Isaiah 35:1-10
Lesson Focus
The desert brokenness of creation is being reversed. We are being healed so that we might rest with God for eternity.
Lesson Outcomes
Through this lesson, students should:
1. Understand that God is working to reverse our brokenness.
2. Understand that we can participate in helping this reversal take place.
3. Understand that as we learn to walk in God’s ways, he begins to heal us and reverse our
brokenness.
Catching up on the Story
In the previous chapter, a terrible scene of destruction is depicted. Edom, a once great and powerful nation, serves as an example for all the nations. Israel is destroyed by God because of their unwillingness to walk in the ways of God. Edom is a foil for all nations which neglect following God. They will be turned from their rich and fruitful status into a desert where only jackals, ravens, and owls live. The land will become desolate and forsaken, named “No Kingdom There.” While chapter 34 is not at all hopeful for those who refuse to follow God’s ways, chapter 35 is a different story. All of what happens to the nations will, one day, be reversed. The desert will be made to flow with water. Where jackals lived, there would now be a marsh filled with all kinds of life. Anytime desolate places are remade into a fruitful land, it is a time for joy.
Israel, at this point, is still in the throes of destruction. Their situation is that of the nations who have not followed God. Chapter 35, however, depicts the beginning of the return of God’s remnant to the Holy City. The land itself will be transformed from a wasteland into a land filled with water and life. But it isn’t just the land that is renewed; it is the people who are renewed as well. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the lame will leap for joy. God’s people are moving to be with God.
According to some, chapter 35, which is a poem, can be divided into three paragraphs. The first paragraph contains verses 1-4 and functions as an introduction that makes a promise concerning the desert’s transformation as well as the transformation of those who are broken. The second paragraph, verses 5-7, elaborates a little further on the promise of salvation. The third and final section, verses 8-10, mentions a highway that will be opened so that the redeemed of God can make their way back to God. The whole poem is working toward the climax of communion with God (Oswalt, 621-622).
Paragraph #1: The Desert Shall Rejoice…Isaiah 35:1-4
In this paragraph, the imagery from the previous chapters is carried over. The desert that Edom has been made into will now be remade. The land is given human powers of rejoicing. The land itself calls out in joy for what is about to or is currently happening. Things will bloom, like the crocus which is one of the first plants to bloom when the desert receives rain. Everything will call out for joy and gladness. Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon are all places characterized by beauty and abundance. This desert will now be like these places. The land is being restored.
The second section of this paragraph deals not with the land but with the inhabitants of the land. Not only will the land call out in joy, but people will as well. Those with weak hands and knees are called to gather all their strength because God is now in their midst. The presence of God alone is enough to bring strength and joy. But a further declaration is made; God is coming to save Israel from those who have done them harm. Everything will be made right because God is on his way.
Paragraph #2: The Eyes of the Blind…Isaiah 35:5-7
This paragraph extends the vision of verses 1-4 by giving specific instances of what will happen. Oswalt notes that both the desert and the infirm were considered by people to be in the very grip of death. Both the desert and the ill would have been seen as barren and worthless. (Oswalt, 623).
Isaiah then begins to describe how the people will be restored. Four specific things will happen: the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, the lame shall leap like deer, and the tongues of the speechless will sing for joy. A very real and physical transformation occurs when God arrives on the scene. The restoration of these abilities to the ones who have lost them also restores the person to wholeness and a rightful place in society. This restoration brings people more than just their sight; it brings people back from the dead, so to speak. They can now participate fully in the life of the community.
These words might seem familiar to you from your reading of the Gospel of Luke. Indeed, this is the passage that Jesus read in the synagogue in Luke 4. He will say after he has read this passage that this scripture has been fulfilled in their hearing. Jesus is making the very bold claim that the restoration that Isaiah recounts here in chapter 35 is finally coming true through his life and ministry. There is a consistent witness that is woven throughout the Old and New Testaments. That which is broken and barren will one day be restored to wholeness.
The land is then restored as well. As in the case of the people who were restored, the land receives what it has been lacking as well: water. Water will stream forth where there was no water before. It will remake the land from a barren wasteland into a place that can support all sorts of life. It, like the people, will be brought back from the dead.
Paragraph #3: A Highway…Isaiah 35:8-10
Once again, this passage is contrary to what has taken place in the previous chapter. Travel and communication will no longer be treacherous. A way is now being made for God’s people to make their way back to live in God’s presence. This highway will be a straight path that will not cause confusion. No unholy person will be allowed to travel on it. Rather, it shall be for God’s people. Not only will it be a nice path to follow, it will be a safe one as well. No lion or beast or bandit will crouch along it to ambush those traveling it. The redeemed and ransomed of God will travel it with gladness of heart and will sing for joy as they approach Zion, the holy city. Sorrow and sighing will be heard no more.
The journey of God’s faithfulness to humanity, the journey of God’s restoration and healing, ends in God’s holy city. This is the climax of this vision of the end of things. All people will be set free from their own sins and the sins of others so that they finally and fully come home to be with their God. Grief and pain will be no more. Gladness and joy will overwhelm those who now finally rest with God. (Oswalt, 626).
So What?
It doesn’t take much to notice that the world around us is not as it should be. It is broken. Every day we hear of bombings, shootings, killings, rape, unparalleled greed, and every other sort of vice. This brokenness is apparent in everyone’s life. So much so that people all across the world are trying to fix their own brokenness in all sorts of ways which, most of the time, only lead toward increased brokenness.
From every angle, we are sold the cure to what ails us. Car companies tell us our identity should be defined by their car. Diet pills, exercise programs, and equipment manufacturers tell us that if we just bought their product, we would have rock-hard abs and be able to impress the ladies or the fellows. Clothing stores tell us that if we wear their clothes, people will accept us, love us, and include us in their fun activities.
While all of these fixes might work for a short time, their results do not last. Trends change and our bodies turn flabby again. Not only that, but we tend to sacrifice tremendously to achieve and pay for all these things. Sometimes it causes us to lie. Sometimes it causes us to steal, to treat people harshly or oppressively. Humanity has the innate ability to do just about whatever it takes to get whatever it is that we think we need to make us whole.
This passage, however, comes from the opposite direction. Israel and the nations have been doing whatever they can to get whatever they want at any cost. For Israel, this has meant the ill-treatment of people, the neglecting of the poor, the orphan and the widow, the lame and the sick. Israel has tried to get what they think they need but has rejected the only thing they really need; a right relationship with God.
Now, for Israel and the nations, this rejection of God will bring about punishment and destruction. All of the things that might normally be depended on will be done away with by God. Where there was rain and vegetation, there would now be wilderness. Where life was abundant, there will now be death. This reversal of things from life to death is just the beginning of the story, though. The reversal will be followed by another reversal, from death to life.
God is coming. God is coming to fix all of the broken things in our life. Advent is the season of expectantly awaiting the coming of our salvation. This passage proclaims the coming of the one who is able to save. He will come and prepare us for the journey to meet our God. This preparation is characterized by the healing of our physical maladies. Even the land will be fixed. After we are fixed, God prepares a road for us to travel safely down. We will go down this road and meet God and rejoice eternally.
We believe, as Christians, that Jesus is the one who is going to bring about this kind of fixing. In fact, in Luke 4:16-19, Jesus reads a passage very similar to this passage and then tells everyone that it has been fulfilled in their hearing. Jesus is the only one who is able to bring about the kind of restoration we need. Not only is Jesus the only one who can fix us, but he is also the only one who can provide a way to have a true relationship with God. This relationship and restoration bring us joy.
Discussion Questions
Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly. Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.
The images in this passage are all about reversals. The desert receives rain and is brought back to life. Old and weak bodies are made strong again. Blind eyes see, deaf ears hear, the cripple walks, and the mute speak. Isaiah is confident that these things will happen. Make a list of things that you believe need to be reversed. What things would fit in the right alongside these things already mentioned?
Why is Isaiah so concerned with this reversal? Who or what is bringing the reversal? Why would we read this passage now, in the third week of Advent?
Isaiah recounts a highway. Who will get to travel on this holy highway? Where are they going? Why are they going there?
This passage is clearly a picture of the hope we have as we wait for Jesus to return. We have not yet seen the kind of reversal noted here. Yet, as we saw last week, the new kind of king we heard about in Isaiah 11 is already here, and his kingdom has arrived as well. Is there a chance that some of the reversals mentioned here could or should already be taking place? If so, what can you do to participate with Christ in bringing about a picture like this one?
As a group, choose one area or person where you see desert-like conditions (someone caught in addiction, a significant financial need, depression, loneliness, or the like). Make a plan of action so that you might bring about a holy reversal in that situation. Commit to putting it into action.
Works Cited
John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1986).