Isaiah 34-35

What’s Happening?

God’s people were chosen to be like the Garden of Eden: full of God’s justice, goodness, and beauty that would trickle out and bless the world. Through them, the world would be blessed, know peace, and learn how to love and obey God (Isaiah 2:1-5). In a set of two prophecies, Isaiah contrasts a lush and fertile world that’s turned into a dark wasteland with a desert that’s transformed into a garden. This contrast reminds Judah that reliance on world powers will end in ruin and that it's only by trusting God that their kingdom will fulfill the Edenic purpose God intends for them. 

In his first prophecy, Isaiah calls all the world's wicked nations together and announces that God stands entirely opposed to their pride and evil (Isaiah 34:1-2). Soon, God will destroy their countries. Their soldiers' blood will stain the land. Their era of dominance will end. Like leaves in autumn, their gods and leaders will fall to the ground and never rise again (Isaiah 34:3-4). As a concrete example of this universal judgment, Isaiah says that Edom and its capital will be totally destroyed (Isaiah 34:5-7). Since the first pages of the Bible, Edom has been at war with Judah (Genesis 25:23; Numbers 20:14-21; 1 Samuel 14:47; 1 Kings 11:1-17, 2 Kings 8:20; 2 Kings 14:7-10). They are the representative antagonists of God’s plans for his people. Their destruction symbolizes the destruction of all nations opposed to God’s plans (Isaiah 34:8). Soon, Edom’s verdant lands will become a volcanic wasteland, pocked with pits of boiling tar, and vents that spew smoke forever (Isaiah 34:9-10). The only living things left in Edom will be brambles and the animals that scavenge among their thorns (Isaiah 34:11-17). This is the terrifying fate of those who proudly stand opposed to God and his plans for his people.

While God will reduce all thriving evil nations to wastelands, he also intends to transform Judah into a beautiful garden (Isaiah 35:1-2). God’s people should not live in fear but in hope that God is on their side. He will save them from their enemies and restore them to the Edenic purpose for which he chose them (Isaiah 35:3-4). Previously, God told Isaiah his prophecies would only cripple, blind, and deafen Judah. But now, Isaiah says that soon, Israel’s blind eyes, deaf ears, and lame bodies will be healed. Judah’s deserts will transform into an oasis (Isaiah 35:5-7). Scavenger animals will be banished. Proud cities that became pits of tar and smoke will become walking paths reserved for those who love and obey God (Isaiah 35:8-10). Soon, God will save his people, replace their sorrow with eternal joy, and the Edenic purpose for which God created Judah will be fulfilled.

Where is the Gospel?

Judah and her kings have a choice to make. Will they trust the doomed nations of the world, or will they trust the God who can transform deserts into gardens? God’s people were chosen to be a garden of Eden filled with God’s justice, goodness, and beauty. Through them, the world would be blessed, know peace, and learn how to love and obey God (Isaiah 2:1-5). However, Judah abandoned that calling and daily invited destruction upon herself, and God sent Isaiah to further blind and deafen his people (Isaiah 6:9). However, this wasn't because God wanted to destroy his people; he wanted to heal them. Like a good doctor who must perform painful surgery to cure his patient, God sent Isaiah to humble Judah and prophesy about the one who would restore her to full health.

The restorer is Jesus, who came to bring the healing Isaiah foretold. Jesus healed Judah’s deafness, brought sight to the blind, and made the crippled walk (Luke 7:22; Matthew 11:5; Mark 7:37). Everywhere he went, he brought healing to those afflicted and forgiveness to those who trusted him (Matthew 9:1-7). Jesus came to heal Judah’s wounds and transform God’s people so that the world can be blessed, know peace, and learn how to love and obey God. And as proof that he is the one who can transform deserts into gardens, Jesus rose from the dead. He rose from the wasteland of the grave, walked out of his pit, and into a garden where he commissioned his people to announce that God’s Kingdom could not be stopped (John 20:17). Jesus is the hope of Judah, and the one Isaiah prophesied about. So now, we have a choice to make. We can trust the gardens of this world doomed to become wastelands, or we can trust that the God who invites us to join him as he turns wastelands into his Edenic Kingdom.

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who will restore his people. And may you see Jesus as the one who transforms graves into gardens.