And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
Isaiah 35:8 KJV
God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt with a mighty display of power. He had warned Pharaoh to let them go, passionately calling them His first born. Since Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go, with great passion and fury, God killed the first born of the Egyptians, Exodus 4:22-23. It was with this same fury and anger that He buried all the men who came out of Egypt except Joshua and Caleb, Jude 1:5. It was said in 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, that, out of that generation, God was not well pleased with many of them. Many of them were murmurers, idolaters and tested the Lord multiple times because of their evil heart of unbelief. However, there were few He was pleased with. Joshua and Caleb were a type of the wayfarers among the many vagabonds. In the world today, there are either Wayfarers or vagabonds. Last week, we considered some of the characteristics of these way farers. Today, we will consider some of the marks of the way.
We had previously mentioned that the way farers understand where they are coming from, having escaped the judgement of the Lord. This instils in them, the fear of the Lord. They also have an understanding of the vision and where they are going, to the point that they love not their lives unto the death. The world is yet to see a kind of people like these, who have been trained by God. These wayfaring men will be dead and so there will be nothing in their lives to love, Revelations 12:10-11. These men in this generation are being trained and we are all invited to be a part of this great class of individuals in this end time.
Exodus 13:17 (NASB) says Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” This verse shows that the way is designed by God, Himself. It is a wilderness way. God intentionally did not lead the Israelites through a shorter and smoother path. Why? Because He said, they will change their mind when they see war. What does this mean? James 4:1 says From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? The cause of wars according to James 4:1 is lust: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. God did not want to lead them in a way that they will be overcome by lust and become like what they had come out from. This is similar to the way of the wayfarers. He chose lead them through the wilderness first.
The wilderness is where God has always groomed His chosen ones. There is nothing there to entice the flesh. If anything, the flesh is killed there. Genesis 3:23-24 shows that there is a way to the tree of life. This way had been open to man when he was created. However, the moment man ate the fruit of knowledge and evil, he knew that death was imminent. His desire afterwards and the desire of humanity is for this tree of life or to escape death. However, God knew that if he had eaten the fruit after he was corrupted, he would live forever in a corrupted state. Hence, God guarded this tree with a Cherubim with a flamed sword. This means that those who will get through to this tree of life must pass through the fire and the sword. The fire and the Word are both dimensions of the Word of God to us to deal with sin. This is the way of the way farers, a way of dying to self and destruction of lust. In tomorrows meditation, we will consider more marks of the way. However, know this, that all who walked this way were considered foolish in the eyes of the Lord and lived a drastically different life than the world around them. Yet the reward of this life in the wilderness is that even the barren land becomes fruitful and these will return with singing unto Zion, with everlasting Joy upon their head, Isaiah 35:8.
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, thank you for Your promise to be my shepherd. Lord You said in Psalm 32:8 that you will instruct me in the way I shall go. Lord help me not to resist You or be stubborn. Lord let me yield to You that I may be among the wayfarer that makes the desert fruitful and that returns to Zion with singing and everlasting Joy on my head.
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