“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.” (Isaiah 35:5–8, ESV)
Following the dark and bloody judgments of the previous chapter, Isaiah suddenly interjects a bright ray of hope and joy. Here he describes the blessed hope of the righteous, those who have kept faith in God, those He has redeemed. In life they have been terribly oppressed and abused. They are called blind, lame, deaf and mute because they are totally incapable of caring for themselves, attaining justice for their injuries or victory over their enemies. But such are those who make up the Kingdom of God. The strong and powerful, the beautiful and the proud, the self-righteous and self-assured do not enter that Kingdom. Only the lowly, the sick, the helpless will get in because they trust in God, not in self.
Isaiah uses the beauty of this chapter like an oasis in a desert of barrenness and pain. It helps us to focus on the reality of the unseen Kingdom amidst the trials and turmoil of life, because it serves as an assurance that there is a better place. The glory of God’s Kingdom is a great comfort because it will be free of pain and darkness. Many poets and hymn writers have tried to describe the beauty of that heavenly Kingdom, but the true beauty comes from the Lord Himself. Heaven is made magnificent not by streets of gold and mansions of glory but by the comforting and kind presence of the Lord. This is the message we are called to preach that all humanity may know and experience that wonderful presence for all eternity.