Scripture: Isaiah 35
Video Link: https://youtu.be/e3kB49mMC_Y
Structure:
- Introduction – Joy is the fruit of hope
- Hope for renewal – from curse to blessing
- Hope for release – from fear to joy
- Hope for restoration – from exclusion to worship
- Conclusion
Introduction:
Good morning everyone.
Joy is the fruit of hope. If hope is a beehive, then joy is the honey.
If hope is a herd of cows, then joy is the milk they produce.
If hope is a tree, then joy is the oxygen breathed out by the tree.
If hope is a sunny day, then joy is the Vitamin D you absorb from the sun.
If hope is a good night’s rest, then joy is the energy you get from sleeping well. If hope is a cash deposit with the bank, then joy is the interest earned.
If hope is a gentle spring rain, then joy is the new growth on the land.
Joy is the fruit of hope.
Today is the third Sunday of Christmas Advent. Traditionally, the theme of the third Sunday in Advent is joy. With joy in mind our sermon is based on Isaiah 35. In Isaiah 35 the prophet offers a vision of hope for the future and this vision inspires joy. From Isaiah 35, verse 1 we read…
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God. 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 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.” 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 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.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
Isaiah 35 is the prophet’s vision for the future. After judgement, there is hope for renewal, hope for release and hope for restoration. Let us begin with hope for renewal.
Hope for renewal:
You renew silver by polishing it.
You renew a battery by charging it.
You renew a plant by watering it.
You renew your body by resting it.
You renew trust by being truthful.
You renew your perspective by getting back to nature.
You renew commitment by remembering your promises.
You renew a friendship by spending quality time together.
You renew behaviour by changing the way you think.
You renew your mind with the help of the Holy Spirit.
But how do you renew joy? By giving people a vision of hope for a better future. Joy is the fruit of hope.
In Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the ground, so it produced thorns and weeds, making it difficult for humankind to work the soil and grow food. Here, in Isaiah 35, the prophet imagines a world in which God reverses the curse of sin so the land is renewed.
In verses 1 and 2 of Isaiah 35 the prophet speaks about the desert rejoicing greatly, like when a crocus bursts into bloom. The crocus plant is beautiful and vibrant. From the crocus flower we get saffron which is a rare and valuable spice used in cooking. This is a wonderful image of renewal. With Genesis 3 in mind, we notice the movement from curse to blessing.
Verse 2 goes on to offer more images of renewal. The glory of Lebanon and the splendour of Carmel and Sharon will be given to the desolate wilderness.
In ancient times Lebanon was known for its cedar forests and Carmel and Sharon were regions renowned for their fruitfulness and beauty. The prophet imagines a future transformed for the better. From a scorched earth to a well-watered earth. From a harsh environment to a fruitful environment. From a cursed land to a blessed land. This is a vision of Eden renewed.
Verse 2 concludes with the phrase, they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God. Who is the prophet talking about here? Who are they?
Well, on one level they are probably the Jewish exiles in Babylon who would one day return to their homeland. But on another level, they might also refer to those who live in a spiritual wilderness at any time in history. They whose faith is dry and burned out. They who are oppressed by sin and injustice.
They could be us. The spiritual environment we live in is not friendly or hospitable. It is not easy to live a Godly life in this world. Sometimes it feels like a spiritual desert. We may long for renewal.
The prophet imagines a future in which the spiritual environment will be renewed by the glory of the Lord. The glory of the Lord is a way of talking about God’s power and presence, his divine light. As Christians, we believe Jesus came to make all things new. Jesus embodies the renewing power and presence of God. Jesus’ coming is cause for joy.
Jumping ahead to verse 7, Isaiah returns to the image of a renewed wilderness saying, the burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the Bible water is often a poetic way of referring to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord is how God brings renewal to his creation. We don’t manufacture renewal out of thin air. We depend on God’s Spirit for our renewal.
Hope for release:
Joy is the fruit of hope. We have heard about the hope for renewal. Now let’s consider the hope for release.
In the news this past week we have seen images of joy as Syrian political prisoners were released following the fall of the Assad regime. Many of these prisoners were locked up and tortured because they opposed the regime.
The people of Syria are overjoyed at finally ejecting a ruler who governed with fear and ruined his country.
Prisons come in many forms. There are physical prisons with concrete walls and barbed wire, which are not pleasant places to be. But there are also mental prisons, created by fear. The prison of fear can be difficult to escape.
In the movie, The Truman Show, the producer and director of the show prevents Truman from escaping by lying to him and instilling fear. He fakes the death of Truman’s father in a boating accident to create a fear of water, and the cast reinforce Truman’s anxieties with warnings about the dangers of travelling abroad. Nevertheless, Truman fosters a quiet hope of one day venturing to Fiji.
In many ways, anxious fear is the opposite of joy. Joy is the fruit of hope. Joy is a positive energy that enables us to function and move forward in faith.
By contrast, anxious fear drains us of energy. Anxious fear disables us, preventing us from making the changes that lead to life. Anxious fear is the product of deceit. When we believe in lies, we become a prisoner to fear.
In verses 3 and 4, the prophet offers a message of sure hope for those who are imprisoned by fear. 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 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.”
The phrase fearful hearts literally translates, hasty hearts.[1] Hearts that beat quickly with anxiety. Minds that undermine hope and joy by racing ahead and imagining the worst.
Isaiah means to calm hasty hearts and replace fear with joy. The people have apparently believed the lie that God has given up on them, and that God does not care about justice. Isaiah replaces this lie with the truth that God does care and he will come to right the wrongs against them.
The theme of release, especially release from fear, is echoed again in verses 8-9 which read, 8 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. 9 No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there,
In ancient times travelling was not easy or safe, particularly travelling through the wilderness. If you were Jewish, making a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem often meant going through enemy territory on foot, where you could be ambushed by robbers. Then there was the added threat of being attacked by wild animals.
For God’s people in exile in Babylon, the thought of making a long and difficult journey home through the bad lands would have been overwhelming.
The fear of being harmed loomed large. Isaiah wants to dispel that fear and give the people confidence. They will be able to travel the way unimpeded and without fear of being attacked.
Isaiah’s words still apply today. This world is like one long exile until God’s kingdom is realized in its fullness on earth. We too are on a journey. We too need to find our way home to God.
We note here the way is for the redeemed, those ransomed or set free at great cost. We note also, the way back is a Way of Holiness.
Holiness is about living a life of faithful obedience to the Lord. To be holy is to be set apart for God’s purpose. To be holy is to be pure in heart, not double-minded or two faced. To be holy is to be devoted to God, not divided in our loyalty or motivation.
As Barry Webb puts it: ‘The pursuit of holiness is the pursuit of God himself. The face that is set towards God will open to joy and gladness like a flower opening to the sun.’ [2]
The road to God is the way of holiness, which is unfortunate because none of us are holy, not really. How then are we to find our way home to God?
In John 14, Jesus says of himself, I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is the way of holiness that Isaiah was talking about. Jesus is our holiness. To walk the way of holiness is to follow Jesus, to be in Christ, to trust him for our redemption.
Hope for restoration:
Joy is the fruit of hope. For the people of God, joy comes from hope for renewal, hope for release and hope for restoration.
The hope for renewal involves a movement from curse to blessing.
And the hope for release involves a movement from fear to joy.
But what about the hope for restoration? What movement is involved here?
It’s a movement from exclusion to worship.
In 1973 John Denver wrote Annie’s Song. The first verse reads…
You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest. Like the mountains in springtime. Like a walk in the rain. Like a sleepy blue ocean. Like a storm the desert.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.
Apparently, John wrote these lyrics on a chair lift after a difficult ski run in the Colorado mountains. He was inspired by the beauty of nature and thought of his wife Annie. It’s a love song. Although John Denver wrote this song for his wife, it has the feel of a psalm. It’s like a worship song.
There are times in worship when God fills up our senses with an awareness of his presence and we are lost in awe and wonder and praise. In those rare moments, we catch a glimpse of the vision which inspired Isaiah 35.
When God fills our senses it’s like we are drowning in his laughter, overwhelmed with the joy of always being with him, giving our life to him in love, and when this life ends dying in his arms knowing eternal life is to come.
Not sure about you, but I don’t usually experience God’s presence like that in gathered worship. However, I have (occasionally) experienced the joy of what I believe is Jesus’ presence, in my own personal devotional times. I hope you do too. It’s a gift to treasure.
In verses 5 and 6 of Isaiah 35, the prophet offers a picture of restoration saying:
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy…
In this word picture, sight is restored, hearing is restored, movement is restored and speech is restored. It’s like Isaiah is saying, ‘God will fill up your senses with an awareness of his presence’.
In this world, people with disabilities are usually at a disadvantage. People with disabilities are often excluded, they tend to miss out. Verses 5 and 6 offer a picture of inclusion. They show the movement from exclusion to worship.
Isaiah’s vision of hope is not just for the strong and able. It is for everyone.
God will even the playing field. He will remove any impediment or barrier that might prevent people from knowing him and worshipping him.
During his earthly ministry, Jesus literally brought physical restoration to people in all these ways. Jesus healed the blind, the deaf, the lame and the mute.
Jesus performed these miracles of restoration as a sign of what people could expect with the coming kingdom of God. The last shall be first. Those who had previously been excluded from worship will be included.
As you’ve probably worked out by now, the words of the prophet and the signs of Jesus operate on more than one level at once. A person may have 20/20 vision and perfect hearing, but sadly be spiritually blind and deaf. A person may be able to run a sub four-minute mile but be quite lame in their obedience to God. A person might speak eloquently in public but be mute in private prayer.
These are the words Isaiah heard when the Lord called him to be a prophet…
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
These are words of exclusion. The people had disobeyed God for a long time and would have to face the consequences for this. Much of the first 34 chapters of Isaiah are a message of doom and judgement. But judgement would not have the last word.
Isaiah 35 pictures the hope of restoration after the dread of judgement.
Isaiah 35 is like a glass of cold water after a hot day working in the sun.
It’s like seeing the face of a friend after months apart. It is the calm after the storm. It is the holiday after your work is done. It is the healing after suffering.
It is the homecoming after exile. Isaiah 35 is a vision of worshipping in God’s presence after being excluded for so long.
In verse 10 of Isaiah 35 we read how God’s people are restored to their home.
10 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.
This is a picture of the movement from exclusion to worship. But it’s not a tedious, duty-bound worship. It’s a joyful worship. It’s the kind of worship in which God fills up your senses with an awareness of his presence and love.
It’s an eyes wide open worship. It’s an ears hearing and understanding worship. It’s a body responding in obedience worship. It’s a tongue praising God in spirit and in truth worship.
Conclusion:
Joy is the fruit of hope. Isaiah 35 is a vision of hope for renewal, hope for release and hope for restoration. This trinity of hope involves three movements: from curse to blessing, from fear to joy and from exclusion to worship.
Isaiah 35 looks forward to the consummation of history after the day of judgement. It is glorious and true. It will happen, we just don’t know when.
In the meantime, we live in the now but not yet. We still have to deal with trials and difficulties. We feel the frustration of our own limitations and the weariness of waiting.
But God in his grace nourishes our hope with glimpses of his kingdom, small windows of eternity opening into time.
May God fill up your senses with an awareness of his presence. May he refresh your hope with a vision of the joy that is coming in Christ. Amen.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
- What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
- What is joy? Where does joy come from? Where does hope come from?
- What images of renewal does Isaiah use? What difference does God’s renewal make? Discuss / reflect on the movement from curse to blessing.
- How does fear affect the human soul? How might someone escape the prison of fear?
- What (or who) is the way of holiness? What does it mean to walk the way of holiness?
- In what ways does Jesus fulfil the vision of Isaiah 35, for the world and for you personally?
- Has God ever filled up your senses with an awareness of his presence? What was the context for this? How did you feel? What lasting affect did it have on you? Spend time in adoration of God this week.
[1] Refer John Goldingay’s commentary on Isaiah, page 197.
[2] Refer Barry Webb’s commentary on Isaiah, page 146.
Tawa Baptist 