Isaiah 29

29:1-14 This is the second of the six woes (What sorrow . . .).29:1-8 In the Assyrian siege, the Lord would be fighting against Jerusalem, but he would force the Assyrians to abandon Jerusalem in his own time.29:1-2 Ariel was another name for Mount Zion (29:8); it probably means altar of God.

29:3 The Lord himself would come against Jerusalem, surrounding and attacking it.

29:4 God’s goal was to destroy the sinful pride of the people of Jerusalem. Their voice would rise as if from the grave. Through the Assyrians, God would humble his people, but he would not abandon them.

29:6 will act for you (literally you will be visited): God would bring rescue for his people. • thunder and earthquake . . . storm and consuming fire: These phenomena indicate a theophany (see study note on 5:25).

29:7 The Assyrians’ sudden lifting of the siege came like a dream . . . like a vision in the night. God would save Judah and judge Assyria.

29:8-12 Jerusalem’s blindness kept its people from understanding God’s plan.29:8 Like a hungry or thirsty person, the Assyrians could taste the victory over Jerusalem. Yet they never became victorious.

29:10 a spirit of deep sleep: The people’s folly was reinforced by God’s judgment on them (cp. Rom 1:24-32; 11:8); they had no perception of reality. • Prophets were also sometimes called visionaries. Neither the people nor their prophets would understand what God was doing (Isa 6:9-10).

29:13 These people used pious-sounding language in their prayers and talk (see Matt 15:8; Mark 7:6-7), but they did not truly honor God. • In their hearts, they were not committed to the Lord at all. • In their worship, they followed man-made rules and regulations rather than God’s word.

29:14 Human wisdom . . . intelligence . . . will disappear (see 1 Cor 1:19). The prophet had already spoken of the failure of Egypt’s wise men (Isa 19:11-12); even Judah’s wise men would blunder.

29:15-24 This threat of coming judgment is the third of the six woes (see study note on 28:1–33:24). It begins with judgment but moves to a vision of creation being renewed and of the wicked coming to an end.29:15 Their plans might refer to the advice that royal counselors were giving Hezekiah, who at first attempted to free himself from Assyria by making alliances with Egypt (715 or 701 BC). • The people were conspiring to commit evil deeds in secret, but God saw everything.

29:16 Potter . . . clay: The Lord’s sovereignty is beyond challenge. Scripture does not discourage asking God hard questions, but there is no place for resistance to God’s will (see 10:15; 45:9; 64:8; Rom 9:20). • He didn’t make me: Such claims against God demonstrate a total unwillingness to recognize God’s intimate involvement with every aspect of a person’s life.

29:17 The forests of Lebanon are usually an image of luxuriant growth (see 2:13; 14:8), but here they represent desolation.

29:18 The people were deaf and blind in heart and spirit (see 6:10; 42:18; 43:8). Yet humanity and all of creation would be renewed (see 35:1-5).

29:21 The false testimony that led to the oppression of the poor through trickery in the courts of Isaiah’s era would end. Because of God’s work in their hearts, the people would turn from their sinful behavior of the past.

29:22-24 The prophecy of woe, which began at 29:15, now ends with a prophecy of salvation.29:22 Abraham was the father of all Israel (see Gen 12:1-3; see also Gal 3:29). • Rescued from human abuse and God’s judgment, the people would no longer be ashamed; their disgrace resulted from the apparent failure of what they had trusted (see Ps 71:1; 1 Pet 2:6).