Commentary - Isaiah 35:8-10

Bird's-eye view

This magnificent prophecy in Isaiah 35 describes the glorious results of the gospel's advance. It is a picture of total restoration, a desert bursting into bloom, which is what happens whenever the saving knowledge of God takes root. This particular section, verses 8-10, focuses on the central means of this transformation: the Way. This is not just any path; it is a divinely constructed highway leading the redeemed home. The central theme is the exclusivity and security of God's salvation. This is a road reserved for a particular kind of people, the holy, and it is a road that guarantees safe passage. It culminates in a vision of ultimate joy, where the ransomed of God reach their final destination, Zion, and all the sorrows of their previous exile are swallowed up in everlasting gladness. This is a profoundly Christological and ecclesiological passage. The Highway is Christ, the redeemed are His church, and Zion is the heavenly city we are journeying toward, a reality that we begin to inhabit the moment we are saved.

In short, Isaiah is painting a picture of the Great Commission's success. As the gospel goes out, it creates a new world. Part of that new world is a new and living way for men to walk. This way is characterized by holiness, safety, and joy. It is the path that leads from the desolate wilderness of sin to the glorious city of God, and it is a journey that ends in a song that will never fade.

Outline

Context In Isaiah

Chapter 35 of Isaiah stands in stark and glorious contrast to the chapter that immediately precedes it. Chapter 34 is a terrifying oracle of God's fiery judgment upon Edom, representing all the nations that stand in opposition to God. It is a scene of total desolation, smoke, and ruin. Then, with no transition, the curtain rises on chapter 35, and the wilderness, the very image of that curse, bursts into flower. This juxtaposition is crucial. God's salvation for His people is inextricably linked to His judgment upon His enemies. The same divine power that dismantles the kingdoms of this world is the power that cultivates the garden of the Lord. This chapter, therefore, is the "other side" of judgment. It is the positive vision of what God is building in the midst of the ruins of a fallen world. It is a promise of a new exodus, a return from exile that is not just a return to a geographical location, but a return to the joyful presence of God Himself.

Key Issues

The Gospel Road

When the New Testament writers were looking for a way to describe the Christian faith, they often called it simply "the Way" (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23). They were drawing on a rich Old Testament theme, and this passage in Isaiah is one of the headwaters. A way, or a road, is a means of getting from one place to another. It implies a starting point (exile in the wilderness) and a destination (home in Zion). The gospel is not a static set of propositions to be affirmed; it is a road to be walked. It is a dynamic, living reality that moves us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.

And Jesus Himself makes the ultimate claim: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). He does not merely show us the way; He is the Way. This highway of holiness is not a system or a program; it is a Person. To get on this road is to be united to Christ by faith. To walk this road is to live out the Christian life in fellowship with Him. Isaiah's prophecy, then, is a magnificent preview of the person and work of Jesus Christ, the one who bridges the impassable chasm between our sin-wrought desert and God's holy hill.

Verse by Verse Commentary

8 And a roadway will be there, a highway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not pass by on it, But it will be for him who walks in that way, And ignorant fools will not wander on it.

Isaiah announces the construction of a great public works project, a roadway and a highway. This is an elevated road, a causeway, built up above the surrounding landscape. This tells us it is a supernatural road, not a path men beat down themselves, but one God Himself has engineered and built. Its name defines its character: the Highway of Holiness. This is not the road of self-improvement or the road of good intentions. It is the road of holiness, which means it is the road of God. Holiness is His essential attribute; it means to be set apart, distinct, other. This road, therefore, partakes of the character of God Himself.

Consequently, there is an entrance requirement. The unclean will not pass by on it. This is a road with a gatekeeper. In the wilderness of sin, everyone is unclean. So how does anyone get on this road? They must be cleansed. This points directly to the atoning work of Christ. It is His blood that cleanses us from all sin, making us fit to travel on this holy road. The road is not for the self-righteous, but for the cleansed sinner. It is for "him who walks in that way," meaning the one who belongs there, the one who has been qualified to be there by grace. And the final clause is a great comfort: ignorant fools will not wander on it. This does not mean that only intelligent people can be saved. Quite the contrary. In Scripture, the "fool" is the one who says in his heart there is no God; he is the wicked man. This road is so well-marked, so divinely protected, that not even the morally and spiritually foolish can stumble onto it by accident. It is a road for the called, the chosen, the redeemed.

9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there,

The security of the highway is now described with different imagery. In the ancient world, travel was dangerous. Bandits and predatory animals were a constant threat. The lion is the proverbial king of beasts, a symbol of ravenous, destructive power. The apostle Peter tells us that our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). But on this highway, there are no lions. No vicious beasts are permitted. This is a picture of the absolute security of the believer. Once we are set on this Way, which is Christ, we are protected from all ultimate harm. The devil cannot snatch us out of the Father's hand. The world's persecutions cannot separate us from the love of God. This is a road of perfect safety.

Who, then, are these protected travelers? But the redeemed will walk there. Redemption means to be bought back, to be purchased out of slavery. We were slaves to sin, and the price of our freedom was the precious blood of Christ. The travelers on this road are not tourists or casual wanderers. They are the redeemed, a people who know they have been bought with a price and who now belong to another. Their walk is not a random stroll; it is a purposeful journey home.

10 And the ransomed of Yahweh will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting gladness upon their heads. They will attain delight and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

This final verse describes the destination and the disposition of the travelers. They are called the ransomed of Yahweh, another term emphasizing that their freedom was purchased by God Himself. And what do they do? They return. They come to Zion. In the Old Testament, Zion was the earthly city of God, the place of His temple. In the New Testament, Zion is the heavenly Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:22-23). This is our destination. And we do not shuffle toward it with our heads down. We come with joyful shouting. The Christian life is intended to be a noisy, celebratory procession.

This joy is not a fleeting emotion. It is everlasting gladness, worn like a crown upon their heads. This is a permanent state of being. The redeemed will "attain" or "overtake" delight and gladness, as though they are pursuing it and finally catching it. And as this great wave of joy washes over them, the old realities of the fallen world are driven away. Sorrow and sighing will flee away. They cannot coexist with this kind of joy. This is the ultimate end of our salvation. The desert of chapter 34 becomes the garden of chapter 35, and the journey through that garden on the Highway of Holiness ends in the city of God, where the only sound is singing and the only reality is joy.

Application

First, we must recognize that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those on the Highway of Holiness and those wandering in the desert. There is no third way. You are either on the road that leads to life or on the broad path that leads to destruction. The entrance to this highway is not through good works or religious observance, but through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. The first point of application is therefore to make sure you are on the road. Have you confessed your uncleanness and trusted in Christ alone for your cleansing?

Second, for those of us who are on the Way, this passage is a massive encouragement to perseverance. The road is safe. The lions have been declawed. Our salvation is secure not because of the firmness of our grip on Christ, but because of the firmness of His grip on us. When we are tempted to despair, we must remember that the Engineer of this road has guaranteed our safe arrival. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

Finally, we must check our disposition. Are we walking this road with joyful shouting? Too often, we trudge along as though we are on a forced march. But we are the ransomed of the Lord! We are heading for a party. The joy described here is not something we have to wait for entirely until the eschaton. It is a joy that is to characterize us now. It is the fruit of the Spirit. As the gospel continues its victorious march through history, subduing nations and transforming cultures, this corporate joy should become more and more visible. The world should look at the church and see a people whose heads are crowned with gladness, a people from whom sorrow and sighing are beginning to flee. Our lives, our families, and our churches are to be outposts of Zion, little pockets of everlasting joy in a world still groaning, testifying to the reality of the city to come.