Many places in the world have freeways and highways going to all sorts of places. Most of these ways are paved with asphalt or concrete. I live in America and there are wonderful routes through mountains and deserts and near oceans and lakes and rivers that are driven with great ease. One of my favorite things to do is to get in a car with a full tank of gas and just drive through these wonderful places.
There have been a few times in my travels by car that I have decided to take side trips that have taken me on roads I wish I had not traveled. A relatively smooth side road can turn into a dirt road with washboard, brain-joggling surfaces that feel as if the shock absorbers have failed. Others have turned into risky adventures in dodging massive potholes or navigating off-road to avoid crevasses that would have certainly have landed the car sideways and broken down. Some would say that I am foolish for having taken these roads, but as yet I have not been stranded.
A common metaphor for life is a rough road such as I have taken. Filled with a myriad of potential trouble and actual troubles, human life can be perilous, disheartening, mind-numbing and desperate at times. There seem to be pitfalls all along the way and hazards to be avoided or climbed out of, and some that consume us. When we find ourselves on these off-road experiences, our spiritual lives can feel hopeless. We get to places where we feel as if it will never get better, that we deserve to be rewarded for trying harder, that we face difficulties no one else faces, and we become filled with regrets and fail to forgive ourselves for taking the wrong road.
The prophet Isaiah lived in a time of great upheaval. We understand from Biblical studies that in Chapters 1-39 of Isaiah, the Assyrian powerhouse was dominating the landscape in the mid-700’s before Christ was born. The nation of Judah was constantly pressured by the Assyrians both in military powers and spiritual temptations to idolatry and wickedness. Many in Judah had given in to these pressures and were far from the covenant relationship that God had offered. Because of this, the nation of Judah was coming under judgment by God as well as offered, yet again, a way to be restored to him. While God’s words in prophecy through Isaiah are reflected in long passages of judgment and condemnation throughout this first part of Isaiah, there are a few sections of these prophecies that show a way out, an onramp to restoration and hope that could be regained in dark and troubled times. While these passages of hope are few in the long prophecies of Isaiah, they are profound. Victor Hamilton gives us a broad overview of our selected passage for this study.
“Isaiah 35 is one of the most exciting, vibrant chapters in the entire book as the prophet describes in extravagant, almost overboard, language God’s final redemption of both His land and His people. For instance, the promised land, once reduced to a desert and parched land and a wilderness, will become, thanks to the Lord’s saving and redeeming power, a garden that is filled with flowers that blossom and bloom. This kind of language takes one back to the opening chapters of Genesis, which feature a pristine garden; and takes one forward to the concluding chapters of Revelation, which describe another pristine garden. Phrases like the glory of Lebanon and the splendor of Carmel and Sharon serve as symbols of abundance.”[1]
Just after grueling and sad prophesies comes Isaiah 35:1-2.
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.
Can you imagine what it must have been like for the people of Judah to hear such words? Their backs were being broken down by the Assyrians and their hearts pummeled by spiritual darkness and the specter of the consequences of their sins was constantly hovering. And yet God wanted them to hear something else as well. He wanted to hold out to them again his hand of grace and forgiveness, hope and restoration. When all joy and salvation seemed impossible, there it was again—God’s grace!
We may have a hard time imagining the geographical contrasts represented in this passage of scripture. So, think about a desert or a drought-stricken area in your region. What happens to it when the rains come? Where once was barren land, the flower can come back. Think of splendid landscapes that you have seen. While they may not be identical to Lebanon, Carmel and Sharon of old, calling to mind the beauty of God’s nature can demonstrate to us once more the reality of hope lived out by God’s command to return to him. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary states that the “blossoming of the desert vegetation symbolizes the inward change that takes place in the redeemed soul.”[2] God is always reaching out to us, no matter how far we have strayed. That is the wonder of his splendor—grace and nature hand-in-hand.
Are the down-trodden weak? Are they full of fear? Then let them hear the word of the Lord through Isaiah 35:3-4
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.”
God will come to save! He will. If we don’t believe that, then we need to receive the words of this prophecy, take it in and learn to believe it. The human will is a gift from God. It enables us to choose what to believe. That active choosing may take work and by faith we maintain it—even when all around us the world, our consequences and wicked and foolish people tell us otherwise. By prayer, confession, reading scripture and receiving support of other believers we can believe that God will come to save us.
Victor Hamilton leads us to understand that the evidence of God’s redeeming work is found in verses 5-7.
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.
I can’t imagine a more joyful group of words and images than these. Perhaps that’s why God gives such prophecies. Every phrase is a gift and evidence of possible transformation. And that transformation is linked to all parts of God’s creation. When God moves to restore, he does it completely! Victor Hamilton states this wonderfully when he writes: “Salvation and ecology are both close to God’s heart.”[3] This is the future that awaits those who elect to come back to God.
Keep in mind that prophesy serves two functions in the Old Testament. First, it speaks to the present situation, like that of the Assyrian dominance and the unrepentant ways of people to whom the prophet was speaking. Secondly, it speaks to a steadfast and eternal future. It harkens back to the original creation and speaks of the new creation when all human suffering will cease. That’s a good thing to lay hold of.
In the final verses of Isaiah 35:8-10 we come to the onramp to a bright future. While we have seen what is possible, how do we get there?
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.
Here we see the good road, the one smoothed out, the clear and safe way to travel. This is the way of holiness—being like God with his help. The onramp to this wonderful way and its bright future lay in the process of salvation for the redeemed.
As Christians living and growing in this century, we enter The Way through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who lived, died and rose again to offer everyone salvation. On that great Way we learn of God, are empowered by the Holy Spirit and take this highway with many, many others who are heading in the same Way – longing in humility for the final restoration of all of God’s creation.
We take the onramp and enter the Way through:
Confession
Yes, God, I need you to save me!
Repentance
I ask you for your help to make me like you, now and every day.
Faith
I believe you are saving me now and will continue to save me as I learn to walk in your ways.
I believe that you have a bright future ahead for those who take the highway to your Holiness.
I ask that you will redeem all of my poor choices and rebellion so that I will enter into your eternal and good presence with gladness and joy.
Amen
© M.R.Hyde 2025
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