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From the Sea of Galilee down to the Gulf of Aqabah, which is a finger of the Red Sea, there runs a valley cut by the Jordan River at the top and then by the Dead Sea at the Bottom. The Dead Sea ends there because of a slight maybe fifteen-foot rise in elevation. From the Dead Sea to the Red Sea there is nothing but a dessert wasteland, which the Bible calls the Arabah, or “dry land” as it’s called in our translation. The Arabah according to the Book of Genesis was once fertile land, but the Lord destroyed it when destroying Sodom and Gomorrah.
To either side of this valley are high plateaus which the Bible calls Midbar or here, “the wilderness”. These are simply uninhabitable lands which are covered mostly with very sparse, dry grass and tumble weed. The Midbar itself is carved up deeply by dry river beds. The largest of these are comparable to the Grand Canyon. These dry rivers flow from the Midbar down into the Arabah. When the rainy season comes, walls of water pour down these river beds as if it were God himself coming in vengeance to destroy and wash away the land. I can only imagine how fearful the sound of that running water must be as it comes down the valley carving out destruction. If we heard it, I think we too would think that God was indeed coming and he just might be a bit angry.
I remember when I lived down in Marlinton, WV, which is a town that gets some major flooding, how you could the sound of the roaring water all over town when the Greenbrier and Knapp’s Creek were rising to flood levels. You’d think the train from Gloryland was roaring into the station. It’s powerfully scary. You know a lot of devastation could come from it if the waters get too high and will they?
But in the Midbar and the Arabah, miraculously, after the rain the area around these river beds comes to life with green grasses and purple and pink flowers. It is as if all of creation is filled with joy and the glory and majesty of God the giver of life is shining forth from it. The Midbar and the Arabah become glad Isaiah did say.
Isaiah tells us of a glorious end for the Arabah. When the Lord returns to Zion by means of a highway through the Arabah, it shall become as green as Lebanon, as majestic as Mt. Carmel and as fertile as the plain of Sharon. All these places are in northern Israel and they are the best agricultural land in the Middle East or as many like to call it today, West Asia. Water will be so abundant in these desert wastelands that burning sand will become a pool of water. The land will be so full of life-giving water that there will be marshes full of reeds and rushes instead of dead dry grass and tumbleweed. Isaiah says this will be a miraculous time for humans as well for, in like manner, blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears will hear, the lame shall leap like deer, and the speechless tongue will sing for joy for the Spirit of the Lord will fill the earth.
Jesus spoke of this day also but with reference to his own work. If you remember from the Gospels, there is a story of when John the Baptist was in prison and feeling more than a bit discouraged if not maybe disillusioned. He sent some of his own disciples to inquire of Jesus as to whether he really was the Messiah or should they wait for another. I think John did this in an attempt to prod Jesus into action as far as setting up the Kingdom of God in real-time. “If you are who you are, Cousin Jesus, then get on with it ‘cause prison really sucks, Man.” Jesus answered, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (Matt. 11:4-6). The age of Jesus, his time on earth was actually the age of the fulfillment of time as the prophets saw, the age when the Arabah would be as green as Lebanon, that age was present wherever Jesus was and will be present again when he returns.
In fact, it is present wherever Jesus is present today. The age of fulfillment exists with us right now, today. It is here as we gather for worship. As we are gathered here as the Body of Christ in God’s presence through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and around us, the Age of Fulfillment is here present with us in part as well as something we expectantly wait for in the future when God heals all of Creation of Sin, Evil, and Death. When we gather for worship the age of the fulfillment of time is with us. Jesus is with us. Eyes blinded in human brokenness open to see God, to sense God’s presence and feel his love and the impact of his love on us. For some that’s overwhelmingly encouraging and strengthening and for others, it’s (for lack of a better word) convicting. Deaf ears are unstopped to hear the Word of God. Lame souls leap for joy like dear. People find strength to face their trials knowing God is with them. There is a peace that comes that enables us to entrust our wills and our lives to the care of God. Tongues which before could not praise God, now sing for joy. In worship the Spirit of God can and will break forth in our hearts like waters breaking forth in the Midbar, the wilderness, and like streams gushing in the Arabah, the desert.
Isaiah also speaks of a highway called the Way of the Holy which shall be for God’s people to travel on. There shall be no lion or ravenous beast on this highway. By means of this highway the redeemed of the Lord shall go to Zion, the mountain of the Lord singing with everlasting joy. When they get there, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and furthermore sorrow and sighing shall flee away. My friends this highway is here. Set before us to travel on. It is the way of following Jesus, and of worship, and of prayer. The Way begins here in our worship service and it remains with us when we wake in the morning and praise God for another day and when we go to bed and thank God for the blessing of this day.
God is the Life-giving God. People may ask what God is like. Isaiah’s answer here, and ours, is that God is Life-giving. Our God is the God who gives life to the dead world of the desert. Our culture has a default idea of what God is like. It’s that God is like Santa Clause. God’s a bearded old man who is a judge with a list of who is naughty and nice. He gets the naughty and rewards the nice. A lot of people have quit believing in God altogether because of that misunderstanding of what God is like. Isaiah gives us a really beautiful image here of God as being life-giving. God gives hope. God powerfully acts to heal and restore. We have to wait for God to act and that is brutally hard, but when God finally does it is as beautiful as a dessert in bloom.
So, it is with us. The Life-giving God who causes the desert to bloom also causes us to bloom by the watering of the Holy Spirit. As we come to our Life-giving God in worship, bringing the dry wasteland of our lives before him, the life-giving God meets us with the floodwaters of His Presence and we bloom. We see more clearly, hear more clearly, and are strengthened. We bloom. The life-giving God makes us glad. So, as the prophet told the people long ago, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompence. He will come and save you.” Come to the Life-giving God and bloom. Amen.
