Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. Isa 51:1-3
Isaiah is speaking to a people in chapter 51 who have spent a long time away from Jerusalem. He is speaking to holy remnant people who long to return to the place from whence they came. Long have they suffered in a land full of sin. To add to their sufferings, so many of Gods people seem to have been taken by Babylon, seem to be indulging in all of its worldliness and comforts. In fact, when the time came to leave, historians tell us that almost three-quarters of the Israelites did not return but did in fact choose to stay.
But what a joy it is to be comforted by the knowledge that the Lord can and does and will comfort His people in the ” waste places.” He promises to make the desert places like the garden of Eden. Joy and gladness shall be found in the wilderness and the voice of melody shall carry on the hot desert winds. The Body of Christ finds itself in such a time. Long has it dwelt in Babylon. Long has the hearts of the saints been vexed just like righteous Lot’s. There is a grieving in the hearts of the saints as they witness the comfort and those at ease in Babylon. The saints know in their hearts that when made to choose between ease in Babylon or the long winding narrow path through the waste places and wilderness that leads them home, so many will choose to stay in Babylon.
Yet, it is better to experience the joy of the Lord in the wilderness places that to experience the joy of the world for a season. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. (Heb 11:25-26)
A Call To The Remnant 