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| 1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
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The wilderness – The place of separation from the world in general. This is where Elijah fled to.
The desert – A desert is a place of little or no water - truth.
Shall rejoice – Shall receive the truth with extreme gratitude and rejoicing.
Blossom as the rose – Not only is this being literally fulfilled but symbolically as well. |
| 2 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. |
The excellency of Carmel – This could refer to Mount Carmel where Elijah had his confrontation with the prophets of Baal and turned the whole nation of Israel away from the worship of Baal back to the worship of Jehovah. (1 Kings 18:17-40 [note vs 19])
The glory of the LORD – The glorious truth of the Divine Plan of the Ages. |
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| 3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. |
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| 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. |
Say to them – Even though restitution has already begun (note vs 1-3) some members of the church still remain. These are to give this message of hope to those who are living in fear.
A fearful heart – Here, in the midst of earthly restitution (the desert is already blossoming as the rose – vs. 1 – the knees and hands of the weak and feeble are already being made strong – vs. 3 – yet someone is afraid.
Be strong – Hang in there because help is on the way.
Your god will come – Your elohiym (mighty one) – Christ will come.
How does He come? As the Prince of Peace? – No, not yet. There is another work to be done first.
With vengeance – The Day of Vengeance (chap. 34:8). 2 Thes. 1:7-8.
He will come and save you – During His second advent. "He maketh the storm a calm." Psa. 107:29 He will say "Peace, be still." Mark 4:39 |
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| 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. |
Then – AFTER the Day of Vengeance mentioned in verse 4.
This is the key turning point of the chapter. From this point on the blessings become very vivid. It is at this point where the blind are made to see, not just begin to recognize Christ and the new Kingdom, but to fully see – both literally and symbolically. |
| 6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. |
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| 7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. |
Parched ground – Parched = "deprived of natural moisture" – Webster. Here the ground lacks its normal amount of moisture (water, truth.)
Become a pool – Moisture (water) restored so greatly that now it has enough water in it for one to swim.
The habitation of dragons – Habitation = dwelling-place. Dragons = Civil powers, Beastly governments of the earth, the iron portion of the image decribed in Daniel 2:40-45. At this point there are no longer any worldly church-state unions.
Grass – Sometimes used as a symbol for men. Psa. 103:15; 1 Pet. 1:24 |
| 8 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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| 9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: |
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| 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. |
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