Isaiah 35 explained: The Desert Blooms, the Exiles Return

The wilderness bursts into bloom (vv. 1-2)

Chapter 34 showed a fertile land turned into wasteland, and here a wasteland turns fertile. It gains the beauty of Lebanon's famous cedars and of Carmel and Sharon, known for rich farmland, yet the credit goes to God, whose glory people will see.

Courage for the frightened (vv. 3-4)

People who are worn out and scared are to be steadied with a promise that God is coming. The 'vengeance' here means God stepping in to set right the wrongs done to his people and to rescue them.

Bodies healed, deserts watered (vv. 5-7)

Blind, deaf, lame and mute people are made whole, while water gushes up and burning sand becomes a pool where reeds can grow. Christians read this in light of Jesus, who pointed to these very signs when asked who he was (Matthew 11:5).

A safe road home (vv. 8-10)

A raised highway, like the built-up roads used for marching armies, leads the rescued back to Zion, meaning Jerusalem, with no lions or wild beasts on it. Many scholars link this to the return of exiles from Babylon, and the poem ends with joy that lasts forever resting on their heads while sorrow and sighing run away.

Key verse: Isaiah 35:10

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether this homecoming was fulfilled mainly in the return from exile, in Jesus and the spread of his message, or still points to a future renewed world.

Something to think about

When have you seen a place or a person that seemed written off come back to life, and what do you think made the difference?