Question 1

What does it mean that the wilderness will blossom like a rose?

Accepted Answer

The picture of the wilderness blossoming like a rose shows God taking what is dry, empty, and lifeless and making it fresh, beautiful, and full of joy. It points first to God bringing his people back from trouble and restoring them. It also points to what happens when the good news of Christ reaches people who were far from God. Hearts that once were hard and barren begin to trust, love, and obey God. In the end, it looks to the final renewal, when every part of life is made new and glad in God’s presence.

Question 2

Who are the weak hands and feeble knees, and why are they told to be strong?

Accepted Answer

The weak hands and feeble knees are people who feel worn out, afraid, and close to giving up. They may fear enemies, judgment, or feel their own weakness and sin. God tells others to strengthen and steady them with words of comfort. The main reason they can be strong is this promise: “Your God will come… he will come and save you.” Their hope is not in themselves but in God’s sure coming to judge evil and rescue his people. So they are urged not to give in to fear.

Question 3

What does “your God will come with vengeance… he will come and save you” mean?

Accepted Answer

This line holds two truths together. God will come with vengeance, which means he will rightly deal with enemies and all that harms his people. At the same time, he will come to save his own, bringing help, justice, and peace. This points ahead to Christ’s coming, where he defeats sin, death, and the powers of evil, and also to his final coming when all wrongs are set right. For those who trust him, his coming is not something to dread but a sure rescue and the start of lasting joy.

Question 4

How do the healings of the blind, deaf, lame, and mute relate to Christ?

Accepted Answer

The opening of blind eyes, unstopping of deaf ears, leaping of the lame, and singing of the mute picture a time of deep renewal. In Christ’s earthly ministry, he literally healed blind, deaf, lame, and mute people, showing that this promise was beginning to be fulfilled. These healings also picture spiritual change. By nature people cannot see the truth, hear God’s voice, walk in his ways, or praise him as they should. Through Christ, eyes are opened, hearts are softened, and lives are set free to follow and worship God warmly and gladly.

Question 5

What are the “streams in the desert” and waters in the parched ground?

Accepted Answer

The streams in the desert and waters in the parched ground show God pouring out life where there was only dryness and death. On one level, it speaks of his care in providing for his people. More deeply, it describes the coming of his Spirit and the good news into dry hearts and lands. People who were far from God, empty and thirsty, are refreshed and changed. The picture reminds us that real refreshment for the soul comes from God alone, and that he gladly turns barren lives into places of growth and joy in him.

Question 6

What is the “way of holiness,” and who can walk on it?

Accepted Answer

The way of holiness is pictured as a raised road God provides through the once-dangerous land. It is a clean path that the unclean cannot enter. It points to the life God gives through Christ, a way of walking that is set apart from sin and kept safe by God. Those who are redeemed and made clean by him walk there. Even simple or unlearned people who trust God will not lose their way on this road, because God himself guides and keeps them. It is a safe way that leads to joy with God in Zion.

Question 7

Why does the passage say no lion or ravenous beast will be on this way?

Accepted Answer

Lions and ravenous beasts stand for danger, violence, and anything that might tear God’s people away from him. Saying there are no such beasts on the way of holiness means that God’s road for the redeemed is safe. He does not promise that his people will never face trouble in this life, but he does promise that nothing will finally destroy them or separate them from him as they walk with him. The picture gives comfort: those whom God has bought and set free will be kept by him until they reach the place of full joy.

Question 8

Who are “the redeemed” and “the ransomed of the LORD” that return to Zion?

Accepted Answer

The redeemed and ransomed are those God has bought back from bondage. In the near view, it pointed to people brought back from exile and oppression. In the fuller sense, it points to all who are freed from sin and judgment through Christ, who pays the price for them. They are pictured walking together to Zion, the place of God’s presence, with songs and joy on their heads. Their sorrow and sighing flee away because God has brought them home. This is both a present comfort and a picture of the final gathering of God’s people.

Question 9

How can this passage comfort people who feel like they are in a wilderness today?

Accepted Answer

Many feel as if their lives are dry, lonely, or full of fear, like a desert. This passage speaks right into that. It shows that God can turn wilderness into a garden, fear into courage, and sorrow into singing. He comes to save, not to abandon. In Christ he begins this work now, bringing forgiveness, new life, and the gift of his Spirit. He also promises a future where sorrow and sighing truly flee away. So someone in a hard season can hold onto this: God sees, God comes, and God will finish his work of renewal.

Isaiah 35:1

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

The Glory of Zion

The Glory of Zion

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Isaiah 35:1

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

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The Glory of Zion

The Glory of Zion

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