Isaiah · chapter 29 of 66
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Isaiah 29 announces a woe on Ariel, that is, Jerusalem, which will be besieged and humbled and then suddenly delivered from its enemies. It denounces a people who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far away, and those who think they can hide their plans from the Lord. It ends with the promise that the deaf will hear, the blind will see and the humble will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 29 continues the series of woes in chapters 28-33, aimed at the leaders of Judah who seek security in alliances. The prophet addresses Jerusalem with an unusual name, Ariel, and describes a siege that is reversed unexpectedly. It is a chapter about routine religion, spiritual blindness and God's surprising work.
The chapter begins with a woe on Ariel, the city where David camped. The feasts roll around year after year, but the Lord will distress Ariel, there will be mourning and lamenting, and he himself will camp against her as a besieger. Brought low, her voice will come from the ground like a ghost's, a whisper from the dust. But then the multitude of her foes will be like fine dust and like chaff that blows away, for the Lord of hosts will visit her with thunder and earthquake and great noise. The crowd of nations fighting against Ariel will be like a dream, like a hungry man who dreams he is eating and wakes with an empty stomach.
Verses 9-12 describe the people's spiritual blindness. They are drunk, but not with wine; the Lord has poured out on them a spirit of deep sleep and closed the eyes of the prophets. Every vision is to them like the words of a sealed book: it is given to one who can read, who says he cannot because it is sealed; it is given to one who cannot read, who says he does not know how.
The Lord says this people draw near with their mouths and honor him with their lips, while their hearts are far from him, and their fear is a human commandment learned by rote. So he will do wonderful things again, and the wisdom of their wise will perish. Woe to those who hide their plans, thinking no one sees them, and who turn things upside down as if the potter were the same as the clay. But in a very little while Lebanon will turn into a fruitful field; on that day the deaf will hear the words of the book and the eyes of the blind will see. The humble will increase their joy in the Lord and the poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The ruthless will be gone, Jacob will not be ashamed, and those who err in spirit will come to understanding.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The prophet announces a woe on Ariel, the city where David camped, and speaks of feasts that roll around year after year. The name points to Jerusalem and its religious life, which carries on even as judgment draws near.
The Lord says this people draw near with their mouths and honor him with their lips, but their hearts are far from him, and their fear is a human rule learned by rote. It is a charge against routine religion, which Jesus quoted against the Pharisees.
The text rebukes the idea that the potter is the same as the clay, or that the work can say of its maker that he did not make it. Acknowledging God as Creator means accepting that his wisdom surpasses ours.
On that day the deaf will hear the words of the book and the eyes of the blind will see out of darkness. The Lord reverses the spiritual blindness of the chapter with a work of healing and understanding.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Jerusalem is called Ariel, the city where David camped. — Isaiah 29:1
Answer: A dream, like a hungry man who dreams he is eating and wakes empty. — Isaiah 29:7-8
Answer: A spirit of deep sleep, which closes the eyes of the prophets. — Isaiah 29:10
Answer: With their mouths and lips, but with their hearts far from him. — Isaiah 29:13
Answer: The deaf will hear the words of the book and the blind will see out of darkness. — Isaiah 29:18
Answer: Their joy in the Lord will increase and they will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. — Isaiah 29:19
Isaiah 29:13 is a mirror for every community of faith. Singing, praying and attending are valuable, but the Lord looks at the heart. In a small group you can ask honestly whether our religious practices have become inherited habits without a real desire to know God, and ask him to renew the love that should drive them.
The chapter also encourages anyone who feels spiritually dry. The Lord promises to open the eyes of the blind and gladden the humble. A Sunday school class can encourage those who struggle to understand the Word to keep reading it with humility, trusting that God is the one who gives light, and remember that he can surprise us when everything seems besieged.
Isaiah 29 moves from the siege of Jerusalem to the promise that God will open eyes and ears. Chapter 30 returns to the theme of political alliances, with a new woe for the rebellious children who go down to Egypt without consulting the Lord.
The text applies the name to the city where David camped, that is, Jerusalem. Scholars debate the exact sense of the word, which has been linked to lion of God or altar hearth. What the passage makes clear is that it means Jerusalem and its life of worship.
Yes. Jesus quotes it in Matthew 15:8-9 and Mark 7:6-7 to rebuke those who taught human traditions as if they were God's commandments while their hearts were far from him.
It is a picture of the prophets' vision, which the people cannot understand. Neither the one who can read nor the one who cannot is able to open it. It reflects the people's spiritual blindness, not a particular book from history.