isaiah 34 and 35

Read Isaiah 34 and 35 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions:

Isa 34:1-17 {s} YHVH’s indignation + destruction against the host of the nations because of the controversy of Zion
Isa 35:1-2 {p} The wilderness + desert shall bloom + rejoice; they shall see the glory of YHVH
Isa 35:3-10 {s} Be strong, fear not! God will come bearing salvation; the ransomed of YHVH shall return to Zion

The strong theme:

Isa 33:13-35:2 {s+s+p} The glorious reign of the righteous King: the terror of the wicked + the desert’s joy

The chiastic structure:

1a) Isa 34:1-10, YHVH has destroyed the host of the nations + Edom/ its land + streams laid waste;

1b) Isa 34:11-17 {s} Its palaces + courtyards shall become a habitation of jackals + wild beasts forever;

1c) Isa 35:1-2a, The wilderness + wasteland shall rejoice + blossom abundantly as the rose;

1d) Isa 35:2b, Even with joy and singing;

central axis) Isa 35:2c {p} The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of YHVH, the excellency of our God;

2d) Isa 35:3-6a, Be strong, fear not! For God comes with salvation/ blind + deaf + lame +mute be healed + sing;

2c) Isa 35:6b-7a, Waters + streams shall burst forth in the wilderness + desert/ parched ground a pool;

2b) Isa 35:7b, In the habitation of jackals herds shall lie down, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes;

2a) Isa 35:8-10 {s} YHVH has restored Zion + Highway of Holiness restored/ its redeemed returned.

The first thing which leapt out at me, was the common language which ties the understanding of this prophecy to its counterpart passage in Revelation:

All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. Isa 34:4

And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. Rev 6:13-14

I have written before about my understanding of Rev 6 and its fulfillment. This is an example of a layered prophecy; a prophecy with several layers of fulfillment. Edom and Bozrah its capital city, are mentioned as the object of the Lord’s indignation, for Edom/ Bozrah was the kingdom to the south of Judah who was its traditional enemy, who sought for its destruction (just as Israel/ Samaria had done, the kingdom to the north of Judah).

But in prophetic scripture, Edom is also a metaphor for the unrighteous. Isaac bore two sons, Esau and Jacob (Esau is Edom, Gen 36:8); and of them, the LORD said, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,” (Rom 9:13). Why? Esau despised his birthright, of which the greatest part was the covenant of his fathers, Isaac and Abraham, with God! However, Jacob loved the covenant with God and desired it. So Jacob and Esau represent the two seeds which have been in the world from the beginning (first expressed by righteous Abel and his older brother, the wicked Cain): the righteous seed who love and desire God, and the unrighteous seed who despise Him.

So the prophecy of Isa 34, while speaking of Edom, the unrighteous seed, is directed to all nations:

Come near, you nations, to hear; and heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth from it. Isa 34:1

The world and all things that come forth from it, is the object of the LORD’s great indignation. This is, the kingdoms of this world and those whose citizenship is with the kingdoms of the world rather than with the kingdom of heaven. This is the spiritual root. It is my personal belief that “all nations” and their armies against whom the LORD directs His fury because of the controversy of Zion (Isa 34:2, 8) is best represented today, in the natural, by the United Nations, who follows the European Union in its philosophy regarding Zion rather than North America (US and Canada; I know the current administration follows the world in regard to Zion, but they do not represent the overwhelming majority of the people). The parliament building for the European Union is located in Strasbourg, France, and was built intentionally upon the model of an unfinished Tower of Babel. The symbolism is so clear a child can understand it!

So in the first half of the structure, the picture is painted of the kingdoms of the world — that which was at one time inhabited, prosperous, mighty — becoming a desert and wasteland, a habitation for jackals and wild beasts, inhabited no more forever. In the second half of the structure, the picture is painted of Zion, which was at one time a desert and wasteland, a habitation for jackals, becoming a lush and green land of rivers and pools, to which the ransomed of the LORD return with joy and singing. These chapters are describing the transfer of kingdoms proclaimed in Revelation:

Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Rev 11:15