The Return of The Joy!
Notes
Transcript
1 The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus
2 It will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God.
3 Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.
7 The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.
9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there,
10 And the ransomed of the Lord will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
1 The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus 2 It will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God.
The Arabah (or Arava/Wadi Arabah) is a significant, arid rift valley forming part of the Jordan Rift Valley, stretching south from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) between Israel and Jordan, historically part of the biblical "wilderness" but also rich in copper. It's a barren, desert region known for extreme low elevations and biblical significance as a challenging crossing for Israelites, featuring key water sources and trade routes, with modern use focusing on agriculture (dates) and mining.
This is a passage about new life.
We start in a dessert, a waste land, with no hope for life, devoid of all joy…
But God! brought life to it and we find Joy.
To get a real idea of this check these two photos out.
Arabah
Glory of Lebanon
When we see the Cedars of Lebanon in the Bible this is the magnificent glory it is talking about.
The good news here is we don’t have to remain a wasteland!
when we come to Jesus we come from this wasteland and given the thriving glory of Jesus within us.
(Dead bulb, plant it, Glorious flower)
(Roses are most commonly grown from cuttings)
(grafted from no life source to the source of life)
3 Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. 4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”
We are to encourage one another
The exhausted and the weak. (God sees you, just like with the story of Hagar)
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.
On surface level, there will be a total healing
This goes deeper. This is also a spiritual awakening.
Water within the bible many times reflects life, here we are seeing new life break forth, even in the presence of death.
The words of Isaiah 60:1 and Isaiah 26:19 are echoed in Paul’s writings.
14 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”
Even this very second the Holy Spirit is calling up to new life.
It is God’s will to give you life, don’t let our will get in the way
Reasons to shout for Joy
7 The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)
Water was and is a precious commodity in Israel (41:18). In the Millennium, there will be no scarcity.
There will be Joy in King Jesus provision.
8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. 9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there,
The NLT says (Evil-minded)
MacArthur Study Bible NASB (Commentary)
This refers to the way leading the redeemed back to Jerusalem, the throne of Messiah, literally and spiritually. Christ Himself is to be the leader on that way, called in 40:3, the “way for the LORD.”
There is no coincidence that the first Christians where called the People of the Way before they ever where called Christians.
This road is a long road, but if we remain on it we will remain in a life of Holiness.
Holiness is not something we are called upon to do in order that we may become something; it is something we are to do because of what we already are.
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)
Because of Christ in us, we can walk in holiness, peace, and joy.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Some translations say that they will have crowns of everlasting Joy upon their head.
Can you imagine what that looks like?
(I knew a couple that tried to have children for years, they radiated this joy when it happened)
I think it is like this but a lot brighter…
There will be no more pain, sorrow, exhaustion, crying.
Take Home:
What Road are you on?
