Isaiah

Isaiah 35: God brings His redeemed home

Begin in prayer

Before we see weak hands strengthened and the desert singing, let us ask God for hope in His salvation. Pray that our family would trust Jesus and walk in the holy way He gives His people.

He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.

Psalm 107:35

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Help us see the joy and holiness of Your salvation. Help us trust the Savior who gives strength to weak people and brings His redeemed home. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The wilderness blossoms and rejoices as it receives the glory of fruitful places and sees the LORD’s excellence. Weak hands and feeble knees are to be strengthened because God will come with vengeance to save His people. Blind eyes open, deaf ears hear, the lame leap and tongues once mute sing. Streams and springs replace burning sand, and reeds grow where jackals once lay. A highway called the Holy Way carries those who walk in it, excluding the unclean and wicked fools. No lion or ravenous beast threatens the redeemed on that road. The LORD’s ransomed people return to Zion with everlasting joy, while sorrow and sighing flee.

As you read Isaiah 35, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God comes to save His people and brings His redeemed into everlasting joy on His holy way.

The desert’s blossoming follows the ruined land of chapter 34 with a promise of life and gladness. God’s glory gives fearful people reason to strengthen their hands and knees. He comes to save, and His vengeance answers the evil that threatens them. The healing reaches eyes, ears, legs and tongues, while water changes the dry ground. Strong hands and knees mean courage, because God has said He will come. The highway makes safe passage possible for the people God redeems. It is holy, so the unclean and wicked do not enter, and ravenous beasts cannot harm its travelers. Their journey ends with everlasting joy in Zion because they belong to the LORD who ransomed them.

How does Isaiah 35 show us that God comes to save His people and brings His redeemed into everlasting joy on His holy way?

God’s promised coming strengthens fearful people.

The command to be strong rests on what God will do. He comes with vengeance and salvation. Weak hands and trembling knees can be strengthened by His faithful promise.

God’s salvation brings healing and new life.

Blind eyes see, deaf ears hear, and the lame person leaps like a deer. The mute tongue joins the song. Water breaks out in the wilderness and turns burning sand into a pool.

God leads His redeemed in a holy way.

The road is safe from ravenous animals and closed to uncleanness and wickedness. The people who walk there have been redeemed by the LORD. They return to Zion singing, and their joy lasts while sorrow flees.

Memorise

Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy will be on their heads.

Isaiah 35:10

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what keeps me from trusting Jesus for cleansing and the joy of holiness?

The promise says, “the redeemed will walk there.” The Holy Way is safe, and it leads to everlasting joy. Jesus’ works of healing showed the salvation Isaiah described, as He told John’s messengers (Luke 7 verse 22).

We are unclean through sin and cannot bring ourselves onto God’s holy way. Jesus paid the ransom for His people with His own blood. He rose victorious, and the ransom is paid in full, so those who trust Him are made clean. The way to God stands open through His finished work.

Turn from your sin and come to Jesus in faith. He freely forgives all who seek refuge in Him. The Savior who cleanses His people also leads them in holiness. Trust Him with your weakness and follow the Lord who brings His redeemed into joy that will never end.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God comes to save His people, and that Jesus brings the redeemed into everlasting joy. Please invite each child to walk that holy way by trusting Jesus. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He saves His redeemed and brings them into everlasting joy, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.

Luke 7:22

Saving Lord, thank You for Jesus and the hope of joy beyond sorrow. Please cleanse us from sin and help us trust Him. Strengthen fearful people with Your promise and teach us to walk in holiness. Let our family encourage the weak as we follow Your Word this week. Amen.