HIGHWAY!

Negotiating I-95 (the New England Thruway) from NYC to parts frozen (Providence and Boston) where I was headed for a couple of theology meetings last week, I spotted the El Camino Real—the King’s Highway—in Connecticut. And it was appropriately numbered, too.

Which King? Did he come or go this way? Or was it just a whimsical exercise to name the road “King’s Highway”?

As I took both my hands off the steering wheel to snap a picture, using my knees to keep the vehicle in its lane, I thought about the real KING’s Highway. The way of the Lord.

As for God, His way is blameless.
2 Samuel 22:31

Some follow it; some don’t. As God soliloquized:

For I have chosen him [Abraham],
so that he may command his children
and his household after him
to keep the way of the LORD
by doing righteousness and justice ….
Genesis 18:19

And, needless to say, there is blissful thriving if one takes that route, but dire consequences if one does not, as Moses recommended to the nation of Israel:

… the blessing, if you listen to the
commandments of the LORD your God,
which I am commanding you today;
and the curse, if you do not listen to the
commandments of the LORD your God,
but turn aside from the way
which I am commanding you today ….
Deuteronomy 11:27–28

A few other rare birds, King Josiah, for instance, also stayed in the right lane.

He did right in the sight of the LORD
and walked in all the way
of his father David,
nor did he turn aside
to the right or to the left.
2 Kings 22:2

It is interesting that at least two other times, when “highway” or “way” is mentioned in the Bible, the emphasis is on not veering off to the left, nor to the right.

Here’s Moses asking permission of the King of Edom during the Exodus:

“Please let us pass through your land. …
We will go along the king’s highway,
not turning to the right or left ….”
Numbers 20:17

Or here are the Philistines returning the Ark, in a cart drawn by cows.

And the cows took the straight way …;
they went along the highway,
lowing as they went, and did not turn aside
to the right or to the left.
1 Samuel 6:12

The King’s Highway, God’s way, is meant to be adhered to, without deviation, without distraction, without derailment. That, however, is a natural human tendency.

“For My people have forgotten Me,
they burn incense to worthless gods
and they have stumbled from their ways,
from the ancient paths,
to walk in bypaths, not on a highway ….”
Jeremiah 18:15

Walking in God’s way is to live according to God’s demands, in congruence with His Word, in compliance to His call.

How blessed are those
whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Psalm 119:1

God’s people are to abide on that straight and narrow Highway.

The highway of the upright
is to depart from evil ….
Proverbs 16:17

And, one day, when the KING comes to reign on earth, there really will be an El Camino Real:

A highway will be there …
and it will be called
the Highway of Holiness.
Isaiah 35:8

The KING has already come, preparations have already begun, and soon He will be coming again.

Clear the way for the LORD
in the wilderness;
make smooth in the desert
a highway for our God.
Isaiah 40:3

The King’s Highway. Let’s stay on it, shall we?