Isaiah 34-35                                                                                 19 July 2000 

AN IMPORTANT STUDY OF STARK CONTRAST

A.  THE JUDGMENT OF THE LORD

1. The Indignation of the Lord against all the armies of the world   Isa.34:1-15

a) Note the phrase, “His fury”                 Isa.34:2

b) Note also, “The sword of the Lord”     Isa. 34:5,6) 

2.  “The Day of the Lord’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion”  Isa. 34:8

a)      This time, not even the Edomites are to be spared  (Cf. Gen. 36; Deut.2:1-8; Obadiah)

b)      Total destruction- “from generation to generation it shall lie waste”  Isa. 34:10

B. THE GRACE OF THE LORD

1.      There may be judgment and destruction, but those who belong to the Lord, “not one of these shall fail…”  Isa. 34:16

The Lord makes a clear distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous  (Isa. 34:16; Matt. 25) 

2.      The certainty of God’s Promises:-

a)      “My mouth has commanded it”   Isa. 34:16

b)      “His Spirit has gathered them”   Isa. 34:16

c)   Note the eternal element - “From generation to generation, they shall dwell in it”    Isa. 34:17- 35:2

“THEY SHALL SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD…

BEHOLD YOUR GOD…”                     Isa. 35:2,4

1. A Challenge to Find Strength               Isa. 35:3 

2. A Challenge to continue to find faith and hope. “Behold, your God will come… to save you ”   Isa. 35:4 

3.      A glimpse of some of the glorious deeds that God will do when He comes…

a)      The eyes of the blind shall be opened

b)      The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped

c)      The lames shall leap like a deer

d)      The tongue of the dumb shall sing…  Isa. 35:5-6  (Cf. Luke 7:18-23) 

4.  Yet to be fulfilled    Isa. 35:6-10 (with reference to physical Israel)

a)  “Waters shall  burst forth from the desert, and streams in the desert”   Isa. 35:6-7

b) “A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called “The Highway of Holiness” Isa. 35:8-9

c) “The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads…”  Isa. 35:10