–Isaiah 29:11–19The visitation of the Lord will bring death and destruction to Jerusalem. Yet the Lord promises to do wonderful things with His people. God desires genuine repentance, not hypocrisy. God has accomplished wonderful things for us through the gracious visitation of His son in our human flesh. In Jesus’ death and resurrection. God has turned the world upside down and removed our shame.
(11-12) The spiritual illiteracy of Jerusalem.
The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.”
A book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate: Isaiah had likened Jerusalem to the blind and to the drunk. Here, he likened them to the illiterate. But this wasn’t a literal literacy, because the literate man received the vision of God, but to him it was like a sealed book. When the book of the vision was brought to the illiterate man, he did no better.
Read this, please: Many today read or receive God’s word like an illiterate man “reads” the newspaper. They can pick out a few words here and there, and they can certainly look at the pictures. They can sit with an open newspaper, enjoy themselves to some degree, and appear to be reading. But the true content of what is written has no impact on them.
This manner of talking the talk, but not having the heart, didn’t end in Isaiah’s day. Jesus quoted this passage from Isaiah when He rebuked the religious leaders of His day for their hypocrisy (Matthew 15:7-9, Mark 7:6-7). It didn’t end in Jesus’ day either.
God tells us how their hearts got far from Him – they have removed their hearts far from Me. God didn’t move away from His people; they removed their hearts from Him.
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men: The people of Jerusalem had no fear of God in themselves; it had to be commanded by others. Their hearts did not respond to God, but only to men.
The wisdom of their wise men shall perish: Because Jerusalem’s pride had led them into spiritual blindness, sleep, drunkenness, illiteracy, and hypocrisy, God will destroy the wisdom of their wise men. Their wise men promoted the pride that led to all these evils.
Isaiah calls this a marvelous work and a wonder, for God to reject the wisdom of man and to display His wisdom. Paul was also amazed at the so-called "wisdom” of man, and how it compared to what was thought to be the foolishness of God: For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:21-25). 1
Grant, merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 2
Sources:
Image of The Lord’s Supper, copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
1. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/isaiah-29
2. Collect for Wednesday of Pentecost 16, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church Vol. IV The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, © 1996 Delhi, NY
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