BY BEATRICE S. NEALL

"The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose" (Isa. 35:1).

URING THE 1930S the Plains states (in the U.S.) became a dust bowl as a result of irresponsible farming and prolonged drought. Blizzards of dust choked farmers as they fought their way from barn to house. Year after year the drought continued. Sharecroppers were forced off the land as banks foreclosed and bulldozed their houses. Many families loaded up their few belongings on old jalopies and headed west. The land became a desert, a desolation.

Finally the rains came. A farmer who had toughed out the bad years surveyed the land with satisfaction as grass greened up, flowers bloomed, and crops grew. The cows began calving and the sheep were lambing. Even his wife was popping out all over with their unborn baby. Adventurous souls moved back onto the land. New life had come at last.

It is Satan's work to make our lives a desert, a dust bowl of desolation. Jesus is the life-giver. He can take your desert and make it bloom.

Seven hundred years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah predicted that Judah would suffer a fate worse than the dust bowl. Because of her sins invaders would destroy the land, making it a desolation, a wilderness. More than a century later the armies of Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, wreaking havoc and destruction wherever they went. The Temple and palace built by Solomon were razed, the city walls "bulldozed," the farmlands wasted. The people of the land were herded into a death march-a 1,000-mile trek to Babylon. The whole populace became slaves to Babylon.

But Isaiah looked beyond the desolation to the time of redemption and restoration. God would bring His people out of Babylon with a great flourish of divine power, just as He had led Israel out of Egypt hundreds of years before. Much of Isaiah is about deliverance from captivity, rebuilding waste places, and resettling the desolate land. The exodus from Babylon would repeat the exodus from Egypt on a grander scale. But the second exodus has an even broader meaning-the deliverance by Jesus Christ at His first coming.

When I memorized Isaiah 35 as a child, I thought it referred to the new earth. Actually it is also a lyrical description of the exodus from Babylon. God promised that the wilderness and solitary places of the ruined land would blossom and rejoice (verses 1, 2). There would be a highway across the desert to Zion for the ransomed of the Lord (verse 8). God Himself would come to save His people, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, and healing the lame (verses 5, 6). Streams would flow in the desert (verse 6), and there would be joy and gladness (verse 10).

The Highway
Isaiah's highway is an intriguing metaphor of salvation. It has layers of meaning. First of all, it's the road from Babylon to Mount Zion, the way of escape from bondage, the route of the exiles to freedom. Second, it's the route Jesus followed on His journey to Jerusalem to bring salvation to His people. Third, it's the road from the believer to the Father.

Isaiah introduces the highway in 35:8-10: "And an highway shall be
there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness. . . . And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads." But the return of the exiles from Babylon did not exhaust the meaning of the prophecy.

The highway was not just for the people: God Himself would travel that highway to deliver His people. "Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you" (verse 4). "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" (Isa. 40:3). "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, . . . say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!" (verse 9). Coming down the highway, He would "feed his flock like a shepherd," "gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and . . . gently lead those that are with young" (verse 11). "The Redeemer shall come to Zion" (Isa. 59:20).

When the Lord came to Zion to lead His people out of captivity,* John the Baptist preceded Him to prepare the highway-to make the crooked straight and the rough places plain (Isa. 40:3, 4; Matt. 3:3). Jesus reenacted the Exodus by journeying to the wilderness, passing through the waters of baptism, and going into the desert to be tempted 40 days as Israel was tempted 40 years in the wilderness. Then He began His journey to Mount Zion. Interestingly, Luke describes Jesus' ministry as a journey to Jerusalem. "He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51), traveling the highway predicted by Isaiah, bringing healing and joy along the way (Isa. 35:5-10).

On His journey Jesus healed a man who couldn't speak (Luke 11:14)--the tongue of the dumb sang (Isa. 35:6)! He straightened a bent-over woman (Luke 13:10-13)--the lame could leap like a deer (Isa. 35:6)! Jesus called the little children to come to Him (Luke 18:15)--He gathered the lambs with His arms (Isa. 40:11). A blind man sat by the roadside begging, and Jesus restored his sight (Luke 18:35-43)--the eyes of the blind were opened (Isa. 35:5). All along the way to Jerusalem there was great rejoicing.

Jesus not only traveled the road to Jerusalem; He also said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). He Himself is the highway to the Father.

Why was Jesus going to Jerusalem? What would happen at the end of the journey? It was there that He would be hailed as king and work out redemption for the world.

Pools in the Desert
Isaiah predicted that "in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert" (Isa. 35:6). Isaiah loves the theme of water, a symbol of spiritual life. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters" (Isa. 55:1).

"I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses" (Isa. 44:3, 4).

The apostle John shows Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah's water prophecies--water flows like a river through his Gospel! Nicodemus must be born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5). A well of water springs up in the heart of the Samaritan woman (John 4:13, 14). From the pierced heart of the Crucified One flow blood and water (John 19:34)--blood for cleansing from sin, water for the life-giving Spirit (1 John 1:7; John 7:38, 39). Wherever Jesus goes, the living waters flow, and parched lives blossom like a rose.

To Release the Captives
When Jesus came, Judah was in her own land but was still captive to foreign domination. And lurking behind Rome was a greater oppressor, Satan himself. The mission of the Servant of the Lord was "to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness" (Isa. 42:7, NIV); "to say to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'" (Isa. 49:9, NIV). The Messiah announced His mission: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me . . . to preach deliverance to the captives, . . . to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Luke 4:18; see also Isa. 61:1).

Isaiah frequently refers toYahweh as the Redeemer. The word "redeem" is a shade different from "save." To redeem is to buy a person's release from slavery. The whole captive nation of Judah had to be redeemed. God said: "You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed" (Isa. 52:3, NIV). How God redeemed His people "without money" is explained a few verses later by the death of the Suffering Servant, who died for the sins of His people (Isa. 53).

As Isaiah contemplated the powerful oppressors of his people he asked, "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?" (Isa. 49:24). The answer is unequivocal: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children" (verse 25). After Jesus drove out a demon, He explained that He was delivering the captives from "the mighty." "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he . . . divides up the spoils" (Luke 11:21, NIV). Satan is the strong man who has taken many prisoners and held them captive. Jesus is the stronger man who overpowers Satan and divides up "the spoils"-the people he has held captive.

Meaning for Us Today
When Isaiah wrote in the language of captivity, exile, exodus, and redemption, he was thinking of more than a historical event. He was thinking of the coming Redeemer and of the basic human need for salvation.

Are you a captive in a far country--far from your Father's home? Isaiah says: "Depart, depart, go out from there! . . . The Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard" (Isa. 52:11, 12, NIV).

Is your life a desert of disappointment and bitterness? Isaiah writes: "The Lord hath anointed me . . . to [give] unto them that mourn in Zion . . . beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isa. 61:1-3).

Are you passing through deep trials and afflictions? Isaiah writes: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee" (Isa. 43:2).

Has the "strong man" taken you captive to a powerful habit you cannot overcome--tobacco, drugs, alcohol, illicit sex, the occult? Do you dwell in a wasteland of addiction, disease, and despair? Isaiah writes: "Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine" (verse 1). You no longer belong to the "strong man." God says, "You are mine." The Lord proclaims "liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Isa. 61:1). No matter how strong the habit that binds you, no matter how dark the dungeon that holds you, Jesus can open your prison and set you free.

Do you have children held captive by the enemy? Isaiah says: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. . . . And all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob" (Isa. 49:25, 26). The "strong man" plundered us, but Jesus is stronger. He will reclaim the spoils and release the captives.

Are your children still in exile? Isaiah says: "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. . . . Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made" (Isa. 43:5-7, NIV).

Is life worth living? There is a safe highway through this world--Jesus Himself, the way to the Father, the way to eternal life (John 14:6). His highway goes through beautiful well-watered country, with lush grass and lovely flowers. Let your Shepherd gather you in His arms and take you to His own country, Mount Zion.

"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isa. 35:10).

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* "Hadn't the Jews come out of Babylonian captivity centuries before? There was a sense among the Jews that even though they were in their own land, they were still in captivity--currently to Rome. The exodus was not complete" (N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996], pp. 126f., 203f., 428-430).

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Beatrice S. Neall is a retired college Bible teacher, a former missionary to Southeast Asia, and the author of several books. She and her husband, Ralph, currently pastor a small Adventist congregation in Lincoln, Nebraska.