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| image by Rose Mayer |
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:1-10
Heinrich Muller, a high ranking Nazi official, was known as "the preacher" at the Sobibor extermination camp. It was Heinrich's job to make speeches to keep the Jewish victims cooperative and alive, by keeping them in a state of perpetual false hope. He dressed in a white coat to appear as a doctor, and fed the crowds lies about their eventual release. It is a common human experience that during disastrous situations what keeps a person alive is not primarily shelter, food, or even water. It is hope. God has designed matters so that we can strive through amazing opposition, so long as we believe that it will one day be better. In the midst of destitution, hope is the one rope dangling down in the darkness whereby the miserable may climb out to safety. So what is the hope for the redeemed? How are we to trudge through the wreckage of death, decay and disaster that is all around, and all within us? It is summarized in verse two of our text: "they will see the glory of YHWH, the majesty of our God".
When the glory of the Lord crashes into our reality, the goodness of his character will soak every molecule and heart in the universe: those with lame legs will frolic like deer, blind eyes will see spectrums of beauty, deaf ears will hear symphonies of delight, and dry deserts will be oases. In other words, sin, with the death and misery it causes, will be stripped from every atom, every star, and everybody. The sores of the world will be healed when the glory of the Lord is revealed. The New Testament language of this is resurrection, and this is our hope.
A sample of this hope was manifested when YHWH's Messiah, the prince of this paradise-to-come, walked on the dusty streets of Israel. He lived out these verses as he healed the lame, the blind, the deaf and the mute. It was as if he was saying, "I am the glory of YHWH! I am bringing restoration! Follow me and let's heal the world!" After swallowing the poison of death, he resurrected into the first material of the new creation to come---the embodiment of the hope of all the saints and of all creation.
By this hope we are given great encouragement and grand instruction. We are encouraged not to be crushed by the pains of our lives, and we are instructed to alleviate the pains of others. We are given the hope that things will be restored, and we are invited to join in the process. This week, when you wake up in a world filled with sin and the devastation it leaves behind, grab onto this hope and hold it close in your arms.
Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.
How should the sight of this coming reality change how you process pain, trials or tribulations? How can you see the glory of the Lord in this hope more clearly, or be reminded of it more regularly? In what ways might you be able to reveal this hope in how you talk and in how you live? Verse three speaks of strengthening the weak. What sorts of reactions, and lifestyles, can reveal that your hope is not in this world, and so lend strength to others?
Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.
YHWH, the great I AM, you are all-sufficient for all our needs. We are crafted by you to adore your goodness forever, and yet you have designed life so that we must look beyond the immediate difficulties, and on to your eternal rest; past what our eyes see, and on to what your hope promises. Help us, your people, to be strengthened by the resurrection and restoration of all things. Open the eyes of our hearts and minds to touch and taste this truth, and to share it with the world.
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