Isaiah 29

Isaiah 29:1

2. Woe to Ariel/Jerusalem (Chap. 29)29:1-4 Ariel is the privileged city of Jerusalem where David had his headquarters. The people there may go through their religious motions year after year, but God will bring distress on the city till it is nothing but an Ariel. The name Ariel has two meanings, “lion of God” and “altar” (see Eze_43:15-16 where ariel is translated altar hearth). The city that was once the “lion of God” is now a flaming altar. Its people are the sacrificial victims. 29:5-8 Yet God will intervene suddenly and the enemies will be driven back like fine dust and chaff. Just when the foes think they will completely devour Jerusalem, they will be foiled as if waking out of a dream. 29:9-12 The people’s willful blindness had brought judicial blindness upon them, and they stagger as if drunk. God’s word is unintelligible to them. To some it is a sealed . . . book, to others illegible. Everyone has an excuse. 29:13-14 Because their religion is purely external and their only fear of God is a matter of memorized creeds, God will perform a supernatural work of judgment, stripping the keenest minds of wisdom and discernment. The “marvelous work” in verse 14 refers to the invasion of Sennacherib. W. E. Vine writes: The rulers of Judah sought to rely on Egypt for assistance. That was a piece of political wisdom from the natural point of view; in God’s sight it was an act of rebellion; hence God brought the policy to nought, reducing Judah to a condition of helplessness, that they might depend on God alone. Today the “marvelous work” is accomplished by the gospel (see 1Co_1:18-25). 29:15, 16 A woe is pronounced on the deceitful rulers who are making plots with Egypt, as if God does not see them. They have everything topsy-turvy, putting the clay in the potter’s place and vice versa, thus denying God’s power and knowledge. 29:17-21 But a day of deliverance is coming when God will also reverse things. What is now a wild forest (Lebanon) will be a fruitful field, and what is now counted a fruitful field will be looked on as nothing more than an overgrown forest. Then the deaf shall hear, the blind shall see, the humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD. The oppressor and the scoffer shall be no morealso those nit-pickers who tried to trip up the righteous! 29:22-24 The closing verses describe the believing remnant, here called Jacob. Shame and reproach will be a thing of the past. The children of Jacob will realize how God has intervened on their behalf and will honor Him for it. Those who misjudged and complained will be knowledgeable and teachable.