Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 35:5
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened – The images in this verse and the following are those of joy and exultation. They describe the times of happiness when God would come to save them from their foes. This passage is so accurate a description of what the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, did, that it doubtless refers to the miracles which he would perform. In not a few instances did he in fact restore the blind to sight, giving thus the most unequivocal proof that he was the Messiah sent from God Mat 9:27; Mat 20:30; Mar 8:23; Mar 10:46; Luk 7:21. It is a full confirmation of the opinion that this passage refers to Christ, that the Saviour himself appeals to the fact that he restored the blind to sight, as demonstration that he was the Messiah, implying that it was predicted that this would be a part of his appropriate work (Mat 11:5; compare Luk 4:18).
And the ears of the deaf be unstopped – Another demonstration of divine power, and another proof that would be furnished that the Messiah was from God The Lord Jesus often gave this demonstration that he was invested with divine power Mat 11:5; Mar 7:32, Mar 7:37; Mar 9:25.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 35:5-6
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened
Good hope for the afflicted
I.
This joyful prediction was literally fulfilled in the MIRACULOUS CURES WHICH OUR LORD PERFORMED IN THE DAYS OF HIS FLESH.
II. The cheering prediction is spiritually fulfilled, in THE EXPERIENCE OF SINNERS, IN THE DAY OF CONVERSION.
III. This pleasing prediction is also accomplished, in a spiritual sense, in THE EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN, IN THE DAY OF GRACIOUS REVIVAL, AFTER A SEASON OF DECLENSION.
IV. The delightful prediction is gloriously fulfilled in THE DAY OF THE CHRISTIANS DEATH, AND AT THE RESURRECTION OF THE JUST. (D. Fraser, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
The most ignorant and stupid creatures shall be forced to acknowledge the wonderful works of God. Or rather thus, The poor Gentiles, who before were blind and deaf, shall now have the eyes and ears of their minds opened to see Gods works, and to hear and receive his word. And in token hereof, many persons who are corporally blind and deaf shall have sight miraculously conferred upon them; all which being so fully and literally accomplished in Christ, and applied by Christ to himself, it is a plain proof that this prophecy belongs to the times of the gospel.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5, 6. Language figuratively,descriptive of the joy felt at the deliverance from Assyria andBabylon; literally, true of the antitypical times of Messiah and Hismiracles (see Margin references, Mat 11:5;Luk 7:2; 2Jn 1:5;2Jn 1:8; Act 3:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,…. Which was literally fulfilled in the first coming of Christ, Mt 9:27 Joh 9:1 and spiritually, both among Jews and Gentiles; especially the latter, under the ministry of the apostles, when those who were blind as to spiritual things had no knowledge of God in Christ; nor of the way of salvation by him; nor of the plague of their own hearts; nor of the work of the Spirit of God upon the soul; nor of the truths of the Gospel; through the power of divine grace had the eyes of their understanding opened, so as to see their sinfulness and vileness; their emptiness of all that is good, and their impotency to do anything that is spiritual; their want of righteousness; their need of Christ, and the fulness and suitableness of him as a Saviour; and to have some light into the truths of the Gospel, and a glimpse of heaven and eternal glory: and this will still have a greater accomplishment in the latter day, when the blind Jews are converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in:
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; which was literally true of some when Christ came in the flesh, Mt 11:5 and spiritually of many who had not ears to hear in a spiritual sense; stopped what ears they had to the charming voice of the Gospel; and, though they might externally hear, did not understand it: yet these having ears given them to hear, and their ears and hearts opened by the Spirit of God, heard the Gospel spiritually, profitably, pleasantly, comfortably, and with wonder and astonishment; and a multitude of such instances there will be in the latter day glory. Jarchi interprets it of such who were blind as to the knowledge of the fear of God, and deaf to the voice of the prophets.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame man leap as the stag, and the tongue of the dumb man shout; for waters break out in the desert, and brooks in the steppe. And the mirage becomes a fish-pond, and the thirsty ground gushing water-springs; in the place of jackals, where it lies, there springs up grass with reeds and rushes.” The bodily defects mentioned here there is no reason for regarding as figurative representations of spiritual defects. The healing of bodily defects, however, is merely the outer side of what is actually effected by the coming of Jehovah (for the other side, comp. Isa 32:3-4). And so, also, the change of the desert into a field abounding with water is not a mere poetical ornament; for in the last times, he era of redemption, nature itself will really share in the doxa which proceeds from the manifested God to His redeemed. Sharab (Arab. sarab ) is essentially the same thing as that which we call in the western languages the mirage, or Fata morgana ; not indeed every variety of this phenomenon of the refraction of light, through strata of air of varying density lying one above another, but more especially that appearance of water, which is produced as if by magic in the dry, sandy desert
(Note: See. G. Rawlinson, Monarchies, i. p. 38.)
(literally perhaps the “desert shine,” just as we speak of the “Alpine glow;” see Isa 49:10). The antithesis to this is ‘agam (Chald. ‘ agma’ , Syr. egmo , Ar. agam ), a fish-pond (as in Isa 41:18, different from ‘ agam in Isa 19:10). In the arid sandy desert, where the jackal once had her lair and suckled her young (this is, according to Lam 4:3, the true explanation of the permutative ribhtsah , for which ribhtsam would be in some respects more suitable), grass springs up even into reeds and rushes; so that, as Isa 43:20 affirms, the wild beasts of the desert praise Jehovah.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Blessings of the Gospel. | B. C. 720. |
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. 9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
“Then, when your God shall come, even Christ, to set up his kingdom in the world, to which all the prophets bore witness, especially towards the conclusion of their prophecies of the temporal deliverances of the church, and this evangelical prophet especially–then look for great things.”
I. Wonders shall be wrought in the kingdoms both of nature and grace, wonders of mercy wrought upon the children of men, sufficient to evince that it is no less than a God that comes to us. 1. Wonders shall be wrought on men’s bodies (Isa 35:5; Isa 35:6): The eyes of the blind shall be opened; this was often done by our Lord Jesus when he was here upon earth, with a word’s speaking, and one he gave sight to that was born blind, Mat 9:27; Mat 12:22; Mat 20:30; Joh 9:6. By his power the ears of the deaf also were unstopped, with one word. Ephphatha–Be opened, Mark vii. 34. Many that were lame had the use of their limbs restored so perfectly that they could not only go, but leap, and with so much joy to them that they could not forbear leaping for joy, as that impotent man, Acts iii. 8. The dumb also were enabled to speak, and then no marvel that they were disposed to sing for joy, Mat 9:32; Mat 9:33. These miracles Christ wrought to prove that he was sent of God (John iii. 2), nay, working them by his own power and in his own name, he proved that he was God, the same who at first made man’s mouth, the hearing ear, and the seeing eye. When he would prove to John’s disciples his divine mission he did it by miracles of this kind, in which this scripture was fulfilled. 2. Wonders, greater wonders, shall be wrought on men’s souls. By the word and Spirit of Christ those that were spiritually blind were enlightened (Acts xxvi. 18), those that were deaf to the calls of God were made to hear them readily, so Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened, so that she attended, Acts xvi. 14. Those that were impotent to every thing that is good by divine grace are made, not only able for it, but active in it, and run the way of God’s commandments. Those also that were dumb, and knew not how to speak of God or to God, having their understandings opened to know him, shall thereby have their lips opened to show forth his praise. The tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy, the joy of God’s salvation. Praise shall be perfected out of the mouth of babes and sucklings.
II. The Spirit shall be poured out from on high. There shall be waters and streams, rivers of living water; when our Saviour spoke of these as the fulfilling of the scripture, and most probably of this scripture, the evangelist tells us, He spoke of the Spirit (Joh 7:38; Joh 7:39), as does also this prophet (ch. xxxii. 15); so here (v. 6), in the wilderness, where one would least expect it, shall waters break out. This was fulfilled when the Holy Ghost fell upon the Gentiles that heard the word (Acts x. 44); then were the fountains of life opened, whence streams flowed, that watered the earth abundantly. These waters are said to break out, which denotes a pleasing surprise to the Gentile world, such as brought them, as it were, into a new world. The blessed effect of this shall be that the parched ground shall become a pool, v. 7. Those that laboured and were heavily laden, under the burden of guilt, and were scorched with the sense of divine wrath, found rest, and refreshment, and abundant comforts in the gospel. In the thirsty land, where no water was, nor ordinances (Ps. lxiii. 1), there shall be springs of water, a gospel ministry, and by that the administration of all gospel ordinances in their purity and plenty, which are the river that makes glad the city of our God, Ps. xlvi. 4. In the habitation of dragons, who chose to dwell in the parched scorched ground (Isa 34:9; Isa 34:13), these waters shall flow, and dispossess them, so that, where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes, great plenty of useful productions. Thus it was when Christian churches were planted, and flourished greatly, in the cities of the Gentiles, which, for many ages, had been habitations of dragons, or devils rather, as Babylon (Rev. xviii. 2); when the property of the idols’ temples was altered, and they were converted to the service of Christianity, then the habitations of dragons became fruitful fields.
III. The way of religion and godliness shall be laid open: it is here called the way of holiness (v. 8) the way both of holy worship and a holy conversation. Holiness is the rectitude of the human nature and will, in conformity to the divine nature and will. The way of holiness is that course of religious duties in which men ought to walk and press forward, with an eye to the glory of God and their own felicity in the enjoyment of him. “When our God shall come to save us he shall chalk out to us this way by his gospel, so as it had never been before described.” 1. It shall be an appointed way; not a way of sufferance, but a highway, a way into which we are directed by a divine authority and in which we are protected by a divine warrant. It is the King’s highway, the King of Kings’ highway, in which, though we may be waylaid, we cannot be stopped. The way of holiness is the way of God’s commandments; it is (as highways usually are) the good old way, Jer. vi. 16. 2. It shall be an appropriated way, the way in which God will bring his own chosen to himself, but the unclean shall not pass over it, either to defile it or to disturb those that walk in it. It is a way by itself, distinguished from the way of the world, for it is a way of separation from, and nonconformity to, this world. It shall be for those whom the Lord has set apart for himself (Ps. iv. 3), shall be reserved for them: The redeemed shall walk there, and the satisfaction they take in these ways of pleasantness shall be out of the reach of molestation from an evil world. The unclean shall not pass over it, for it shall be a fair way; those that walk in it are the undefiled in the way, who escape the pollution that is in the world. 3. It shall be a straight way: The wayfaring men, who choose to travel in it, though fools, of weak capacity in other things, shall have such plain directions from the word and Spirit of God in this way that they shall not err therein; not that they shall be infallible even in their own conduct, or that they shall in nothing mistake, but they shall not be guilty of any fatal misconduct, shall not so miss their way but that they shall recover it again, and get well to their journey’s end. Those that are in the narrow way, though some may fall into one path and others into another, not all equally right, but all meeting at last in the same end, shall yet never fall into the broad way again; the Spirit of truth shall lead them into all truth that is necessary for them. Note, The way to heaven is a plain way, and easy to hit. God has chosen the foolish things of the world, and made them wise to salvation. Knowledge is easy to him that understands. 4. It shall be a safe way: No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast (v. 9), none to hurt or destroy. Those that keep close to this way keep out of the reach of Satan the roaring lion, that wicked one touches them not. Those that walk in the way of holiness may proceed with a holy security and serenity of mind, knowing that nothing can do them any real hurt; they shall be quiet from the fear of evil. It was in Hezekiah’s days, some time after the captivity of the ten tribes, that God, being displeased with the colonies settled there, sent lions among them, 2 Kings xvii. 25. But Judah keeps her integrity, and therefore no lions shall be there. Those that walk in the way of holiness must separate themselves from the unclean and the ravenous, must save themselves from an untoward generation; hoping that they themselves are of the redeemed, let them walk with the redeemed who shall walk there.
IV. The end of this way shall be everlasting joy, v. 10. This precious promise of peace now will end shortly in endless joys and rest for the soul. Here is good news for the citizens of Zion, rest to the weary: The ransomed of the Lord, who therefore ought to follow him wherever he goes (Rev. xiv. 4), shall return and come to Zion, 1. To serve and worship God in the church militant: they shall deliver themselves out of Babylon (Zech. ii. 7), shall ask the way to Zion (Jer. l. 5), and shall find the way ch. lii. 12. God will open to them a door of escape out of their captivity, and it shall be an effectual door, though there be many adversaries. They shall join themselves to the gospel church, that Mount Zion, that city of the living God, Heb. xii. 22. They shall come with songs of joy and praise for their deliverance out of Babylon, where they wept upon every remembrance of Zion, Ps. cxxxvii. 1. Those that by faith are made citizens of the gospel Zion may go on their way rejoicing (Acts viii. 39); they shall sing in the ways of the Lord, and be still praising him. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, and the sorrows and signs of their convictions are made to flee away by the power of divine consolations. Those that mourn are blessed, for they shall be comforted. 2. To see and enjoy God in the church triumphant; those that walk in the way of holiness, under guidance of their Redeemer, shall come to Zion at last, to the heavenly Zion, shall come in a body, shall all be presented together, faultless, at the coming of Christ’s glory with exceeding joy (Jud 1:24; Rev 7:17); they shall come with songs. When God’s people returned out of Babylon to Zion they came weeping (Jer. l. 4); but they shall come to heaven singing a new song, which no man can learn, Rev. xiv. 3. When they shall enter into the joy of their Lord it shall be what the joys of this world never could be everlasting joy, without mixture, interruption, or period. It shall not only fill their hearts, to their own perfect and perpetual satisfaction, but it shall be upon their heads, as an ornament of grace and a crown of glory, as a garland worn in token of victory. Their joy shall be visible, and no longer a secret thing, as it is here in this world; it shall be proclaimed, to the glory of God and their mutual encouragement. They shall then obtain the joy and gladness which they could never expect on this side heaven; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away for ever, as the shadows of the night before the rising sun. Thus these prophecies, which relate to the Assyrian invasion, conclude, for the support of the people of God under that calamity, and to direct their joy, in their deliverance from it, to something higher. Our joyful hopes and prospects of eternal life should swallow up both all the sorrows and all the joys of this present time.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Vs. 5-10: REGENERATION, REDEMPTION, RESTORATION AND REJOICING
1. How beautifully is the regeneration of Israel figuratively set forth in verses 5 and 6.
a. Doubtless, the Lord, in His divine majesty and saving strength, will wipe out physical disease, deformity and decay from all whose hearts are stayed on Him, (Hos 6:1; Luk 4:18; Isa 61:1-3; Rev 22:2).
b. But this context, so far as its initial application (to Judah) is concerned, requires a deeper significance and wider interpretation.
c. So far as divine worship and service are concerned, the people of the covenant have long been blind, deaf, lame and mute -not a fruitful vineyard, but a parched desert that brings forth no fruit to the glory of God, (Isa 59:10; Mat 13:14-15; Isa 6:9-10; Mat 3:10; Mat 13:22; Luk 13:6; Psa 78:10-11; Psa 81:11-16).
d. Following this time of refreshment and renewal “from the presence of the Lord” (Act 3:19), they will, willingly and joyfully, submit themselves to the yoke of Jehovah and bear effective witness of His glorious name to the ends of the earth (Zec 10:6-12; Mic 7:15-20; Zep 3:14-20).
2. Verse 7 indicates that there will also be a refreshment and renewal of the literal land of Palestine, (Isa 43:19-21).
3. Isaiah has a great deal to say concerning a “highway”, (Isa 11:16; Isa 19:23; Isa 40:3; Isa 49:11; Isa 62:10) that is to be prepared for the return of a redeemed remnant of Israel to the Land of Promise, (vs. 8; Psa 111:9).
a. Henceforth Israel will walk in “the way of holiness” -following God’s perfect plan, (Isa 30:21).
b. On this highway will also come to Zion all her spiritual children (from among the Gentiles) who have, through the engrafting of faith, become “fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of God”, to share in the fullness of covenanted blessings, (Isa 60:4-5; Rom 11:11-24; Eph 2:19).
c. No one can travel on this highway (leading to the fullness of life) whose heart, life, love and loyalty are not perfectly attuned to the “Lord of glory”, (vs. 9; Psa 91:11; Mal 3:1; Eze 34:25-26).
4. It is to Zion, the City of God – where Messiah, the Lamb of God, now sits enthroned (vs. 10; Isa 1:27; Psa 48:1-2) – that Isaiah beholds the redeemed returning with singing, (Isa 44:23; Isa 49:13; Jer 31:11-12; Jer 33:10-11); and he gives assurance:
a. That their joy will be everlasting, (Psa 16:11; 1Pe 4:13; comp. Rev 5:8-13; Rev 14:3; Rev 15:3-4).
b. And that, for them, sorrow and sighing will be no more! (Isa 25:8; Isa 30:19; Isa 65:19; Rev 7:17; Rev 21:4).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened. (26) He continues the promise about the restoration of the Church, in order to encourage the hearts of the godly, who must have been grievously dismayed by the frightful calamities which he foretold. Since a true restoration is accomplished by Christ, we must therefore come to him, if we wish to know the meaning of the words which Isaiah employs in this passage; and indeed it is only by his kindness that we rise again to the hope of a heavenly life. Isaiah probably alludes to a former prediction, (Isa 29:10,) in which he threatened against the Jews dreadful blindness, madness, and total stupefaction of the soul. He now promises that, when Christ shalt shine forth, those senses of which they were deprived for a time shall be renovated and brightened to a new life. There is weight in the adverb Then; for we ought to infer from it that, so long as we are alienated from Christ, we are dumb, blind, and lame, and, in short, that we are destitute of all ability to do what is good, but that we are renewed by the Spirit of Christ, so as to enjoy real health.
By the tongue and ears and feet he means all the faculties of our soul, which in themselves are so corrupt that nothing that is good can be obtained from them till they are restored by the kindness of Christ. The eyes cannot see what is right, and the ears cannot hear, and the feet cannot guide us in the right way, till we are united to Christ. Though the senses of men are abundantly acute wherever they are impelled by sinful passions; though the tongue is eloquent for slander, perjury, lying, and every kind of foolish speaking; though the hands are too ready for thefts, extortions, and cruelty; though the feet are swift to do injury; and, in short, though the whole of our nature is not only willing but strongly bent on doing what is evil; yet we are altogether slothful and dull to do what is good, and therefore every part of us must be created anew by the power of Christ, that it may begin to understand aright, to feel, to speak, and to perform its offices; for
“
no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit.” (1Co 12:3.)
This renewal proceeds from the grace of Christ alone, and, therefore, sound strength is regained by those who are converted to Christ, and who formerly were in all respects useless, and resembled dead men; for, while we are separated from Christ, we either are destitute of everything that is good, or it is so greatly corrupted in us, that it cannot be applied to its proper use, but on the contrary is polluted by being abused. Christ gave abundant proofs and examples of this, when he restored speech to the dumb, eyes to the blind, and perfect strength to the feeble and lame; but what he bestowed on their bodies was only a token of the far more abundant and excellent blessings which he imparts to our souls.
(26) “That is,” says Jarchi, “who have hitherto been blind so as not to know the reverence (or fear) of me upon them.” Or, as explained by his annotator Breithaupt, “Who have hitherto shaken off the yoke of the fear of God, and have not manifested the reverence that is due to God.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5, 6) Then the eyes of the blind shall . . .The words are obviously to be interpreted, like those that precede them, and Isa. 29:18, of spiritual infirmities. If they seem to find a literal fulfilment in the miracles of the Christ, it is, as it were, ex abundante, and as a pledge and earnest of something beyond themselves.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5, 6. Then In that glorious future time.
Lame dumb The physical imperfections in these verses are also images of moral disease and infirmity, which in the coming Messianic days are to be removed, as indeed they were removed in Christ’s earthly mission, and as they have been and ever will be in these ends of the world. All nature around us, animate and inanimate, yearns for the deliverance of the sons of God. Rom 8:19-23.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Days of Blessing Will Surely Come ( Isa 35:5-7 ).
For those who are His the day of blessing is guaranteed. And in that day all will be put right. All disability will be removed to be replaced by rivers of living water (Joh 4:10-14; Joh 7:37-39), which will endure for ever (Rev 22:1-5).
Analysis.
a Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, then will the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb will sing (Isa 35:5-6 a).
b For in the wilderness will waters break out, and streams in the desert (Isa 35:6 b).
b And the burning sand (or ‘mirage’) will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.
a In the haunt of jackals where they rested, will be grass, with reeds and rushes (Isa 35:7).
Note that in ‘a’ what is marred will be made whole, and in the parallel the place which was only fit for jackals will flourish. In ‘b’ and its parallel the dry places will become water sources.
So once God’s Day of vengeance and recompense comes, wonderful things will happen. For Edom it would mean slaughter and desolation (Isa 34:8). But for God’s people it will mean restoration of sight and hearing both physically and spiritually, healing of all faculties of body and soul, and the restoration of the ability to speak, and of joy, and of a desire to sing. For in God’s kingdom imperfections cannot survive. All will be made complete.
And the whole land will be restored to blessing. The wilderness and desert will have plentiful water, mirages will become the reality that they promise, the dry ground will abound with springs, and in the wasted areas where jackals had their lairs grass would spring up, with reeds and rushes. Abundance of water is a constant indicator of blessing in Scripture, symbolic as we saw in Isa 32:15 of the coming of the Spirit of God (compare Isa 44:1-5).
Isa 35:5-6
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Then will the lame man leap as a hart,
And the tongue of the dumb will sing.’
Such will be God’s blessing that all physical imperfection will be removed. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will dance about and the dumb will speak. Note the contrast between the feeble knees of the previous verses and the leaping like a hart. All has changed. The stress here is on the fact that in God’s ideal kingdom there can be no defects. In that future kingdom man will be made completely whole.
There was a spiritual fulfilment of these promises among the godly in Israel after the return for many heard and saw Him, and the spiritually lame leaped and spoke of His glory. That was what sustained the truth through the dark times (we must not underestimate this inter-testamental work of God which resulted in a remnant of Israel being preserved pure and holy ready for the Coming One).
Later, with the presence of Jesus, there was literal fulfilment wherever He went, for He healed all Who came to Him, the deaf, the dumb, the blind and the lame (Mat 11:4-5). In His presence disease could not survive, and it was a picture of the greater glory yet to come in the everlasting kingdom in heaven. For in healing them He drew attention to the greater spiritual significance of what He was here to do, using the healings as parables of what He had spiritually come to bring about. And He opened the spiritual ears and eyes of men even more fully and declared that the Kingly Rule of God had come. Men’s hearts leaped in His presence. And it has been so through the centuries.
However, its even greater fulfilment awaits that great day when the true people of God will arise from the dust (Isa 26:19), made perfect in Him in every way, and the everlasting kingdom will come in, and all that is imperfect and marred will be done away.
Isa 35:6-7
‘For in the wilderness will waters break out,
And streams in the desert,
And the burning sand (or ‘mirage’) will become a pool,
And the thirsty ground springs of water.
In the haunt of jackals where they rested,
Will be grass, with reeds and rushes.’
The need for water was constantly central in life in Canaan. There were no great rivers, and the country mainly depended on rainfall; on springs and wells and cisterns. Here the promise is therefore that the wilderness and desert will have plenty of water and abound in springs, instead of burning sand (or mirages) there will be cooling pools, instead of ground thirsty for rain there will be springs of water. There will be streams (‘wadis – temporary rushing streams caused by rain) everywhere. Even the barren places where jackals made their dens would be full of grass, reeds and rushes, all indicating plenteous water and regular rain.
This glowing picture again found fulfilment step by step. First after the exilic period when the land was restored and became fruitful, and was irrigated and blossomed, then in spiritual terms through the ministry of Jesus when the water of life flowed through the land and out into the world producing fruitfulness and blessing (Joh 4:10-14; Joh 7:37-39), and it will finally again receive its complete fulfilment in the everlasting kingdom (Rev 22:1-3), when the river of Eden will again flow for the people of God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 35:5-6. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened After a parenthesis in the two preceding verses, the prophet continues his discourse, and more particularly sets forth those privileges of the church which should constitute its dignity and felicity. These privileges undoubtedly are spiritual; and though they may in some measure be applied to the unexpected vicissitude of the deliverance of the Jews from their enemies, yet were they even literally fulfilled in the times of the Messiah, by the miracles which he performed, by the preaching of the Gospel, and by the effusion of his enlightening Spirit. The blind, the deaf, the lame, the dumb, signify persons spiritually so, to whom by God’s grace were given, through the Gospel of Christ, eyes to see, and ears to hear, feet to walk, [power to perform] and tongues to speak the things which concern their salvation.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 914
STREAMS IN THE DESERT
Isa 35:5-7. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the fame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
THOUGH the truths which we have to proclaim lie in a very small compass, yet do they admit of an endless diversity of illustration; so that, though old and well known, they appear ever new. The figure under which the Gospel is here set forth is indeed frequently used in the Holy Scriptures: and well it may be, since it is peculiarly adapted to bring home to our very senses, as it were, the nature and operation of the Gospel, and to display its energy visibly before our eyes. We can conceive of a desert converted into a fertile garden; and we can form some idea of the multitudes who were healed of all manner of diseases by our blessed Lord. And under these images is the Gospel here exhibited to our view. In the words before us, we are led to contemplate,
I.
Its miraculous establishment
A desert is but too just a picture of the world at large
[In this country we have a very faint notion of a desert. In some parts of the world there are large tracts of country perfectly sterile, consisting only of burning sands, in which nothing will grow; and these are infested with all manner of noxious animals. Now certainly this appears, at first sight, to be a very exaggerated representation of human nature: and doubtless it would be so, if we took into the account only mans conduct towards his fellow-man. For it must be confessed, and we bless God for it, that man is not so fallen, but that there yet remain within him many traits of his original worth and excellency. Benevolence, integrity, a sense of honour, a feeling of compassion, are by no means eradicated from every breast; though, through the violence of temptation, they do not operate so extensively or so uniformly as they ought; and in many persons, through habits of wickedness, they are almost wholly effaced. But towards God there remains in us nothing that is truly and properly good. We are in this respect all upon a level: we all, without exception, are alike alienated from the life of God, without one spiritual affection towards him. To please him, to serve him, to honour him, we have no purpose, no desire whatever. Self has altogether usurped his throne, and is the only object of our solicitude: and if only self may be advanced and gratified, we are content to forget God, and to live without him in the world. Thus, considering a desert to be a place destitute of all good, and full of all evil, we may, so far as our state before God is concerned, consider it as a just picture of our fallen condition.]
But by the Gospel a wonderful change is effected in us
[Conceive of such a desert, as has been described, being, by the almighty power of God, filled at once with springs and rivers, and verdant hills and valleys: conceive of it as freed from all its venomous inhabitants, and covered with flocks and herds for the use of man: and then you will have some idea of what is wrought by the Gospel, wherever it is established. Let the day of Pentecost serve as a specimen. Certainly, if ever there were incarnate fiends, such were the great mass of those who put our blessed Lord to death. But see the change wrought on thousands of them in one hour! It would be deemed incredible, if we did not know that such was really the fact: the Holy Spirit then poured out, in confirmation of the Apostles word, turned at once the wilderness into a fruitful field, so that the fruitful field might be counted for a forest [Note: Isa 32:15.]. What takes place at this day, upon a smaller scale, is not so visible, or so well authenticated, as that to which we have referred; but it is altogether of the same character: for when once the waters break out in the wilderness, and the streams in the desert, the parched ground becomes a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; and in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, there is grass with reeds and rushes; vegetation and beauty supplying the place of sterile deformity.
It is scarcely necessary to observe, that this must be the work of God. It far exceeds the power of man. It was the work of Omnipotence in the apostolic age: and, as such, it is here promised to be extended over the face of the whole earth. Jerusalem was indeed the primary seat of this glorious change: but it is to be extended, as the Lord hath said: Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God [Note: Isa 52:9-10.].]
In accordance with this change, will be found,
II.
Its characteristic benefits
At the introduction of Christianity, many glorious miracles were wrought by our blessed Lord, in confirmation of his word. These were predicted in the passage before us; and to these did our blessed Lord appeal, in proof of his divine mission. John sent two of his disciples to him, to inquire, Art thou He that should come; or do we look for another? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go, and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them [Note: Mat 11:2-5.]. But it is in a spiritual sense, chiefly, that these blessed effects are to be wrought. In a general, view these have been already described: but now we must notice them under a different image, and with a more minute attention to circumstances.
In all our faculties, and in all our powers, we are fallen
[It is worthy of observation, that, for the elucidation of this point, St. Paul collects a number of unconnected passages from the Old Testament, and strings them, as it were, all together, in order that, by their accumulated weight, they may bear down all opposition to his argument; which is, to prove that men are all gone out of the way, and that there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their mouth, says he, is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood [Note: Rom 3:12-15.]. Thus, in my text, it is intimated, that mens eyes are by nature shut against the light of divine truth; that their ears are deaf to the voice of God in his word; that their feet never move in the service of their God; and that their tongues are never employed in his praise. A very little acquaintance with what is passing in the world around us, or in our own hearts, will suffice to confirm this melancholy description: so true is it, that all of us, even every child of man, are gone back; they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one [Note: Psa 53:3.].]
But in all these respects, through the Gospel of Christ, we are renewed
[By the preached Gospel, when accompanied with the Spirit of God, the eyes of the blind are opened; so that, with different measures of clearness, they see the things that are invisible to mortal eyes, even the evil of sin, the beauty of holiness, and the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. By it, too, the ears of the deaf are unstopped; so that they hear the small still voice of God to them, whispering peace to their souls, and saying unto them, This is the way; walk ye in it. By it, also, the feet of the lame man are made to leap as an hart; so that they not only walk, but run in the way of Gods commandments with enlarged hearts. Lastly, by it is the tongue of the dumb made to sing the praises of Jehovah, and to anticipate, amidst all the troubles of this earthly state, the felicity of heaven.
Now this is not a poetic fiction, but a plain and undeniable reality. This is the state of men wherever the Gospel of Christ produces its proper and legitimate effects. It is not among the rich only or the poor, the old or the young, that it operates in this way, but in persons of every age and every class. Wherever it is preached, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, there it is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and becomes to multitudes the power of God to the salvation of their souls. The miracles wrought by our blessed Lord were but a shadow of what is wrought, and shall be wrought, by the preached Gospel: and, I thank God, there are millions this day upon earth who can bear witness to this blessed truth, that, in their own actual experience, they are become altogether new creatures; old things having passed away, and all things being become new.]
Observe then, from hence,
1.
What little reason any person has to despond
[Can any one conceive himself to be in a worse state than that of a desert, destitute of all good, and filled with every thing that is of the most malignant quality? Or, if he take humanity for his standard, can he conceive of himself as in a more deplorable condition than one blind, and deaf, and lame, and dumb? Yet these are the maladies which the Gospel is sent especially to relieve. It does not merely suffice for these things; but it is the prescribed remedy, which never did, nor ever can, fail. Instead therefore of being discouraged by any sense that we have of our own extreme want and wretchedness, we should take occasion, from our very necessities, to glorify God, and to enlarge our expectations of relief from him; assured, that his strength shall be made perfect in our weakness, and his grace be magnified in our unworthiness.]
2.
What glorious prospects are before us
[We believe that these wonderful changes shall take place in Gods appointed time, and that all the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ. The change from the dreary barrenness of winter to the verdure and fertility of spring, is pleasing to the sight: but, oh! what is it to see a place, where Christ was neither known nor thought of, filled with persons displaying in their souls all the wonderful operations of his grace! And what must it be, to behold those scenes spreading from city to city, from kingdom to kingdom, till the whole earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea! Well, certain it is, that this blessed period is fast approaching; and that God will comfort, not Zion only, but all the waste places of the earth; making her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; so that in every place shall joy and gladness be found, and nothing be heard but thanksgiving and the voice of melody [Note: Isa 51:3.]. Let us look forward to this time; yea, let us help it forward to the utmost of our power: and if, but in a single instance, the blind, or deaf, or lame, or dumb, receive the relief which they stand in need of, we shall have no reason to complain that we have run in vain, or laboured in vain [Note: If this were a Mission Sermon, it would be proper to open this part more fully.].]
3.
What ground for gratitude has every believing soul
[Who is it that has made you to differ from others? Who is it that has healed the maladies of your souls, or that has made your wilderness soul to blossom as the rose? This, as we have before said, is the work of God, and of God alone: He that hath wrought us to the self-same thing, is God. And is this no call for gratitude? Look at heathen lauds, and see their people bowing down to stocks and stones. Or look nearer home, and see the multitudes around you as unaffected with the Gospel as if it had never visited this highly-favoured country. Perhaps your nearest and dearest relatives are at this moment, in respect of spiritual things, as barren as the most dreary desert, and as destitute of perception as if they had never possessed the organs of sight and hearing. Learn to pity and to pray for them, whilst your souls are transported with joy and gratitude for the mercies vouchsafed to you. And now shew, by your fruits, what a change has been wrought within you, and, by the devotion of all your faculties to God, the healing virtue which you have received.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Ver. 5. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened. ] This was fulfilled corporally in cures wrought by Christ, Mat 9:27 ; Mat 11:5 and spiritually in the preaching of the gospel by the efficacy of his Spirit. Act 26:18 ; Act 16:14 Apollonius Tyanaeus could never do such miracles, nor any other. This showeth that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isaiah
MIRACLES OF HEALING
Isa 35:5 – Isa 35:6
‘Then’-when? The previous verse answers, ‘Behold, your God will come, He will come and save you.’ And what or when is that ‘coming’? A glance at the place which this grand hymn occupies in the series of Isaiah’s prophecies answers that question. It stands at the close of the first part of these, and is the limit of the prophet’s vision. He has been setting forth the Lord’s judgments upon all heathen, and His deliverance of Israel from its oppressors; and the ‘coming’ is His manifestation for that double purpose. Before its flashing brightness, barrenness is changed into verdure, diseases that lame men’s powers vanish, the dry and thirsty land gleams with the shining light of sudden streams. Across the wilderness stretches a broad path, raised high above the bewildering monotony of pathless sand, too plain to be missed, too lofty for wild beasts’ suppleness to spring upon it: along it troop with song and gladness the returning exiles, with hope in their hearts as they journey to Zion, where they find a joyful home undimmed by sorrow, and in which sighing and sorrow are heard and felt no more.
Now this is poetry, no doubt; the golden light of imagination suffuses it all, but it is poetry with a solid meaning in it. It is not a mere play of fancy exalting the ‘coming of the Lord’ by heaping together all images that suggest the vanishing of evil and the coming of good. If there is a basis of facts in it, what are they? What is the period of that emphatic ‘then’ at the beginning of our text? The return of the Jews from exile? Yes, certainly; but some greater event shines through the words. Some future restoration of that undying race to their own land? Yes, possibly, again we answer, but that does not exhaust the prophecy. The great coming of God to save in the gift of His Son? Yes, that in an eminent degree. The second coming of Christ? Yes, that too. All the events in which God has come for men’s deliverance are shadowed here; for in them all, the same principles are at work, and in all, similar effects have followed. But mainly the mission and work of Jesus Christ is pointed at here-whether in its first stage of Incarnation and Passion, or in its second stage of Coming in glory, ‘the second time without sin, unto salvation.’
And the bodily diseases here enumerated are symbols, just as Christ’s miracles were symbolical, just as every language has used the body as a parable of the soul, and has felt that there is such a harmony between them that the outward and visible does correspond to and shadow the inward and spiritual.
I think, then, that we may fairly take these four promises as bringing out very distinctly the main characteristics of the blessed effects of Christ’s work in the world. The great subject of these words is the power of Christ in restoring to men the spiritual capacities which are all but destroyed. We have here three classes of bodily infirmities represented as cured at the date of that blessed ‘Then.’ Blindness and deafness are defects in perception, and stand for incapacities affecting the powers of knowledge. Lameness affects powers of motion, and stands for incapacity of activity. Dumbness prevents speech, and stands for incapacity of utterance.
I. Christ as the restorer of the powers of knowing.
Mark the peculiarities of Scripture anthropology as brought out in this view of humanity:-
Its gloomy views of man’s actual condition.
Its emphatic declaration that that condition is abnormal.
Its confidence of effecting a cure.
Its transcendentally glorious conception of what man may become.
Men are blind and deaf; that is to say, their powers of perception are destroyed by reason of disease. What a picture! The great spiritual realities are all unseen, as Elisha’s young servant was blind to the fiery chariots that girdled the prophet. Men are blind to the starry truths that shine as silver in the firmament. They are deaf to the Voice which is gone out to the ends of the earth, and yet they have eyes and ears, conscience, intuitions. They possess organs, but these are powerless.
And while the blindness is primarily in regard to spiritual and religious truths, it is not confined to these, but wherever spiritual blindness has fallen, the whole of a man’s knowledge will suffer. There will be blindness to the highest philosophy, to the true basis and motive of morals, to true psychology, to the noblest poetry. All will be of the earth, earthy. You cannot strike religion out of men’s thoughts, as you might take a stone out of a wall and leave the wall standing; you take out foundation and mortar, and make a ruinous heap.
I know, of course, that there may be much mental activity without any perception of spiritual realities, but all knowledge which is not purely mathematical or physical suffers by the absence of such perception. All this blindness is caused by sin.
Christ is the giver of spiritual sight. He restores the faculty by taking away the hindrance to its exercise. Further, He gives sight because He gives light.
But turn to facts of experience, and consider the mental apathy of heathenism as contrasted with the energy of mind within the limits of Christendom. Greece, of course, is a brilliant exception, but even there 1 what of the conceptions of God? 2 what of the effect of the wise on the mass of the nation? Think of the languid intellectual life of the East. Think of the energy of thought which has been working within the limits of Christianity. Think of Christian theology compared with the mythologies of idolatry. And the contrast holds not only in the religious field but all over the field of thought.
There is no such sure way of diffusing a culture which will refine and strengthen all the powers of mind as to diffuse the knowledge of Jesus, and to make men love Him. In His light they will see light.
To know Him and to keep company with Him is ‘a liberal education,’ as is seen in many a lowly life, all uninfluenced by what is called learning, but enriched with the finest flowers of ‘culture,’ and having gathered them all in Christ’s garden.
Christ is the true light; in Him do we see. Without Him, what is all other knowledge? He is central to all, like genial heat about the roots of a plant. There is other knowledge than that of sense; and for the highest of all our knowledge we depend on Him who is the Word. In that region we can neither observe nor experiment. In that region facts must be brought by some other means than we can command, and we can but draw more or less accurate deductions from them. Logic without revelation is like a spinning-machine without any cotton, busy drawing out nothing. Here we have to listen. ‘The entrance of Thy words giveth light.’ Your God shall come and save you; then, by that divine coming and saving, ‘the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.’
II. Christ as the Restorer of the Powers of Action.
Christianity brings the Energising of the Soul-
a By its reference of everything to God-our powers and our circumstances and our activities.
b By its prominence given to Retribution. It speaks not merely of vita brevis -but of vita brevis and an Eternity which grows out of it.
c By its great motive for work-love.
d By the freedom It brings from the weight that paralysed.
It takes away sin. Lifting that dreary load from our backs, it makes us joyful, strong, and agile.
The true view of Christianity is not, as some of its friends, and some of its foes, mistakenly concur in supposing, that it weakens interest in, and energy on, the Present, but that it heightens the power of action. A life plunged in that jar of oxygen will glow with redoubled brilliance.
III. Christ as the Restorer of Powers of Utterance.
Think of the effect of Christianity on human speech, giving it new themes, refining words and crowding them with new meanings. Translate the Bible into any language, and that language is elevated and enriched.
Think of the effect on human praise. That great treasure of Christian poetry.
Think of the effect on human gladness. Christ fills the heart with such reasons for praise, and makes life one song of joy.
Thus Christ is the Healer.
To men seeking for knowledge, He offers a higher gift-healing. And as for true knowledge and culture, in Christ, and in Christ alone, will you find it.
Let your culture be rooted in Him. Let your Religion influence all your nature.
The effects of Christianity are its best evidence. What else does the like of that which it does? Let Jannes and Jambres ‘do the same with their enchantments.’ We may answer the question, ‘Art Thou He that should come?’ as Christ did, ‘The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.’
The perfect Restoration will be in heaven. Then, indeed, when our souls are freed from mortal grossness, and the thin veils of sense are rent and we behold Him as He is, then when they rest not day nor night, but with ever renewed strength run to His commandments, then when He has put into their lips a new song-’then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Then the eyes, &c. When Messiah came, these miracles (not miracles qua miracles) were the evidence that He had indeed come to save His People (Mat 11:1-6), but they rejected Him. Hence, this with other similar prophecies are in abeyance. John had based his own claims on Isa 40:3, while the Lord based His claims on Isa 35:5-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 35:5-7
Isa 35:5-6
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.”
Again, we point out that the great promise in Isa 35:4 is, “Behold, your God will come … and save you.” Very well, the people who heard that would wish to know, above everything else, WHEN will it happen? Isa 35:5 answers the question. Look at the first word in Isa 35:5 and Isa 35:6. “THEN,” that is, when the “eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the death unstopped.” “When? …. Then,” “When the lame man shall leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing!” And when?, pray tell, is that? It is, of course, in the times of the Messiah, for there is not a more Messianic message in the entire Bible than these two verses right here. Commentators of every shade of conviction are unanimous:
“Lowth declared that, “The miraculous works wrought by our blessed Saviour are so clearly specified here (Isa 35:5-6) that we cannot avoid making the application. And our Saviour himself has moreover plainly referred to this passage as speaking of him and his works in Mat 11:4-5”. This passage is so accurate a description of what the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ did, that it doubtless refers to the miracles which he would perform.
Isa 35:7
“And the glorying sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water: in the habitation of jackals, where they lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.”
This language is very similar to the promises in the first few verses of the chapter and carry exactly the same meaning, indicating the contrast between the conditions where men are in rebellion against God and the far better times which result from men’s submission to God’s will. It is no accident that, all over the world, wherever Christian faith has thrived, there, and there only, have occurred the truly great advancements of human civilizations. If one needs an example of this, try a contrast between Africa and North America.
In this verse, the expression “glowing sand” is given as “mirage” in an alternate reading in the American Standard Version margin; and some scholars prefer that reading. Such a change would not alter the obvious meaning of the passage.
Isa 35:5-7 SLAKED: The first step in the process of sanctifying a people is a renewal of spiritual discernment. The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. This reminds us of Jesus application of Isa 61:1-4 to His redemptive work in the synagogue in Luk 4:16-30. (cf. also Joh 9:35-41) Spiritual sensibility will replace carnal dullness, and spiritual ability will replace debilitating sin. There was more seen by those whom Jesus cured of physical blindness than was seen by many of those who had perfect eyesight. Isa 35:5 was fulfilled in Christ in much more than a physical way and is still being fulfilled today. Men are constantly recovering their spiritual sight and hearing. Lame and dumb regained more than physical well-being when Jesus healed them. It was by being brought to faith in Him they were saved from sin.
It is sin that opposes God. All men are sinners and enemies. Men are deceived by sin. Sin is the great mirage. The great Liar, Satan, deceived man with the great lie and deceived man into opposing Gods sovereignty. False philosophies, false religions and carnal political schemes form the great mirage out in the desert of sin. Men think they see life, refreshment and sustenance in the mirages. Isaiah says, when the Messianic age comes, instead of a mirage there will be real water for thirsty souls. There will be a beautiful, green, cool, satisfying oasis in the midst of the arid, false, killing wilderness of sin. The Living Water would come (Joh 4:1-42; Joh 7:37-39) and all who believe in Him become rivers of living water, oases in the desert of sin. Before the gospel the nations wandered like travelers in the desert, allured and disillusioned by shadows and mirages and dreamlike phantoms of truth in the false religions and human political systems. But in the gospel of Christ they have pure fountains and calm lakes of living water which refresh them in their weary pilgrimage home.
That which was once desolate and barren will become lush with an abundance unheard of. This is the meaning of the reference to jackals, normally animals of the desert who have no vegetation in which to lie, finding tall grass, reeds and rushes in which to lie. It is an added figure of speech describing the verdure of the messianic age.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the eyes: Isa 29:18, Isa 32:3, Isa 32:4, Isa 42:6, Isa 42:7, Isa 42:16, Isa 43:8, Psa 146:8, Mat 9:27-30, Mat 11:3-5, Mat 12:22, Mat 20:30-34, Mat 21:14, Mar 8:22-25, Luk 4:18, Joh 9:1-7, Joh 9:39, Joh 11:37, Act 9:17, Act 9:18, Act 26:18, Eph 1:17, Eph 1:18, Eph 5:14
the ears: Isa 48:8, Exo 4:11, Job 33:16, Pro 20:12, Jer 6:10, Mar 7:32-37, Mar 9:25, Mar 9:26, Luk 7:20-23
Reciprocal: Gen 21:19 – General Psa 119:18 – Open Mat 9:5 – Arise Mat 9:30 – their Mat 15:30 – great Mar 7:35 – General Mar 10:52 – he received Luk 7:22 – how Luk 18:43 – he Joh 1:4 – the life Joh 9:7 – and came Joh 9:30 – and yet Joh 10:21 – Can Joh 12:15 – Fear
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 35:5-7. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened The poor Gentiles, who before were blind and deaf, shall now have the eyes and ears of their minds opened to see Gods works, and to hear and receive his word. And, in token hereof, many persons who are literally and corporally blind and deaf, shall have sight and hearing miraculously conferred upon them; all which things being so fully accomplished in Christ, and, as has been just observed, applied by him to himself, it is plain that this prophecy belongs primarily to the times of the gospel. Then shall the lame leap as a hart For joy, or shall proceed readily and nimbly in the way of duty. And the tongue of the dumb shall sing The praises of his Redeemer and Saviour. For in the wilderness shall waters break out The most dry and barren places shall be made moist and fruitful: which is principally meant of the plentiful effusion of Gods grace upon such persons and nations as had been wholly destitute of it. In the habitation of dragons shall be grass, &c. Those dry and parched deserts, in which dragons have their abode, shall yield abundance of grass, and reeds, and rushes, which grow only in moist ground. Thus it was when Christian churches were planted and flourished in the cities of the Gentiles, which for many ages had been habitations of dragons, or rather of devils, Rev 18:2. When the property of the idols temples was altered, and they were converted to the service of Christianity, then the habitations of dragons became fruitful fields.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
35:5 Then the eyes of the {f} blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
(f) When the knowledge of Christ is revealed.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The former limitations of these believers will end, and they will rejoice (cf. Isa 6:9-10; Isa 29:9-12; Isa 29:18; Isa 65:20; Luk 7:18-23; Act 3:8). The Israelites’ blindness and deafness was in reference to God’s call to participate in His work. [Note: Watts, Isaiah 34-66, p. 15.]