Early one morning in 54 BC, at the time when kings go out to battle, the rutted tracks in the south of England rang with the cry, “They have come” The dreaded Romans had crossed the Straits of Dover and invaded Britain.
Ask any British schoolboy what has survived from the period, and the answer will be “the roads” Sure enough, long straight throughways like Watling Street and The Fosse Way still bear the heavy burden of modern day traffic upon the original foundations laid down over two thousand years ago
To the Roman civil engineer, road construction was both an art and a science Beneath the surface paving stones, there were three levels of foundation bedrock, forming the substructure The camber was measured exactly, to ensure that the elevation of the middle section of the road surface facilitated water run off The line was straight and true, punctuated every mile (a thousand paces) by a signpost informing the traveler of the distance to the next city
These arteries carried the lifeblood of the Roman system across the vast empire Probably the most famous road was the Appian Way, a 580 kilometre throughway built in 312 BC to connect Rome and its Adriatic colonies This pales into insignificance beside the road called The Via Domitia, a link between Italy and Spain The “piece de resistance” was The Via Egnatia, running from Rome to Constantinople, eastward across Turkey and south down into Syria Saul of Tarsus and his entourage would have traveled a section of this road on the way to Damascus, where they were arrested by the blinding light of the presence of the Lord Jesus.
The oldest road
While these roads may fill us with awe, there is a road in Jordan which is approximately 4000 years old In the Bible as History by Werner Keller, there is an amazing aerial photograph dearly showing a dark streak lying east of the river Jordan and heading northward across the desert and up through the Jordan valley Known to current nomads of the region as “The Kingsway,” they claim that it is a route dating back to the time of Abraham Possibly it is the route described in the Bible as “the king’s dale” (Gen 14 17) Paved by the Romans, part of it is still in use by modern-day Jordan, it must be one of the oldest roads in the world
It is exciting to realize that this could have been the very road Moses intended the Israelites to take on the way up to the promised land, when he asked the king of Edom for permission to pass through his territory “Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders” (Num 20 17) Evidence that Moses was referring to an existing route is given credence by the RSV usage of the proper name, “The King’s Highway”
The king of Edom had other ideas, “Thou shalt not go through And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border wherefore Israel turned away from him” (Num 20 21) Like his ancestor Esau, this man had no respect for the ways of the God of Israel One can almost feel the arrogant pride and sense of superiority as the king and his people watched Moses meekly lead the Israelites away Totally unaware of their narrow escape from destruction, through the mercy and tolerance of God, these envious relatives of Israel continued to harbour jealousy and hatred They were ever ready to partake and gloat about the downfall of their kindred (Ps 137:7, Obad 12)
Contrasts in fate
We see the ultimate fate of these descendants of Jacob and Esau in chapters 34 and 35 of Isaiah The thoughts are linked across both chapters and should be seen as a unit As judgement for persistent infidelity and treachery (most likely they had conspired with the Assyrians at the time of Hezekiah), Edom was destined to become a desolate waste “And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls” (Isa. 34:13). In contrast, the next chapter shows the blessings and fertility of Judah’s future paradise, wherein the redeemed of the Lord will walk.
“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly.. .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.., the redeemed shall walk there” (Isa. 35:1,2,7,8, 9).
Remembering that the focus of these two chapters is the nations that came from their ancestors, Edom and Jacob, the mention of the highway gives us a clue to the allusions of the word of God. The words hearken back to the meeting of the descendants of these two brothers represented by Moses and the king of Edom.
There are further allusions to this time: “And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes” (Is. 35:7). The barren earth must have produced an abundance of flora as the waters which followed Israel watered the land over which they trod. Another allusion linking back to the wilderness period is “The way of holiness” (Isa. 35:8). The Israelites had camped at Kadesh (which means “holy”). Had Edom acquiesced, it was from here that the people of God would have marched up in the way of holiness to take possession of the promised land.
The multitudinous Christ
There are many Christadelphians who believe that the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness was a foreshadowing of future events. Called out from “the land of sin,” the resurrected people of God will be assembled at Sinai for judgement. After which the immortalized saints take the route up through Edom (Jordan) to Jerusalem, previously destined for the children of Israel (the king of Edom destroyed the type). Modern-day Arabs, like their predecessors, will attempt to prevent the passage of the host; this time, the Lord will tolerate no interference and the attacking forces will be annihilated.
“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come” (Isa. 63:1-4).
The prophet, seeing the wondrous vision of the multitudinous Christ on the path so described, is informed that the stain upon the garments is the blood of the defeated enemies who had the temerity to attack! (The objection raised by some critics of the saints accompanying the Lord is overruled when it is realized that the phrase, “there was none with me” Is. 63:3, refers to the mortal population of Israel). Thus Christ and the saints, the anti-type of the scene east of Kadesh, march on to deliver Jerusalem.
The comparison from Hebrews
The writer to the Hebrews was well versed in the Old Testament scriptures. Aware of the comparative destinies of the races descended from Jacob and Esau described in Isaiah 34 and 35, he takes the theme of acceptance and rejection found therein, and weaves them into a pattern of exhortation and warning. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to he joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12: II), followed by, “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (Isa. 35:3). Then, thinking of the previous chapter, he takes the progenitor of the Edomites, Esau, as an example of ungodly behavior. “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears” (Heb. 12:17).
Was the writer still thinking of Isaiah and the reference to the lame leaping like a hart on the way to the kingdom (Isa. 35:6) when he wrote: “And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; hut let it rather be healed?” (Heb. I 2:13).
The road we walk
One thing is sure, we must have our feet directed by scriptural signposts to ensure that they are placed firmly on the long, narrow way leading to the kingdom. Through God’s grace, may we be part of that throng that marches along the King’s Highway in triumph. “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Is. 35:10). The ancient road is ready and waiting for that great theophany. Are we?
(The writer is ever grateful for the thrilling discussions with the late Bro. Elwyn Humpreys, around the above concepts.)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One