11. The joyful flourishing of our Lord's kingdom: Isaiah 35:1-10

The joyful flourishing of our Lord’s kingdom

Isaiah 35:1-10 This lesson must begin with the closing verses of Chapter 34.

(Isaiah 34:1-2) The Lord will visit his enemies with great judgment; his Son shall triumph over all that oppose his kingdom; he will avenge and vindicate his church.

(Isaiah 34:14-15) Where there is great slaughter, the wild beasts, the owls, and the wolves gather together to feed upon the slain. They will all be there, everyone with her mate.’

(Isaiah 34:16-17) ‘Seek ye out the scriptures,’ the word of the Lord, and you will find that all of the prophecies, promises, and judgments shall exactly come to pass as he has said. ‘None shall want her mate,’ meaning that the prophecies shall be exactly fulfilled, even in the smallest circumstance! He has purposed it; he has commanded it; his Spirit shall fulfill them (Isaiah 46:9-11; Acts 15:18).

Isaiah 35:1-2. ‘The wilderness and solitary place shall be glad for them’—glad for his prophecies, promises, and judgments. ‘They shall rejoice and be glad’ when he comes to fulfill his purpose, for they who were a wilderness and a desert shall blossom as a rose. They are described in Psalms 107:1-8; Psalms 107:14-15. His church (called out from every tribe, nation, tongue, and kindred of the world) shall be glorious as Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon, which were eminent parts of Canaan. Consider the glorious results of God’s goodness to his people in Christ. Those who were strangers, wilderness dwellers, and once without God shall see the glory of the Lord. v, 3. ‘Strengthen the weak hands, confirm the feeble knees.’ Ye ministers and prophets and servants of God, comfort God’s people, encourage those who are weak and ready to faint (Isa. 40-1-2). Give them his word of promises in Christ, which are faithful, sure, and steadfast (2 Corinthians 1:20). Encourage them with the hope of salvation, which is theirs in Christ. Hands and knees are mentioned because that is where the strength or weakness of any man appears.

Isaiah 35:4. ‘Say to them that are of a fearful heart.’ Is this not all of us on occasion? (a) We remember our sins and wonder how he could love and save us; (b) we consider the mysteries of Christ and the gospel, the miracle of resurrection, conformity to Christ, and eternal glory and are overwhelmed; and (c) we observe the unbelief of men and the weak and corrupt state of most churches and have a fearful heart or a hasty heart ready to flee from the enemy.

Say to them, ‘Be strong and fear not.’ Be strong in the faith of Christ! Fear not Satan, the world, nor any enemy. Do not doubt the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ relating to the world (he will avenge) or to his church. ‘He will come and save you.’

1. He came in the flesh, took our nature; and by his obedience and death, he took vengeance on Satan, his works, principalities, and powers, which he destroyed (Isaiah 61:1-2; Romans 8:1).

2. He will come again and take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8).

Isaiah 35:5-6. When our Lord walked this earth, he opened the eyes of the blind, made the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the dumb to speak. But these miracles which he performed were not only evidence of his power, authority over demons and disease, and proof of his deity, but these miracles were types of spiritual healing and life. We, who were spiritually blind, who had no knowledge of God, nor of our deadness, nor of the way of life in Christ, do now see (2 Corinthians 4:3-6). We, who were deaf to the voice of God, now hear him speak by his spirit through his word. We, who were lame and dead, do now live and walk in the Spirit of God. These tongues, which were dumb to his praise and glory, do now speak of things heavenly, give thanks, and rejoice in him whom we once despised.

‘Streams in the desert.’ The most dry and barren souls and hearts now flow with living water (John 7:37-38).

Isaiah 35:7-8. This is the Lord’s church—his kingdom—the congregation of the redeemed.

Once a parched ground (barren and unfruitful, a thirsty land, but now righteous in Christ, filled with the grace of God) has become a pool—‘springs of water.’

We were the habitation of dragons, especially that great red dragon (Revelation 12:3-4; Ephesians 2:1-2). Now the powers of evil are gone and ‘He maketh us to lie down in green pastures . . . beside the still waters’ (Psalms 23:1-2). And there is a way of life in that church and kingdom called ‘the way of holiness,’ and the way is common to all his people. All walk in this way from the beginning of the world. ‘He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake’ (Psalms 23:3). The unclean do not love this way, but it shall be for the redeemed. The way of holiness is Christ, who by his obedience and death makes us holy and righteous before God; and the way of holiness is the way believers live and walk. This way we preach plainly so that the wayfarer, though simple men and fools, shall not be misled.

Isaiah 35:9. It is not only a holy way and a plain way, but it is a safe and a sure way, free from all danger and death. ‘He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ’ (Php 1:6). ‘No man shall pluck them out of my hand’ (John 10:28-29).

Isaiah 35:10. The ransomed of Christ Jesus shall all return to the Lord in repentance and faith. ‘They shall come to Mt. Zion with songs of joy and gladness; all sorrow and sadness shall flee away.’ The salvation, joy, and happiness purchased by Christ for his people, which is begun and entered into here on earth, is continued in glory to all eternity.