Isaiah 35

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2 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. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who have an anxious 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 unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters 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; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, 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 gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Target Date: Sunday, 3 November 2024

Thoughts on the Passage:

The chapter breaks neatly into four parts:

1-2 – Prologue

3-4 – Preparation for the Messiah (past)

5-7 – Advent of the Messiah (present in the New Testament)

8-10 – Your life because of the Messiah (future)

The break could also be seen as such:

3-4 – The announcement of the gospel.

5-7 – The work of the gospel.

8-10 – The effect of the gospel.

2 -Throughout the book the theme of glory is present. God wants to share his glory with his creation, but any attempt by the creatures to produce their own glory will end in disaster.

3-4 – Weak hands, feeble knees, anxious (racing) heart – all signs of the terror of those who are not in control of their world.

Nature in its fallen state itself, with the storms and floods and quakes, is quite enough to terrify us sometimes.

But if we find in these disasters the face of God’s wrath as well, from where will our hope come?

But the message of the gospel is to take hope, to be courageous, because the face of God in the midst of the storm is the face of the One who has come to rescue you, to save you.

His countenance may be serious, but never toward His children; His fury is reserved for those who threaten His people.

4 – He will come – This is a powerful statement of the gospel, the good news.

God is coming for you – in your sin. He doesn’t sit there and wait for us to grope our way to Him – He comes for His people.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, - Acts 17:26–27

The word “perhaps” in v. 27 is NOT from the perspective of God;

It is the statement, just as we have seen over and over again in Isaiah, that men have had ample opportunity to find God if they wanted to search for Him.

The key to understanding the word “perhaps” is that it expects a negative reply; it is Paul’s statement that NO ONE LOOKED for God, NO ONE sought after Him. Even though He was not far from any of us, we didn’t want Him. We wouldn’t have Him.

That is the time passed, as he says later in this sermon in Athens:

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” - Acts 17:30–31

No one had excuse before: God’s work had been evident from the start:

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. - Romans 1:19–21

But NOW, He has come indeed: Jesus Christ, the righteous, has proclaimed and delivered God’s final and ONLY justification for sinners.

NOW His message to you and me is that ALL God’s purpose in redemption of His people has been accomplished through Jesus Christ;

There remains NO MORE REDEMPTION, no more plan of salvation to be unfolded.

The only promises remaining are for the glorification of those who, on that great and terrible day of judgment, are found entirely in Christ, covered completely by His righteousness.

There is no more sacrifice that can remove sins; all those sacrifices of the Old Testament merely pointing in faith to the complete sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross.

how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. - Hebrews 2:3–4

4 – The upheavals of the nations and the shaking of the earth serve to separate His people from the curse, His sheep from the doomed flock of this world.

One of the things I have enjoyed doing in my life is panning for gold. When I began, I was too timid, too gentle with the pan. You have to shake it hard, and more than 99% of what you put into the pan will be washed away. Shaking the pan thoroughly does two things: it turns the dirt into a thin mud that can be poured out, and it moves everything around so the gold settles safely to the bottom. When the top layers are then washed away, you shake it hard again, separating all the gold to the very bottom of the pan. God shakes the earth and the nations for the same purpose – to draw out for Himself His people.

5-7 – The works and effects of the age of the Messiah:

People will be healed – this is both physical and spiritual

Creation rejoices in God’s peace

Elements of the curse will be undone:

The ground pours forth water and life.

The dry and weary land is refreshed

The curse in the hearts of men will also be healed:

Your dryness will be relieved.

Your sorrow will not be wasted.

8-10 – It is tempting to make this part eschatological, anticipating our final, glorified state. But what is there in this series of promises that is not, to some extent, our now in Christ?

The Way of Holiness – those who are in Christ have been DECLARED fully holy, set apart, sanctified for God’s use and purposes.

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: - 1 Corinthians 1:2

If you are a believer, a true follower of Jesus Christ, you ARE holy because God has made you so. You, no doubt, are assailed constantly by sin and temptation, just as the holy objects in the tabernacle had to be repeatedly cleaned.

The fact you have sinned doesn’t change who you are – a holy vessel – it only makes you in need of the washing of forgiveness in the blood of Jesus Christ.

The unclean shall not pass over the Way – That is why it is so important we rely on God, through Jesus Christ, to MAKE us clean. We can’t do it, or we would have already.

The only tool we have to clean ourselves is the Law of God; but we find in that Law only condemnation of sins, deeper and deeper into our hearts.

We may say we haven’t murdered, but Jesus asks if you have been angry with someone? Not murderous angry, just angry enough to call them a fool or an idiot or some other choice name.

And then we find even if our lips haven’t declared the thought out loud, God sees our heart and knows when we THINK badly about someone else.

Because the heart of the Law we have violated with any of these things is the law: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Even if they are fools, they will not go astray – Is there any greater promise? And can this possibly refer to someone who has been glorified in heaven?

The one thing we may all be certain of is if our salvation has any dependency on us at the start or afterward, we WILL blow it. We saw last week in chapter 34, we are ALL Edom, all capable of selling our most valuable birthright for a bowl of red stew.

Selling our Lord for thirty pieces of silver.

Leaving behind all our good intentions for a moment, a night, of sinful euphoria, a minute of happiness, or an hour of drug- or alcohol-fueled oblivion.

Even when we make foolish choices, trading the freedom from sin God has given us for a few minutes of return to those endorphins, God secures our salvation.

HE will bring us to repentance if we are truly His.

HE will pour out His grace and forgiveness on us in greater measure than our sin.

HE will bring us back to the holy path.

And as we walk along, we will, by God’s grace through His Holy Spirit, find ourselves walking more in the Spirit than in the flesh, straying, by His grace, less and less from His holy Way.

v.9 – Even the threats from the fallen creation will not terrify you.

Was it greater fortitude or courage that has allowed the saints of God to go to their deaths for Christ?

No, it was the joy that was set before them.

It was the knowledge that the things of earth can only stop the body, but can never touch the soul.

The knowledge that These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. - Hebrews 11:13–16

What can man do but hasten the hour that was set before you were born – the moment you would stand before God in his judgment?

If you are not trusting in Jesus Christ, you are RIGHT to fear that day, to fear death.

You are RIGHT to seek, to scratch, and to claw for every moment and opportunity on this earth.

But if you use the time you have been allotted to simply feed your sin and forget about the day you will stand and give an account before God, your life is the most hopeless of all.

But if you trust in Christ, you may stand with courage knowing you will not go to sleep in death one second prior to the good and appointed time God has lovingly given you.

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. - Psalm 91:5–6

v.10 – You will be RANSOMED.

Not just freed – ransomed.

You are BOUGHT WITH A PRICE.

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. - 1 Peter 1:17–19

And in that ransom, you are FREED from slavery to your sin.

And you are ransomed to COME to God with singing, joy, and praise.

He has come for you, and He will lead you into His presence.

Recall Stephen, whose life was taken because of his testimony for Jesus Christ, saw Jesus STANDING at the right hand of God.

Our Lord LEADS us to glory, leads us to joy.

Will every day here be great joy?

Probably not.

This is still a fallen world, and our flesh is still subject to grave temptations.

But as we learn to walk in the Spirit, as we learn to live in cleanness before God, we will find ourselves better able to conquer the temptations within ourselves.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16

Sermon Text:

We come this morning to the 35th chapter of Isaiah.

And it is fitting we come to this passage full of joy and the gospel on our first Lord’s Day in this building He has provided for us.

We are grateful to the brothers and sisters of the Congregational Church through whom God has provided for us.

If you recall last week’s passage, chapters 34 and 35 are the summation of the section of Isaiah known as “The Judgment of the Nations”.

And we have seen glimpses of the gospel in many of those judgments as we have moved through each chapter.

And even now in our day, we must never forget we serve a holy God, who is the exalted Creator and Sustainer of everything.

He is the One who never changes, never backs up;

Everything that occurs happens as a result of His will.

If we take nothing else from Isaiah thus far, we must not miss this: God is the Right and Good Sovereign over His creation.

So with that in mind, I want to look at the gracious promises and works of God in our chapter today, following so quickly on the message of chapter 34 of God’s upheavals in this world.

This chapter breaks rather neatly into four sections:

vv. 1-2 – a Prologue or segue from chapter 34. I will not treat this poetic passage in depth, since the things it introduces are found in the rest of the chapter.

vv. 3-4 – The announcement of the gospel, brought by the Messiah of God.

vv. 5-7 – The work of the gospel through the Messiah.

And vv. 8-10 – The effect of the gospel.

Verses 3 and 4 begin with these exhortations:

Strengthen the weak hands.

Make firm the feeble knees.

And declare to those with anxious hearts “Be strong; fear not!”

All of these things are signs of TERROR.

Hands that are limp, unable to even hold a weapon in defense.

Knees that are shaking, barely able to hold the body up.

And a racing heart, fueled by adrenaline, ready to take flight as soon as it can.

But, we may ask, what is there to be frightened of?

But, in truth, most, if not all, of us know there are things in this world that frighten us.

We may stand up better to some things than others, but in the course of your life, there are almost certainly things that would terrify you.

Pain and loss are enough to reduce many of us to fear.

Violent storms, fires, and other disasters turn our otherwise stable lives on their heads.

And what parent is there who does not have at least some fear for their children; what couple does not have some concern over their spouse?

Those things are daunting in themselves, but I would suggest to you this morning that they are even more terrifying if, in their midst, we find the face of God’s wrath as well.

To know, to realize, HE is pouring out these fearful things on us.

How much harder to bear is the disaster that is compounded with the wrath of God?

That knowledge would be enough to turn sweat drops into blood.

Twice in this 4th verse, we see the promise “He comes”.

God comes with vengeance. That is His wrath pouring out through the upheavals He brings about.

But then, we see the good news: He comes and SAVES you.

This is the POWERFUL statement of the gospel – He comes and saves you.

He comes for you, even while you are in your sin.

He comes FOR you.

Not sitting there waiting for you to happen upon Him,

Not knocking to see if you are willing to open the door.

He comes in might and power and RESCUES, SAVES you.

When Paul preached to the idolaters in Athens, he declared this message to them:

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, - Acts 17:26–27

In this message, he is saying the same thing as Isaiah has been telling us:

God lifts nations and brings them down.

And He does all this commanding people everywhere should seek Him.

But then we get to that curious clause: perhaps feel their way toward him and find him…

Does that mean that there might possibly be some way for us to find God on our own, like a blind mouse who happens to run across some cheese?

No.

The word “perhaps” assumes a negative answer.

So to help clarify it, what Paul is saying here is that with all God’s activity in the world, with the nations He brings up and takes down, with all the revelation of Himself in nature He has given,

NO ONE looked for God or sought Him on their own.

No one wanted Him, wanted to give up their illusion of control or their prideful hearts.

He was not absent – He was never even far away – but NO ONE sought Him.

But then Paul went on:

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” - Acts 17:30–31

The message: GOD CAME FOR YOU.

You weren’t looking, no one in the past was looking, so GOD came looking for oyu.

But NOW, He has come indeed: Jesus Christ, the righteous, has proclaimed and delivered God’s final and ONLY justification for sinners.

NOW His message to you and me is that ALL God’s purpose in redemption of His people has been accomplished through Jesus Christ;

There remains NO MORE REDEMPTION, no more plan of salvation to be unfolded.

The only promises remaining are for the glorification of those who, on that great and terrible day of judgment, are found entirely in Christ, covered completely by His righteousness.

There is no more sacrifice that can remove sins; all those sacrifices of the Old Testament merely pointing in faith to the complete sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross.

All those upheavals, the shaking of the earth, that Isaiah has talked about and Paul talks about serve to separate His people from the curse, to gather and purify His flock of sheep from the doomed goats of this world.

One of the things I have enjoyed doing in my life is panning for gold. When I began, I was too timid, too gentle with the pan. You have to shake it hard, and more than 99% of what you put into the pan is worthless and will be washed away.

Shaking the pan thoroughly does two things: it turns the dirt into a thin mud that can be poured out, and it moves the gravel and sand around so the gold settles safely to the bottom. When the top layers are then washed away, you shake it hard again, separating all the gold to the very bottom of the pan. God shakes the earth and the nations for the same purpose – to draw out for Himself His purified people.

The next section of our passage, verses 5-7, tell us what the Messiah, the Christ, will do in His delivery of the gospel.

We see eyes opened, deaf hearing, and lame leaping for joy.

These, you may remember, are the evidences Jesus sent back to a doubting John the Baptist:

John, from his prison cell, sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He truly was the Messiah.

And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” - Luke 7:22–23

These are the very signs Isaiah is telling us to look for when the Messiah comes.

And the eyes He opens when HE comes for you are not merely orbs in your head, but understanding in your heart.

The ears He opens are not simply attached to the side of your head, but the part of your understanding that allows you to hear and respond to the call of God.

Because he has brought us from entirely insensate to alive – He has raised us from our death in sin.

That is the good news: you couldn’t, wouldn’t reach out to God, so He makes you alive and comes for you.

And if that weren’t miraculous enough, see what happens next.

vv. 8-10 – It is tempting to make this part eschatological, anticipating our final, glorified state. But what is there in this series of promises that is not, to some extent, ours now in Christ?

The Way of Holiness – those who are in Christ have been DECLARED fully holy, set apart, sanctified for God’s use and purposes.

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: - 1 Corinthians 1:2

If you are a believer, a true follower of Jesus Christ, you ARE holy because God has made you so. You, no doubt, are assailed constantly by sin and temptation, just as the holy objects in the tabernacle had to be repeatedly cleaned.

The fact you have sinned doesn’t change who you are – a holy vessel – it only makes you in need of the washing of forgiveness in the blood of Jesus Christ.

The unclean shall not pass over the Way – That is why it is so important we rely on God, through Jesus Christ, to MAKE us clean. We can’t do it, or we would have already.

The only tool we might use to clean ourselves is the Law of God; but we find in that Law only condemnation of sins, deeper and deeper into our hearts.

We may say we haven’t murdered, but Jesus asks if you have been angry with someone? Not murderous angry, just angry enough to call them a fool or an idiot or some other choice name.

And then we find even if our lips haven’t declared the thought out loud, God sees our heart and knows when we THINK badly about someone else.

Because the heart of the Law we have violated with any of these things is the law: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Even if they are fools, they will not go astray – Is there any greater promise? And can this possibly refer to someone who has been glorified in heaven?

The one thing we may all be certain of is if our salvation has any dependency on us at the start or afterward, we WILL blow it. We saw last week in chapter 34, we are ALL Edom, all capable of selling our most valuable birthright for a bowl of red stew.

Selling our Lord for thirty pieces of silver.

Leaving behind all our good intentions for a moment, a night, of sinful euphoria, a minute of happiness, or an hour of drug- or alcohol-fueled oblivion.

Even when we make foolish choices, trading the freedom from sin God has given us for a few minutes of return to those endorphins, God secures our salvation.

HE will bring us to repentance if we are truly His.

HE will pour out His grace and forgiveness on us in greater measure than our sin.

HE will bring us back to the holy path.

And as we walk along, we will, by God’s grace through His Holy Spirit, find ourselves walking more in the Spirit than in the flesh, straying, by His grace, less and less from His holy Way.

v.9 – Even the threats from the fallen creation will not terrify you.

Was it greater fortitude or courage that has allowed the saints of God to go to their deaths for Christ?

No, it was the joy that was set before them.

It was the knowledge that the things of earth can only stop the body, but can never touch the soul.

The knowledge that These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. - Hebrews 11:13–16

What can man do but hasten the hour that was set before you were born – the moment you would stand before God in his judgment?

If you are not trusting in Jesus Christ, you are RIGHT to fear that day, to fear death.

You are RIGHT to seek, to scratch, and to claw for every moment and opportunity on this earth.

But if you use the time you have been allotted to simply feed your sin and forget about the day you will stand and give an account before God, your life is the most hopeless of all.

But if you trust in Christ, you may stand with courage knowing you will not go to sleep in death one second prior to the good and appointed time God has lovingly given you.

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. - Psalm 91:5–6

v.10 – You will be RANSOMED.

Not just freed – ransomed.

You are BOUGHT WITH A PRICE.

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. - 1 Peter 1:17–19

And in that ransom, you are FREED from slavery to your sin.

And you are ransomed to COME to God with singing, joy, and praise.

He has come for you, and He will lead you into His presence.

Recall Stephen, whose life was taken because of his testimony for Jesus Christ, saw Jesus STANDING at the right hand of God.

Our Lord LEADS us to glory, leads us to joy.

Will every day here be great joy?

Probably not.

This is still a fallen world, and our flesh is still subject to grave temptations.

But as we learn to walk in the Spirit, as we learn to live in cleanness before God, we will find ourselves better able to conquer the temptations within ourselves.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16