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Journal Entries

Isaiah 35:1-10--The Ransomed Shall Return

2/22/2025

 
Isaiah 35
English Standard Version

The Ransomed Shall Return
35 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.

3 Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
4 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.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 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;
7 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.

​
8 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.
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 gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

After all that promised wrath and destruction for the enemies of God, we need some good news for the LORD's people that they have a different destiny.  Their Land being prepared for them is large and full of goodness and blessings.  There will be joy and singing.

We can remind each other as we are weak and failing and under the heavy burden of oppression that the LORD is coming to save His people and bring justice and wrath the ungodly.  Their day in His court is coming and there is only one verdict for those who rejected His salvation, "Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."  It matters not how many "good deeds" they think they have done, they are all "filthy rags" if done apart from the saving, transforming work of Christ.

God promises to heal all our disabilities and to take that which was "dead" (the desert wilderness) and will bring it to life--streams of living water will burst forth from it.  Though we just talked about how Edom would become a burning, smoldering, stinking wasteland for the unclean animals to live in, this is just the opposite for the people of God.  They will dwell with Him in perfect peace, joy, and blessing.

Then one of my favorite promises from this book--there will be a wide road called the Highway to Holiness.  Usually, we think of the wide road as being the one leading to destruction, but with all the wicked being destroyed, the road most well-travelled is the road to come to place to worship the LORD.  It is now a wide, broad, and easy path to take.  Everyone from all over will travel that road to come and worship Him in His holiness and splendor, and He will not turn anyone away or refuse to let any of them draw near, for He has made all His people holy as He is holy.  It is the road that belongs to all those who walk in the Way and no one will be turned aside by temptation or foolishness.  It is the one and only Way to walk in.

There will be no fear of wild animals that will attack along the road, for the road is well-travelled and is a highway free from harm.  All the people of the LORD will travel this highway to return to Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem that He has prepared for us, the Bride of Christ We will sing the psalms of ascent as we climb up to His holy mountain.  We will sing of His salvation that only He could provide.  We will sing of His perfect justice and His perfect mercy.  We will sing of His goodness and His steadfast, unfailing love.  We will sing for joy, and sadness, pain, misery, grief, and everything else that makes us sign and groan will fade away and be forgotten.

I look forward to that day when we will once again dwell with the LORD like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden, but there will be no division between day and night and no stars to tell time because time is now meaningless.  There will be no more Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil for we have all be saved, never to fall into temptation to sin again.  The whole earth will be filled with the kingdom of God and the glory of God like is promised in Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay mixed with iron.  God's kingdom is the only kingdom that will survive.  No one will escape His justice and wrath when His kingdom comes into contact with the kingdom of this world--those kingdoms will be turned into nothing but dust, and no one will remember them.

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    Daniel Westfall

    I will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others.

    Occasionally, I'll also post some true blog/opinion pieces focused on what the Bible has to say about current events or the importance of a particular spiritual discipline, or something more topic-related to orthodoxy (right belief) or orthopraxy (right living).  You can also find those blogs over at Faith and Culture.

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  • Home
  • What We Believe
    • Statement of Faith
    • HCF's Church Covenant
    • The New City Catechism
    • The 9 Marks of a Healthy Church
  • Publications
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    • Crown-Heart-World
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    • The Gospel Project
    • The Gospel Project Recordings
    • Request Access
    • Ask a Question
  • Gospel Foundations
    • Volume 1: The God Who Creates
    • Volume 2: A Wandering People
    • Volume 3: Longing For a King
    • Volume 4: The Coming Rescue
    • Volume 5: God With Us
    • Volume 6: The Kingdom On Earth
  • Mathematics Tutoring
  • Bible Study Tools
    • The Bible App
    • Blue Letter Bible
    • Audio Bibles-BibleGateway.com
    • Daily Reading Plans-BibleGateway.com
    • Bible Overview
    • Notes on the History of Salvation in the Old Testament from the ESV Study Bible: Preparing the Way for Christ
    • How to Interpret the Bible
  • Links and Resources
    • Songs We Sing at HCF
    • Hymns We Sing at HCF
    • Capitol Hill Baptist Church Core Seminars
    • 9 Marks Church Search
    • White Horse Inn Podcast
    • The 99 in :99
    • The Gospel Project for Preschoolers Videos
    • The Gospel Project for Kids Videos
    • My YouTube Channel
  • For the HCF Elders
    • Ministry Updates for HCF Elders
    • Prayer Requests