Isaiah 29:21-24
21 Those who convict the innocent
by their false testimony will disappear.
A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice
and who tell lies to destroy the innocent.
22 That is why the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel,
“My people will no longer be ashamed
or turn pale with fear.
23 For when they see their many children
and all the blessings I have given them,
they will recognise the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob.
They will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Then the wayward will gain understanding,
and complainers will accept instruction.
We have now reached the end of Isaiah 29 with our verses today. To summarise, this chapter warns of judgment and promises restoration for Jerusalem, addressed poetically as “Ariel”. Because of the city’s pride and religious hypocrisy—honouring God with their lips while their hearts remain far away—God will humble them through an enemy siege. However, He will suddenly scatter these foreign attackers like a fading dream. The chapter condemns the people’s spiritual blindness and their foolish attempt to hide plans from their Creator, like clay questioning the potter. Ultimately, God promises a miraculous reversal where the blind see, the deaf hear, and the humble rejoice in total restoration. But in the process, those who pervert the course of justice and who tell lies “will disappear”. In summary, this chapter reads almost like a fairy story, where good prevails over evil in the last act, and everyone lives happily ever after.
However, in our verses today, the “people of Israel” were frightened and worried about what would happen, even to the extent of turning “pale with fear”, but they would be ashamed of their behaviour no more, because they would “recognise the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob” in the day when the Lord brought salvation to His people. How would this be confirmed to them? Through their many children and the blessings the Lord had given them. At last, they would recognise God for who He is, after a period of apostasy and neglect of their special relationship. Finally, we find that those who had rejected God, the “wayward” and the “complainers”, would humbly accept that they were wrong, gaining understanding and instruction in the process.
Perhaps we pilgrims can take a step back today and think once more of the many blessings God has poured out upon us. Paul starts his Ephesian epistle with, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ“. The next verses continue, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:3-8). Our salvation through Jesus is the ultimate blessing, surpassing anything we can find in this world. We appropriate it by faith, as did the saints of old who died before they could see this blessing in reality. Hebrews 11:13, 39, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. … All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised“. We will not necessarily experience the reality of our salvation in this life, but we certainly will in the life to come.
But God has provided many other blessings for us in our lives now. In Philippians 4:19 we read Paul’s words, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus”. Are we finding ourselves in a place of need today? Then we have the opportunity to reach out to God because He promised to supply all our needs (not wants). Jesus had previously said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33). And perhaps we need to look at what we have and remember what James wrote, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession” (James 1:17-18).
Today, we pilgrims stand with the Israelites, recognising “the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob“. And more, we “will stand in awe of the God of Israel“. Where are we standing today? On shifting sand? Or on the Rock that is never shaken. World systems will come and go, and people will rise and fall with them. With the Psalmist, David, we declare, “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken” (Psalm 62:2).
Dear Loving Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your many and limitless blessings. Forgive us for the times when we have failed to acknowledge Your goodness to us. We worship You today. Amen.
