Isaiah: Prophet of Hope



Introducing Isaiah: Prophet of Hope

Session Four: The Way of Wholeness – Isaiah 35:8-10

Participant Resource

Prophets like Isaiah worked within three time frames. They addressed the present situation, often by recalling what God had done in the past, and they offered a hopeful vision of the future. This portion of Isaiah 35 speaks to the exiles of their return to Jerusalem on a highway that God will prepare.

I Working with the Text

1. What are the poetic patterns in verses 8-10?

+ Verse 8 has four positive statements and one that is a contrasting negative statement. What is that negative line?

+ Similarly, verse 9 has three negative statements and one positive. What is the positive statement?

+ Verse 10 contrasts four things that will come to the people and one that will flee away. What will flee away?

+ How do these contrasting elements in each verse accent the point of the verse?

2. In what way does this passage reflect Exodus themes?

+ Verse 8 would recall for the exiles their ancestor’s travel from Egypt to the new land. As God delivered their forebears from slavery, so God will deliver them from the bondage of exile and return them to Zion. Read Isaiah 40:1-5. Why are these words so familiar? What title would you give to verses 1-2? To verses 3-5? How do these verses reflect themes in 35:1-10?

+ Looking at Isaiah’s present time frame, who are the “redeemed” of verse 9? Looking to the past, who might they be? Read Isaiah 11:16. How does this verse relate the two time frames?

+ Read John 6:48-51, 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, and Hebrews 12:18-24. What do these New Testament passage have in common?

+ Compare Exodus 19:3-6 (an incident after deliverance from Egypt) and 1 Peter 2:9-10. What themes do these passages share?

+ Read Romans 8:12-25. What Exodus-related images does Paul use? How does he describe our deliverance?

3. Why the highway image?

+ Read Isaiah 42:16; 43:16, 19; 48:17; 49:11; and 51:10. What image(s) do these passages share in common? What does that image suggest to you? Why do you think Isaiah used this image in verse 8? How does John use the image in John 14:6? How is it used in Acts 19:23?

+ When Jesus called himself “the Way,” what point was he making?

+ Looking at this passage, why do you think Isaiah calls the highway the “Holy Way”?

+ What important New Testament events can you recall that were related to highways or roads?

4. What about joy in Zion?

+ The term “Zion” applies to both Jerusalem and to the Temple, as well as the hill on which the Temple stood. What is the meaning intended in 35:10?

+ The Israelites of old would carry baggage on their heads as they traveled, as do many cultures today. In verse 10, what is the head-borne “baggage” the returnees will carry? What does Isaiah mean to convey by this image?

+Read Psalm 126. How does this Psalm reflect Isaiah 35:10?

+Read Revelation 21:1-4. What is “Zion” in this passage? How does it reflect the imagery and Exodus references used by Isaiah?

II Bringing the Text Home

A. Wholeness is a way to think about “holy.” Wholeness means embracing oneself and God, bringing the bits and pieces of life together to focus them on God’s way. When we travel on the Holy Way, what does God give us to take along? What baggage does God want us to leave behind?

B. As a follower of God’s way, what do you think is the most important:

(1) Attitude to cultivate?

(2) Action to take?

(3) Understanding of oneself?

(4) Relationship to develop?

C. When has God provided for you a “highway” on which you can return from a difficult situation?

D. What parallels do you note between the Christian experience and the Exodus?

E. What is the place of joy in your faith life? What experience with God gives you the most joy?

During the Week

+ Start each day with this affirmation: “I am a child of God. I belong to God’s people. God has blessed me. Today I shall share with others the joy that God has given me.”

+ Someday, you will meet someone who needs to know the strength God gives and the redemption we have in Christ. How will you share your faith in an appropriate way? Pray about it now. Begin rehearsing in your mind the way in which you will share your faith in Christ.

Based on materials prepared by the Rev. Victor Albers. Copyright © 2001, Lutheran Bible Ministries. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes.

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