Isaiah 35:1 says, The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. After the dark period foretold in the last chapter, in this chapter we begin to see a promise of hope. Matthew Henry says this referred to the latter part of Hezekiah’s reign, but also to much more. It also refers to the coming kingdom of Christ. No matter how dark or bright our world may be, if we are a Christian our true hope is always in the coming kingdom of Christ.
Verse two adds, It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Isaiah said that the wilderness and solitary places would blossom abundantly and there would be rejoicing on the part of the people for this. Matthew Henry points out this is also a reference to the Gentiles becoming a part of God’s kingdom when they put their faith in God. Of course, I don’t believe that anyone has ever been excluded from being a part of God’s people because of who they were born. The Jewish people were simply the people God chose to use to bring all people to Him, but they often thought of themselves as being better than any other nation because of their own merit. We cannot begin to believe that as followers of Christ if we are to be effective in spreading the gospel.
Verse three adds, Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. God’s people were called on to help the weak and feeble, and I don’t believe this has changed. As Christians, I don’t believe that we are ever to look down on those in need without compassion for them and should certainly never treat them as a burden to be gotten rid of.
Verse four concludes, Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Isaiah also said that the people of Israel were to encourage people to be strong and not live in fear because God was going to repay those who opposed Him with His vengeance. God will always punish sin, and that means unrepentant sinners will one day face God’s judgment, no matter how powerful they may think they are. As Christians we should believe this enough to never allow things that may happen to us because of our faith to ever cause us to be afraid of anyone who tries to make life difficult for us, even if they are in a position of power. God will always be the ultimate victor.
Verse five states, Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Though these are things that did happen physically during Jesus’s ministry and even afterwards, I personally believe this refers more to spiritual sight and hearing. It is wonderful if a blind man becomes able to see physically, but this does not save his soul. The really good news of this prophesy is that those who were spiritually blind and deaf will be able to see and hear the truth of God, and that is that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die to redeem everyone. Of course, each individual must be able to see and hear this for themselves and put their faith in Him in order for it to do them any good.
Verse six adds, Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. Again, though this refers to physical healing, I believe the greater implication is spiritual healing. Through the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit living in us, we can do great things for God that we had been unable to do before.
Verse seven continues, 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. Isaiah now speaks about the coming prosperity of the land itself. One day, we are going home to heaven as believers in Jesus Christ, and when we do, everything will be as God intended it to be when He created the earth and before people corrupted it.
Verse eight declares, 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. There is but one way to heaven, and that is by accepting Jesus Christ as one's personal Savior and Lord. This is the only way to holiness, and the unclean, those who refuse to accept salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, will never be on this highway.
Verse nine adds, No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: There will be no dangerous animals to fear on this road of salvation, and only the redeemed will ever walk there. This is not because the redeemed are better because of who they are in the world, but because of who they are because they have put their faith in Jesus Christ.
Verse ten adds, 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. We as Christians are the ransomed of the Lord. Jesus Christ paid the penalty of sin for us, and because of that we should be rejoicing. When we do get to our heavenly home, all sorrow and sighing will be gone.
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