Isaiah 42:16
And I will lead the blind in a way that they know not, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.
In its literal sense, this passage from Isaiah is about the promise God gave Israel to lead them back from their captivity in Babylon and restore them to the Promised Land from whence they had been dragged in chains 70 years before (around 587 BC). But, because God writes with human events the way we write with words, the restoration of the Jews to their land has a second meaning that points beyond it to something higher. For the ultimate restoration God promises is that “The LORD of hosts will … destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever (Isaiah 25:6-8). It was in order to fulfill that promise that Israel was restored. And it was in order to fulfill it that Jesus entered into the realm of those whose eyes were blinded by death and sin, took them by the hand and, on Holy Saturday, guided them from the darkness of the grave into the eternal light of Easter.
By Mark Shea
Mark P. Shea is a Catholic author, blogger, and speaker.
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