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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,'1-');">Isa 29</a> - The Cause and Cure of Spiritual Blindness</h2>
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<p>A. The coming distress upon Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,'1-4');">1-4</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span> humbles a proud Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add year to year; let feasts come around. Yet I will distress Ariel; there shall be heaviness and sorrow, and it shall be to Me as Ariel. I will encamp against you all around, I will lay siege against you with a mound, and I will raise siegeworks against you. You shall be brought down, you shall speak out of the ground; your speech shall be low, out of the dust; your voice shall be like a medium's, out of the ground; and your speech shall whisper out of the dust.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Woe to Ariel</span></b>: The name <b><span class="c3">Ariel</span></b> means <i>Lion of God</i>, and in this passage is used as a symbolic reference to Jerusalem (<b><span class="c3">the city where David dwelt</span></b>). The only place where <b><span class="c3">Ariel</span></b> is used as a name for Jerusalem is in this chapter of Isaiah, and the word only appears one other time in the Old Testament (as the name of a priest in <a onclick="return mV('Ezr',8,16);">Ezr 8:16</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. There is some dispute as to if <b><span class="c3">Ariel</span></b> means <i>Lion of God</i> (the literal translation) or <i>an altar for burning</i>, which is a very similar word in Hebrew (used in passages like <a onclick="return mV('Eze',43,'15-16');">Eze 43:15-16</a>). If it is to be understood as <i>an altar for burning</i>, then the idea is that "The fighting and bloodshed around Jerusalem would make the city like a giant place of sacrifice." (Wolf) But, considering the context as a whole, it is best to see <b><span class="c3">Ariel</span></b> with its literal meaning - <i>Lion of God</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. When we consider the way <b><span class="c3">Ariel</span></b> is used in these verses, and the context as a whole, the idea behind calling Jerusalem <i>Lion of God</i> is probably sarcastic. The repetition of the name (four times in two verses), and the context of God's judgment against Jerusalem, suggest the idea that Jerusalem may have thought of herself as the <i>Lion of God</i>, but God didn't share that lofty opinion of the city. It may be that the people of Jerusalem had taken to calling themselves by the name <b><span class="c3">Ariel</span></b>, to both express and strengthen their confidence.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. The feeling in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,1);">Isa 29:1</a> is that Jerusalem is proud (<b><span class="c3">Ariel</span></b>), resting on its spiritual heritage instead of its present reality<b><span class="c3"> </span></b>(<b><span class="c3">the city where David dwelt!</span></b>), and living for present pleasures without concern for God (<b><span class="c3">Add year to year; let feasts come around</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Yet I will distress Ariel</span></b>: Jerusalem may have this high opinion of itself, but it is not out of the reach of God's hand of judgment. Instead of the routine of <b><span class="c3">year to year</span></b> and the <b><span class="c3">feasts</span></b>, God will send <b><span class="c3">heaviness and sorrow</span></b>. If Jerusalem sees itself as a <i>lion</i>, then God will fight against them with the same fury a man would have against a lion (<b><span class="c3">it shall be to Me as Ariel</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">I will encamp against you all around</span></b>: Using the images of warfare for that day, God promises to battle against Jerusalem, and to conquer her (<b><span class="c3">You shall be brought down</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4">e. In all of this, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will bring down the lofty self-image Jerusalem has of itself. Instead of calling herself <b><span class="c3">Ariel</span></b>, and <b><span class="c3">the city where David dwelt</span></b>, their <b><span class="c3">speech shall be brought low, out of the dust</span></b>. Instead of loud boasts, their <b><span class="c3">speech shall whisper out of the dust</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,'5-8');">5-8</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span> protects and delivers a humbled Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Moreover the multitude of your foes shall be like fine dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones like chaff that passes away; yes, it shall be in an instant, suddenly. You will be punished by the <span class="c6">Lord</span> of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with storm and tempest and the flame of devouring fire. The multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel, even all who fight against her and her fortress, and distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, and look; he eats; but he awakes, and his soul is still empty; or as when a thirsty man dreams, and look; he drinks; but he awakes, and indeed he is faint, and his soul still craves: so the multitude of all the nations shall be, who fight against Mount Zion."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The multitude of your foes shall be like fine dust</span></b>: The closing image in the previous verses was Jerusalem groveling in the dust. Now, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> uses another image, spun off of the idea of <b><span class="c3">dust</span></b> - Jerusalem's enemies will scattered as <b><span class="c3">fine dust</span></b>. God will humble Jerusalem in the dust, and then scatter her enemies like <b><span class="c3">fine dust</span></b>, like <b><span class="c3">chaff that passes away</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">You will be punished</span></b>: This seems to be directed against the nations that come against Jerusalem. God will allow them to come against the city, and to humble it, but God will punish the nations that have come against His city.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams</span></b>: Because the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will protect Jerusalem, the nations that come against her will ultimately be frustrated. They will be like a man who dreams of food, but wakes up hungry. They will dream of fulfillment, but be unfulfilled.</p>
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<p>B. The spiritual blindness of Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,'9-10');">9-10</a>) The spiritual stupor of Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c2">Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind!</span></b> Jerusalem's pride (as expressed in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,1);">Isa 29:1</a>) has made them spiritually <b><span class="c3">blind</span></b>, and spiritually <b><span class="c3">drunk</span></b>. The <span class="c6">Lord</span> tells Jerusalem to <b><span class="c3">pause and wonder</span></b> at this, because though they do it to themselves, they lack the self-awareness to see their condition.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink</span></b>: This <i>is not</i> seen as a "blessing from the Spirit of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>." This is a <i>curse</i>, both self induced and sent from the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. This speaks powerfully to those today who promote the idea of God "blessing" His people with being "drunk in the Spirit."</p>
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<p class="c4">c. Because Jerusalem chose blindness, and chose spiritual drunkenness, God <i>sent</i> something: the <span class="c6">Lord</span> <b><span class="c3">poured out on</span></b> them <b><span class="c3">the spirit of deep sleep</span></b>. As drunks will "sleep it off," so the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will send blind, proud, drunk Jerusalem into the lethargy and vulnerability of spiritual sleep. But a drunk can become sober after sleep; for those who are spiritually drunk, sleep worsens their condition.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. When we are asleep, we are doing nothing <i>productive</i>. When we are asleep, we are <i>vulnerable</i>. When we are asleep, we are <i>insensitive</i>. God sent these things to a blind, proud, drunk Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The problem of spiritual sleep didn't end with Jerusalem of Isaiah's day. <a onclick="return mV('Rom',13,11);">Rom 13:11</a> was written to Christians: <i>And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed</i>. Christians need to be <i>awake</i>, especially knowing the time!</p>
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<p class="c4">d. Because Jerusalem chose blindness, and chose spiritual drunkenness, God <i>took away</i> something: He <b><span class="c3">has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets</span></b>. As a drunk has blurred vision and poor perception, so God <b><span class="c3">closed</span></b> the spiritual <b><span class="c3">eyes</span></b> of the nation - <b><span class="c3">namely, the prophets</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The prophets were silent, and the word of God was neglected because the people <i>wanted</i> it that way. In silencing the <b><span class="c3">prophets</span></b> and the <b><span class="c3">seers</span></b>, God simply gave Jerusalem what she wanted.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The prophet Amos spoke of the same idea: <i>"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord <span class="c6">God</span>, "That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, but shall not find it."</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Amo',8,'11-12');">Amo 8:11-12</a>)</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,'11-12');">11-12</a>) The spiritual illiteracy of Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c2">The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I am not literate."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. Isaiah likened Jerusalem to the <i>blind</i> and to the <i>drunk</i>. Now, he likens them to the <i>illiterate</i>. But this isn't a literal literacy, because the <b><span class="c3">literate</span></b> man receives the <b><span class="c3">vision</span></b> of God, but to him it is like a <b><span class="c3">sealed</span></b> book. When the book of the vision is brought to the <b><span class="c3">illiterate</span></b> man, he does no better (<b><span class="c3">I am not literate</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. Many today "read" or "receive" God's word like an illiterate man "reads" the newspaper. They can pick out a few words here and there, and they can certainly look at the pictures. They can sit with an open newspaper, enjoy themselves to some degree, and <i>appear</i> to be reading. But the true content really escapes them.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,'13-16');">13-16</a>) Why the <span class="c6">Lord</span> sends spiritual blindness upon Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c2">Therefore the <span class="c6">Lord</span> said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden." Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and their works are in the dark; they say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?" Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; for shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me</span></b>: Jerusalem knew how to <i>talk the spiritual talk</i>, but their <b><span class="c3">hearts</span></b> were <b><span class="c3">far from</span></b> God. You can't always tell a person's heart by what they <i>say</i>. You can't always tell a person's heart by what they <i>do</i>. Though only God can really know the heart, the closest we can come is by looking at the <i>whole of their life</i> - not just what they say or do, and especially not only at how they act at church or among Christians.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Jesus said, <i>For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks </i>(<a onclick="return mV('Mat',12,34);">Mat 12:34</a>). This is a true - but not absolute - principle, because people can <b><span class="c3">draw near to</span></b> God <b><span class="c3">with their mouths and honor</span></b> the <span class="c6">Lord</span> <b><span class="c3">with their lips</span></b>, and their hearts can still be <b><span class="c3">far from</span></b> God. Of course, their speech will betray them at one time or another - but just maybe never at church!</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. This manner of talking the talk, but not having the heart, didn't end in Isaiah's day. Jesus quoted this passage from Isaiah when He rebuked the religious leaders of His day for their hypocrisy (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',15,'7-9');">Mat 15:7-9</a>, <a onclick="return mV('Mar',7,'6-7');">Mar 7:6-7</a>). It didn't end in Jesus' day either!</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. How did their hearts get far from God? They <b><span class="c3">have removed their hearts far from Me</span></b>. God doesn't move away from His people; they remove their hearts from Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men</span></b>: The people of Jerusalem had no fear of God in themselves; it had to be <i>commanded</i> by others. Their hearts did not respond to God, but only to men.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The wisdom of their wise men shall perish</span></b>: Because Jerusalem's pride had led them into spiritual blindness, sleep, drunkenness, illiteracy, and hypocrisy, God will destroy the <b><span class="c3">wisdom of their wise men</span></b>. Their <b><span class="c3">wise men</span></b> promoted the pride that led to all these evils!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Isaiah calls this <b><span class="c3">a marvelous work and a wonder</span></b>, for God to reject the wisdom of man and to display His wisdom. Paul was also amazed at the "wisdom" of man, and how it compared to the "foolishness" of God: <i>For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('1Cr',1,'21-25');">1Cr 1:21-25</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Who sees us?</span></b> In their false wisdom, the proud people of Jerusalem thought they could hide their thoughts (<b><span class="c3">hide their counsel</span></b>) and their deeds (<b><span class="c3">their works are in the dark</span></b>) from the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. <b><span class="c3">Surely you have things turned around!</span></b> They thought they could hide from the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and that they had Him all figured out. The truth is turned around! The <span class="c6">Lord</span> has them all figured out, and they really don't know God at all.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay</span></b>: The people of Jerusalem made the terrible mistake of <i>raising</i> themselves up, and <i>lowering</i> God at the same time. So, for them, the <b><span class="c3">clay</span></b> was just as worthy, just as intelligent, just as powerful, as the <b><span class="c3">potter</span></b> was!</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"?</span></b> Indeed, man says exactly this today. Man looks at God our Creator, and says, <b><span class="c3">"He did not make me."</span></b> For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and His prophet, this was absolutely absurd, but today it passes for high science!</p>
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<p class="c4">g. <b><span class="c3">Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?</span></b> Indeed, man says exactly this today. Instead of seeing the absolute need for an intelligent designer who created all things, many believe that chance - absolute blind, random, purposeless chance, having no <b><span class="c3">understanding</span></b> at all - brought all things into being.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. People who are otherwise intelligent often fall into this delusion. Jacques Monod, a biochemist, wrote: "Chance <i>alone</i> is at the source of every innovation, of all creation in the biosphere. Pure chance, absolutely free but blind, at the very root of the stupendous edifice of evolution."</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. But assigning such power to "chance" is crazy. Chance has no power. For example, when a coin is flipped, the chance it will land "heads" is 50%; however, "chance" does not make it land heads. Whether or not it lands heads or tails is due to the strength with which the coin is flipped, the strength of air currents and air pressure as it flies through the air, where it is caught, and if it is flipped over once it is caught. <i>Chance</i> doesn't "do" anything but describe a probability.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. When Carl Sagan petitioned the federal government for a grant to search for intelligent life in outer space, how did he hope to find it? By using a super sensitive instrument to pick up radio signals from distant space. When he received those radio signals, he looked for order and pattern, which would demonstrate the signals were transmitted by intelligent life. In the same way, the order and pattern of the whole universe demonstrates that it was fashioned by intelligent life, not by "chance." Scientists detect "chance" in the radio signals constantly (in the form of unpatterned static), but it tells them <i>nothing</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Therefore, when someone says the universe or anything else came about by chance, they are extremely ignorant, superstitious, or just repeating a line they have heard before and have unthinkingly accepted.</p>
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<p class="c4">h. We need to remember the context of the whole chapter - the pride and blindness of Jerusalem. It is perhaps the height of man's pride and blindness to reject the <span class="c6">Lord</span> as our creator.</p>
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<p>C. A promise of restoration.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,'17-21');">17-21</a>) Sight for the spiritually blind, justice for the wicked.</p>
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<p class="c2">Is it not yet a very little while till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nothing, the scornful one is consumed, and all who watch for iniquity are cut off; who make a man an offender by a word, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just by empty words.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Is it not yet a very little while</span></b>: God's restoration will come, and all things considered, it is in <b><span class="c3">a very little while</span></b>. It may not seem so to us when we are in the midst of a trial, but it is true.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?</span></b> <b><span class="c3">Lebanon</span></b> was know for its mighty forests, which would be brought low and <b><span class="c3">turned into a fruitful field</span></b>. On the other hand, the <b><span class="c3">fruitful field</span></b> would become <b><span class="c3">as a forest</span></b>. God would cut one down and raise another up.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. A "proverbial saying, expressing any great revolution of things; and, when respecting two subjects, and entire reciprocal change." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The deaf shall hear...the eyes of the blind shall see</span></b>: When God's people are restored, pride no longer prevents them from hearing God's word or seeing God's work. Just as much as these are miracles in the natural realm, they are miracles in the spiritual realm also. We need to humbly seek God for ears to hear and eyes to see.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">The humble also shall increase their joy in the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: <b><span class="c3">Joy</span></b> is the proper reward for <b><span class="c3">the humble</span></b>. When we are <b><span class="c3">humble</span></b> - having an accurate estimation of ourselves, and a proper perspective of ourselves in relation to God and others - our lives are filled with the most <b><span class="c3">joy</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The <b><span class="c3">humble</span></b> and the <b><span class="c3">poor</span></b> have their joy <b><span class="c3">in the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>. He is a constant source of joy that can never be taken away!</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Pride is the enemy of joy. We can be proud and have <i>fun</i>, we can be proud and have <i>success</i>, we can be proud and experience <i>excitement</i>, and we can be proud and be <i>happy</i> because of happy circumstances. But we cannot be proud and have <b><span class="c3">joy in the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>, or to whatever degree we are proud, we are missing <b><span class="c3">joy in the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>. The proud can never have <b><span class="c3">joy in the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b> if they are in humble or poor circumstances.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">The terrible one is brought to nothing</span></b>: The work of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> does not stop at restoring His corrected people. It extends to bringing justice upon the wicked. Singled out for judgment by the prophet are those who have no sense of proportion or justice: <b><span class="c3">Who make a man an offender by a word...turn aside the just for a thing of naught</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',29,'22-24');">22-24</a>) The restoration of God's people.</p>
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<p class="c2">Therefore thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now grow pale; but when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will hallow My name, and hallow the Holy One of Jacob, and fear the God of Israel. These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will learn doctrine."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Jacob shall not now be ashamed</span></b>: Significantly, God addresses His people as <b><span class="c3">Jacob</span></b> in this promise of restoration. The name <b><span class="c3">Jacob</span></b>, given to the father of the 12 tribes, is not complimentary. It has the idea of a "con-man" or a "trickster." Anyone who is really a <b><span class="c3">Jacob</span></b>, has good reason to <b><span class="c3">be ashamed</span></b>, but when God restores His people, even the "Jacobs" <b><span class="c3">shall not now be ashamed</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">When he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will hallow My name</span></b>: The picture is of the patriarch Jacob looking over his descendants, and no longer being <b><span class="c3">ashamed</span></b> of them, because they now <b><span class="c3">hallow</span></b> the name of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and respect the holiness of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmured will learn doctrine</span></b>: Finally, in God's day of restoration, the truth is taught and known and exalted. Those <b><span class="c3">who erred in spirit</span></b> now have <b><span class="c3">understanding</span></b>, and those who <b><span class="c3">murmured</span></b> know better because they know the truth.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This chapter says a great deal about spiritual blindness:</p><ul class="c6"><li>Spiritual blindness is caused by pride.</li><li>Spiritual blindness will bring us low.</li><li>Spiritual blindness leads to spiritual drunkenness.</li><li>Spiritual blindness leads to spiritual sleep.</li><li>Spiritual blindness leads to spiritual illiteracy.</li><li>Spiritual blindness causes hypocrisy.</li><li>Spiritual blindness makes men believe God cannot know what they think or see what they do.</li><li>Spiritual blindness makes men deny God as Creator.</li><li>Spiritual blindness is cured through humility.</li><li>Spiritual blindness can only be healed through the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s restoration.</li></ul>
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