalem had risen again, and the temple had been rebuilt. And yet, John lived as a wilderness dweller, and the people had to travel from their suburbs to the wilderness to listen to John. Apparently, the return from exile was not yet complete. God’s people still had to travel through the wilderness. That awareness came as a shock for those who thought they had arrived in the Land of Promise.

John the Baptist again announced the coming of the King: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2). His coming would bring salvation, as Luke says in his rendition of Isaiah 40:5: “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6). However, this would go together with God’s judgment (see Luke 3:7, 9): “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?…Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The main point of John’s preaching was indeed that the people should repent from their ways, break with sin, and ask for forgiveness of their sins.

In other words: there was still a lot lacking in the execution of preparing a way for the Lord. So much even, that a new punishment was coming. The mountains and hills of pride had not been made low yet. For John told his audience that they should not tell themselves that they would get through God’s judgment unscathed.

The Jews who came to him could indeed say that they were Abraham’s children. But this could never become a high mountain behind which they could hide and feel safe, without humbly submitting themselves to God: “And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham”  (Luke 3:8).

Our Place←⤒🔗

The wilderness in Isaiah 40 and in the beginning of the four Gospels is therefore more than a small detail or an accidental décor. From there, John announced the coming of the Lord Jesus and of God’s kingdom. Subsequently, Jesus himself came to John to let himself be baptized by John. After that, the Spirit of God sent him into the wilderness for forty days, to be tempted there by the devil. He stayed in a place where we belong. This is how he saved us. He showed us God’s glory.

Whoever wants to receive that must know his place: in the wilderness. You cannot keep yourself alive there. You cannot maintain your comfortable lifestyle there.

There, you must bend your knees, to receive everything from God. Then God enters your life with his salvation. Then nothing stands in the way of his glory anymore.