Isaiah 35 Study Notes: The Desert Blooms and the Redeemed Return
Isaiah describes the wilderness bursting into bloom as people see God's glory. The fearful are told to take courage because God is coming to save, healing the blind, deaf, lame, and mute, and His redeemed travel a holy highway home to Zion with lasting joy.
General
What message are the fearful to be given in 35:3-4?
Answer: Take courage, for God is coming to judge and save
God’s people are told to strengthen weak hands and steady shaking knees, and to tell the fearful to be strong and not afraid, because their God is coming with vengeance and retribution to save them (35:3-4). His coming means both judgment on enemies and rescue for His people. Hebrews echoes 35:3 when it urges discouraged believers to strengthen their weak hands and knees (Hebrews 12:12-13). Isaiah later told Zion to announce to Judah’s cities that their God is coming with power and reward (40:9-10), and to say to Zion that her Savior is coming (62:11).
- Isaiah 35:3-4 (BSB)“Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees! Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.””The fearful are to be strengthened, because God is coming to repay and to save.
- Hebrews 12:12-13 (BSB)“Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”Hebrews echoes 35:3 in urging believers to strengthen their weak hands and knees.
- Isaiah 40:9-10 (BSB)“Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.”Isaiah later announces that the Lord GOD comes with might, bringing His reward.
- Isaiah 62:11 (BSB)“Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.””Zion is told that her Savior is coming with His reward.
Theological
What exhortation and ground does 35:3-4 give to the fainthearted?
Answer: Take courage, for God is coming to judge and save
The command is to strengthen limp hands and feeble knees and to tell the anxious to be strong and fear not, grounded in the coming of God with vengeance and divine retribution to save (35:3-4). Judgment on enemies and salvation for His people are two sides of the one coming of God. Hebrews applies 35:3 to believers under discipline (Hebrews 12:12-13), and Isaiah later proclaims the coming of the Lord GOD with might and recompense (40:9-10) and the arrival of Zion’s Savior (62:11).
- Isaiah 35:3-4 (BSB)“Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees! Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.””The fearful are to be strengthened, because God is coming to repay and to save.
- Hebrews 12:12-13 (BSB)“Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”Hebrews echoes 35:3 in urging believers to strengthen their weak hands and knees.
- Isaiah 40:9-10 (BSB)“Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.”Isaiah later announces that the Lord GOD comes with might, bringing His reward.
- Isaiah 62:11 (BSB)“Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.””Zion is told that her Savior is coming with His reward.
General
When John the Baptist’s disciples asked if Jesus was the One to come, which works did Jesus point to that echo 35:5-6?
Answer: Sight for the blind, walking for the lame, hearing for the deaf
Isaiah says that when God comes to save (35:4), blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears unstopped, the lame will spring up like deer, and those who could not speak will sing out gladly, as water bursts out in the desert (35:5-7). When John the Baptist, in prison, sent to ask Jesus whether He was the promised Coming One, Jesus told them to report what they were witnessing: sight for the blind, walking for the lame, cleansing for lepers, hearing for the deaf, life for the dead, and good news for the poor (Matthew 11:2-5). Jesus was pointing John to Isaiah’s promise: the works that would mark God’s coming to save were happening in His own ministry. Matthew records crowds praising God as Jesus healed those who were lame, blind, and mute (Matthew 15:30-31), and after Pentecost a lame man healed in Jesus’ name went into the temple walking and leaping, recalling the leaping of 35:6 (Acts 3:8).
- Isaiah 35:5-6 (BSB)“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.”When God comes to save, the blind, deaf, lame, and mute are restored.
- Matthew 11:2-5 (BSB)“Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”Jesus answers John’s question by pointing to works Isaiah had promised.
- Matthew 15:30-31 (BSB)“Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them. The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.”Crowds glorify the God of Israel as Jesus heals the lame, blind, and mute.
- Acts 3:8 (BSB)“He sprang to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising God.”A lame man healed in Jesus’ name goes walking and leaping, recalling the leaping of 35:6.
Theological
Which signs promised in 35:5-6 did Jesus list in His answer to John the Baptist (Matthew 11:4-5)?
Answer: Sight for the blind, walking for the lame, hearing for the deaf
Isaiah ties the opening of blind eyes and deaf ears, the leaping of the lame, and the shout of the mute to the coming of God to save (35:4-6). When the imprisoned John asked whether Jesus was the Coming One, Jesus answered by listing several of these same works, sight for the blind, walking for the lame, and hearing for the deaf, along with lepers cleansed, the dead raised, and good news for the poor (Matthew 11:2-5). Jesus was identifying Himself as the promised One: in His works God had come to save, as Isaiah foretold. Matthew records the crowds praising Israel’s God as Jesus healed the mute, lame, and blind (Matthew 15:30-31), and the lame man healed in Acts walks and leaps in the temple, recalling 35:6 (Acts 3:8).
- Isaiah 35:5-6 (BSB)“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.”When God comes to save, the blind, deaf, lame, and mute are restored.
- Matthew 11:2-5 (BSB)“Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”Jesus answers John’s question by pointing to works Isaiah had promised.
- Matthew 15:30-31 (BSB)“Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them. The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.”Crowds glorify the God of Israel as Jesus heals the lame, blind, and mute.
- Acts 3:8 (BSB)“He sprang to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising God.”A lame man healed in Jesus’ name goes walking and leaping, recalling the leaping of 35:6.
General
In 35:1-2, what will people see as the wilderness bursts into bloom?
Answer: The glory and splendor of their own God
After the desolation of Edom in chapter 34, chapter 35 turns to joy. The dry wilderness will be glad and burst into bloom, and it will receive the beauty of Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon (35:1-2). In 33:9 those same regions had withered; now their splendor is given even to the desert. Above all, people will see the majesty and splendor of God Himself (35:2). Isaiah later promised that God’s glory would be revealed for all people to see (40:5), and that God would make dry land into pools of water (41:18). Paul speaks of the creation itself one day being set free from decay (Romans 8:21).
- Isaiah 35:1-2 (BSB)“The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose. It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. 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.”The desert rejoices and blooms, and people see the glory and splendor of God.
- Isaiah 40:5 (BSB)“And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”Isaiah promises that the glory of the LORD will be revealed for all humanity to see.
- Isaiah 41:18 (BSB)“I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.”God promises to turn the desert and dry land into pools and springs of water.
- Romans 8:21 (BSB)“that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”Paul says the creation itself will be freed from its bondage to decay.
Theological
According to 35:1-2, what will be seen when the desert blossoms?
Answer: The glory and splendor of their own God
The judgment of chapter 34 gives way to renewal: wilderness and desert rejoice and blossom profusely, endowed with the beauty of Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon (35:1-2), the very regions shown withering in 33:9. The climax is the sight of God Himself: they will behold God’s own majesty and splendor (35:2). Isaiah later promises both the unveiling of the LORD’s glory to all people (40:5) and water for the parched land (41:18), and Paul speaks of creation’s liberation from decay (Romans 8:21).
- Isaiah 35:1-2 (BSB)“The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose. It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. 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.”The desert rejoices and blooms, and people see the glory and splendor of God.
- Isaiah 40:5 (BSB)“And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”Isaiah promises that the glory of the LORD will be revealed for all humanity to see.
- Isaiah 41:18 (BSB)“I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.”God promises to turn the desert and dry land into pools and springs of water.
- Romans 8:21 (BSB)“that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”Paul says the creation itself will be freed from its bondage to decay.
General
According to 35:8-10, who will travel the Way of Holiness?
Answer: The redeemed, coming back to Zion with gladness
Isaiah describes a road named the Way of Holiness. Nothing unclean will use it, fools will not wander onto it, and no lion or dangerous beast will be there; it belongs to the redeemed (35:8-9). To be redeemed means to be bought back or rescued by God. Those whom the LORD has redeemed will come home to Zion singing, wearing endless joy like a crown, while sorrow and sighing run away (35:10). Isaiah repeats this same promise in 51:11. Peter says believers were bought back not with silver or gold but by Christ’s costly blood (1 Peter 1:18-19), and Revelation pictures God wiping away every tear (Revelation 21:4).
- Isaiah 35:8-10 (BSB)“And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it. No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it. So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.”The Way of Holiness is for the redeemed, who return to Zion with everlasting joy.
- Isaiah 51:11 (BSB)“So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.”Isaiah repeats the promise of the redeemed returning to Zion with joy.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (BSB)“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”Peter says believers were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
- Revelation 21:4 (BSB)“‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.””Revelation pictures the final removal of sorrow and tears.
Theological
Who travels the Way of Holiness described in 35:8-10?
Answer: The redeemed, coming back to Zion with gladness
The highway is the Way of Holiness, closed to the unclean and to fools and free of predators; only the redeemed walk on it (35:8-9). Those the LORD has redeemed return to Zion with singing and everlasting joy, and grief and groaning flee away (35:10); the same promise is repeated in 51:11. The holiness of the road and the redemption of its travelers belong together: God makes holy those He redeems. Peter grounds the believer’s redemption in Christ’s costly blood (1 Peter 1:18-19), and Revelation’s vision of the new creation removes every tear (Revelation 21:4).
- Isaiah 35:8-10 (BSB)“And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it. No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it. So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.”The Way of Holiness is for the redeemed, who return to Zion with everlasting joy.
- Isaiah 51:11 (BSB)“So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.”Isaiah repeats the promise of the redeemed returning to Zion with joy.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (BSB)“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”Peter says believers were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
- Revelation 21:4 (BSB)“‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.””Revelation pictures the final removal of sorrow and tears.