Isaiah 35 Prophecy of Restoration and Redemption
Isaiah 35 describes a future restoration and redemption, often interpreted as a prophecy of the flourishing state of the Gospel church [12]. The chapter opens with a vivid image of the desert and wilderness rejoicing and flourishing "as the rose" [2], a transformation from barrenness to fertility that signifies God's redemptive work [15]. This imagery is consistent with other prophetic passages in Isaiah that speak of the earth being filled with God's glory [6].
The prophecy encourages those who are weak and fearful, stating, "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and make the trembling knees strong! Say to those of a terrified heart, Be strong! Fear ye not! Behold, your God will come for vengeance, for a divine retribution: He will come, and bring you salvation" [10]. This message is directed at those who have become weak in faith, offering comfort and assurance that God is coming to deliver them [10].
A significant aspect of this restoration is the miraculous healing of physical ailments: "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped" [3]. This physical restoration is often seen as a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment and healing that accompanies God's salvation [12].
The chapter culminates in the return of the redeemed to Zion, accompanied by "praise" and "everlasting ioy" [1]. Sorrow and mourning will flee away, replaced by gladness [1]. The Targum Jonathan, a Jewish interpretive tradition, expands on this, stating that the redeemed will be gathered from captivity and come to Zion with a song, experiencing joy that will not cease, and a "cloud of glory shall overshadow their heads" [14]. This return to Zion is a central theme, symbolizing the ultimate gathering of God's people [4, 5].
While the prophecy began to see some fulfillment with the return from Babylonian exile, John Calvin notes that this was merely a "slight foretaste" [7]. Many interpreters, including Matthew Henry, view Isaiah 35 as looking beyond immediate historical events to a more profound, spiritual fulfillment, often connected to the coming of Christ and the establishment of His church [12, 13]. Charles Hodge emphasizes that the plan of salvation, including the promise of eternal life, has always been consistent, with the Old Testament interpreted by the New Testament's infallible authority [8, 9]. The Tyndale House commentary suggests that the fulfillment extends to the second coming of the Lord Jesus, encompassing all righteous children of God, both Jews and Gentiles, who await the fullness of redemption [11].
Sources
- Isaiah “Isaiah 35:10 (Geneva1599) — Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall returne and come to Zion with prayse: and euerlasting ioy shall bee vpon their heads: they shall obteine ioye and gladnesse, and sorow and mourning shall flee away.”
- Isaiah “Isaiah 35:1 (Geneva1599) — The desert and the wildernes shall reioyce: and the waste ground shalbe glad and florish as the rose.”
- Isaiah “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. -- Isaiah 35:5”
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Psalms 45:15 cross-references: Isaiah 35:10, Isaiah 51:11, Isaiah 55:12, Isaiah 56:5, Isaiah 60:19, Isaiah 61:10, Ezekiel 16:10, John 14:3, Jude 1:24, Revelation 3:12, Revelation 3:21, Revelation 7:15”
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Isaiah 35:9 cross-references: Exodus 15:13, Leviticus 26:6, Psalms 107:2, Isaiah 11:6, Isaiah 30:6, Isaiah 43:19, Isaiah 62:10, Isaiah 62:12, Isaiah 63:4, Isaiah 65:25, Ezekiel 34:25, Ezekiel 34:27, Hosea 2:18, Galatians 3:13, Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 1:18, Revelation 5:9, Revelation 20:1”
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Isaiah 35:2 cross-references: Exodus 33:18, Joshua 19:26, 1 Chronicles 16:33, 1 Chronicles 27:29, Psalms 50:2, Psalms 65:12, Psalms 72:16, Psalms 72:19, Psalms 89:12, Psalms 96:11, Psalms 96:12, Psalms 97:6, Psalms 98:7, Psalms 102:15, Psalms 148:9, Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah 25:9, Isaiah 32:15, Isaiah 33:9, Isaiah 40:5, Isaiah 41:19, Isaiah 42:10, Isaiah 49:13, Isaiah 55:12, Isaiah 60:1, Isaiah 60:13, Isaiah 60:19, Isaiah 60:21, Isaiah 61:3, Isaiah 65:8, Isaiah 66:18, Ezekiel 34:25, Hosea 14:6, Amos 9:13, Micah 7:14, Habakkuk 2:14, Zephaniah 3:19, Zechariah 10:7, Zechariah 14:20, John 12:41, John 17:”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Isaiah, Vol. 3, section 3.3: a remarkable instance of the goodness of God; for, when men have provoked him by their revolt, they deserve to perish altogether, and to be utterly destroyed, especially they whom he has adopted to be his peculiar people. Isaiah has his eye chiefly on the Jews, that in their distressful condition they may not faint. Let us now see when this prophecy was fulfilled, or when it shall be fulfilled. The Lord began some kind of restoration when he brought his people out of Babylon; but that was only a slight foretaste, and, therefore, I have no hesi”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 74: the assertions of the New Testament writers and from their expositions of the ancient Scriptures, that we learn the amount of truth revealed to those who lived before the coming of Christ. From the Scriptures, therefore, as a whole, from the New Testament, and from the Old as interpreted by infallible authority in the New, we learn that the plan of salvation has always been one and the same; having the same promise, the same Saviour, the same condition, and the same salvation. The Promise of Eternal Life made before the Advent. That the p”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 74: That this was heaven is plain from verse 16 , where it is said, “They desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city.” He tells us that these ancient worthies gladly sacrificed all earthly good, and even life itself, “not accepting deliverance; that they 370 might obtain a better resurrection.” That this was the common faith of the Jews long before the coming of Christ appears from 2 Macc. vii. 9 , where the dying martyr says to his tormentor, “Thou ”
- Isaiah (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 35:3: The prophet now exclaims to the afflicted church, in language of unmixed consolation, that Jehovah is coming. "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and make the trembling knees strong! Say to those of a terrified heart, Be strong! Fear ye not! Behold, your God will come for vengeance, for a divine retribution: He will come, and bring you salvation." Those who have become weak in faith, hopeless and despairing, are to cheer up; and the stronger are to tell such of their brethren as are perplexed and timid, to be comforted now: for Jehovah is coming nâqâm (i.e., as ve”
- Isaiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Isaiah 27:6: 27:6 Jacob’s descendants will take root and the remnant will increase (37:31; cp. 5:24; 14:30; for application to the Messiah, see 11:1, 10). • fill the whole earth: The fulfillment of this prophecy extends beyond the restoration of Israel from exile to the second coming of the Lord Jesus. It includes all the righteous children of God—Jews and Gentiles—who suffer but remain obedient as they wait for the fullness of redemption (see 26:18; John 15:1-8).”
- Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 35 (introduction): INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 35 This chapter is a prediction of the glory and flourishing estate of the Gospel church, and of the blessings received by it from Christ. Its flourishing state is expressed by the fruitfulness of the desert, being made like to Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon; and by the inhabitants of it seeing the glory and excellency of Christ, Isa 35:1 the ministers of the word are directed and exhorted to strengthen the weak, and comfort the feeble minded, by assuring them of the coming of Christ to save them, Isa 35:3 when miracles, both in natu”
- Isaiah (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Isaiah 35 (introduction): As after a prediction of God's judgments upon the world (ch. 24) follows a promise of great mercy to be had in store for his church (Isa 25:1-12), so here after a black and dreadful scene of confusion in the foregoing chapter we have, in this, a bright and pleasant one, which, though it foretel the flourishing estate of Hezekiah's kingdom in the latter part of his reign, yet surely looks as far beyond that as the prophecy in the foregoing chapter does beyond the destruction of the Edomites; both were typical, and it concerns us most to look at those t”
- Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 35:10: And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, because they shall be gathered from the midst of their captivity; and they shall come to Zion with a song, and they shall have everlasting joy, which shall not cease, and a cloud of glory shall overshadow their heads: joy and gladness shall be found, and sorrow and sighing shall cease from them, namely, from the house of Israel.”
- Isaiah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Isaiah 55:13: 55:13 Redemption is like the transformation from desert to forest (see also 35:1; 41:19; 60:13). • great honor to the Lord’s name: God’s glory will be more and more visible to humanity as his redemption takes effect.”