Isaiah 29:1-24--The Siege of Jerusalem

Isaiah 29
English Standard Version

The Siege of Jerusalem
29 Ah, Ariel, Ariel,
    the city where David encamped!
Add year to year;
    let the feasts run their round.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel,
    and there shall be moaning and lamentation,
    and she shall be to me like an Ariel.
3 And I will encamp against you all around,
    and will besiege you with towers
    and I will raise siegeworks against you.
4 And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak,
    and from the dust your speech will be bowed down;
your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost,
    and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

5 But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust,
    and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff.
And in an instant, suddenly,
6     you will be visited by the LORD of hosts
with thunder and with earthquake and great noise,
    with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
    all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her,
    shall be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating,
    and awakes with his hunger not satisfied,
or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking,
    and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched,
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
    that fight against Mount Zion.

9 Astonish yourselves and be astonished;
    blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not with wine;
    stagger, but not with strong drink!
10 For the LORD has poured out upon you
    a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
    and covered your heads (the seers).

11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”

13 And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
14 therefore, behold, I will again
    do wonderful things with this people,
    with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

15 Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel,
    whose deeds are in the dark,
    and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
    “He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
    “He has no understanding”?

17 Is it not yet a very little while
    until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
    and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
18 In that day the deaf shall hear
    the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
    the eyes of the blind shall see.
19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD,
    and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless shall come to nothing
    and the scoffer cease,
    and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,
21 who by a word make a man out to be an offender,
    and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
    and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.

22 Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

​“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
    no more shall his face grow pale.
23 For when he sees his children,
    the work of my hands, in his midst,
    they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
    and those who murmur will accept instruction.”

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"Ariel" means "Lion of God" and is an alternate name for the city of Jerusalem.  The LORD promises that he will allow Jerusalem to be attacked and distressed (put under siege).  Although many nations will come against them, they will be insignificant compared to the judgment that the LORD will pour out on them.  Since the people are not going to repent, the LORD tells them to enjoy the good times while they last, because destruction is certainly coming.

​Those who are supposed to prophecy and warn the people cannot see or understand this message, because the LORD has turned the people over to the consequences of their sin.  He has given them many chances to repent, but they have continued to sin and taken His grace and mercy for granted.  They believe no one sees or hears or knows of their evil deeds, but the LORD knows it all as if it was done in public in the broad daylight.  Nothing is hidden from Him.  The LORD will cause other nations to flourish while the Land of Israel will be desolate during their time of Exile.

However, there is hope at that end of this prophecy.  Eventually, the people will come to understand what the LORD is trying to tell them and teach them.  Those who have grumbled will finally listen and understand (and repent) and draw near to the LORD.  While this has partially taken place, we look forward to the day when all truth will be revealed to the people of God, and they will be made fully in the likeness of Christ, and more specifically, there will be a day when the nation of Israel will understand and repent and turn to Christ and call on Him for salvation.  I look forward to that day and pray for it to come quickly.