Life is a Highway

The all-consuming human pursuit of the self has destroyed bonds of life. So, Isaiah contrasts their choice: trusting in nations results in a desert; trusting in God results in a garden. Isaiah 35 is a poem that describes a future kingdom brought by a future messianic King who will put all things right. Christians believe that King is Jesus, who makes deserts bloom.

References:

• "Until recent times, human beings usually had a permanent community of relatives. They had dozens of homes to go to. So, when a married couple had a fight, one or the other could go to a house three doors down and stay with a close relative until he or she was feeling tender again. Or if the kids got fed up with their parents that they couldn't stand it, they could march over to their uncle's for a while. Now this is rarely possible. Each family is locked into its little box...When we ponder what's happening in America, the answer is perfectly simple. We're lonesome. We don't have enough friends or relatives anymore." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., quoted by Michael Gurian, The Wonder of Boys, 67