The Gospel of Isaiah: Highlights of Chapter 35

The Gospel of Isaiah: Highlights of Chapter 35.

WANTED: An imaginative scribe who can write exquisite poetry. A faithful, articulate believer in Yahweh who can switch from one extreme to another at the Lord’s command… from a sublime vision of God’s glory, to a ridiculous demonstration of shameful nakedness; from confronting the people over their sinfulness, to comforting people with hopefulness; from being an outspoken messenger one minute, to a living object lesson the next; from having one foot in the immediate surroundings one minute, to one foot in the future messianic realm the next. Must be adaptable, thick-skinned, and extraordinarily brave. Person who answers, “Here I am. Send me!” will be especially considered. (from The Jerusalem Post, 740 BC).

Isaiah was in top form in his role of singing prophet in this chapter, composing a masterpiece of a poetic song for the people of God. This beautiful piece of inspired work was even called by one translator “one of the most glorious chapters in all of the Bible.” There is singing in this poem in the beginning, the middle and the end, so it’s just waiting for a songwriter to put a tune to it. This song is Isaiah’s beautiful stone that he threw into the biblical pond that proved to produce many ripples as it waves toward the shore of history:

1. Initially, this poem was an inspired word of encouragement and hope from the Lord to the exiles in Babylon. His chosen people needed much comfort since they had lost everything during the invasion of their homeland, and Yahweh wanted to make sure that they could depend on Him to ransom and liberate them in due time;
2. Another ripple in time, this prophetic word predicted that Zion would be restored once they settled there, and the Lord will bring back its spiritual life, redeeming it from a spiritually barren wasteland to a land of spiritual fruitfulness and vitality. The fact is, implies Isaiah, the Lord punished their sinfulness through Babylon, and will forgive them and bring about full redemption;
3. The next ripple outward in this song is the Lord’s assurance that the Land of Israel, the Promised Land of the Covenant, will in time be fully blessed by the Lord, and the Land will become productive and plentiful;
4. The song’s next ripple is a triumphant glimpse of the Messianic age when the Messiah will arrive to begin the process of God’s kingdom life on earth. The Messiah’s coming this first time will bring about physical healing, spiritual redemption and deliverance from the slavery to sin and the evil one. This “Holy Way” mentioned by Isaiah is another name for the Messiah, since He is the Holy One in the flesh and is the only Way to God;
5. The final ripple from this prophecy is that it foretells the universal restoration, the full reconciliation between God, humanity, and all of creation. This restoration will be a complete reversal of the ancient curse placed on the world from the Garden of Eden onwards and marks the return to Paradise.

ISAIAH 35:

“The wilderness and dry land will be joyously glad!

The desert will blosssom like a rose and rejoice!

Every dry and barren place will burst forth with abundant blossoms, dancing and spinning with delight!

Lebanon’s lush splendor covers it,

the magnificent beauty of Carmel and Sharon.

My people will see the awesome glory of Yahweh,

the beautiful grandeur and splendor of our God.

Strengthen those who are discouraged.

Energize those who feel defeated.

Say to the anxious and fearful, 

Be strong and never afraid.

Look, here comes your God!

He is breaking through to give you victory!

He comes to avenge your enemies.

With divine retribution He comes to save you!

Then blind eyes will open and deaf ears will hear.

Then the lame will leap like playful deer

and the tongue-tied will sing songs of triumph.

Gushing water will spring up in the wilderness

and streams will flow through the desert.

The burning sand will become a refreshing oasis,

the parched ground bubbling springs,

and the dragon’s lair a meadow with grass, reeds and papyrus.

There will be a highway of holiness called the Holy Way.

The impure will not be permitted on this road,

but it will be accessible to God’s people.

And not even fools will travel on it- they will not be found there.

But the redeemed will find a pathway on it.

Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return with glee to Zion.

They will enter with a song of rejoicing

and be crowned with everlasting joy.

Ecstatic joy will overwhelm them,

and weariness and grief will disappear.” 

ENDNOTES:

Lebanon. The magnificent cedar trees in Lebanon were the most honored of all the trees in early Scripture. They are mentioned over 100 times in the Hebrew Bible, and were known in biblical times as the “king of trees.” There were good reasons people esteemed them so highly. They had a natural resistance to decay. Their oil repelled snakes and bugs. They were deliciously aromatic. They grew to majestic heights while their enormous trunks made them a picture of stability. These cedars were evergreens, beautiful in their appearance, and the cedar forests in Lebanon were breathtaking. The wood of these cedars were known around that part of the world as the very best for shipbuilding and toolmaking, and were always the wood of choice in construction of palaces. The first Temple was built with the cedars of Lebanon, as was the second Temple. So down through ancient history, the Cedars of Lebanon were a symbol of strength, beauty, durability, and majesty. Only the wealthiest could afford to use these cedars, so they became a symbol of prosperity as well. Because of deforestation through the centuries, the cedars of Lebanon are unfortunately sparse in modern times. They were victims of their own usefulness and beauty, and were liberally harvested without being replaced. But when the Lord returns and creates his New Earth, guess which trees He will plant first? Yes, the cedars are mentioned first to be planted by God. (Isaiah 41:19).

Carmel is a mountain range of about 24 miles long, extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the heart of Israel. It has been known as a place of beauty, with lots of trees and foliage. Carmel is largely made of limestone, and because it was unexpectedly fertile, it was named Carmel, which means God’s orchard or God’s garden. Because of all its caves, Carmel was also known as an effective hiding place for criminals and for those on the run and don’t want to be found. David was known to hide out there on occasion. It has one higher peak than the rest of the peaks, and was termed a “high place” as far back as the 16th century BC. The top of Carmel was very popular as a worship site, both Jewish and pagan. Baal worship on Carmel included such atrocities as sex worship temple prostitution and the human sacrifice of children at its many altars. For Elijah to choose this mountain for his duel with the prophets of Baal was especially meaningful, because of its history as both a site of Yahweh worship and Baal worship. What better place to stage a fight to the finish which included an altar of the Lord that had been torn down?

Sharon was an incredibly stunning extended meadow known for its unusually fertile soil and abundance of many varieties of flowers. The Plain of Sharon is near Mt. Carmel on the west coast of Israel north of Tel Aviv. The general term of “Rose of Sharon” in Song of Songs 2:1 is more likely a general term for the all the beautiful meadow wildflowers which made the plain of Sharon so famous.  It could have meant anything from a crocus to an hibiscus, a narcissus to a jonquil. Many have even claimed that the Rose of Sharon is actually referring to a specific flower called the Sharon tulip. At any rate, the Rose of Sharon could very well have been the bride’s reference to her uncultivated beauty, a loveliness that tends to be overlooked but is still worthy of love.

Glory of God. The biblical meaning of God’s glory tends to emphasize the weighty splendor of God’s personal Presence; God’s supreme worthiness to be honored and praised; the overwhelming greatness of God’s beauty and power; the eternal weight of God’s substance; the heaviness of God’s inherent majesty.  The weight of God’s presence outweighs the world; His presence is more substantive and heavier than the universe. His eternal glory remains constant, whether or not He decides to reveal Himself to us. God’s essential glory is forever Real in the heavens, whether or not we experience Him here with our senses on earth. When God’s glory makes an appearance, we can get everything from angels and trumpets and fire and earthquakes, to lightning and clouds and wind and thunder, to smoke and voices and blinding lights and foreign languages, to open graves and resurrected bodies and torn curtains and noontime darkness, to miracles galore. In light of all this, how do we go about glorifying our God? We acknowledge and applaud the awesome reality of God’s presence in the world; we make His presence heavier and more obvious; we magnify Him by enlarging His name and reputation in the world; we live in a way that strengthens God’s credibility; we honor God in a way that reveals His truth and makes Him less hidden; we live in a way that preserves God’s glorious Name and Personhood; we follow God in a way that helps others to recognize God as the ultimate Person of Substance; we publicize and promote His glorious name by demonstrating His character; we seek to remain a guardian of God’s goodness and spiritual power in the world; we recognize the true and eternal status of God in a life-changing way.

Be Not Afraid. Human Fears include dread or alarm in facing danger; to be afraid or apprehensive; anxiety caused by belief in approaching danger or by a perceived threat; feeling frightened concerning one’s safety or a loved one’s well-being; unpleasant emotions due to the likelihood of something unwelcome or undesirable; trepidation over unexpected crisis.  Examples would include… dementia; survival; poverty; sickness; disaster; intimidation; climate change; public speaking; public shame; disability; loneliness; rejection; failure; pain; death; the unexpected; opposition; the Apocalypse; loss of loved one. With God on our side, need we be fearful that any of these things will spell our spiritual doom or eternal destiny?

Christ the Healer. “John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, ‘John the Baptist sent us to ask. Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’ At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. Then he told John’s disciples, ‘Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard – the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” (Luke 7:20-22). As Jesus says here to the Baptist’s disciples, the Jewish Bible stated that miraculous healings would be a sign of the Messianic Age, vivid pictures of the New Kingdom… Isaiah 26:19: ‘Those who die will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead!”  Isaiah 29:18-19: “In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness. The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord. The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”  Isaiah 35:5-6: “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!” Isaiah 61:1-2a: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”  So through His healings, Jesus confirms that He indeed is the long-awaited Messiah. The healings authenticate His role as the anointed Servant of God. Jesus claims to be the Messiah. His healings prove it.

Isaiah and the Waters of Messiah. “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy, for water will gush in the desert and streams in the wastelands, the parched ground will become a marsh and the thirsty land springs of water.” (Isaiah 35:5-7). “The oppressed and needy search for water, and there is none, their tongue is parched with thirst. I, Yahweh, shall answer them, I the God of Israel, shall not abandon them. I shall open up rivers on barren heights and water-holes down in the ravines; I shall turn the dry ground into a lake and dry ground into springs of water.” (Isaiah 41:17-18). “For I shall pour out water on the thirsty soil and streams on the dry ground. I shall pour out my spirit on your descendants, my blessing on your offspring, and they will spring up among the grass, like willows on the banks of a stream.” (Isaiah 44:3-4). “They will never hunger or thirst, scorching wind and sun will never plague them; for he who pities them will lead them, will guide them to springs of water.” (Isaiah 49: 10). “O, come to the water all you who are thirsty.” (Isaiah 55:1).

The Holy Way. To be holy is to be set apart from the common or ordinary; to be separate from the profane or impure; to be completely distinctive in character and role; to have attributes and qualities that are uniquely sacred; to possess utterly blameless integrity; to live in complete innocence and purity. Holiness is one of the chief attributes of Yahweh and thus of Jesus who is Yahweh in the flesh. Holiness marks God as supremely transcendent. There is God, and there is everything else. The Person of Jesus provides the only Way to reach the Father. He is the only road to God. He is the pathway to Yahweh. Access to the Father is only through Him. As spelled out in the Gospels, Jesus is the only way to God and to abundant, eternal life. There is a Jesus way to do things, a Jesus way to live life. His way is energized by and rooted in love. Love is the Jesus way. He began His Farewell Discourse with this declaration, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35). Love is the distinctive way of life for Jesus-followers. Love is the defining lifestyle, now, and as it was in the early Christian community. In fact, members of the Christian Faith were even called people of The Way before they were called Christians (Acts 9:2). Early believers adopted the Jesus way, and were known by their love for each other.

Tears of Grief into Tears of Joy. God is in the business of turning our distress into joy, our grief into laughter. According to Isaiah, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon Jesus to “comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” (Is. 61:3). The tears of sorrow and brokenness are temporary, even for those who are trapped in daily distress. For God yearns to redeem our brokenness eventually for good, to the point of wiping away every tear from our eyes in the next life in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 7:17). For at that time, “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from every face.” (Is. 25:8).

Universal Restoration. “Jesus, whom heaven must keep till the universal restoration comes as proclaimed by God.”(Peter in Acts 3:21). God is a “finisher of the faith” and will ultimately restore and reconcile to Himself all things in creation, including mankind, making God “all in all;” that Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension began the ultimate redemption of the whole universe, and will eventually result in bringing everything back together under Him as Lord; that God has always originally intended for all His creation to eventually be united forever in Him as the supreme authority over everything and everyone, completely reclaiming the entire universe, all because “God so loved the world.” “The One who went down is Himself the One who also went up in His ascension, far above all of heaven, in order to fill all things.” (Ephesians 4:10). “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to me.” (John 12:32).  “When everything in the universe, the entire created order, has finally taken its rightful place under Creator God’s sovereign authority, the Son will present to God His redeemed creation so that God will be all in all, utterly supreme over everything everywhere, including everyone, the Father indwelling all there is, the comprehensive authority and presence who has reclaimed all creation.” (1 Corinthians 15:28).  “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things: All that exists originates in Him and comes from Him; all things live through Him; and all things are moving toward Him and will consummate in Him; so give Him the glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36). “God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son, who as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the Cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation – all things in heaven and all things on earth.” (Colossians 1:19-20). “In all His wisdom and insight, He has made known to us His secret plan, the mystery at the center of His will. With immense pleasure, He designed His intentions with Christ that will be put into effect when the time is ripe – His plan to bring unity to all things under Christ, when all things are brought together, placing everything in heaven and on earth under the Messiah’s headship.” (Ephesians 1:9-10). “For just as in connection with Adam all die, so in connection with Christ all will be made alive.” (I Corinthians 15:22).