Isaiah 35 (résumé): Joy of the Redeemed

Isaiah 35 is an extremely joyful chapter of restoration and healing! A barren desert is transformed into a lush productive paradise! "The wilderness will rejoice and blossom... it will burst into bloom... they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God... strengthen the feeble... be strong and do not fear... the eyes of the blind will be opened and the deaf will hear... water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert... there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness... no lion will be there or any ferocious beast.... but only the redeemed will walk there and the ransomed of the Lord will return and enter Zion with singing!"

Isaiah 34 (résumé): Judgement against the Nations

Isaiah 34 decrees God's apocalyptic judgement on all nations focusing on Edom as a symbolic representative of these nations. For God is to ruthlessly and aggressively devastate the nations. "The Lord is angry with all nations... he will destroy them... their dead bodies will send up a stench... all the stars will be dissolved... it will be a great slaughter in Edom... the land will be drenched with blood... it is a day of God's vengeance and retribution... the desert owl and the screech owl will possess it... she will become a haunt for jackals... the falcons will gather each with its mate... they will possess the land for ever and dwell there from generation to generation".

Isaiah 33 (résumé): Distress & Help

Isaiah 33 is a declaration of God's judgement on the destroyer Assyria: "Woe to you, O destroyer... you will be destroyed!" Then God's people are encouraged to cry to God for his grace: "Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress". God then promises "to fill Zion with justice and righteousness... He will be the sure foundation for your times... Now will I arise, says the Lord. Now will I be exalted... your eyes will see the king in his beauty... Look upon Zion... a peaceful abode... its stakes will never be pulled up... the Lord is our judge, lawgiver and king!"

Isaiah 32 (résumé): The Kingdom of Righteousness

Isaiah 32 promises a future king and kingdom: "a king will reign in righteousness... a shelter from the wind... like streams in the desert... no longer will the fool be called noble... the scoundrel's methods are wicked... but the noble man makes noble plans". Then Isaiah warns against complacency because coming disaster will change the women's easy lives... because the grape harvest will fail... citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland for ever... till the Spirit is poured out from on high... justice will dwell in the desert... the fruit of righteousness will be peace... my people will live in peaceful dwelling-places... how blessed you will be!"

Isaiah 31 (résumé): Woe to those who rely on Egypt

Isaiah 31 warns Judah against trusting Egypt's power as a solution to its defence against Assyria. "Woe to those who go down to Egypt... who trust in their multitude of chariots... Egyptians are men not God!... the Lord will protect Judah like a lion and like hovering birds God will shield Jerusalem... so return to God... because Assyria will fall by the sword... declares the Lord whose fire is in Zion". 

Isaiah 30 (résumé): Woe to the obstinate nation

Isaiah 30 rebukes Judah for seeking an alliance with Egypt which God says will be futile. The result will be that "everyone will be put to shame... because Egypt is an unprofitable nation... which is utterly useless". Isaiah goes on to say that the people are rebellious "unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction... and their rejection of God's message is like a high wall which is cracked and bulging". So God points to the solution which is "repentance and rest in salvation... because in quietness and trust is your strength". For "the Lord longs to be gracious... when you cry for help... and throw away your images like a menstrual cloth... then your cattle will graze in broad meadows... and the Lord will bind up the bruises of his people". The chapter concludes prophesying that "the Lord will shatter Assyria... with his sceptre he will strike them down... with raging anger and consuming fire".

Isaiah 29 (résumé): Woe to David's City

Isaiah 29 prophecies God's judgement on Jerusalem which is called "Ariel" which means 'Lion of God' - i.e. as the capital of the tribe of Judah. God communicates through Isaiah that Jerusalem/Ariel with be besieged and "brought low, you will speak from the ground". However God says that he will deliver Judah from this enemy and "your enemies will become like fine dust". But God goes on to call the Judeans spiritually blind and drunk unable to understand divine revelation because "he has sealed your eyes and covered your heads". He goes on to say that the people are hypocrites who "come near me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me". Then the chapter concludes predicting future restoration when "in that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll... and the eyes of the blind will see... no longer will Jacob be ashamed... and they will keep my name holy".