“A HIGHWAY WILL BE THERE, A WAY, CALLED THE WAY OF HOLINESS.’ THE UNCLEAN WILL NOT PASS OVER IT, BUT IT WILL BE FOR THOSE WHOM HE GUIDES.” ISAIAH 35:8
The highway of the Lord is not for the fainthearted. It is a narrow path and one strewn with many obstacles. Occasionally, it is even blocked by spiritual corpses who seek to hinder one’s progress. It is a pathway we walk by faith, with the certainty that it will lead to a spacious place, well-watered and full of nourishment and blessings; but, surely the greatest thing of all is to know that we are walking in the way of the King of Kings! This path is one well travelled, and none who have followed along its way have arrived at the destination disappointed! This is a pathway of holiness for those with the courage and fortitude to put aside all else for the reward that lays before them. It is one which He will guide us through: across the discouragements and obstacles, the bruises and defeats – whatever we may face – God is faithful and will never forsake us!
In the following chapter of Isaiah, we read how this word was put to the test in the severest manner:
“Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh [the military official] from Lachish [the Judean fortress commanding
the road from Egypt] to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a great army. And he stood by the canal of the Upper Pool on the highway to the Fuller’s Field.” (Isaiah 36:1-2)
13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the language of the Jews: Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Nor let Hezekiah make you trust in and rely on the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. (Isaiah 36:13-15)
It is an easy thing to cave in to the enemy’s intimidation, not least when we choose to believe distortions, half truths or even amidst facts that are beyond dispute, as were presented to Hezekiah by the Assyrian army who had come against them: the
fortified cities around Jerusalem had been taken; the Northern tribes had been defeated and taken into exile: Judah’s alliance with Egypt was worthless. And then there was the outright lie proffered, that God had sent the Assyrians to destroy Jerusalem!
So here Hezekiah was faced with a dilemma: to believe the facts interspersed with a few lies, or the reality that God is greater than any obstacle presented? Now, in the midst of a crisis of unimaginable proportions, would he take the ‘highway of holiness’ and trust in God’s deliverance or succumb to the devastation of an enemy’s alluring intimidation in the face of impossible odds? What a great challenge and encouragement for us in whatever circumstance we may be facing when we read about Hezekiah’s decision and how things ensued.
