Crooked Made Straight
The Crooked made Straight
Biblical names are very significant. In Isaiah 44:1-6 we see three epithets referring to the same person and his descendants. Jacob is a name, which means deceiver and was given to him from his remarkable birth, in which, he was holding onto his twin brother’s heel when they were born. It refers to the shepherd’s crook, which is a tool used to catch the heel of a sheep or calf. It is a rod which is bent at the end into a “V” shaped hook for that purpose and is therefore crooked. We use the word “crook” to describe a person who takes advantage of others. And so it was, that true to his name, Jacob took advantage of his brother, and his father-in-law and his brothers-in-law.
Jacob was given the name Israel, after he struggled with the Angel, on the night before he entered the Promised Land. Israel means “he struggled with the Almighty” and also upright or straight of God. ישר אל At the end of the struggle Jacob asked for a blessing from his Opponent and received it only after admitting that his name, a reflection of his character, was “a crook”.
The third name we see in Isaiah 44:1-6 is most remarkable. Jeshurun, also referring to the same people, means just the opposite of crooked. It is derived from “Yashar” which means straight, level, upright and more importantly a person of integrity. So clearly we see a progression in character development from crooked to straight in the epithets of Isaiah 44:1-6. Verse three tells us precisely how this transformation was and is to take place. “I will pour out my Spirit and my blessing on your descendants”. What is the nature if His Spirit? Verse 6 tells us that He is both King and Redeemer. It promises the dry ground will receive refreshing water. The dry ground no doubt refers to the people of Jacob –Israel-Jeshurun as well as their promised land and so we see the prophesy of Isaiah is and is being fulfilled both literally and metaphorically for those who call themselves by His Name. Literally we see in two verses the process of transformation of a person who misses the mark of loving his neighbor as himself, confesses his failure to his Creator and follows the path of Sanctification by receiving His Spirit, his Blessing, his Redeemer and King.