Isaiah 35:1-7

E. FREEDOM WILL FLOURISH, CHAPTER 35
1. STRENGTHENED

TEXT: Isaiah 35:1-7

1

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; 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 unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of Jehovah, the excellency of our God.

3

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

4

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: 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 shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

7

And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water: in the habitation of jackals, where they lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

QUERIES

a.

Why will the desert blossom and sing for joy?

b.

How shall the weak be strengthened?

c.

When will all the infirm be healed?

PARAPHRASE

While the glory of the God-opposing world empires will be changed to wastelands and desolations, the desolation of God's people is only temporary. Yes, their wastelands will someday be filled with gladness and their unproductiveness will be turned into beauty and fertility. There will be great joy and singing in that day. The majestic glory and beauty of Lebanon's mountains, the verdant lushness of Mount Carmel and the fertile productiveness of Sharon's plain will be faint comparison with the glory and excellency of the Lord which they shall enjoy in that day. On account of this promise let those of God who are afraid be valiant and walk on in God's way with confidence. Tell those who are apprehensive to be courageous and strong. Your God is coming to destroy your enemies and save you. When He comes the blind will be made to see and the deaf made to hear. When he comes the crippled will be made as agile as the deer and those who cannot speak will be enabled to shout and sing. Refreshing and life-giving water will gush forth in the arid places and turn into running streams. That which is parched and dried up will be made into an oasis for the thirsty. Even that which normally would never be fertile and refreshing shall be so.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 35:1-4 SAVED: Chapter 35 stands in direct contrast to chapter 34. These two Chapter s conclude or summarize the two propositions of this section (28-35): (a) World governments cannot help God's people (especially Egypt) for they oppose God's sovereignty; (b) God will keep His promise to deliver from eternal destruction all who believe and trust Him.

This chapter finds its ultimate fulfillment in the messianic kingdom (the church). Just as the God-opposing world governments were defeated and judged at the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (see comments ch. 34), so the great deliverance and productiveness portrayed in vivid landscape scenes refer to the same climactic event in history. It would seem evident to us that all the predictions of the prophets concerning the rejuvenated land of Israel or the restoration-' of the people of Israel to the land must either be fulfilled in a literal (though hyperbolical) way after the captivity, or in a spiritual sense in the establishment of the churchor both. We cannot abide the idea that the prophetic predictions concerning the land and the people will find their fulfillment in a literal restoration of the Jewish economy (dispensation) at some time future to the church.

a.

So far as we are able to discover, the New Testament says nothing of literal, genetic Israel's reoccupation of Palestine and restoration of a Jewish system.

b.

Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple but He said nothing of its rebuilding for the restoration of a Jewish system.

c.

Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world.

d.

Paul told the Gentile Ephesians they were blessed with every spiritual blessing in the church.

e.

Paul told the Gentile Galatians that all who were in Christ were heirs of Abraham and the promise made to Abraham.

f.

To restore a Jewish system would invalidate the credibility, authenticity, finality and superiority of Christianity as revealed in the book of Hebrews.

g.

To establish again the kingdom of Israel of the Old Testament would be to establish a kingdom conceived in disobedience, born in rebellion and perpetuated in apostasy. That is exactly what the O.T. kingdom of Israel was.

Matthew Henry says, Under the Gospel the desert land of heathenism becomes blooming. The flourishing desert shall have the glory of Lebanon given to it, which consisted in the strength and stateliness of its cedars; and the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, which consisted in corn and cattle. All the beauty of the Jewish economy passed into the Christian and appeared in its perfection, as the apostle shows in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Whatever is valuable in any institution is brought into the gospel.

In the Messianic age the best of every pagan kingdom will be blended with the best of God's chosen people to form the beautiful, productive, joy-filled new kingdom of God. Isaiah amplifies this thought with vividness when he speaks of the wealth of the nations being brought into God's Messianic kingdom (cf. Isaiah 60:8-22; Isaiah 61:1-11, etc.). The wealth of any nation is, of course, its godly peoplenot its silver and gold. God's great universal kingdom (the church) is to possess the glory of every nation on the earth. And so it has; and so it shall continue to do. These prophecies began to be fulfilled when the gospel began to conquer and possess people from the regions of Tyre, Sidon, Antioch (all in Lebanon) (Acts 11:22; Acts 11:26; Acts 13:1, etc.); by the gospel capture of people from Caesarea (at the foot of Mt. Carmel) (Acts 8:40; Acts 10:24, etc.).

The prophecy has a far greater range than that, of course. Wherever the gospel is preached and men surrender to the rule of God in Christ, there the glory of Lebanon is blended with the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. There rejoicing and singing take place. There beauty and productiveness become the new order.

Isaiah 35:3-4 are apparently paraphrased in Hebrews 12:12-13. Perhaps the idea of Isaiah in this whole section (Isaiah 35:1-7) is appropriated by the Hebrews 12:12-13 passage. Hebrews 12 is the chapter in which the Mosaic dispensation is contrasted with the Christian dispensation (Zion) and the Hebrew Christians are exhorted to cling to the kingdom which cannot be shaken (Christian) because this was God's goal in the Old Testament. This seems to indicate the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews is saying the Christian dispensation is the fulfillment of the promises made in Isaiah 35, and therefore the messianic age is the point upon which God's people are to focus for strengthening the weak hands and confirming the feeble knees. One thing is certain, the coming of God with vengeance, recompense and salvation should provide strength. What God is going to save from is the unbelief and perversity of carnal, satanic opposition to His redemptive work. That salvation has nothing to do with a particular land, race, people, circumstance or social class. It was accomplished by Christ once for all. Of course, we look forward to a new heavens and earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. But glorified circumstances or environment are irrelevant without glorified people. Heaven without sanctified people would be Hell. So it is not a land God is primarily interested init is a people!

Isaiah 35:5-7 SLAKED: The first step in the process of sanctifying a people is a renewal of spiritual discernment. The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. This reminds us of Jesus-' application of Isaiah 61:1-4 to His redemptive work in the synagogue in Luke 4:16-30. (cf. also John 9:35-41) Spiritual sensibility will replace carnal dullness, and spiritual ability will replace debilitating sin. There was more seen by those whom Jesus cured of physical blindness than was seen by many of those who had perfect eyesight. Isaiah 35:5 was fulfilled in Christ in much more than a physical way and is still being fulfilled today. Men are constantly recovering their spiritual sight and hearing. Lame and dumb regained more than physical well-being when Jesus healed them. It was by being brought to faith in Him they were saved from sin.

It is sin that opposes God. All men are sinners and enemies. Men are deceived by sin. Sin is the great mirage. The great Liar, Satan, deceived man with the great lie and deceived man into opposing God's sovereignty. False philosophies, false religions and carnal political schemes form the great mirage out in the desert of sin. Men think they see life, refreshment and sustenance in the mirages. Isaiah says, when the Messianic age comes, instead of a mirage there will be real water for thirsty souls. There will be a beautiful, green, cool, satisfying oasis in the midst of the arid, false, killing wilderness of sin. The Living Water would come (John 4:1-42; John 7:37-39) and all who believe in Him become rivers of living water, oases in the desert of sin. Before the gospel the nations wandered like travelers in the desert, allured and disillusioned by shadows and mirages and dreamlike phantoms of truth in the false religions and human political systems. But in the gospel of Christ they have pure fountains and calm lakes of living water which refresh them in their weary pilgrimage home.

That which was once desolate and barren will become lush with an abundance unheard of. This is the meaning of the reference to jackals, normally animals of the desert who have no vegetation in which to lie, finding tall grass, reeds and rushes in which to lie. It is an added figure of speech describing the verdure of the messianic age.

QUIZ

1.

Give at least six reasons the prophetic predictions concerning the land of Palestine cannot find their fulfillment in a restored Jewish dispensation.

2.

How is the glory of Lebanon given with the excellency of Carmel and Sharon to the land?

3.

Where is the passage concerning strengthening weak hands and feeble knees paraphrased in the N.T.?

4.

What was the Lord's main purpose in opening the eyes of the blind and restoring hearing in the N.T.?

5.

Who is the Living Water in the desert of sin, and who become rivers of living water?