God will come to vindicate and transform his people. Instead of being deaf, blind, and lame (see 6:10), the people will be pure, holy, and redeemed.
1The wilderness and the dry land will be glad;the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.2It will bloom profuselyand rejoice with joy and singing.Thegloryof Lebanon will be given to it,the splendor of Carmeland Sharon.They will see the glory of the LORD,the splendor of our God.3Strengthen the limp handsand steady the feeble knees!†4Say to those with anxious hearts:“Be strong, do not fear!Behold, your God will come with vengeance.With divine retribution He will come to save you.”5Then the eyes of the blind will be openedand the ears of the deaf unstopped.6Then the lame will leap like a deerand the mute tongue will shout for joy.For waters will gush forth in the wilderness,and streams in the desert.7The parched ground will become a pool,the thirsty land springs of water.In the haunt where jackals† once lay,there will be grassand reedsand papyrus.8And there will be a highwaycalled the Way of Holiness.Theunclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools willnot stray onto it.9No lion will be there,and no vicious beast will go up on it.Such will not be found there,but the redeemed will walk upon it.10So the redeemedof the LORD will returnand enter Zion with singing,crowned with everlasting joy.Gladness and joy will overtake them,and sorrow and sighing will flee.
Commentary
Isaiah 35:1
God’s land would become like a wasteland, spiritually desolate and physically depleted. However, God would turn the desert into a garden (see also 32:15), taking his people from exile to glory.
Lebanon . . . Mount Carmel . . . Sharon: There will be a reversal of earlier judgments (see 2:13; 10:34; 29:17; 33:9).
glory . . . splendor of our God: See also 6:3; 40:5.
Commentary
Isaiah 35:3
Tired hands and weak knees express discouragement and anxiety (see Heb 12:12).
Commentary
Isaiah 35:4
do not fear: The Lord here assures his people of his presence and purpose (see also 7:4; 10:24; 40:9; 43:1; 44:2; 54:4).
The essence of the good news is that God is coming to save his people (see also 40:9; 52:7; 62:11). God’s coming brings spiritual transformation as well as rescue from enemies.
eyes . . . ears: There will be a transformation from spiritual blindness and deafness to understanding and knowing God (6:10; 29:18; 32:3; 42:7; see also Luke 7:22; Acts 26:18).
The imagery of the great road recalls Israel’s crossing through the Red Sea (51:10).
Only holy and undefiled people will share the Highway of Holiness. God’s goal in salvation is that humans will share in his character and act as he does (see Eph 5:1–2; 1 Pet 2:21).
Jerusalem: The prophecy extends beyond the return of Israel from exile to the final establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. It will be characterized by joy and gladness and the absence of sorrow and mourning (see also 25:7; 51:11; Rev 21:4).