2020-12-13 The Joy of the Redeemed

The Joy of the Redeemed

and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)

Where is their hope? This question may apply to those living in remote hard-to-reach areas, or those oppressed because of their ethnic background, gender, or just for the benefit of those more powerful than they. The question of hope is big, and sometimes you get to the point of giving up and resigning to a sorry situation. Isaiah 35 (read) is a chapter that speaks hope to both the barren land and the perpetually anxious people. All creation is addressed with sweet reviving tones that can only find their fulfillment in the Messiah – the Saviour of the world, especially in His eternal Kingdom. No wonder the vocabulary of this chapter is easy to trace in the Gospels and Revelation. The hope is expressed more than ten times in the words: glad, gladness, rejoice, blossom, joy – these become the new status descriptions of what was barren and oppressed.

A transformation of a desert land into a well-watered fertile garden is presented: Lebanon, Carmel and Sharon represent unmatched productivity for majesty (as the cedars of Lebanon), beauty (as the flowers of Carmel) and fertility (as the roses and crops of Sharon). This has a real literal sense that we should look forward to; the global lockdown permitted a little taste of a healed unpolluted environment when the fumes from factories and vehicles ceased for a while. Clean air was celebrated and serene quietness around the ever-noisy Heathrow Airport blessed those in that neighbourhood. However, that celebration was short-lived! Imagine all the aspirations and recommendations of environmental authorities being implemented overnight and the desired transformation happening in just a week – what a joy! That is what Isaiah prophesies in the reign of the Messiah.

On the other (non-literal) hand, the sense is clear, according to Albert Barnes: The blessings of the times of the Messiah would be as great, compared with what had existed before, as if the desert were made as lovely as Carmel, and as fertile as Sharon. This is the message of Advent – a season of reflecting on the expectation of the Messiah. When Jesus Christ came first, the description of his ministry was in words contained in Is 35:5-6 (the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk) These actions were real and brought joy then, but were also indicative of a great victory when the Kingdom of God is fully established – and we wait for this when Jesus Christ will come again.

The chapter ends with assurance of everlasting joy and gladness for the ransomed, the rescued – the redeemed; they will travel the peaceful and danger-free Way of Holiness (to heaven I suppose). Only Jesus Christ can rescue you to this place; receive Him and hold on to Him all the days of your life.

God bless you all.