Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 35:1-10:

1. How does Isaiah 35 depict a reversal of desolation and barrenness into gladness and flourishing through the intervention of God? What significance does this transformation hold for the people of God?

2. In what ways does Isaiah 35 connect to the theme of Advent and the anticipation of the coming Messiah? How does the imagery of a "way of holiness" relate to the Christian faith?

3. How can the message of Isaiah 35, with its themes of joy, healing, and transformation, inspire and encourage believers in their faith journey today?

Transcript:

As we come to chapter 35, we get some imagery of joy and of happiness. It's really a contrast to what we saw in the last chapter and what we have seen leading up to this, all this language of judgment. Now we see the people of God rejoicing in the salvation of the Lord. There is so much in here that we are familiar with, and we'll see that as we go along. But we have to remember the last chapter. As always, context is important. Remember in the last chapter, we read about this land that was going to be made a desolation. Remember, there would be nothing but birds there, and really there wasn't going to be anything growing. It was the judgment of God, and it was left desolate. But we see here, as we come to chapter 35, the opposite happening for the people of God. We see that the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad. That's a reversal, right? When is dry land? When is wilderness? Glad. We see that the desert shall rejoice and blossom. That doesn't happen. Something amazing has to be going on here. And this is not something that we can do by our own strength.

This requires the intervention of God. That is the idea here, that God is doing something here that is amazing. We see all of this stuff happening. Ultimately, what it comes down to is the last part of verse 2 here, They shall see the glory of the Lord, the Majesty of our God. This is going to be on display that God has done this for His people. We see this idea of reversal happening over and over here in this chapter. Verse 3, Strengthen the weak hands, make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong, fear not. ' You get the idea what is happening here is reversals, the things that are not good are being made something good. And notice here, though, the language that Isaiah uses, Behold, your God will come with vengeance. We would see that as a bad thing. We've seen the waste that God is going to lay to those who are against him, and it is a bad thing. But yet here in Isaiah, this is what is going to lead to the people of God being lifted up. It's going to lead to their salvation.

Again, while the vengeance and the judgment of God is a difficult thing, it is a terrifying thing. We have to remember that because God is just when this happens, His goodwill is being done. We see even more imagery of reversal here. Then the eyes of the blind shall be open, the ears of the death, unstoppable. The layman shall leap like a deer, the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. Water is going to come forth in the wilderness, streams in the desert, burning sand, a pool, thirsty ground, springs of water, haunt of jackals. It's going to be grass. It's going to be a place where they can lie down where they can find rest, and the grass shall become reeds and rushes. In other words, there's going to be abundant supply of water. And we know this language. This is language that is used in hymns. This is a portion of the Book of Isaiah that's often read during Advent. We see this imagery, this idea that God is going to come and he is going to do something amazing. Specifically in Advent, I didn't highlight it here if you're watching on video, but specifically verse 8 here, And a highway shall be there and it shall be called the way of holiness.

That is something you probably heard at Advent many times. The idea here is that this is going to come, that God is going to do a new thing. We are called to repentance. We are called to faith. But God is going to come and he is going to do this great reversal, and it causes the people of God to have great joy. Verse 10, And the ransom of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Chances are you started singing some form of song that you know based around these words. This is a very well-known passage. And the idea here is that this reversal that God does is something that causes the people of God great joy. It is victory for them. It is salvation for them. And it is something that is everlasting. And so as we look at this passage, and we have a much more positive passage of Isaiah that we're looking at today. May we be filled with joy. May these songs of Zion be in our head today because we know that in Christ we have exactly this.

Christ came and did these amazing reversals for us. We were blind, but now we see. We could not hear the truth, but now we hear God's word, and we believe by faith. We were lame in our unbelief, but Christ had caused us to walk. And most importantly, we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God has brought us to life. So may we have the song. May we go into Zion with singing. May the ransom, those who were bought by Christ, may we return and may everlasting joy be upon our heads.