 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 siege works 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.” Meditation When Adam and Eve sinned they felt shame and attempted to hide from God (Genesis 3:8). Since that fateful fall humanity has been attempting to hide, practicing deeds of rebellion in the dark while trying to look good on the outside. The leaders in the crosshair of Isaiah’s vision attempted to “hide deep,” practicing deeds in the dark, believing they would not be disclosed (15). Living in the dark reverses reality and flips truth upside down (16). The leaders hid their dark deeds behind religion. Religious words came from their lips and ceremony shaped their life but their hearts were far from the Lord and there was no fear of God in their life (13). Jesus uses this exact language to condemn self-righteous leaders of his day (Matthew 15:7-9). Our religious activity cannot cover our dark deeds or distant hearts. The consequence for Judah was the curse- exile. The siege of Jerusalem, which would take place in 586 BC at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar (2 King 25), is the substance of Isaiah’s vision (1-11). God’s people would be removed from the promise land just as God had promised (Deuteronomy 30). God’s grace provides new hearts and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 24:7) so His people can live in the light (1 John 1:5-10). Jesus experienced the curse so we can be restored to God and His covenant blessings (Galatians 3:13-14)! We no longer have shame (22) and can come out of hiding behind our religiosity. In Christ we are FULLY seen and FULLY forgiven! Richly Dwelling -Do you practice external religion with a heart distant from the LORD? -God offers a new heart and a new spirit, new creation through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Do you have a new heart? Have you drawn near to the Lord, coming out of hiding through confession and living in the Light (1 John 1:5-10)? -God fully sees you and your sin and fully loves you through Christ. You cannot hide from Him! How can you live more in the light through accountability and confession? Key Verse 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, Comments are closed.
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