Isaiah
35:5–6 “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”.
Many
passages in the Bible have a story and a bigger message within it for us today.
God in His grace never leaves His people without hope, even
when He promises affliction and discipline for their
sin. We see this clearly in Isaiah the prophet’s visions alternated between
declaring judgment and destruction on the faithless, but life and peace for the
faithful who, by the Spirit’s power, come to trust in the Lord’s promises.
This, says Isaiah, is true for the remnant of all mankind, no matter their national
origin.
This passage features a glorious
promise of restoration given to God’s old covenant people. The prophet
reiterates the promises of great blessing on the other side of the exile of
Israel and Judah. The prophet says that life after exile will be so wonderfully
abundant that even the dead desert regions will “blossom abundantly” (Isa. 35:1–2a). This exile story also represents the “exile from
God” condition today of all “Fallen Humanity” in sin. “Where is God in all the
trouble, in the exile?” they asked and we ask today. We may paraphrase God’s
answer this way: “I have not left you. I will come to redeem you.”
John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very
truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
We think of springtime as “renewal”. In
the day of salvation, says Isaiah, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the
lame will walk, and the mute will sing. In the first instance, this refers to
spiritual renewal, the circumcision of the heart for which the prophets hoped. By
the tongue and ears and feet he means all the faculties of our soul, which in
themselves are so corrupt that nothing that is good can be obtained from them
till they are restored by the kindness of Christ. And yet we cannot divorce
this spiritual renewal from the physical, as Isaiah’s promise prompts us to
think of Jesus’ healing ministry. His miracles prove that He is the divine
Messiah, who, having inaugurated the renewal of all creation, will consummate
it at His return.
Christ Jesus our Lord is God’s agent of
renewal, the one through whom the Spirit is poured out and whose work on the
cross redeems creation. But we cannot benefit from this work, nor can we see
Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s and our promises, without trusting the
Savior. The eyes cannot see what is right, and the ears cannot hear, and the
feet cannot guide us in the right way, till we are united to Christ. Let us
pray that our union with Christ would be strengthened daily. Redemption,
reconciliation and restoration are found nowhere else.
Rejoice in Christ, Brian
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