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Overview 

The vision continues about Jerusalem, both its demise and its restoration. The specific focus is the spiritual blindness of its people. 

Isaiah 29:1-4

Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their round. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel. And I will encamp against you all around, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you. 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.

This is interesting. Only here in the Bible is Jerusalem called Ariel. What does Ariel mean? Most scholars think it means “Lion of God”. But there are a few that think it means “an altar for burning”. If the meaning is “Lion of God”, I agree with Guzik when he says, 

“When we consider the way Ariel is used in these verses, and the context as a whole, the idea behind calling Jerusalem—Lion of God is probably sarcastic. The repetition of the name (four times in two verses), and the context of God’s judgment against Jerusalem, suggest the idea that Jerusalem may have thought of herself as the Lion of God, but God didn’t share that lofty opinion of the city.” (Guzik)

Isaiah 29:10

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).

Here in verse 10, the Lord pours out a spirit of deep sleep on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Notice there is no denying it: This deep sleep was sent by God. It is natural for the reader to wonder if this diminishes the culpability of man. I mean—if God sent a deep sleep and of course, anything sent from God will fulfill its purpose, how do we hold the citizens of Jerusalem at fault for their spiritual slumber? 

The easy answer is this: God cannot sin and only goodness emanates from God. Jerusalem is judged for their sin. Their judgment includes willfully diving into spiritual lethargy. Being numb to the beauty of God, the grace of God. God gives us what we want. If we don’t want to listen to Him, obey Him, live under His protection—then He will remove Himself from you. 

Isaiah 29:15-16

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?” 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”?

This could be said of our nation, an indictment of our morality. We are turning everything upside down. Gender is upside down. Sexuality is upside down. Sanctity of life is upside down. The family is upside down. Marriage is upside down. The deification of man is upside down. 

God is our Creator. He is good. He revealed to us His purpose for gender, sexuality, sanctity of life, family, marriage and even the proper elevation of mankind (not as deity, but as an image-bearer of God). God is true north. God is the starting point. Only an eternal, self-existent Creator can claim ultimate authority. Friends, let’s start with the Creator. He is sovereign. He is on the throne. All truth flows from the Father of Lights. Rest in the omnipotent hands of our Creator. There is no better place to be.