God Will Prepare For His People The Way In Which They Must Walk (Isaiah 35:8-10).
Walking in God's way (or not doing) is a theme of Isaiah (Isaiah 3:12; Isaiah 8:11; Isaiah 26:7-8; Isaiah 28:7; Isaiah 30:21). It is a way of roses and abundant joy (Isaiah 35:1-2), it is a way in which all are restored and made whole (Isaiah 35:3-6 a), it is a way of abundance of water when the wilderness will be no more (Isaiah 35:6-7), it is the way of security and holiness (Isaiah 35:8-9). And all who walk in it turn towards the heavenly Zion in festal joy (Isaiah 35:10).
Analysis.
a And a highway will be there and a way, and it will be called the Holy Way (Isaiah 35:8 a).
b The unclean will not pass over it, and it is for those who walk in it, yes, fools will not err in it (Isaiah 35:8 b).
c No lion will be there, nor will any ravenous beast go up on it (Isaiah 35:9 a).
c They will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk there (Isaiah 35:9 b).
b And the ransomed of Yahweh will turn, and come with singing to Zion,and everlasting joy will be on their heads (Isaiah 35:10 a).
a They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isaiah 35:10 b).
.
In ‘a' there will be a way in which men can walk called the holy way, set apart for God's own purified people, and in the parallel it will be a way of joy and gladness, where sorrow and sighing is no more (Revelation 21:4). In ‘b' nothing unclean will be there, and it will be a way in which none can go astray, and in the parallel the ransomed of Yahweh will constantly turn from what they are doing in that way and come with singing to Zion, with garlands of everlasting joy on their heads, in order to worship and praise their God. In ‘c' it will be perfectly secure, there will be no wild beasts to watch out for, for, in the parallel they will not be there. It is the redeemed who will walk there.
‘And a highway will be there and a way,
And it will be called the Holy Way.
The unclean will not pass over it,
And it is for those who walk in it,
Yes, fools will not err in it.'
There is double emphasis here on the fact that there is a Way, a road to travel along. The concentration here is not on where the way leads, (although it is clear from Isaiah 35:10 that it leads to the heavenly Zion where everlasting joy can be found, so that those who are in it are never far from the heavenly Zion), but on the walking in it. For it is the Holy Way (‘way of holiness'), the way of cleanness, of separation to God, the way where God is with His people, and in which they turn to Him. Thus the careless, those who are ritually or morally unclean and do nothing about it, cannot use it, for it is ‘for those who walk in it', that is, for those who choose it by deliberate choice and dedication, and it is so straight a way that even the foolish will not go astray in it.
There is a stress here on choice. A man could choose whether he be made clean, in the Old Testament by the ordinances of sacrifice and offering, and washing and waiting before God, and in the New by the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:8-10). Those who would walk that way now must use the means offered. For that Holy Way is in the end only for the cleansed. And in the final kingdom all who are there will be in that way, and those who are not clean will not be there. All will walk with God in the way.
It is no accident that the early Christians saw themselves as the people of The Way (Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9; Acts 19:23; Acts 22:4; Acts 24:14; Acts 24:22). The designation may well have had this verse in mind, as in the same way Jesus may have had when He called Himself the Way (John 14:6). For to come to Jesus as the Way was to enter onto the way of holiness. It is the Way of God.
In Isaiah this is represented in a number of ways. ‘The way' is the way of God's paths (Isaiah 3:12), in contrast with the ‘way of the people' (Isaiah 8:11); it is the way of the just which is uprightness (Isaiah 26:7); it is the way of His judgments (Isaiah 26:8). His own do not leave it through drunkenness (Isaiah 28:7), but rather when they begin to go astray to the right hand or to the left they hear a word behind them saying, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).
We can also compare here Isaiah 19:23 where there would be a highway between Egypt and Assyria uniting them in God with Israel, a highway of blessing and oneness. Not all highways were seen to lead to Jerusalem. Rather it was a way of mutuality and blessing, bringing together the people of God.
Comparison with Isaiah 35:10 certainly sees this way as connecting with Zion. All who walk in this way will constantly ‘turn and come with singing to Zion', for it will be their delight to worship God and acknowledge Him, but that is by no means the emphasis of the way. It is simply one of its aspects. The emphasis is on walking in ‘the Holy way'. There is no basis at all for suggesting that it is the road from exile. It is rather the way to God for all who are in spiritual exile, so that if we would escape from spiritual exile we must certainly walk in it. The ‘turning' or ‘returning' of Isaiah 35:10 primarily refers to their continual turning to God while in the Way (see Isaiah 1:27; Isaiah 6:10; Isaiah 9:13; Isaiah 10:21-22; Isaiah 19:22). Isaiah had said elsewhere, in ‘returning and rest' they will be delivered (Isaiah 30:15), where no thought of the exile is in mind. The thought is of a turning of the heart towards God.
‘No lion will be there,
Nor will any ravenous beast go up on it.
They will not be found there,
But the redeemed will walk there.'
The road will be secure from every type of danger, it is for the redeemed of Yahweh. On ancient roads the wayfarer was always in danger of wild beasts, but where this road is there will be no wild beasts, it is the road of the new age when the lion is no longer harmful (Isaiah 11:6). And it is for the redeemed, those whom God has delivered by His power and who acknowledge Him as their Lord and Kinsman.
‘And the ransomed of Yahweh will turn,
And come with singing to Zion,
And everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.'
And while in that way ‘the ransomed of Yahweh' will turn and come with singing to Zion. The idea of ransom is that of the paying of a price. God will in some way pay a price for the deliverance of His people by the exertion of His power and mercy. That is why they are His. They are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). And those who have been redeemed will walk in His way, and while walking in that way they will constantly turn to Zion to meet with God, in order to give praise and thanks to God. In the end the picture is of the whole world walking in His way and constantly turning to Zion as they receive His word from there (Isaiah 2:2-3). They will be crowned and garlanded with everlasting joy. They will be full of joy and gladness. Sorrow and sighing will have no place for them, such things will flee away.
The whole idea behind these last three verses is that of redemption, and of being holy, and of walking in God's way, and of constantly turning to God and enjoying His presence. In the Old Testament, as the Psalmists made clear, the true in heart looked to Jerusalem and the Temple as the earthly representation of the reality of God's presence with His people, although they knew that they could pray wherever they were (Daniel 6:10; Daniel 9:3). And these words are therefore emphasising that those who would so approach God must do it in holiness. In New Testament terminology it is the heavenly Zion (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22) to which they are to turn, the place where they may meet with God, and walk with Him and dwell in His presence. And it will result in everlasting joy.
The emphasis of the whole chapter is in fact on walking in this blessed way. In Isaiah 35:1-2 it is a way where men walk amidst roses, where they constantly enjoy abundance, where they see the glory of Yahweh, the excellency of God. In Isaiah 35:3-6 a it is the way in which all who walk are made whole, and can be strong and rejoice. In Isaiah 35:6-7 it is the way in which there is always plenteous ‘water' which is God's provision for His own. And now it is the Way of Holiness in which men constantly turn to Zion. It is the way in which men walk with God.
And so we come to the end of what some see as this first section, and these verses will now lead us on, after an historical interlude, into the second part of the book, where we will learn the way by which we can enter on to this Way.