Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church
Sermon Isaiah 35:1–10 “The Holy Way”
December 15, 2019
We have arrived at the third Sunday of Advent. We have been looking at the writings of the 8th-century prophet, Isaiah. The 8th-century, as we have clearly seen, was a dangerous time for the people of God. The northern kingdom, Israel, was destroyed and the people of God were scattered. The southern kingdom, Judah, was threatened. The Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem and threaten its destruction. Throughout this time the Prophet Isaiah warned the people of the approaching danger and gave them great hope. Remember his words.
Isaiah 2:2 In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. 3 Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Judah was saved by God. The Assyrian army was defeated, not by the weak Judean army, but by God Almighty. And Prophet Isaiah again spoke a word of great hope. The Kingdom of Judah, now just a stump, with grow again.
Isaiah 11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4 but with righteousness, he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
This vision of the coming of a Messiah has filled the people of God with hope for thousands of years.
Today, we are still looking at the 8th-century before Christ. And many of God’s people have been displaced from their homes. Will they ever returned to the land that God has promised their ancestors? Once again the Prophet Isaiah came forward to give them hope. We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we have drifted far away from you. We feel like strangers in a strange land. Help us to return to you. Give us a way, a road, that we can travel to get back to you. We pray this in our savior’s name, Jesus the Messiah. Amen.
For the first time since entering the promised land, many of God’s own people found themselves displaced and scattered all over the former Assyrian empire. What will happen to them? Will they ever return home? With these questions ringing in his ear, the Prophet Isaiah proclaimed a word of God to all of God’s people.
Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus 2 it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.
For the people of God herding their sheep in the desert the promise of God is that the spring rains will and water the dry land. Grasses will grow and there will be ample food for the goats and sheep to eat. So the shepherds will rejoice at this renewal from God.
But many of the displaced people of God were fearful. Would the Assyrians return and oppress them? How can we make a living displaced from their farms? Many of them must have fallen into a deep depression. To them, the Prophet Isaiah spoke these words to fearful people.
3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”
Isaiah’s promise to them and to all of us is that God himself is a savior. We do not have to save ourselves. We do not have to depend on others to save us. All we have to do is trust in God to save us.
But many of those living in exile were disable. The blind, the deaf, the lame and the speechless were all fearful. In the system that God established, they were cared for by their families. But now families have been separated. They no longer have their ancestral farms for economic support. And so they cried out to their savior God. And God responded through his Prophet Isaiah.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
The disabled of God’s people were filled with hope that a savior will come to heal them. So too with us. When we are in the hospital facing surgery, we pray to our savior for healing. When we are at home recovering from strokes, we pray to our savior for healing. When our heart is not working properly and we are fatigued, we pray to our savior for healing. When a child is having behavioral problems or is sick, we pray to our savior for healing. And we trust that Jesus heals.
The people of God in the 8th century before Christ trusted in God. But they never expected that God would bless them with abundance. But this is exactly what God did. Let’s return to Isaiah.
6 For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
The world tells us that we live in a time of shortages. We must conserve and share if we are to get through. But God tells us that we live in a world of abundance. All we have to do is believe and God will bless us.
The biggest concern of the displaced people of God was the burning question, “Will we ever go home.” They have been relocated to other places in the Assyrian empire. Many were content to stay in their new homes. But many wanted to return to the homes they left. Will they ever go back? To answer this question God spoke to his prophet Isaiah.
8 A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
What a glorious promise. God will build a road in the wilderness, and the people of God will use it to come home.
These promises of God as spoken to the Prophet Isaiah have comforted God’s throughout the centuries that followed. Two hundred years later, when the Kingdom of Judah was finally conquered by the Babylonian empire the people of God were comforted by the words of the prophet. They believed that God would bless them while living in exile. They believed that God would calm their fears. They believed that God would care for the disabled. They believed that they would live in a world of abundance. And they believed that God would provide for them a way home. God proved faithful in all of these. God was their savior.
And then, eight hundred years after the Prophet Isaiah, another prophet came from the region of Galilee. He entered into his own synagogue, opened the scroll of Isaiah and read these words.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus is our savior. He is the one who will bless us in whatever exile we experience. Jesus will calm our fears. Jesus will make sure the disabled are supported. Jesus will heal us. Jesus will provide for us a world of abundance. Jesus will be our way back to God. And Jesus is coming at Christmas. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending your son as our savior this Christmas. Bless us with fruitful lives. Calm our fears. Help us to care for those in need. Heal our infirmaries. Give us a world of abundance. Thank you for our savior, your son, Jesus the Messiah, in whose name we pray. Amen.
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