And a highway shall be there and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness the unclean shall not pass through it; but it shall be for these. Those that go [this] way -- even fools, -- shall not err [therein].
Isaiah 35 paints blessing right after a chapter of judgment. Through that renewed desert God lays down a road. The verse raises two questions at once: what kind of road is a "Way of Holiness," and who is fit to walk on it?
One writer places the chapter in its setting:
Isaiah 35 gives a picture of the blessing that follows the judgment — the blessing even of the wilderness, which depends on the blessing of Israel. The redeemed of Jehovah will go up to Zion with joy, in full security, and all mourning will pass away for ever.
One writer refuses to let the picture mean anything and everything. The question is not what the words will fit, but what they mean:
It is not mere fertility, but the restoring of all things when the day comes on earth: every joy, fruitfulness, and beauty. How blinding is the theological prejudice of the pious J. A. Alexander! He says that, without any change of its essential meaning, the chapter may be applied to the return of the Jews from Babylon, to the calling of the Gentiles, to the whole Christian age, to the life of every believer, and to the blessedness of heaven. It has indeed been applied in all those ways. But the question is, what does it definitely mean?
God's first purpose for His people was separation from evil. Their sin delayed that purpose, but never cancelled it:
But one day they will walk that way as the ransomed of the Lord, returning and coming to Zion with songs. That way bears witness that God's first purpose for them is never set aside, but is finally carried out. That purpose is their separation from evil, which their sin has only spoiled for a time.
The unclean are shut out, yet the road is not a prize for the qualified. Redemption opens it, and holiness follows:
How blessed is the thought that our whole pathway is a blood-sprinkled one — that is, a way of holiness; a redeemed way for a redeemed people (Isa. 35:8-10). Just as truly as we have been redeemed from the guilt of sin, so truly are we marked out for obedience to God.
The promise to fools is the startling part. One writer takes it as God's pledge that His people need never be unsure of the path He wants them to walk:
God has prepared a pathway for His redeemed in which they may walk with all possible certainty, calmness and fixedness. Every child of God and every servant of Christ has the privilege of being as sure that he is in God's way as that his soul is saved… The same authority that assures us that "whoever believes in the Son of God has eternal life" also assures us that there is a way so plain that travellers, even fools, will not go astray on it.
Plainness, though, is not the same as automatic. The same writer names what keeps a person from wandering off a road that is already clear:
All I want is a single eye, a will that is subject to Him, a teachable spirit, to be led rightly. If I truly want to be guided rightly, my God will guide me. But if I am looking to men, if mixed motives govern me, if I am seeking my own ends and interests, if I am seeking to please other people, then heavy clouds will settle down on my path.
Why wait for the desert to bloom before walking this road? The Way is already here, in Christ:
But He is this and more, now, to all who believe in Him. Faith is glad to acknowledge all that He is, as God is glad to make it known, even when unbelief disowns Him, slights Him, and casts Him out. So He is the one Divine Way. There is no other, and He is entirely enough for anyone who has no strength or wisdom or worth of any kind. Christ is the way now for the steps of those who know Him, the wisdom of God in an evil world. He Himself is the highest and perfect expression of that wisdom, and so He is open to a beginner in faith just as much as to an apostle.
- After judgment, a road. Isaiah 35 shows the blessing that follows judgment. It ends with the ransomed going up to Zion in full security, all mourning gone for ever.
- A real road, not a mood. The chapter has one definite meaning: the restoring of all things on earth. It is not a picture that fits anything you please.
- Named for what God finishes. The name shows God's first purpose for His people — separation from evil. He never sets it aside; He finishes it.
- Redeemed first, holy after. The path is blood-sprinkled: a redeemed way for a redeemed people. Redemption is what marks a person out for obedience.
- Wide enough for a fool. The way is so plain that even a fool need not lose it. It asks a single eye and a teachable spirit. And the Way itself is Christ, open to the newest believer as much as to an apostle.
No lion shall be there, nor shall ravenous beast go up thereon, nor be found there; but the redeemed shall walk [there].
This verse closes Isaiah's picture of a restored land. It tells us two things about the road home: what will not be on it, and who will be. Commentators ask why God shuts out every predator, and who "the redeemed" are.
Judgment fills the chapter before. One writer sums up what comes after it:
Isaiah 35 gives a picture of the blessing that follows the judgment. It is blessing even for the wilderness, and it depends on the blessing of Israel. The redeemed of Jehovah will go up with joy in full security to Zion, and all mourning will pass away for ever.
Many read this chapter as a picture of the Christian life, or of heaven, or of the church. One writer answers that this dodges the real question:
Theological prejudice is strangely blinding. A pious commentator, J. A. Alexander, says that without any change in its essential meaning, this chapter 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 individual believer, and to the blessedness of heaven. It has been applied in all those ways, and certainly it may be. But the question is: what is its definite meaning? The chapter before shows one side of the awful judgement that awaits the earth. This chapter shows the deliverance of creation.
The missing lion is one small piece of a much larger change:
The mighty and blessed transformation which the Lord will then bring about for the lower creation is only part of a still grander prospect. That is the reconciliation of all things (Col. 1:20). Then the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, even the universe, will be headed up in the Christ, the Heir of all things (Eph. 1:10), the Head over all to His body the church. But here it was enough to give the earthly side of glory. It is the common point where, we may say, the bright visions of all the prophets meet.
The verse promises a road with nothing on it to harm the traveller. But the travellers are not left as they were:
After God steps in, the blessing for Israel and the land promised in Isaiah 35 will come to pass. He will lift the curse of Genesis 3:17-18, so that the very deserts turn fruitful. His vengeance will mean deliverance for Israel, and safety. But not only that: they themselves will be changed. They will see spiritually, they will hear, they will sing with gladness, and all their hopes will come true.
Isaiah 35:9 is one of many promises about a redeemed Israel. One writer names what all of them rest on:
The word is used very often in the Psalms and Prophets for the future deliverance of Israel for His kingdom on earth (Ps. 103:4; 107:2; Isa. 35:9; 43:1). All of it, however, rests on His blood-shedding. The return from Babylon was an outward sample and pledge.
Commentators differ over how far this chapter applies to believers now. The writer above pressed for its definite meaning. Others take the road into present Christian life. One links the holiness of the road to the price paid for those who walk it:
How blessed is the thought that our whole pathway is a blood-sprinkled one — that is, a way of holiness; a redeemed way for a redeemed people (Isa. 35:8-10). Just as truly as we are redeemed from the guilt of sin, so truly are we marked out for obedience to God.
Another writer contrasts Israel's walk on that road with the believer's walk today:
In such beautiful language the prophet describes the highway on which Israel will yet walk. They will walk it when they see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of their God. For them it will be sight. But we have not yet seen the Lord whom we love, so for us it is faith. We walk not by sight but by faith, and without faith we cannot take one step on the saints' highway.
- Judgment clears the road. The judgment of the chapter before clears the way for this safe highway. Deliverance and safety come after God acts.
- Redemption opens the road. The Psalms and Prophets promise Israel's rescue again and again. It all rests on blood-shedding. The return from Babylon was only a sample and a pledge.
- Holiness marks the road. It is a redeemed way for a redeemed people. As surely as God redeems us from the guilt of sin, He marks us out for obedience.
- Nothing dangerous walks the road. The missing lion points to a wider change in creation — part of the reconciliation of all things in Christ, the Heir of all things.
- Joy waits at the end of the road. God protects the travellers and changes them too — seeing, hearing, singing, with every hope come true.
And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah 35 answers a chapter of judgment with a picture of blessing. Verse 10 is its last line, and it promises a homecoming to Zion with everlasting joy.
The chapter is not a change of subject but a sequel. One writer sums up the chapter:
Isaiah 35 gives a picture of the blessing that follows the judgment. Even the wilderness is blessed, and its blessing depends on Israel's. The redeemed of the Lord will go up to Zion with joy and in full security, and all mourning will pass away forever.
So the song of verse 10 belongs to the far side of judgment.
A ransom means a price was paid. One writer shows what this future deliverance rests on:
There is another use of divine power, still future, that is called redemption... The same principle applies to the word's very frequent use in the Psalms and Prophets for the future deliverance of Israel for His kingdom on earth... But it all rests on His blood-shedding. The return from Babylon was an outward sample and pledge.
So the exiles who trudged home from Babylon were a down payment, not the payment. The full return waits for the display of that same power:
God's judgments will swiftly work to untangle good from evil. They will vindicate all that is good and condemn all that is evil. Then "songs and everlasting joy" will replace the "sorrow and sighing." Christ's second coming will bring about redemption by power.
The ransomed are not only set free; they arrive somewhere. The name of the place tells you what waits there:
Isaiah 35:10 gives an idea of what Zion means... It is the place of grace. It connects with redemption and joy and gladness. Sorrow and sighing ceasing tells of the unmixed happiness that grace will bring us to.
Every deliverance so far has run out. One writer marks the difference:
When He puts on strength and acts in the future day, there will be a far greater deliverance. The ransomed of the Lord will return to Zion with singing. Their joy will be everlasting. It will not be brief and fleeting, as every joyful deliverance in this sinful world has been so far. We today may call upon the Arm of the Lord to awake, only the language we use is, "Even so, Come, Lord Jesus."
The verse does not tell us to endure sorrow or explain it. Sorrow flees. That has a plain use for anyone suffering now:
Sufferings are short. "After you have suffered a little while" (1 Peter 5:10) — older translations say only "a while," but the Greek word means "a little." Our sufferings may be lasting, not everlasting. Persecution is harsh but brief; though it has a sting to torment, yet it has a wing to fly. "Sorrow and sighing shall flee away." It is only a while before the saints receive their release. They will weep no more and suffer no more.
This promise is not a general picture of a happy ending. It is tied to a real people and a real land:
This is how God will show that goodness and mercy are His own delight, whatever sin and woe Satan brought into this world... Divine vengeance on the enemies accompanies their salvation. Take it in all its fullness of meaning: it will be accomplished to the letter. God will prove that not a word of His mercy to Israel and their land can fall to the ground.
Commentators differ on how far Christians may take the verse for themselves. Some keep the promise for the earthly Zion. On that reading, "we can rejoice today in this forecast of the blessedness of the earthly Zion, while we remember with gladness that we are blessed 'with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ'" (F. B. Hole). Others apply the words to a heavenly hope: "the ransomed of the Lord will at last come to the heavenly city with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads" (Hamilton Smith).
- Ransomed — the joy belongs to bought people, and the price is His blood-shedding. The return from Babylon was only a sample and pledge.
- Returning — Christ's second coming brings redemption by power. Judgment untangles good from evil, and songs replace sighing.
- Reaching Zion — Zion is the place of grace, where redemption, joy and gladness meet.
- Rejoicing — this joy is everlasting. Every earlier deliverance was brief and fleeting.
- Released — our sufferings may be lasting, but not everlasting. Sorrow has a sting to torment, but it also has a wing to fly.