Isaiah 35:8: “And a 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.”
What did Isaiah really see in his prophecy or vision? Obviously, he had a message for the people of Israel that they would one day return from captivity over a road. Armies in those days had their Corp of Engineers who constructed roads that were free of debris, rocks and other obstacles so an army could move swiftly. These roads were raised above ground level, or lifted up. These roads not only transported armies but travelers found this the safest route to take, not only because they would to get lost following the road, but the armies kept the bandits away. Apparently, on one level Isaiah was saying that the people of Israel would return their homeland out of captivity, walking in safety along the very road that the conquering armies took to take them into captivity.
Yet, what is this about being a way of holiness and the unclean shall not pass over it? The road to Israel today does not necessarily lead to holiness nor do only the pure in heart travel that road. There seems to be another level of understanding about this highway or salal as it is known in Hebrew. A salal is literally a raised placed that connects to between two points. Sounds like a highway to me. But it can also be something else.
The word salal spelled samek, lamed, lamed. The samek according to the ancient sages is a circle within a circle. This is like Ezekiel’s vision of a wheel within a wheel or circles within circles within circles. Sounds a little like a whirlwind. The samek is followed by two lameds. The sages teach that the Lamed represents teaching and learning. It is the Lamed that prods each one of us to discover our inner passion. The first Lamed teaches us what our inner most desires or passions are and the second Lamed teaches us the way to reach our passions. It is from this that we get the idea of a highway, a highway to our most passionate desires. This highway, however, is not just a road under our feet, it is circular like a tube or tunnel. Another name for this is a portal! I’m thinking of many who have had an out of the body experience and say they saw long tunnel and a light at the end of the tunnel, but they could not enter that tunnel. Well, of course they could not enter the tunnel for only the pure in heart may enter.
Let’s just suppose these out of the body experiences were real. Just where do I get off saying that you must be pure in heart to enter the portal? The Bible says in Isaiah 35:8 that the unpure cannot travel through this salal highway, portal, only the pure in heart. The pure in heart are those who do not have adulterated motives or selfish motives. This portal, highway, or salal leads to directly God. If you have selfish motives for seeking God then this salal does not lead to the Lamed or your most passionate desires. But if your most passionate desire is just to see Jesus, then you can walk this highway because Jesus paid the toll 2,000 years ago.
This salal is the way of holiness. Holiness is the word kodesh which means a separation of your fleshly desires and your desires for God. If you desire or long for such separation the toll gate is lifted and you may enter through this portal where you will be made holy for this job of making us holiness is not our task, it is the task of the one who is the Way. To find out who this Way is we need to jump to the New Testament. where Jesus said; “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6). I don’t believe Elijah went to heaven in a chariot of fire. I know your Bibles say that, but that is the translation from the Hebrew and there is an alternative way to translate this. In this alternative translation I find Elijah passed through a portal where he was greeted by God and His Son, the one who is the Way, the one who became Jesus the Messiah.
Tommy Dorsey the black blues singer who found Jesus back in the early 20th Century and switched to singing sacred music called his music Gospel Music and coined the term and is known as the Father of Gospel Music. He once wrote a Gospel song: “It’s a highway to heaven, none can pass that way, but the pure in heart.” Well, I really don’t have a pure heart, my motives still are wrapped in selfishness. Yet, so they were with Elisha, but one glimpse through that portal and seeing the Messiah with open arms to receive Elijah, Elisha’s motives focused on only one thing, to see Jesus again. That is why Joash said when Elisha died and he most likely saw that open portal and shouted: “My father, my father, the chariots (alternative rendering, Messiah) of Israel and his horsemen (alternative rendering open arms). The alternative rending would be “My father my father, the messiah is receiving you with open arms.” D.L. Moody’s last words before he died were: “If this is heaven, it is glorious.” Perhaps he saw what Elisha saw.
When the time comes Jesus will stand at the entrance of that salal, highway or portal and He will personally lead the way to heaven. If your greatest passion is to see Jesus or you desire, your greatest passion is to see Him, He will be the first face you will see when that portal opens. One look at Him and you will have a pure heart and you can walk that highway to heaven.
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