then shall the lame [man] leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and torrents in the desert.
Isaiah 35 follows a chapter of unsparing judgment. Then the scene changes: a desert blooms, a crippled man leaps, and a silent tongue breaks into song. Is this poetry about better days, a picture of the miracles Jesus did, or a promise God will keep to the letter?
The healings and the streams belong to a set time. A storm comes first. Then God shows what He delights in.
Whatever sin and misery Satan had brought into this world, God will show by this that goodness and mercy are His own delight. This is the time that is coming for the earth, though a terrible storm ushers it in. … God's vengeance on the enemies goes together with Israel's salvation. … Take it in all its fullness of meaning: it will be accomplished to the letter. God will prove that not one word of His mercy to Israel and their land can fall to the ground.
The verse compares the healed man to a deer. That animal was known for the way it moved.
In predicting God's blessing upon Israel in a future day it is said, "the lame man shall leap like a deer." The deer are remarkable for their pleasing form, their graceful movements, and their great agility.
The man who could not walk does not just walk. He moves with grace and speed.
Jesus opened blind eyes and freed silent tongues. One writer weighs what those miracles proved, and what they did not yet bring.
His miracles are also touched upon. In chapter 35 we read: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing." When He appeared among His people, He did these miracles to prove to the nation that He held the power of the kingdom in His hands. But Isaiah 35 looks forward to the kingdom, which is still to come.
The healings also work as a diagnosis. One writer sees in the mute man, silenced by a demon, a picture of the nation that would not praise its King.
Instead of praising their King, Israel was mute, and is mute now. But the demon will be cast out. Then Israel will speak His praises and sing the new song to the Lord. What a day it will be, when mute Israel is at last the people "formed to show forth His praise!"
The second half of the verse widens the scene from bodies to the land itself.
We know from Scripture that great physical power will attend this coming kingdom. As prophets sing, the wilderness "shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." The lame shall leap as the deer, and the tongue of the mute shall sing. The cow and the bear shall feed together, and the wolf shall lie down with the kid. Nature in all its order shall own the presence of the Lord. … As creation has already felt the bondage of corruption, it shall then feel the liberty of glory.
The bodily wonders wait for that day. Something matching them is happening now.
These were true cases of physical healing. In dealing with them our Lord was fulfilling what Isaiah 35:5-6 had predicted of Him long before. This kind of miracle has ceased for the present, and will reappear when God sets up the Millennial kingdom. But meanwhile the spiritual wonder happens before our eyes every day. The grace of God is revolutionising men's lives all the time: it makes the dead alive, gives the blind sight, and makes the mute both speak and sing.
Isaiah names who this refreshing is for, and that sets a condition.
When "the lame man" shall "leap like a deer," then "in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." But all this refreshing that Isaiah predicted is for "the ransomed of the Lord," and for no others. So only repentance and a complete turning round would bring such times. If that took place, God would send Jesus Christ to bring them to pass.
- Storm first. The leaping and the singing come after judgment. God uses that contrast to show that goodness and mercy are His delight.
- Sample given. The miracles of Jesus proved that the kingdom's power was in His hands. Isaiah 35 still points ahead to the kingdom itself.
- Song restored. The mute tongue pictures a nation that would not praise its King; the promise is that it will one day sing.
- Ground healed too. Streams in the desert show the cure reaching past human bodies to creation. Creation has felt the bondage of corruption; it will feel the liberty of glory.
- Ransomed only. The whole refreshing belongs to "the ransomed of the Lord." Repentance and turning are the road into it. Meanwhile grace works the same wonder in changed lives every day.
And the mirage shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water in the habitation of wild dogs, where they lay down, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
Isaiah 35 pictures a ruined land coming back to life when God comes to save. Verse 7 raises three questions: is this a real change to the earth, when does it happen, and who gets to enjoy it?
Older translations read "parched ground" where the ESV has "burning sand." One writer says that word means more than dryness:
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 lasting satisfaction is only found in Christ.
The verse names the one thing a desert lacks, and the one thing that would transform it:
Through changes in the earth's surface the desert will have water again, and there is no fertiliser like that precious liquid. … Think what will happen when the mighty stretch of the Sahara is changed like this. Think of all the Arabian and Syrian Deserts, and all the desolate parts of the earth changed in the same way.
The second half of the verse names a place already known for ruin. Where the ESV has "jackals," older translations read "dragons":
The word may mean any great serpent or sea monster, a symbol of a huge destructive creature. Scripture says that nations doomed to destruction and desolation, including Jerusalem, become homes of dragons: Isa. 34:13; Isa. 35:7; Jer. 9:11; Jer. 10:22; Jer. 51:37.
The haunt of jackals becomes wet ground where reeds and rushes grow. The reversal is that complete.
The drought goes back to something older than bad weather. One writer points to the curse on the ground, and to what God will do with it:
Now observe what is going to happen in that day. God will remove the curse entirely. He eased it in part in Noah's day, but He will end it completely in Messiah's day… The Lord puts His hand upon the face of creation in that day.
One commentator says the promise reaches further than good crops. He grants that people apply the chapter in many ways, then asks what it actually means:
It is not mere fertility, but the restitution of all things when that day comes on earth: every joy, fruitfulness, and beauty… Some say that, without any change of its essential meaning, it may be applied to the return of the Jews from Babylon, to the calling of the Gentiles, to the whole Christian age, to the course of every believer, and to the blessedness of heaven. As it has been so applied, certainly it may; but the question is, what is its definite meaning?
The same writer says when this change comes, and how far it reaches:
Scripture reserves the mighty change for the appearing of the Lord, when we appear with Him in glory. Then at once, but not till then, God will set creation free from its bondage to corruption and bring it into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
The chapter itself limits the promise. One writer connects it with Peter's call for repentance:
We cannot say whether Isaiah 35:6-7 was in Peter's mind as he spoke about "the times of refreshing." But it does seem it must have been in the mind of the Spirit who was speaking through him… But all this refreshing predicted by Isaiah is for "the ransomed of the LORD," and for no others. So only repentance and a complete turning round would bring such times; if that took place, God would send Jesus Christ to bring them to pass.
- Mirage → pool. The word behind "burning sand" pictures a shimmering illusion of water. God puts a real lake in its place. Men still chase illusions, but lasting satisfaction is in Christ alone.
- Pool → pasture. Water is the one thing a desert lacks. Even the haunt of jackals, a standing symbol of a doomed land, turns to reeds and rushes.
- Pasture → curse removed. The change goes deeper than the weather. God eased the curse on the ground in Noah's day; He removes it when Messiah reigns.
- Curse removed → creation freed. This is not just good crops. It is all things restored, and it waits for the appearing of the Lord, not for slow improvement.
- Creation freed → for the ransomed. The refreshing belongs to "the ransomed of the LORD" and to no one else. The road to it is repentance and turning back to God.