ISAIAH 29: “Woe to Ariel / Woe To Those Who Deeply Hide Their
Plans From The Lord”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we
finished looking at the Apocalyptic Vision for the whole world, and we saw how
that chapter 27 told us of the deliverance that is coming of
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to look at the next two woes that Isaiah pronounces. All of these 6 total woes which Isaiah writes
of are woes brought about as a result of principles coming into action which
regard how the Lord deals with His people when they rebel against the Him
1.2.1.
Woe to Ariel
1.2.1.1.This is a woe to Jerusalem
1.2.2.
Woe to those who deeply hide
their plans from the Lord
1.2.2.1.Those who think that they can hide their sins from the Lord
2.
VS 29:1-4 - “1 Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city
where David once camped! Add year to
year, observe your feasts on schedule. 2
And I will bring distress to Ariel, And she shall be a city of lamenting and
mourning; And she shall be like an Ariel
to me. 3 And I will camp against you
encircling you, And I will set siegeworks against you, And I will raise up
battle towers against you. 4 Then you
shall be brought low; From the earth you
shall speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate, Your words shall
come. Your voice shall also be like that
of a spirit from the ground, And your speech shall whisper from the dust.” - Isaiah pronounces a woe
against Ariel for the Lord promises to encircle her, setup siegeworks and
battle towers against her and bring her low
2.1.
It is odd that Isaiah introduces this section
as a woe against Ariel.
2.1.1.
This is the only place in the scripture where
the word ‘Ariel’ is found. We know from this chapter however, that Isaiah is
using the concept of Ariel in speaking of
2.1.1.1.In
verse 1 Isaiah tells us that this is the city where David once dwelt, and we
know that David conquered Jerusalem and made it his city, and thus we find the
term ‘City of David’ used dozens of times in the Old Testament in reference to
Jerusalem.
2.1.1.2.In
verse 7 we see the Lord delivering the city.
2.1.2.
We’re not even sure what the word Ariel
means. However, there are two major
theories about what the word means:
2.1.2.1.‘Lion
of God’.
2.1.2.1.1.With
this usage, we see that the image is of
2.1.2.1.2.The
tribe of
2.1.2.2.‘Hearth
of God’ or ‘Altar of God’.
2.1.2.2.1.With
this usage, we see that the image of
2.2.
Isaiah tells us in these verses that David
‘dwelt’ in this city, but he uses a Hebrew word that means that he dwelt in her
as in the sense of ‘tent camping’.
2.3.
We see in verse one that the Lord tells Ariel
to observe her feasts, yet then proceeds to tell her that she will be conquered
by the Lord. The
principle to learn here is that whenever God’s people turn away from Him,
external religion replaces the internal, and external rites and observances
pass as legitimate regardless of the state of the heart of the individual.
2.3.1.
This was happening in
2.3.2.
This same thing is happening in many churches
and denominations in our world today. So
many churches and denominations that used to be on fire for the Lord and hubs
of tireless missionary activity are dead in complacency and just going through
the motions of religious ritual.
2.4.
When a city was conquered in Isaiah’s day,
the enemy would encircle her, setup the siegeworks of a battle ram to break
open it’s gate, and then a battle tower fortress would come in and archers
would shoot at those all along the walls of the city.
2.5.
Isaiah was telling those of
2.6.
Isaiah tells us that
3.
VS 29:5-6 - “5 But the multitude of your
enemies shall become like fine dust, And the multitude of the ruthless ones
like the chaff which blows away; And it
shall happen instantly, suddenly. 6 From
the Lord of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud
noise, With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.” - Isaiah tells us that Ariel’s
enemies shall be pulverized and discarded like chaff
3.1.
In the first four verses we saw that the Lord
is going to conquer and humble Ariel (
3.1.1.
These verses and the ones that follow which
speak of God destroying Ariel’s (
3.1.1.1.The
Lord disciplined Judea severely just after Isaiah’s time by sending
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, to raze the city and take the people captive
to
3.1.1.2.During
the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation, the Lord will be both judging
the nations for their rebellion against Him as well as restoring Israel to
again be His people. During that time
the remnant of the nation of Israel that is left will all turn back to the Lord
as they come to realize that Jesus was the Messiah whom they had been sent, and
whom they had crucified (see this prophesied in Zech. 12:10). Romans 11: 25-31
tells us that one day all Israel will be saved, “For I do
not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in
your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the
fulness of the Gentiles has come in;26 and thus all Israel will be saved; just
as it is written,“The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness
from Jacob.” 27 “And this is My covenant with them, When I take away their
sins.” 28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but
from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the
fathers;29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you once were disobedient to
God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these
also now have been disobedient, in order that because of the mercy shown to you
they also may now be shown mercy.”
3.1.1.2.1.Note that the reason given for a faithful remnant of all
3.2.
The ‘ruthless’ thugs of Ariel’s (
3.3.
The judgment of God that will come against
the nations of Ariel’s enemies will be a furious unstoppable storm that is
characterized by Isaiah as a:
3.3.1.
Thunder.
3.3.2.
Earthquake.
3.3.3.
Loud noise.
3.3.4.
Whirlwind.
3.3.5.
Tempest.
3.3.6.
Flame.
3.3.7.
Fire.
4.
VS 29:7-8 - “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, Shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. 8 And it will be as when a hungry man dreams—
And behold, he is eating; But when he
awakens, his hunger is not satisfied, Or as when a thirsty man dreams— And
behold, he is drinking, But when he awakens, behold, he is faint, And his
thirst is not quenched. Thus the
multitude of all the nations shall be, Who wage war against Mount Zion.” - Isaiah tells us that the
multitude of nations that come and wage war against Ariel (
4.1.
The multitude of nations that will come up
against Ariel will come up I believe during the 7 Year Tribulation of the book
of Revelation, at the Battle of Armageddon.
At that time all of the nations of the earth shall amass their armies
and come down through the Valley of Megiddo north of Jerusalem, and it is there
that the Lord will descend and destroy those armies.
4.1.1.
In Zech. 12:3-4,
Zechariah prophesied some of the events that will occur leading up to the
Battle of Armageddon, “3 “And it will come
about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples;
all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will
be gathered against it.4 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every
horse with bewilderment, and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the
house of
4.1.1.1.
4.1.2.
In Zech. 14:1-5,
Zechariah tells us more about more of the events that will occur at the Battle
of Armageddon, “1 Behold, a day is
coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.2
For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city
will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the
city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.3
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights
on a day of battle.4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of
Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives
will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that
half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the
south.5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the
mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the
earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will
come, and all the holy ones with Him!”
4.1.2.1.
4.1.2.2.Joel
wrote in Joel 3:1-2 about how the Lord
would gather all of the nations against Jerusalem for judgment when He was
restoring the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, “1 “For
behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah
and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations, And bring them down to the
valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter
into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance,
4.1.3.
In Zech. 14:12-17,
Zechariah tells us even further details of what will occur at the Battle of
Armageddon, “12 Now this will be the
plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war
against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and
their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their
mouth.13 And it will come about in that day that a great panic from the Lord
will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one
will be lifted against the hand of another.14 And Judah also will fight at
Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold
and silver and garments in great abundance.15 So also like this plague, will be
the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle
that will be in those camps. 16 Then it
will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against
Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts,
and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.17 And it will be that whichever of the
families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord
of hosts, there will be no rain on them.”
4.1.3.1.At
the end of the 7 Year Tribulation, the Lord will strike the peoples of all of
those nations which have come to war against
4.2.
Isaiah tells us that the plot of all of the
nations that come up against
4.2.1.
Have you ever had a dream where you were
really hungry, and then you find some food and begin to eat? This will be what will happen to the nations
that come up against
4.2.2.
Have you ever had a dream where you were
really thirsty, and then you find some water and begin to drink it? This will be what will happen to the nations
that come up against
5.
VS 29:9-12 - “9 Be delayed and wait. Blind yourselves and be blind. They become drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with strong 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 And the entire vision shall 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, for 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.”” - Isaiah tells us that because
the Israelites blinded themselves that the Lord would cause them to be blind
5.1.
The Lord had just spoken of the restoration
that would come to
5.2.
In verse 9, the drunkenness that is described
is actually probably not literal drunkenness with alcohol, but rather an
intoxication with their own fleshly pride and devices. Pride causes blindness in men, and thus the
intoxication of pride is causing the people to stagger with intoxication.
5.3.
Notice here that the people had first blinded
themselves and then that the Lord had blinded them. God does not desire that anyone be blinded
for He desires more than anything that people come to know Him and be His
people. However, if people refuse to
hear and obey the truth, then the Lord will eventually confirm that decision
which they have already made.
5.4.
The blindness of the Jews prophesied was
fulfilled when the nation refused to see that Jesus was their prophesied
Messiah sent to them. In 2 Cor. 3:13-16, Paul wrote about how that a veil lies over
the hearts and the minds of the Jews concerning their understanding of the Old
Testament and it’s revelation of Christ as their Messiah, “13 and are not as Moses, who used to put a veil over his face that
the sons of Israel might not look intently at the end of what was fading
away.14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading
of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in
Christ.15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their
heart;16 but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
5.4.1.
This past week someone made the comment to me
that she just didn’t understand how the Jews could not see Jesus prophesied in
their Old Testament scriptures, for even a four year old should be able to see
this since it is so clearly revealed.
5.4.2.
It is hard for us Christians to understand
how the Jews do not see Jesus prophesied in their scriptures when they read
them. Truly, this could only occur
because of a curse of spiritual blindness from the Lord that they are
experiencing which keeps them from seeing what is so obvious in their
scriptures.
5.4.3.
That blindness which Israel is experiencing
will be removed during the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation when
the look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn as for an only child, as
Zechariah wrote in Zech. 12:10, “10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they
will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one
mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter
weeping over a first-born.”
5.5.
In 2 Cor. 4:3-4,
we read that “all people”
who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior are also being blinded, and
their blindness is occurring by the agency of wicked spirits, or fallen angels,
“3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled
to those who are perishing,4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded
the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
5.5.1.
We Christians need to realize that the
blindness that keeps people from understanding the truth is demonic in nature,
and thus when witnessing to people we must not think that we just need to
reason clearly with people in order to get them to understand the truth of the
gospel. People need deliverance from
spiritual darkness in order to see and hear the truth and we must pray
accordingly whenever we share the gospel.
5.5.2.
The Lord caused the blindness that has
occurred to the Jews in understanding their own scriptures, but that blindness
came about by the agency of the Devil and his hordes of demons.
5.6.
Isaiah tells us here that the Lord is going
to not only blind the minds of the common people, but also the minds of their
prophets, the Seers. Those who are
supposed to give the word of the Lord to them, reveal God’s leading and direction
to the people, and warn them of impending judgment, will themselves become
blind and not be able to understand God’s word and guidance.
6.
VS 29:13-14 - “13 Then the Lord said, “Because
this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But
they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of
tradition learned by rote,14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal
marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men shall be concealed.”” - Isaiah tells us that the
people of
6.1.
The people prayed to the Lord, for Isaiah
tells us that they drew ‘near with their words’. They also made a show of honoring the Lord,
however they had removed their hearts far from the Lord. They were just going through religious
motions, hoping that if they merely performed external religious rituals that
the Lord would bless them as a people.
However, the Lord is going to discipline them severely and remove their
iniquity from them Himself since they would not do so.
6.2.
As I mentioned earlier, whenever God’s people
turn away from Him, external religion replaces the internal, and external rites
and observances pass as legitimate regardless of the state of the heart of the
individual. This state of the people of
7.
VS 29:15-16 - “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 should say
to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or
what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?” - Isaiah pronounces his next
woe, and this one is against those who ‘deeply hide their plans from the Lord’
7.1.
It appears that what was happening was that
even though Isaiah had warned the leaders and people of Judea not to trust in
the arm of man for protection, that the leaders were secretly constructing an
alliance with
7.1.1.
This is a foolish thing to think that you can
hide your plans and thoughts from the Lord because as Heb. 4:13 says the Lord knows everything about us,
including even our most secret thoughts, and the way each of us are in those
secret thoughts of ours which we might be able to hide from others is the way
in which the Lord views each of us, “13 And there is no
creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the
eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
7.2.
As we have seen since the day that we began
to study the book of Isaiah, it was critical that the people would not place
their trust and hope in men and the arm of the flesh. For the nation to make an alliance with any
nation for protection was seen by the Lord as the final act of apostasy of the
nation. There was no hope for them to
ever be God’s people unless they relied completely upon Him for their
help.
7.2.1.
If the people would just trust in the Lord
and He alone as their help, then the Lord would show Himself strong on their
behalf and eventually route their enemies, just as He had always done in
history past with all of the righteous kings, prophets, judges, and patriarchs.
7.3.
Isaiah tells us that when the leaders were
trying to hide their plans and deeds from the Lord, as they were going in their
own direction, that they were making God out to the be the clay and they be the
potter. This is
another principle of all false religion, and when God’s people rebel against
Him. They put themselves in the place of
God and put God in their place. They
make God be under the direction of man, and man-made formulas are then used to
attempt to manipulate God to act.
7.3.1.
We see this very clearly in the ‘Faith
Movement’ of our day in
7.3.1.1.These
teachers teach people to ‘name it and claim it’, ‘blab and grab’, use ‘positive
confession’, or whatever.
7.3.2.
This same principle is just as clearly seen
however in the liberal and high-church denominations of our day in
7.3.2.1.Baptismal
regeneration is taught by many groups and it works on all who receive it from
one who has the authority from God to baptize (one of course who comes only
from their denominations, seminaries, etc.).
From ignorant infants to intractable murderers, all are born-again
through the waters of baptism when baptized by some churches.
7.3.2.2.Confessing
to a priest is supposed to bring forgiveness of sins, even if the person
confessing is not confessing all of his sins nor repenting of those sins.
7.3.2.3.Etc.,
etc.
7.4.
God is so much greater than man however and
attempting to put yourself in God’s place and visa versa is the greatest
foolishness. Plus, the Lord is sovereign
over all and therefore He can and will do with man whatever He chooses to do,
and man does not have a right to question God:
7.4.1.
In Isaiah 45:9,
Isaiah writes about how the clay has no right to argue with the potter that is
forming it, “9 “Woe to the one who
quarrels with his Maker— An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are
you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?”
7.4.2.
In the book of Job, the question of why the
Lord allows evil in the lives of good men is explored. This is after all a question which all good
men have at some time or another. We see
in the book of Job that the Lord allowed Satan to test Job’s faithfulness and
commitment to the Lord by causing him to suffer in the most excruciating
way: lost all of his sons, lost his
house, lost his cattle and possessions, and even lost his health. Throughout the book of Job, Job questions why
the Lord has done the things to him that He has done, or allowed to occur. We can understand how that Job being a man of
flesh as are we would question God in this way.
However, in the book after all of Job’s lousy counselors have spoken in
turn trying to lay the blame for the evil that has occurred to Job on secret
sins he must have committed, and Job has rebutted each of them, God Himself
finally speaks to Job in the last five chapters of Job. In speaking to Job however, the Lord never
explains Himself to Job. He doesn’t
answer any of Job’s many questions which he asked of the Lord. Being God, you see, He doesn’t have to
explain Himself. He is God and He can do
with man whatever He decides that He wants to do with man. In the Lord’s speech to Job, He basically
just tells Job that He is God and that no one can instruct Him since He is God,
and no one could ever know better than God.
Therefore, Job just needed to take comfort in the fact that God is God,
and that his life was in the hand of God to do as He chooses to do with him.
7.4.2.1.In
Job 38:1-9, we read of the Lord
questioning Job about whether or not he thinks that he might really know better
than the Lord, or even understand His ways, “1 Then the
Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 2 “Who is this that darkens
counsel By words without knowledge? 3
“Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct
Me! 4 “Where were you when I laid the
foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if
you have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? 6 “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning
stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors, When,
bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
9 When I made a cloud its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band.”
8.
VS 29:17-21 - “17 Is it not yet just a little
while Before
8.1.
Notice that Isaiah calls
the Lord, ‘the Holy One’, twice in this book.
As was mentioned early in this study, this was the favorite title for
God which Isaiah used, and holiness is a central theme in this book.
8.2.
In these verses the ‘little while’ mentioned
here is surely time as seen by the Lord alone, for after three centuries we
still do not see these verses fulfilled yet.
However, from God’s perspective it is just a ‘little while’ until these
things will be fulfilled.
8.3.
These verses refer to the time of the
Millennial Reign of Christ when all wicked shall have been cut off from the
earth at the end of the 7 Year Tribulation of the book of Revelation, and then
the earth is beginning to be restored to its state prior to the fall of man in
the Garden of Eden.
8.3.1.
The fertile field now has become not only a
field but a forest.
8.3.2.
The deaf will hear words of a book, the eyes
of the blind shall see, the afflicted shall increase their gladness in the
Lord, and the needy shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
8.4.
The things that Isaiah prophesied to occur
here with the Jews are also Messianic in nature and relate to things the
Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament to perform. Jesus partially fulfilled this prophesy when
He came to earth, but when He sets up His Millennial Reign He will fulfill it
completely.
8.4.1.
In Luke 4:16-21,
we read the story of when Jesus and His disciples went back to Jesus’ hometown
of Nazareth and Jesus entered the synagogue of the Jews and stood up and quoted
from Isaiah 61 some verses that related to the things that the Messiah would do
when He finally appeared, “16 And He came to
Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the
synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.17 And the book of the prophet
Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it
was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to
preach the gospel to the poor. He has
sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the
blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, 19 To proclaim the favorable year
of the Lord.” 20 And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and
sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him.21 And He
began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.””
8.5.
The ruthless and scorner will be removed from
the earth as well as the unjust man who takes advantage of the orphan and the
widow.
8.6.
It was at the gate of the city that judgments
were made on behalf of the people, and here we see that the injustice that
often occurred at those gates by the lawyers defrauding people by their
meaningless arguments, will be removed from the land, for the Lord will move to
defend the poor and needy.
9.
VS 29:22-24 - “22 Therefore thus says the Lord,
who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, “Jacob shall not now be
ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;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 “And those who err in mind will know the
truth, And those who criticize will accept instruction.” - Isaiah tells us that on that
day when Christ establishes His Millennial Reign that Jacob shall not be
ashamed but shall see God’s work and sanctify His Name
9.1.
When all of the faithful remnant of
9.2.
Isaiah tells us that even those who error in
mind, or are confused and ignorant of God’s ways, will in that day know the
truth. Also, those who tend to be
critical or doubting of the Lord shall accept instruction from Him in that day.