Isaiah 40 (Part 05) – Isa 40:4b – Crooked Made Straight and Rough Places Plain

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1. “…and the crooked shall be made straight,…”
2. Crooked adj. – 1. a. Bent from the straight form; having (one or more) bends or angles; curved, bent, twisted, tortuous, wry. Applied to everything which is not ‘straight’ (of which crooked is now the ordinary opposite).
3. God created Adam very good (Gen 1:31), but he corrupted himself (Gen 2:17 c/w Gen 3:6).
4. His sinful nature passed down to his descendents (Rom 5:12).
5. Sinners are crooked by nature (Eph 2:2-3; Pro 2:15; Phi 2:15).
6. Sodomites are crooked, which is evident by the fact that people with a natural and normal sexual orientation are called “straight.”
7. Dishonest people are often referred to as crooked.
8. Politicians are notoriously crooked, hence the saying, “Crooked as a politician.”
9. A good man is often referred to as a “straight shooter.”

iii.    They that are accustomed to doing evil cannot do good (Jer 13:23).

1. That which is crooked cannot be made straight on it’s own (Ecc 1:15).
2. Only God can make crooked things straight (Isa 42:16; Isa 45:2).
3. Jesus came to restore His people to the holiness and perfection that we would have enjoyed had Adam not sinned.
4. Jesus made our inward man straight, holy, and without blame (Eph 1:4).
5. Jesus will make our crooked flesh straight at the resurrection (1Co 15:50-53; Phi 3:21; Rom 8:21-23).

iii.    The resurrection will be the restitution of all things (Act 3:21).

1. Restitution – 1. a. The action of restoring or giving back something to its proper owner, or of making reparation to one for loss or injury previously inflicted. 5. a. The action of restoring a thing or institution to its original state or form. (In later use only in echoes of, or with reference to, Acts iii. 21.)
2. Jesus will make the whole crooked creation straight again when He returns.
3. This crooked old heavens and earth will be melted with fervent heat at the second coming of Christ (2Pe 3:10-12).
4. It will be replaced with new heavens and a new earth which will once again be straight (2Pe 3:13; Rev 21:1).
5. “…and the rough places plain:…”
6. Rough adj. – 1. a. Having a surface diversified with small projections, points, bristles, etc., so as to be harsh or disagreeable to the touch; not even or smooth.
7. Plain adj. – 1. Flat, level, even; free from elevations and depressions. a. Said esp. of a horizontal surface, as of the ground, or †of the sea when calm and undisturbed (obs.). 2.  a. Smooth, even; free from roughness or unevenness of surface.
8. The Messiah would come to smooth out His people who had been made rough by sin.
9. Jesus came to save His people from their sins (Mat 1:21).
10. They were rough by nature (Tit 3:3).

iii.    He came to regenerate and renew them to make them plain and smooth again (Tit 3:4-7).

1. The way of the wicked is rough like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the righteous is made plain (Pro 15:19).