Isaiah 35: 1 – 10
Road Trip
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God.3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Now if you have been studying all along with us, then you will easily understand that this small chapter stands in obvious contrast to our previous chapter. In chapter 34 we have come to see the dreadful consequences that will come upon Esau and his descendents. Yet, we will see in the case of Jacob and his descendents [Israel] our Holy Jehovah Elyon’s, The Lord Most High’s Grace.
Edom was destined to be wiped out with seaming pitch and brimstone while we will see the desert bloom like a rose. The land will flourish in such unique ways that it will be evident to all the world that its curse is over.
We see at the start of this chapter the revelation of God’s Glory.
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God.
Please take note that this promise is not some pretty tale but will actually happen. If we are around then we will actually see it. To some extent this is already happening – ‘The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the Excellency of our God.’
Remember Moses when he asked to see God’s Glory. That is a nice word but what does it really mean? It means to know fully Who He really Is. This should be all our desires. And what about the word ‘Excellency’? This is His outward acts that assures us that we have His favor and blessings. Hasn’t this ever been your prayer to be re-assured of His Victory in your life?
3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”
We sing to the kids in Sunday School, ‘Knees and shoulders, toes and hands. In love our Great El Shaddai is singing us His assurance of knees and hands – ‘3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.’
Like the Israelites our God will do what He has said. He has said that vengeance belongs solely to Him. He will repay the evil to others that they have done to us - 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” He Is faithful to save to the uttermost all of us who have placed their trust in Him.
Do you believe that one day our Great God will remove all suffering? When you get engaged what does the guy usually give his future wife? – an engagement ring. This is a visible token that the guy will go through with his promise to marry the woman. He will replace the engagement ring with a wedding band.
Similarly, when you commit your life to the Lordship of Adoni Yeshua – our Lord Jesus Christ, He gives you Some One as assurance that He will fulfill His promise to take you as His loving partner. He gives us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that He will fulfill what He has said that He will do.
Our Holy Adoni Yahweh has done similar things for us humans. He promised to send into the world His Anointed Son – The Messiah. Part of how people would know that the Messiah had arrived was by the way He would relieve suffering.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.
People with physical deformities would be healed here at the time the Messiah walked the earth. Have you ever seen anyone doing exactly all the great wonders that our Precious Lord Jesus Christ had done. Even today, through believers seeking the Lord’s Mercy through prayer, He still allows wonders to happen. I am a witness that I have personally seen these amazing things occur.
And besides human miracles from God’s Holy Word, He promises to correct the curse on the earth.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
If you ever have the opportunity to go on a vacation, I would suggest that you go to Israel. You will witness first hand the beginning of this prophecy coming true. Through the Lord’s amazing grace, He has given the Jews tremendous insight and wisdom. They have taken a land that was desert and swampy land and have turned it into productive orchards and farm land. I do not know if you are aware of this fact, but Israel is the third largest producer of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
8 A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
In the USA we have a system of highways. In the East Coast we can travel from the tip of Florida all the way up to Vermont on I95. It is almost a straight path which is the shortest distance between two points. Similarly, our Great God has worked out the details for His people to come and see Him at Jerusalem. The name of His Highway does not have a number assigned to it but has a special name given to it - 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.’
Many women complain about us guys on how we do certain things, like never stopping to ask for directions. You see ladies this talent is an inherited fundamental characteristic that is given to us men. For as we read in the next verse, our Precious Holy Master will always get us to the right location. We will never get lost or go astray -‘The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.’
We will bypass Detroit and Jacksonville, FL in getting to our destination – ‘9 No lion shall be there,’ nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. [ For the non-sports fans these are the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars ]
On a more serious basis our Holy Lord is going to make sure nothing hinders or prevents us from having access to Him. Thank You Father.
If you head west the states have these toll roads. You either have to stop a lot and grab a ticket and pay cash at each toll booth or have what they call ‘Easy Pass’. On the Lord’s Highway you also have to obtain a ticket but the difference here is that it has to be paid ahead of time. And the One Who has paid that for us is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you commit your life to the Son of God, then you are redeemed or saved. Then as this verse reveals you can travel of the Lord’s Highway – ‘But the redeemed shall walk there,’
Each trip shall be great and pleasurable. The radio station will play great songs which you will sing along as you travel to spend time with our Creator - ‘10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.’
Now that’s a trip worth having.
