Isaiah 35:8-10 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it… Viewed as a description of the way of salvation through Christ, this prophecy calls upon us to consider — I. THE TRAVELLERS of whom it speaks. 1. They were once journeying along a very different path. They are called "the redeemed," and the term implies that they were once in bondage. This is the natural condition of us all. 2. But these travellers have been delivered from this state of bondage. 3. There are three ways of redeeming a captive — by exchange, by a forcible rescue, or by ransom. It is by the last of these that the people of God are here said to have been liberated. II. THE WAY along which they are journeying. III. THE HOME to which it is leading them. To return to Zion implies, in the first instance, to be admitted into the visible Church of God, and to a full participation of all its privileges. But it implies also much more. It directs our eyes upward to that holy hill on which the heavenly Jerusalem is built, the city of the living God.' Of this unseen residence of the just, the earthly Zion was a type; and we may find it a profitable subject of meditation to trace — (1) The resemblance; (2) the contrast between them. 1. The hill of Zion was the peculiar residence of God. There His temple was erected, and there the mercy-seat, the visible symbol of His presence, stood. In heaven also Jehovah has a temple, and "the way of holiness" leads to it. 2. The Jews were taught to regard their sacred mountain as the source of all their blessings. When salvation was promised them, it was to come "out of Zion"; when they were to be strengthened and blessed, "the Lord out of Zion" was to strengthen and bless them. Hence we find Daniel turning towards Jerusalem when he prayed in Babylon, and Jonah looked towards the holy temple of his God when he cried amidst the waves for deliverance. And what real happiness is there, which comes not from above? 3. Zion also was the place in which the people of the Lord assembled. And who can describe the blessedness which will flow from the fellowship of heaven? 4. The earthly Jerusalem was a splendid city; "beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole earth, was mount Zion"; but even in the height of her greatness, when the glory of the Lord rested on her tabernacle, she afforded but a poor emblem of the heavenly city. At the time, however, to which the words of the prophet primarily relate, the contrast was peculiarly striking. The Zion to which the liberated Jews so joyfully returned, was "a wilderness, and Jerusalem a desolation." And where is Jerusalem now? Where is its temple? The heavenly Zion, however, knows no destruction and fears no change. It is "a city which hath foundations"; an abiding city. (C. Bradley, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. |
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