Isaiah 35:1-10, an exilic passage, part of Divine Warrior message beginning in Isaiah 34, has the theme of the blessings coming to Jerusalem. In verses 1-2, the desert blooms as it might do in a normal spring season. 1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus2 it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. We find the transformation that will take place in the natural order. As we read in Isaiah 43:19, “I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” The wilderness of Judah will become as rich as the forests of Lebanon. They shall see the glory (kabod, self-manifestation, a kind of envelope surrounding the essence of the Lord that we cannot see directly) of the Lord, the majesty (hadar, splendor, connoting power or one who can demand respect or honor) of our God. Such “seeing” suggests God will restore nature to the order that God desires. The recurring theme of the wilderness and desert becoming enriched fertile land is characteristic of II Isaiah. The author uses the traditional creation theme in a new way. God is transforming the wilderness into fertile land, creating a new land of almost Utopian richness. Along with II Isaiah's common motif of creation, his other characteristic theme, the Exodus, appears early in this text. One can hardly think of Israel in the wilderness without recalling the tradition of the first Exodus from Egypt. Just as God took redemptive action on behalf of Israel in the first Exodus, God will take redemptive creative action on nature now, in the time of a new exodus. In verses 3-4, the Lord allayed their fears by the knowledge that the vengeance of the Lord in this case finds its expression for their benefit and not their harm. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! The prophet's appeal to the exiles to contain their fear stems from the Hebrew concept of Holy war. Any fear or faltering under the divine guidance one can only interpret as a sign of insecure faith or doubt in the power of the Lord Yahweh. The task set before the exiles in this chapter, to return to Israel, is not dependent on their own strength, but on the might of the Lord. The point is that the joy of the future is strength for the present, even in oppression and sorrow. He will say to the fearful of heart to be strong and do not fear, for here is your God. Such images we also find in Isaiah 40:29-31. One receives strength even when weak by recognizing Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”Regardless of the oppression these people feel now, if they can identify the presence of God among them, they will receive strength for the journey. In verses 5-6, the Lord has healed all their physical infirmities. In verses 5-6a, 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped, reversing the prophesied curse of ears that do not hear, eyes that do not see, and minds that do not understand the intentions of the Lord (Isaiah 6:9-10) with a promise of bodies whole and strong and a God that can be heard clearly calling for the people's restoration. 6 then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. The prophet refers to the removal of physical disabilities. In verses 6b-7, the desert also runs over with new sources of water. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes, thus indicating the desert is transformed into a swamp. All of this suggests the new life-giving energy that God gives the people of God. The prophet expects miraculous abundance of life and luxuriant vegetation. We find a similar expectation in Isaiah 41:18-19. Next, the prophet describes the highway home. There was a well-known Babylonian ceremony that involved the creation of a via sacra, a sacred way along which the statues of the gods were carried on the way to their respective temples. We find a similar theme in Isaiah 11:16 and 40:3-5. 8 A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. Further, the wild desert animals shall dominate the landscape. 9 No lion, symbolic of the enemies of Israel, shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there. With the desert transformed, the wild desert animals no longer dominate the landscape, particularly the lion, which is often symbolic of Israel's enemies.[1] In Isaiah 11:6-9 the prophet looks forward to a time when the wolf and lamb will live peacefully together. The child will lead wild animals. Snakes shall no longer harm children. In fact, no one “will hurt or destroy on all my hold mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” But the redeemed shall walk there. 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. This will be the final age of the blessedness of Israel. It will be an age of peace, prosperity, and national greatness. The destination of those on the “Holy Way” is Zion. We find a copy of this verse in Isaiah 51:11.
An important development has occurred here in Isaiah. No longer is the desert a trackless void in which travelers can easily lose their way. Now a highway exists on which not even fools could get lost, and it leads straight to Zion. The metaphor of the Divine Warrior usually ends with the Lord returning to the heavenly abode, or the earthly temple of the Lord once the Lord has restored the proper state of things. Here, however, the Lord does not return alone. The Lord leads the people of God on this miraculous highway, back to the temple city that had once been their home. Moreover, like the orders of nature, the people themselves are better than they were before.
[1] (see Peter Machinist, "Assyria and its image in the First Isaiah," Journal of the American Oriental Society 103/4 [1983] 719-737).
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