TOWARD THE HIGHWAY

"Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities." (Jeremiah 31:21, NKJV)

JEREMIAH PROPHESIED to a wayward nation that had lost its way. In a plaintive plea, the Lord cried out, "How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter?" (v 22). In their beginnings they had been directed by both promises and laws. Their path had been clearly charted for them. God had established a central city from which blessings would emanate – Jerusalem. This is the most blessed city in all history, and the only one of which it is said, "Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen [for] Me to put my name there" (1 Kgs 11:36). In this city was the temple, a location exclusively identified with the living God. They were given the offices of High Priest and priest to bring them before the Lord, and seek their blessing (Ex 29:9-29; Num 1:50-53). God raised up holy prophets, sending them to the people to inform, warn and plead with them (Jer 35:15). There was also the Sabbath day, a single day wholly devoted to the Lord (Ex 20:8-11). The Lord even established three annual feasts to heighten the awareness of Himself among the people (Ex 23:14-14-17).

YET, IN SPITE OF ALL of these provisions, the people "wandered as blind men in the streets" (Lam 4:14), straying from the Lord, forgetting His law, and ignoring His prophets. Jeremiah was sent by God to this people. The Lord commanded him to say what He directed him to speak, and not be afraid of this rebellious people. He put His words in Jeremiah's mouth, and set him "over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant" (Jer 1:7-9). The mighty prophet delivered a troublesome message during disturbing times.SIGNPOSTS. Our text is a marvelous sample of the strength of Jeremiah's message. In it he calls upon the people to "Set up signposts," or make road markers. By this he does not mean to set up signs identifying where they were. Rather, they were to set up signs that told where they were going. They were to clearly mark the path back to their proper abode. This involved holy recollections of their beginnings, and reminders of why the Lord had called and blessed them. This also included exposure to the Law and the Prophets – the Word of the Lord, the temple, and the feasts.

LANDMARKS. These were things that would assist their memories, like the stones piled up in Jordan (Josh 4:6-7), and the faithful observance of the Passover feast (2 Kgs 23:21-23).

THE HIGHWAY. The people were admonished, "Set your heart toward the highway." One version says, "Direct your mind to the highway" (NASB). Another reads, "Consider well the highway" (RSV). The prophet adds, "the way in which you were sent." This was a call to remember how they entered the promised land in the first place. They had been called out of the land of bondage to a land flowing with milk and honey – one that would be ready to receive them, with houses, wells, and vineyards that they had no part in making (Deut 6:11).

THEY HAD JOURNEYED through a wilderness, with all of their needs being miraculously supplied (Neh 9:20). When they confronted enemies, they overcame them (Neh 9:22). Their clothes and shoes did not wear out, and their feet did not dwell, even though they were nomads for forty years (Deut 8:4; 29:5).

THIS HIGHWAY WAS NOT CHARTED BY MEN. It had not been traveled before, and was not on any map made by men. Due consideration of that highway to Canaan would assist the Israelites in making a recovery, once again finding their way back to their God.OUR TIME. We live in a time when many professed believers have lost their way. They are wandering in the timbers of Law like the Galatians (Gal 4:9-11), or have left their first love like the Ephesians (Rev 2:4). Such people have left the highway to glory, and are no longer seeking a city that has foundations (Heb 11:10). They have settled in the world, and the dust of carnality has obscured their vision. What can be done under these circumstances? How can recovery be realized?

SUCH PEOPLE MUST "set their heart toward the highway!" Let them ponder how they first made their way to the Lord on the appointed way. They became single-eyed as they sought forgiveness, grace, and an eternal inheritance. No price was too great to pay. The world was seen as unworthy of their love, and a deep sense of a need for the Lord dominated their thinking. That is the "highway" we all took to the Lord. It was the "what-must-I-do" highway and a "here am I" path. It was clearly marked by the Gospel of Christ, and left the traveler with a keen sense that God had something he needed and fervently desired.

THIS "HIGHWAY" WAS RAISED UP BY GOD in the midst of an impoverished desert (Isa 35:8). It stood in sharp contrast to everything around it, yet on it there was safety and blessing. ow about you? Are you looking toward the highway to heaven? Has it captured your heart? The
ravenous beast cannot walk there, but you can! How blessed to ponder it.

– Given O. Blakely