Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
Isaiah 35:3-4
God spoke these words through Isaiah the prophet to the people of Jerusalem as they feared the advancement of Assyria to destroy them. But God promises to take care of this threat. He promises to deal with Assyria’s aggression. He promises to save His people even though the powerful army of Assyria seems impossible to defeat.
God then uses this promise to give an even greater promise starting in verse five. He promises to deliver people from blindness and deafness. He promises to heal the crippled and make a choir of praise sound forth beautifully from mute lips. He promises to turn the Judean desert into a relaxing and refreshing spring-fed oasis full of His lush and verdant blessing. Eventually the world is transformed by the God who saves to a place where every road leads to His temple and no dangers from wild beasts await any who travel on those roads to worship Him. And God’s people will fill these highways as they travel to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. Of course, this is prophecy of the future kingdom to be ruled by Jesus. It is a place of everlasting joy, singing, and gladness without even a hint of sorrow or sighing (Isaiah 35:10).
The God Who delivered Jerusalem from Assyria is the God Who made these promises. The God Who delivered all those who will trust and follow Jesus gives this same hope to us today. He has already delivered us and He will keep us safe. He already has a wonderful future planned for us that is so glorious that our present sorrow and sighing will fade into distant memory as we worship Him then and there. We will continue our worship of Jesus one day in this gloriously remade world where His kingdom stays the center! Believing in this hope, I will face today, strong in the promises of my God!
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