In The Word
Read: Isaiah 29:1-30:17
Jerusalem Is Warned
29 Woe, Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped!
Add year to year, keep your feasts on schedule.
2 I will bring distress to Ariel,
And she will be a city of grieving and mourning;
And she will be like an Ariel to me.
3 I will camp against you encircling you,
And I will set up siege works against you,
And I will raise up battle towers against you.
4 Then you will be brought low;
From the earth you will speak,
And from the dust where you are prostrate
Your words will come.
Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground,
And your speech will whisper from the dust.
5 But the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust,
And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away;
And it will happen instantly, suddenly.
6 From the Lord of armies you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
7 And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel,
Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 It will be as when a hungry person dreams—
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied,
Or as when a thirsty person dreams—
And behold, he is drinking,
But when he awakens, behold, he is faint
And his thirst is not quenched.
So will the multitude of all the nations be
Who wage war against Mount Zion.
9 Be delayed and horrified,
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They become drunk, but not with wine,
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep,
He has shut your eyes—the prophets;
And He has covered your heads—the seers.
11 The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which, when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.”12 Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”
13 Then the Lord said,
“Because this people approaches Me with their words
And honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught;
14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the understanding of their men who have understanding will be concealed.”
15 Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord,
And whose deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
16 You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay,
That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;
Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
Blessing after Discipline
17 Is it not yet just a little while
Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
18 On that day those who are deaf will hear words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of those who are blind will see.
19 The afflicted also will increase their joy in the Lord,
And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be eliminated,
21 Who cause a person to be indicted by a word,
And set a trap for the arbitrator at the gate,
And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob will not be ashamed now, nor will his face turn pale now;
23 But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who err in mind will know the truth,
And those who criticize will accept instruction.
Judah Warned against Egyptian Alliance
30 “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who execute a plan, but not Mine,
And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
2 Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting Me,
To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh,
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame,
And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
4 For their officials are at Zoan
And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
5 Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who do not benefit them,
Who are not a help or benefit, but a source of shame and also disgrace.”
6 The pronouncement concerning the animals of the Negev:
Through a land of distress and anguish,
From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent,
They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys,
And their treasures on camels’ humps,
To a people who will not benefit them;
7 Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty.
Therefore, I have called her
“Rahab who has been exterminated.”
8 Now go, write it on a tablet in their presence
And inscribe it on a scroll,
That it may serve in the time to come
As a witness forever.
9 For this is a rebellious people, false sons,
Sons who refuse to listen
To the instruction of the Lord;
10 Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”;
And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy the truth to us.
Speak to us pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions.
11 Get out of the way, turn aside from the path,
Stop speaking before us about the Holy One of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“Since you have rejected this word
And have put your trust in oppression and crookedness, and have relied on them,
13 Therefore this wrongdoing will be to you
Like a breach about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,
14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,
So ruthlessly shattered
That a shard will not be found among its pieces
To take fire from a hearth
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”
15 For this is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said:
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses!”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses!”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left like a signal post on a mountain top,
And like a flag on a hill.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
It was not the enemy fighting against the people in this battle; it was the Lord Himself that came against them. Were they blind? The prophet’s eyes were shut, and the seer’s head was covered because the people honored the Lord with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. Their worship was only tradition learned by routine, full of empty words of religion.
Rebellious people who refuse to listen to Him but instead trust in vain and empty things will see shame and humiliation. They try to order God around instead of listening to Him and following His ways. The Lord sees our motives and what we do. Destruction is certain for those who go their own way. They want the truth to get out of their way, out of their face, and off their path. If they cannot silence the seers and the prophets, they will go somewhere to have their ears tickled with words that are pleasant and comfortable.
However, one day they will truly see the work of His hands. They will stand in awe of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They will see the truth. Are you fooling yourself today? Are you just going through the motions of empty religion? Are you angry when someone tries to show you the truth? It is in repentance that we can be saved, but we must be willing to see and do that. Do not be blind to His loving correction. Set your eyes on Him today.