Prepare the Way

Isaiah is a book of warning and judgement for Judah and Jerusalem, speaking of their duplicity and insincerity, condemning their sin and commanding them to repent. There's a lot of darkness in the early chapters but always tempered with God's affirmation that he can "remove the stain" of sin and make them "clean as new snow" (v. 18). The book also prophesies the coming of the Messiah: "A young woman, who is not married, will have a baby. The baby will be a boy and she will name him Immanuel" (v. 14).    

By chapter 40, Isaiah is speaking of hope and comfort from God, tempering the language of judgement and repentence: "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem," it says in verses 1 and 2. "Proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for." The chapter goes on: "A voice of one calling: 'In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord|make straight in the desert a highway for our God'" (v.3).    

We hear these words again in the Gospels referring to John the Baptist. Like Isaiah, John the Baptist speaks to his listeners of the hope of Jesus' coming but also of their need for repentance: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (Matthew 3:2). He is also directly connected to Isaiah's "one crying in the wilderness" (3:3). With the words "Prepare the way for the Lord," we are called to prepare for Jesus birth but also for his return, living lives of holiness and preparing our world for the coming of God's Kingdom.   

When we sing these words in Bethel Music's Prepare the Way, they carry all of that context and intention. We are called to prepare our hearts and our world for the coming of Christ as a child at Christmas and in glory as his Kingdom is brought to fruition on earth.