"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and thy desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of The LORD, and the excellency of our God." [Isa 35:1-2]
The wilderness: a region lacking community- a place unwelcoming and harsh; the solitary place: a lonely destination, one filled with self-obsession and sorrow; and the desert: lifeless and lacking refreshment. All of these places alike “shall be glad for them.” The them, if we track backwards into Isaiah 34 to where this phrase refers, are seen to be “the pelican…the hedgehog…the crane (or bittern)…and the raven.” [Isa 34:11] These are symbolic references to demonic activity, for God speaks here of these creatures inhabiting Edom after The LORD Himself by “the sword of The LORD…[has] a great slaughter in the land of Idumea…and the land thereof shall become burning pitch…from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.” [Isa 34:6; 9; 10] From the passage we see great destruction; and no wonder, for this passage speaks of “the day of The LORD’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” [Isa 34:8] God speaks quite frankly of the destructive wrath which He intends to pour upon Edom (Idumea), and afterwards no man shall inhabit the land evermore, it shall be given to demonic activity.
But why then, as we see here, are the wilderness, solitary place, and desert “glad for them”? Is this not a terrible sight to behold? One of great fear and anger and evil? Ah, but remember the words of Christ when He spoke of demons, who after they leave a man, “[they] walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.” [Mt 12:43] And remember that it was in the wilderness where Christ was tempted of satan. We may frankly suppose that the very places spoken of here in Isaiah 35 are none other than a places which formerly, until this pronounced and yet future destruction, were inhabited by these demonic creatures.
And so, with this thought, let us consider again what The LORD speaks to us. He says, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” [Isa 35:1] Yes, they will be glad for them, but not as if these places are happy for these creatures’ new home; no, but because these creatures are gone! They have been eradicated from the wilderness, from the solitary place, and from the desert. They no longer dwell there and have been imprisoned to another awful domain; and this is very similar to the destruction of Babylon, after which The Spirit of God tells us,
“it shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation…but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there….I will also make it a possession for the bittern…and I will sweep it with the beosom of destruction, saith The LORD of Hosts.” [Isa 13:20-21; 14:23]
We see then great parade because these evil influences have been removed. The desert shall even “blossom as the rose” when this happens; yea, as God says, “it shall blossom abundantly.” [Isa 35:2] And notice most importantly, “they shall see the glory of The LORD, and the excellency of our God.” [Isa 35:2] No longer will they see evil and the darkness of satan’s kingdom, but instead they shall behold the beauty of God and all His glory; for this speaks of when Christ comes back to earth in all His glory.
Spiritually we can see great encouragement here; for this gives us a picture of what meditating upon and seeking out the glory of Jesus can do in our life. Are there any places in our lives, hearts, or minds, which are lonely? Or perhaps dry and lifeless; or maybe even unfamiliar and harsh? These are places which when the glory of Christ is introduced, may become blossoming fields of roses and satisfied with God’s peaceful river. When we delve into the scriptures and seek to study and know Jesus’ character, His glory; when we discover more of God’s blessed nature and love, this begins to transform us and the places which formerly were untouched by His gentle hands.
Jesus alone holds this power. For if we read of Him, if we taste and see that He indeed is good, and from thence go to Him, we shall experience this life and refreshment which is promised to the desert and wilderness. In the Psalms, look at the state of the man who sees God’s character and love and thus comes to dwell beneath His wings and in His house:
“Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” [Psa 36:5-9]
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