Raising up the valley, or flattening the mountain as we'll see, is the kind of stuff you’ll see when you’re traveling major freeways, and the road is relatively level but the terrain on either side is kind of hilly, or even mountainous. And this would have been done in ancient times in order to provide for the mass movement of armies and troops along important routes to defend a border or city.
But be clear, when God’s word came to John in the wilderness, he was not concerned about a road or a path to a town; he was not concerned about Jesus’ footing as he walked about; he was not looking for a royal arrival into a new area, nor to move troops in to defend him or take new territory.
God was concerned that the way was clear into the hearts of his people.
Luke 3:4-6,‘Prepare the way for the Lord,make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’
Valleys can be a place of nourishment and rest, with springs, and fertile soil, it’s in the valley that livestock are watered, where there is shade and often grass. They can be easy places, but when one lingers too long in the valley, he realizes it an also be a place of weakness and death.
A valley, by definition, is a low place surrounded by high places. And it was often in valleys that God’s people were overcome by their enemies. And it was there, when their enemies were resting, that they were able to overcome them. In the scripture, the valleys were filled with slaughter and death. There the people were flooded, pillaged, and driven out.
And we can find ourselves here for all the right reasons, seeking nourishment and refreshment and shade and rest, but if we linger too long, we will be overcome. God wants us moving forward, not resting in the valley. He wants us taking the truth of the gospel forward, not camping in the valley. He longs to see us taking the love of Christ into our communities, not waiting here in the valley.
Is the valley a good place to visit? Yes. But is it a good place to make camp? No. It keeps us from moving forward. And the truth is, that since the messiah has come, we have work to do, we have a calling, we have marching orders, and the valley can not hold us back.