Thursday, November 22, 2018

Thursday - Isaiah 29 - Temporary Blindness


  
G
OD gave Isaiah a message directed at ancient Ariel; that is, Jerusalem. Many troubles were ahead for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is not surprising. There are many warnings recorded in the Bible, warnings which were originally issued against those unbelieving Jews who lived there in those days. So, it is vital that we look for some outstanding characteristic of this particular prophecy.  For me, the great trait of Isaiah 29 is how the full circle of Israel's rejection and return is discussed.  God's wrath is on display (Isaiah 29:6). God's intent to use many nations to punish His nation is apparent (Isaiah 29:7). The severity of the suffering of the elect nation is emphasized. But, there are many other chapters which deal with those issues. This chapter covers something special. It covers both the spiritual blinding and the spiritual healing of Israel.

We dealt with the spiritual blinding of Israel briefly when we were discussing Isaiah 6 (Matthew 13:13-15, II Corinthians 4:3-4, John 12:37-41, Zechariah 7:11-12 & Isaiah 6:9-10). Now, we have the doctrine presented succinctly (Isaiah 29:10-11). Who closed the spiritual eyes of the Jews? God closed their eyes. Why? Because He lacked interest or compassion? Certainly not! Isaiah 29:13 tells us why. Because the people were only nominal followers of God. Their hearts did not belong to God. The religious positions that they did have were human constructs rather than revealed truth. Hence, since they had ignored the law and the prophets, God intended to remove those opportunities until a future time when truth would actually be appreciated by them (vs. 18). God will be feared and reverenced of sincerity someday. (vs. 24). The blindness of the Jews is only temporary. They will see again. God will save His people from their sins, from themselves and from their enemies (Matthew 1:21 & Romans 11:26).

No comments:

Post a Comment