This subject may be treated in the larger spheres of nations, classes of society, or Churches, and applications may be made to individual experience. God's ways in the world of men are designed to reveal the mystery of his ways with each man. That impression which we are now gaining concerning the constancy and inexorableness of law, godly people
have long had concerning the constancy and inexorableness of the Divine dealings. What God has been to one man, he has been to many, he has been to all. What God has been here, he has been there, and he has been everywhere. It is a law and order with him that he should correct men for their faults by means of temporal distresses. The calamities that come to men and nations are no accidents. In them God is working for righteousness. The term
Ariel is one of Isaiah's favorite symbolical names. It stands for Jerusalem. The prophet exclaims, "Alas for Ariel!" because of the wrongheadedness and the willfulness which were leading its rulers away from reliance on Jehovah to confidence in Egypt. The word "Ariel" means "God's lion," but it is not easy for us to recognize the appropriateness of the figure. Some think it may mean the
hearth, or
altar of God, and then the reference to "sacrifices" in ver. 1 is seen to be appropriate. Henderson, feeling that the figure of Jerusalem as a lion, devouring the
flesh Of many
sacrifices, is very strained, accepts the figure of "hearth or altar," and says, "The reference is to Jerusalem as the center of the Jewish polity, where alone it was lawful to sacrifice to Jehovah" (comp.
Isaiah 31:9). In favor of the translation, "Lion of God," it may be noticed that the lion was the emblem of the tribe of Judah. The historical reference of these verses is to the coming attack of Sennacherib's army, which would be a distress to Ariel, but would not involve her ruin. It would be a providence with the evident design of warning and correcting. It is matched by many circumstances in individual lives which are distressing rather than afflicting or overwhelming.
I. PARTICULAR EVILS IN ARIEL. Perhaps the point of reproach here is the insincerity attending the reformation which Hezekiah instituted. There is an important difference between a reformation which starts from the people and reaches to affect the throne, as in the case of Nineveh in the time of Jonah; or as in the case of the German Protestant Reformation, which was in the heart and purpose of the people before Luther found it voice; and a reformation which starts from the throne and tries to carry the people with it, as in the cases of Hezekiah and Josiah. There is the grave danger of the people's acceding to the wish of the sovereign, and the example of the court, apart from their own convictions. This was the particular evil of the time which needed correction. There were signs of religious awakening which were insincere. How insincerity in the leaders was shown in the efforts of a considerable party to turn from Jehovah and negotiate for help with Egypt! Still, we may observe the prevalence of insincerity, and the fact that "distresses are just the fitting corrective of this evil.
II. THE DELUSION OF KEEPING UP SACRIFICES IN ARIEL. An important part of prophetical work was the denunciation of sacrifices and religious rites when the soul of meaning was lost out of them, and they expressed no devotion, no thankfulness, no love, and no consecration (see Isaiah 1:11-15). Here Isaiah intimates that increasing the number of festivals and multiplying sacrifices could not deceive God or hide from him the real moral and religious condition of the people. Keeping up the formalities of religion is often successful in deceiving men, but it never deceives God. This is his absolute condition, They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
III. THE FORMS IN WHICH ARIEL MIGHT BE HOPEFULLY DISTRESSED. The Mosaic system had established the idea that men would be sure to get good things by being good. This was founded in truth, but it involved men's having right ideas of what are "good things," and what is "being good." Men made it mean that they would be sure to get temporal blessings if they made large outward show of goodness. And therefore temporal distresses and anxieties were precisely the things that would awaken men to a sense of their mistake, and to a worthier apprehension of Divine claims. Temporal safety and blessing did not attend such goodness as theirs, and so they were led to suspect their goodness. So we, finding our religion fail us in the evil day, are brought to see that formal religion never can be acceptable unto him who "desires truth in the inward parts."
IV. THE ISSUE OF DIVINE DEALINGS WITH ARIEL. Here we must distinguish between the issue which God designs, and for the accomplishment of which the means he uses are appropriate, and the issue which is actually attained in consequence of man's resistant willfulness. One of the saddest things in all human lives is the contrast between the results of distressful dispensations and the gracious designs contemplated by God in sending them. Corrections that fail to humble succeed in hardening. - R.T.
For the terrible one is brought to nought.
Observe what had been the wickedness of these scorners, for which they should be cut off.
1. They ridiculed the prophets and the serious professors of religion. They despised them, and did their utmost to bring them into contempt; they were scorners, and sat in the seat of the scornful.
2. They lay at catch for an occasion against them. By their spies they watch for iniquity, to see if they can lay hold on anything that is said or done that may be called an iniquity. Or, they themselves watch for an opportunity to do mischief, as Judas did to betray our Lord Jesus.
3. They took advantage against them for the least slip of the tongue; and if anything were never so little said amiss, it served them to ground an indictment upon. They made a man, though he were never so wise and good a man, though he were a man of God, an offender for a word, a word mischosen or misplaced, when they could not but know that it was well meant. They cavilled at every word that the prophets spoke to them by way of administration, though never so innocently spoken, and without any design to affront them. They put the worst construction upon what was said, and made it criminal by strained innuendos.
4. They did all they could to bring those into trouble that dealt faithfully with them and told them of their faults. Those that reprove in the gates, namely, reprovers by office, that were bound by the duty of their place as prophets, as judges, and magistrates to show people their transgressions, they hated these, and laid snares for them. It is next to impossible for the most cautious to place their words so warily as to escape such snares.
5. They pervert judgment, and will never let an honest man carry an honest cause; they "turn aside the just for a thing of nought," i.e., they condemn him, or give the cause against him upon no evidence, no colour or pretence whatsoever. They run a man down, and misrepresent him by all the little acts and tricks they can devise, as they did our Saviour. But wait a while, and God will not only bring forth their righteousness, but cut off and consume these scorners.
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People
Ariel,
David,
Isaiah,
JacobPlaces
Ariel,
Lebanon,
Mount ZionTopics
Babbler, Battle, Besiege, Bulwarks, Camp, David, Earthworks, Encamp, Encamped, Encircle, Encircling, Forts, Laid, Lay, Mound, Mount, O, Posted, Raise, Raised, Round, Shut, Siege, Siegeworks, Towers, Troops, War, Watch-posts, WorksOutline
1. God's heavy judgment upon Jerusalem7. The insatiableness of her enemies9. The senselessness13. And deep hypocrisy of the people17. A promise of sanctification to the godlyDictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 29:1-8 9250 woe
Library
I am Told, Further, that You Touch with Some Critical Sharpness Upon Some Points of My Letter
13. I am told, further, that you touch with some critical sharpness upon some points of my letter, and, with the well-known wrinkles rising on your forehead and your eyebrows knitted, make sport of me with a wit worthy of Plautus, for having said that I had a Jew named Barabbas for my teacher. I do not wonder at your writing Barabbas for Baranina, the letters of the names being somewhat similar, when you allow yourself such a license in changing the names themselves, as to turn Eusebius into Pamphilus, …
Various—Life and Works of Rufinus with Jerome's Apology Against Rufinus. Thou that Dwellest in the Gardens, the Companions Hearken to Thy Voice; Cause Me to Hear It.
The Bridegroom invites his Spouse to speak in his behalf, and to enter actually upon the Apostolic life by teaching others. Thou, O my Spouse, He says, that dwellest in the gardens, in the ever-flowered parterres of the Divinity, where thou hast not ceased to dwell since the winter has passed, thou hast been in gardens as beautiful for the variety of the flowers with which it was adorned as for the excellence of the fruits which abound there; thou, O My Spouse, whom I keep constantly with Me in these …
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon
If it is Objected, that the Necessity which Urges us to Pray is not Always...
If it is objected, that the necessity which urges us to pray is not always equal, I admit it, and this distinction is profitably taught us by James: " Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms" (James 5:13). Therefore, common sense itself dictates, that as we are too sluggish, we must be stimulated by God to pray earnestly whenever the occasion requires. This David calls a time when God "may be found" (a seasonable time); because, as he declares in several other …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith
The Hardening of Nations.
"The election hath obtained it, and the rest were hardened."-- Rom. xi. 7. St. Paul's word, at the head of this article, is strikingly impressive, and its content exceedingly rich and instructive. It clearly announces the fact that the hardening is not exceptional or occasional, but universal, affecting all, who, being in contact with the divine Love, are not saved by it. The last limitation is necessary, for of the heathen it can not be said that they are hardened. Only they can be hardened who …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit
Christ Teaching by Miracles
We have seen how many valuable lessons our Saviour taught while on earth by the parables which he used. But we teach by our lives, as well as by our lips. It has passed into a proverb, and we all admit the truth of it, that "Actions speak louder than words." If our words and our actions contradict each other, people will believe our actions sooner than our words. But when both agree together, then the effect is very great. This was true with our blessed Lord. There was an entire agreement between …
Richard Newton—The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young
The Upbringing of Jewish Children
The tenderness of the bond which united Jewish parents to their children appears even in the multiplicity and pictorialness of the expressions by which the various stages of child-life are designated in the Hebrew. Besides such general words as "ben" and "bath"--"son" and "daughter"--we find no fewer than nine different terms, each depicting a fresh stage of life. The first of these simply designates the babe as the newly--"born"--the "jeled," or, in the feminine, "jaldah"--as in Exodus 2:3, 6, 8. …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life
The New Testament Canon in the First Three Centuries.
The first Christians relied on the Old Testament as their chief religious book. To them it was of divine origin and authority. The New Testament writings came into gradual use, by the side of the older Jewish documents, according to the times in which they appeared and the names of their reputed authors. The Epistles of Paul were the earliest written; after which came the Apocalypse, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and other documents, all in the first century. After the first gospel had undergone a …
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible
Covenanting a Privilege of Believers.
Whatever attainment is made by any as distinguished from the wicked, or whatever gracious benefit is enjoyed, is a spiritual privilege. Adoption into the family of God is of this character. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (margin, or, the right; or, privilege) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."[617] And every co-ordinate benefit is essentially so likewise. The evidence besides, that Covenanting …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting
Jesus Fails to Attend the Third Passover.
Scribes Reproach Him for Disregarding Tradition. (Galilee, Probably Capernaum, Spring a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XV. 1-20; ^B Mark VII. 1-23; ^D John VII. 1. ^d 1 And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judæa, because the Jews sought to kill him. [John told us in his last chapter that the passover was near at hand. He here makes a general statement which shows that Jesus did not attend this passover. The reason for his absence is given at John v. 18.] ^a 1 Then there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Of Prayer --A Perpetual Exercise of Faith. The Daily Benefits Derived from It.
1. A general summary of what is contained in the previous part of the work. A transition to the doctrine of prayer. Its connection with the subject of faith. 2. Prayer defined. Its necessity and use. 3. Objection, that prayer seems useless, because God already knows our wants. Answer, from the institution and end of prayer. Confirmation by example. Its necessity and propriety. Perpetually reminds us of our duty, and leads to meditation on divine providence. Conclusion. Prayer a most useful exercise. …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion
"To what Purpose is the Multitude of Your Sacrifices unto Me? Saith the Lord,"
Isaiah i. 11.--"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord," &c. This is the word he calls them to hear and a strange word. Isaiah asks, What mean your sacrifices? God will not have them. I think the people would say in their own hearts, What means the prophet? What would the Lord be at? Do we anything but what he commanded us? Is he angry at us for obeying him? What means this word? Is he not repealing the statute and ordinance he had made in Israel? If he had reproved …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning
Of the Power of Making Laws. The Cruelty of the Pope and his Adherents, in this Respect, in Tyrannically Oppressing and Destroying Souls.
1. The power of the Church in enacting laws. This made a source of human traditions. Impiety of these traditions. 2. Many of the Papistical traditions not only difficult, but impossible to be observed. 3. That the question may be more conveniently explained, nature of conscience must be defined. 4. Definition of conscience explained. Examples in illustration of the definition. 5. Paul's doctrine of submission to magistrates for conscience sake, gives no countenance to the Popish doctrine of the obligation …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion
The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments
Intercourse of Jesus with the Pagans and the Samaritans.
Following out these principles, Jesus despised all religion which was not of the heart. The vain practices of the devotees,[1] the exterior strictness, which trusted to formality for salvation, had in him a mortal enemy. He cared little for fasting.[2] He preferred forgiveness to sacrifice.[3] The love of God, charity and mutual forgiveness, were his whole law.[4] Nothing could be less priestly. The priest, by his office, ever advocates public sacrifice, of which he is the appointed minister; he …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus
Letter ii (A. D. 1126) to the Monk Adam
To the Monk Adam [3] 1. If you remain yet in that spirit of charity which I either knew or believed to be with you formerly, you would certainly feel the condemnation with which charity must regard the scandal which you have given to the weak. For charity would not offend charity, nor scorn when it feels itself offended. For it cannot deny itself, nor be divided against itself. Its function is rather to draw together things divided; and it is far from dividing those that are joined. Now, if that …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux
"And There is None that Calleth Upon Thy Name, that Stirreth up Himself to Take Hold on Thee,"
Isaiah lxiv. 7.--"And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold on thee," &c. They go on in the confession of their sins. Many a man hath soon done with that a general notion of sin is the highest advancement in repentance that many attain to. You may see here sin and judgment mixed in thorough other(315) in their complaint. They do not so fix their eyes upon their desolate estate of captivity, as to forget their provocations. Many a man would spend more affection, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning
"But it is Good for Me to Draw Near to God: I have Put My Trust in the Lord God, that I May Declare all Thy
Psal. lxxiii. 28.--"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works." After man's first transgression, he was shut out from the tree of life, and cast out of the garden, by which was signified his seclusion and sequestration from the presence of God, and communion with him: and this was in a manner the extermination of all mankind in one, when Adam was driven out of paradise. Now, this had been an eternal separation for any thing that …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning
Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament
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