The Divine intervention having taken place, the blessing for Israel and the land, predicted in chapter 35, will be brought to pass. The picture is a lovely one a delightful scene of earthly blessing. The curse of Genesis 3:17-18 will be lifted, so that the very deserts will be abundantly fruitful. The vengeance of God will mean deliverance for Israel, and safety. But not only that, since they themselves will be transformed. They will see spiritually, they will hear, they will sing with gladness, and all their hopes be realized.
The figure in verse 7 is a striking one, for the word translated “parched ground” really means a “mirage”; the strange appearance of what looks like a lake in some dry region, but which is only an illusion. The illusion that poor Israel has pursued, while away from God, will cease, and a real lake of refreshment take its place. We may well use the same figure in the Gospel today, since men are chasing after an illusory satisfaction and joy in a variety of ways, while abiding satisfaction is only found in Christ.
Verse 8 emphasizes holiness, which must ever mark the presence of God, and the way of holiness may be trodden by the humblest of men, who would be accounted a fool by worldly standards. We may thank God that it is so.
The description of blessedness ends with the alluring picture presented in verse 10. Those who enter into the everlasting joy and gladness will be the ransomed of the Lord. We can rejoice today in this forecast of the blessedness of the earthly Zion, while we remember with gladness that we are blessed “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). And “the heavens are higher than the earth”, as Isaiah himself presently reminds us.
Chapters 36:1-40:8
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