Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city of David's encampment! Add ye year to year; let the feasts come round.
Isaiah 29 opens with a cry of woe over a city called Ariel, a symbolic name for Jerusalem. The verse ties together a name full of meaning, a memory of David, and an order to keep the feasts coming while judgment draws near.
The prophet does not say "Jerusalem." He uses a symbolic title instead.
Symbolic name of Jerusalem, meaning 'Lion of God,' probably referring to the lion as the emblem of Judah. Isaiah 29:1-2, 7. In the margin of Ezekiel 43:15, the altar is called the 'lion of God'; but the word there is slightly different, and some translate it the 'hearth of God,' the place for offering all sacrifices to God.
Commentators differ over which sense fits the city here.
But "Ariel" in Isaiah 29:1, as applied to Jerusalem, makes good sense as "lion of God," though some prefer "hearth of God" here too.
The verse points back to David's camp, then tells the city to add more years of feasts. That is no comfort.
By Ariel, the lion of God, is meant Jerusalem, which the proud stranger threatens with destruction. Despite great names and past associations, it is brought down into deep distress. Delay will not hold back its humbling. Feasts or sacrifices will not turn the storm aside. God's indignation is what is at stake, and it is not over yet. Still the city remains to Him as Ariel — brought low, justly and completely, yet His lion.
God Himself had set up the feasts and sacrifices. That is what makes this scene so serious, and one writer carries the warning forward to Christendom.
The most ancient relations with God serve no good purpose when man puts his trust in them. When he is far from God, he attaches himself to the old things that God set up, so as to reject what God may be actually giving. But no one can deceive God about right and wrong... God had established the altar, temple, sacrifices, feasts, and priests. But when wickedness is there, judgment must begin with His house... The more Christendom departs from truth and righteousness, the more it rests on institutions as being of God. The more evil the conscience is, the more it clings to forms.
Isaiah 29 is not a stand-alone message. It sits in a run of chapters marked by one repeated word, and one writer traces both the enemy in view and how the siege ends.
Chapters 28 — 35 form the third section of the prophecy of this book. Nearly all its subjects open with the expressive exclamation "Woe"... Ten burdens are mentioned in chapters 13 — 23, and five woes in chapters 28 — 34. Babylon was concerned with the partial fulfilment of many of those burdens. The Assyrian of the future is closely connected with the events these woes treat... The chapter then tells of the invading army's success over Jerusalem, a success later reversed in a striking way (Isaiah 29:1-8).
Jerusalem faced many sieges. Readers often think of Sennacherib in Isaiah's own day, or of the Roman destruction later. One writer says neither one matches this chapter.
Ariel means "the lion of God." It is one of the names of Jerusalem. A great siege of Jerusalem is predicted. Neither Sennacherib's invasion nor the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans fulfilled this prophecy. At the end of this age the King of the North (Assyrian) and the nations allied with him will besiege Jerusalem. Of this the chapter gives us the history.
The argument rests on a detail in the next verses. God promises siege-mounds and forts against Ariel. Isaiah later says the Assyrian of Hezekiah's day never built them.
Chapter 29, God "encamps against Ariel." There are mounds and forts, which Sennacherib was not allowed to make (see Isaiah 37:33). But the multitude of the strangers would be as small dust and chaff. The nations that distress Ariel would be as a "dream of a night vision." God visits from heaven.
- Name. Ariel is a symbolic name for Jerusalem. It means "lion of God," from the lion as Judah's emblem, though some read it as "hearth of God."
- Memory. God names the city by its link to David, yet great names and a great past do not hold back the distress coming on it.
- Ritual. Adding year to year and letting the feasts run their round is no comfort. Feasts and sacrifices do not turn the storm aside when God's indignation is at stake.
- Warning. Clinging to forms God Himself set up is the mark of a bad conscience. Judgment begins at His house, and that warning reaches Christendom too.
- Horizon. The siege here goes past Sennacherib and past Rome to a final attack by the Assyrian of the future. Yet even at her lowest, the city is still God's lion.
But I will distress Ariel, and there shall be sorrow and sadness; and it shall be unto me as an Ariel.
God announces trouble on Ariel, the name He gives Jerusalem in this chapter. The striking thing is who brings the trouble: not the enemy, but God Himself, and even then He keeps the city's honoured name.
The verse names the city twice. Writers trace the name to the emblem of Judah's tribe, and note that a slightly different word describes part of the altar elsewhere:
Symbolic name of Jerusalem, meaning "Lion of God," probably in reference to the lion being the emblem of Judah. Isa. 29:1-2, 7. In the margin of Ezekiel 43:15 the altar is called the "lion of God." But the word there is slightly different, and some translate it "hearth of God," the place for offering all sacrifices to God.
The verse before this one tells them to pile year on year and keep the sacrifices coming. The distress falls anyway. One writer takes this as God's refusal to be bought off by the very system He had set up:
The oldest ties with God do no good at all when people put their trust in them. Someone far from God clings to the old things God set up, so that he can reject what God may actually be giving. But no one can deceive God about right and wrong. He says elsewhere that He would destroy His house and His altar. He did it to Shiloh, and He would do it to the temple too, however sure of themselves His people were. He does this because He will have righteousness and holiness, not the things He established. God had established the altar, temple, sacrifices, feasts, and priests. But when wickedness is there, judgment must begin with His house. That judgment is only the more terrible if the effects of the Holy Spirit are missing. The only result of being near to God outwardly is the more unsparing judgment.
The same writer turns this on anyone who leans on inherited forms: "The more evil the conscience is, the more it attaches itself to forms."
Another draws the same lesson from the people's actual condition in Isaiah's day:
Their eyes were closed to God and to His word. Neither the learned nor the unlearned had any regard for His word. Whatever fear of God they had was just "a commandment taught by men." So their religion was talk on the lips with nothing real in the heart, and that offended God. No wonder that judgment came from the hand of God.
The closing clause of the verse says the city will still be Ariel to God. That is not a threat only — it is a name He refuses to withdraw:
Ariel, the lion of God, means Jerusalem, and the proud stranger threatens it with destruction. Despite its great names and its past, the city does come down into deep distress. Delay would not hold off its humbling. Feasts and sacrifices would not turn away the storm. God's anger is the issue here, and it is not yet over. Still the city remains to Him as Ariel: brought all the way down, and deservedly so, yet His lion.
The distress here goes past anything in Isaiah's own lifetime. One writer rules out both the Assyrian siege of Isaiah's own day and the later Roman one:
All of this fits and confirms the reference to the great king of the north in the time of the end. Sennacherib was only a picture of him. Some apply the chapter to that earlier enemy. But they cannot get past what Isaiah himself predicts, and what in fact happened: Sennacherib would not come into the city of Jerusalem, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up a siege mound against it. (See Isa. 37:33.) Others suppose the Roman siege is meant. But Jehovah steps in at the last gasp to deliver Jerusalem and completely overthrow her enemies, which contradicts that even more plainly. In fact this is the future siege at the close of this age, when the great alliance of north-eastern nations will be broken after an earlier success against the Jews.
The chapter does not stop at sorrow. It moves from the lowest point to a sudden reversal:
Jerusalem is reduced to the last extremity. But this time Jehovah appears for her deliverance, and the multitude of her enemies disappear like a dream of the night.
- Named — Ariel means "lion of God," a title for Jerusalem. Some read the word instead as "hearth of God," the place of sacrifice.
- Distressed — God Himself besieges the lion of God. The sacrifices and feasts of verse 1 cannot buy the city out of it.
- Exposed — Being near to God on the outside, with nothing real in the heart, only makes the judgment heavier. Judgment begins at His house.
- Kept — Even at its lowest the city is still "as Ariel" to Him: brought all the way down, yet His lion.
- Delivered — The siege runs to the very end. Then God Himself appears, and the attacking crowd vanishes like a dream of the night.
And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with watch-posts, and I will raise forts against thee.
God speaks in the first person here. The siege lines around Jerusalem are His own work, not just the enemy's. Two questions follow. Which siege is this? And why does God surround the city He calls His own?
The name in verse 1 controls the whole passage, and the siege described in verse 3 is God's answer to what the city had become. One writer sets the wording out in full, with the towers rendered as lookout posts:
By Ariel, the lion of God, is meant Jerusalem, which the proud stranger threatens with destruction. Despite great names and links with the past, it is in fact brought down into deep distress. Delay would not stop its humiliation. Feasts or sacrifices would not turn away the storm. It is God's indignation that is at work here, and it is not yet over. Still the city remains His Ariel: brought low, justly and completely, yet His lion.
The name carries a second possible sense, drawn from the altar:
Symbolic name of Jerusalem, meaning 'Lion of God.' It probably refers to the lion as the emblem of Judah. Isa. 29:1-2, 7. In the margin of Ezek. 43:15, the altar is called the 'lion of God.' The word there is a little different, and some translate it as the 'hearth of God,' the place for offering all sacrifices to God.
The verse puts God, not the enemy, at the head of the siege. One writer says what that means for the people inside:
If Jerusalem is a lion of God, when God speaks of the judgments He says, "I will encamp against you all around, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you," v. 3. The Assyrians were only instruments in His hand. He would Himself strike, but not wipe out His guilty people. He does not destroy, but chastens them. This humbles, but it comforts; for love is there. See the case of Job. There are the instruments of judgment, with Satan behind them. But God is above them all, and He directs everything for Job's good. At the end Job is more blessed by the Lord than at the beginning, bright as that beginning was.
Jerusalem still had its altar, its feasts and its sacrifices. The same writer shows why that made the blow heavier, and traces the same habit today:
But we see here that the most ancient relations with God serve no good purpose when man puts his trust in them. When he is far from God, he attaches himself to the old things that God set up, so as to reject what God may be giving now... God had established the altar, temple, sacrifices, feasts, and priests. But when wickedness is there, judgment must begin with His house. That judgment is only more terrible if the effects of the Holy Spirit are not there. The one result of being near to God on the outside is a judgment that spares nothing. Again, the further Christendom moves away from truth and righteousness, the more it leans on its institutions as being from God.
Commentators differ over which siege is meant. One writer explains why two common answers fail:
Some apply it to the enemy of Isaiah's own day. But they cannot get past what Isaiah plainly predicts, and what in fact happened: Sennacherib would not come into the city of Jerusalem, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up a bank against it. (See Isa. 37:33). Others suppose the Roman siege is meant. The Lord's intervention contradicts this even more plainly, for He steps in at the last gasp to deliver Jerusalem and completely overthrow their enemies.
The siege is not the end of the story. One writer traces where it leads:
The prophet Zechariah describes the sorrow and distress of the chosen city when her enemies surround her, with no sign of rescue. But at her lowest point, when her case looks hopeless from the outside, the Lord suddenly steps in to help her. So Isaiah says of the assembled nations, "God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off... And behold at evening time trouble; and before the morning he is not." (Isa. 17:13-14; see also Isa. 29:3-8; and Zechariah 14.)
- His city. Ariel means "lion of God" — Jerusalem is still His, still called by His name, even as the trenches close in.
- His hand. The besieging armies are instruments; God says I will encamp, I will besiege. The enemy is the tool, not the author.
- His purpose. He strikes but does not wipe out His people. This is chastening, not destruction — humbling, yet a comfort, because love is behind it.
- His warning. Altar, feasts and sacrifices could not turn the storm aside. Trusting the machinery God once set up, while far from God, only makes the judgment heavier.
- His rescue. The passage that raises the siege works ends with the nations scattered — trouble at evening, gone before morning. The lowest point is where God steps in.
And thou shalt be brought low, thou shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall come low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
Isaiah calls Jerusalem "Ariel." Yet the city with that proud name is the one God brings so low that its voice sinks to a whisper from the dust. Two questions run through the verse: which siege this describes, and why God humbles His own city.
Commentators read the name in more than one way.
"Ariel" in Isaiah 29:1, as applied to Jerusalem, makes good sense as "lion of God," though some prefer here as there "hearth of God."
The city is not humbled at random. It kept its sacrifices and its feasts while sin stayed inside. Long nearness to God only sharpened the judgment.
But we see here that the most ancient relations with God serve no good purpose when man puts his trust in them. When he is far from God, he clings to the old things God set up, so as to reject what God may actually be giving... God had established the altar, temple, sacrifices, feasts, and priests. But when iniquity is there, judgment must begin with His house. And that judgment is only more terrible if the effects of the Holy Spirit are not there. The only result of being outwardly near to God is a more unsparing judgment... The more evil the conscience is, the more it clings to forms.
What could reduce a proud city to such a sound? One writer points to sheer terror.
God says He will camp against the city, lay siege to it with watchposts, and raise forts against it (v. 3). Then the city is brought low and speaks out of the ground, its voice like that of a medium who consults a spirit (v. 4). That is, agony of terror would produce effects similar to the tone or language used by those who dealt with spirits.
Israel already knew that sound. They had gone to mediums instead of God, and this is what they heard.
Instead of turning to Jehovah, they were persuaded to consult mediums and wizards who chirp and mutter (Isaiah 8:19). These diviners chirped and muttered in cries no easier to understand than the sounds of birds and animals. The prophet points again to these strange, mysterious voices of the evil spirits that deceive their followers, in another setting: Isaiah 29:4, where the city's speech whispers, or chirps, out of the dust.
Commentators have named different sieges here. One writer tests each one against what Isaiah says.
Some apply it to the earlier enemy, but they cannot get past what Isaiah himself predicts. Sennacherib would not come into the city of Jerusalem, shoot an arrow there, come before it with a shield, or throw up a siege bank against it — and that is what happened. (See Isaiah 37:33.) Others suppose the Roman siege is meant. But Jehovah steps in at the last gasp to deliver Jerusalem and completely overthrow their enemies, which contradicts that view even more plainly. In fact it is the future siege at the close of this age.
Writers differ on how much of the prophecy touches Isaiah's own century. Some see a first, nearer fulfilment with the wider scope still ahead.
God carried out judgment against Ariel soon after Isaiah's day. Yet the terms of the prophecy go far beyond that. Verse 7 announces the destruction of her foes, and so does the end of the chapter... This will only come to pass at the end of the age.
The whisper from the dust is not the end of the story. It marks the moment God steps in.
The humiliated Jerusalem will speak from the earth, its speech bowed down from the dust (Isaiah 29:4). At that same moment, the hour of its redemption will strike.
- Named — Jerusalem is addressed as Ariel, understood as "lion of God," though some read it as "hearth of God."
- Besieged — God Himself raises the siege works of verse 3. Keeping the feasts while sin remained did not turn the storm aside.
- Silenced — the lion's roar drops to a whisper from the dust. It is the chirping sound of the mediums Israel once consulted instead of God.
- Disputed — commentators differ over how much of this fell in Isaiah's own century. But the deliverance that follows points past both Sennacherib and Rome to the end of the age.
- Delivered — when the city's voice sinks lowest, redemption strikes.
And the multitude of thine enemies shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away; and it shall be in an instant, suddenly.
Verse 4 leaves Jerusalem whispering out of the dust; verse 5 turns her besiegers to dust instead. Commentators ask which siege this is, and how a defeat this complete can come "in an instant."
One writer explains the city's name, and how far she is brought down:
By Ariel, the lion of God, is meant Jerusalem, which the proud stranger threatens with destruction. Despite great names and past associations, she really is brought down into deep distress. Delay would not stop her humiliation. Feasts or sacrifices would not turn away the storm. God's indignation is the issue, and it is not yet ended: still she remains to Him as Ariel, brought justly and utterly low, yet His lion.
Her own strength does not save her; her enemies simply vanish. One writer sets the two attacks side by side:
Jerusalem is reduced to the last extremity. But this time Jehovah appears for her deliverance, and the multitude of her enemies disappear as a dream of the night. Everything is dark and gloomy for the people. Morally, everything is overturned. Soon God will overturn everything by His power... The terrible one and the blasphemer will be consumed before Jehovah. There are two parts, then, in this history, two attacks. The first succeeds against Ephraim and against Jerusalem. The second does not succeed.
The same writer points to one detail of the siege works, and to where the blow comes from:
In chapter 29, God "encamps against Ariel." There are mounts and forts, which Sennacherib was never allowed to make (see Isaiah 37:33). But the multitude of the strangers would be as small dust and chaff. The multitude of the nations that distress Ariel would be as a "dream of a night vision." God visits from heaven.
Sennacherib is the obvious candidate. One writer shows why that answer, and the other usual answer, both break down:
Sennacherib was only a type. Other writers miss this, so they stumble in hopeless confusion. Some apply it to the enemy who served as the type. But they cannot get past what Isaiah himself plainly predicts: that Sennacherib would not come into the city of Jerusalem, or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield, or throw up a bank against it. Others suppose the Roman siege is meant. Jehovah's intervention contradicts that even more plainly. He steps in at the very last moment to deliver Jerusalem and to overthrow their enemies completely.
Another writer names the attacker still to come:
Ariel means "the lion of God." It is one of the names of Jerusalem. A great siege of Jerusalem is predicted. Neither Sennacherib's invasion nor the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans fulfilled this prophecy. At the end of this age the King of the North (Assyrian) and the nations allied with him will besiege Jerusalem.
Long ago an angel struck the Assyrian camp. One writer names two things that make the future greater than that blow:
This goes far beyond even the blow that an angel of Jehovah dealt on the Assyrian camp of old. For two considerations distinguish the future from the past. First, Scripture speaks of no more than 185,000 warriors left dead then. Here it threatens sudden destruction to the whole multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. Next, it declares that in that day the deaf will hear and the blind will see. The meek will increase their joy in Jehovah, and Jacob will no longer be ashamed.
The rescue comes so suddenly that the rescued can hardly take it in:
The prophet Zechariah describes the sorrow and distress of the chosen city when her enemies surround her, with no rescue in sight. But at her lowest point, when every outward sign says her case is hopeless, the Lord suddenly steps in to help her... The remnant confess that Jehovah's intervention was so unexpected and so wonderful that "we were like those who dream." They could hardly believe it at first. They had been crying to the Lord for this very thing. But the answer went so far beyond what they expected that they were struck with astonishment — as the believers were when they prayed for Peter's release.
- Low. Ariel means "the lion of God," a title for Jerusalem. God brings her low, justly and completely, yet she is still His lion.
- Surrounded. The chapters trace two attacks. The first succeeds; the second presses the city to her last extremity.
- Dust. The besieging crowd ends as small dust and chaff, not the city. Rescue comes down from heaven, not up from her own strength.
- Instant. This goes beyond Sennacherib, who would not even throw up a bank against the city. His army is only the type; the reality threatens all the nations gathered against Zion.
- Astonished. Rescue lands suddenly on a hopeless case. Even those who prayed for it can hardly believe it — just like the believers praying for Peter.
Thou shalt be visited by Jehovah of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
Isaiah 29 opens with a siege. God Himself camps against the city He calls Ariel, and she sinks to her lowest point. Verse 6 is the turn in that story. The LORD Himself arrives with thunder, earthquake and fire. Does the storm fall on the city, or on the army around it?
Verse 1 calls the city Ariel. It is a name of honour that God does not take back, even while He brings her low.
By Ariel, the lion of God, is meant Jerusalem, which the proud stranger threatens with destruction. Despite its great names and its past, the city really is brought down into deep distress. Delay should not hold back its humiliation. Feasts or sacrifices should not turn away the storm. God's indignation is the issue, and it is not yet ended: still the city remains to Him as Ariel, brought justly and utterly low, yet His lion.
Commentators differ on the name itself: "lion of God" makes good sense, though some prefer "hearth of God" (William Kelly).
This chapter tells of a second attack on the city. The difference between the two attacks is the point of verse 6.
Jerusalem is reduced to the last extremity. But this time Jehovah appears for her deliverance, and the crowd of her enemies disappears like a dream of the night. As far as the people go, everything is dark and gloomy. Morally all is overturned, and soon God will overturn everything by His power... There are two parts, then, in this history, two attacks. The first succeeds against Ephraim and against Jerusalem. The second does not succeed. Jerusalem is brought very low, but Jehovah appears and she is delivered.
Two readings tie this storm to a past event. Both run into the text itself.
Some apply it to the typical enemy. But they cannot get past what Isaiah himself plainly predicts, and what in fact happened. Sennacherib would not come into the city of Jerusalem. He would not shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with a shield, nor throw up a siege mound against it (see Isaiah 37:33). Others suppose the Roman siege is meant. But Jehovah's intervention rules that out even more plainly: at the last gasp He delivers Jerusalem and completely overthrows her enemies.
So who is besieging the city when this thunder breaks?
Neither Sennacherib's invasion nor the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans fulfilled this prophecy. At the end of this age the King of the North (Assyrian) and nations allied with him will besiege Jerusalem. Of this the chapter gives us the history. Sennacherib's army is a type of the King of the North... After that last siege of Jerusalem, "that day" will bring blessing for the faithful and punishment for the wicked.
One writer ties the earthquake of verse 6 to the day the Lord appears.
The appearing of the Lord of hosts will be accompanied by a great earthquake (Isa. 29:6). As in the days of King Uzziah (Amos 1:1), the people will flee through the valley formed by this exceptional natural event.
An earthquake in prophecy also carries a symbolic sense:
In the future judgements on the earth, earthquakes are often mentioned. Isa. 29:6; Matt. 24:7... As a symbol they point to the lower masses of society rising up and overturning the social system, in part or completely.
An angel once struck the Assyrian camp overnight. What verse 6 promises is greater still.
Now this goes far beyond even the blow that an angel of Jehovah dealt on the Assyrian camp of old. Two things separate the future from the past. First, Scripture does not speak of more than 185,000 warriors left dead then. Here it threatens sudden destruction against the multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. Next, it declares that in that day the deaf shall hear and the blind see, and the meek increase their joy in Jehovah, and Jacob shall not be ashamed.
- Ariel — God brings the city low, yet still calls her "lion of God." Some read the name instead as "hearth of God."
- Visited — the storm falls on the attackers, not the city. Jerusalem sinks to the last extremity, and then Jehovah appears to deliver her.
- Beyond history — Sennacherib never shot an arrow at the city, and the Roman siege ended in no deliverance. So commentators look ahead to a siege still to come, with the Assyrian of old as its type.
- Shaking — thunder, earthquake and devouring fire mark the Lord's appearing. In prophecy an earthquake also pictures a society overturned.
- Result — the storm strikes not 185,000 men but all the nations that fight against Zion. After it, the deaf hear, the blind see, and Jacob is no longer ashamed.
And the multitude of all the nations that war against Ariel, even all that war against her and her fortifications, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.
Isaiah 29 opens with a cry of woe over Ariel, a city under siege. Verse 7 turns the picture around: her attackers fade like a dream — but who is Ariel, and which siege is this?
The verse does not say "Jerusalem." It uses a symbolic name instead.
Symbolic name of Jerusalem, meaning "Lion of God," probably a reference to the lion as the emblem of Judah. Isaiah 29:1-2, 7. In the margin of Ezekiel 43:15 the altar is called the "lion of God." The word there is a little different, and some translate it "hearth of God" — the place where people offer all sacrifices to God.
Even when she is brought low, God does not take the title back:
Ariel, the lion of God, means Jerusalem — the city the proud foreigner threatens to destroy. Despite her great names and the associations of the past, she is brought down into deep distress. Delay would not stop her humbling. Feasts or sacrifices would not turn away the storm. God's indignation is the issue, and it is not yet over. She still remains to Him as Ariel: brought completely low, and justly so, yet His lion.
Readers have tried to fit this chapter to Sennacherib's invasion, or to the Roman destruction of the city. Both readings run into the text:
Some apply it to the enemy of that day, who was only a picture of the one to come. But they cannot get past what Isaiah himself plainly predicts — and what did happen. Sennacherib would not come into the city of Jerusalem, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with a shield, nor throw up a siege bank against it (see Isaiah 37:33). Others suppose the Roman siege is meant. The Lord's own intervention contradicts that even more flatly: at the last moment He delivers Jerusalem and utterly overthrows her enemies. In fact it is the future siege at the close of this age. Then the great alliance of the north-eastern nations will be broken, after an earlier success against the Jews.
A dream feels real until the sleeper wakes with nothing. That is the force of the picture here:
It clearly predicts the destruction of their foes at the last. They will be led on by the one whom the Assyrian pictured in advance. They will be as disappointed of their prey as a hungry or thirsty man who wakes up from his imaginary feast.
The verse piles up the attackers: all the nations that fight against her. Their number does not decide the outcome, because God stands above them:
The Assyrians were only instruments in His hand. He Himself would strike them, but He would not wipe out His guilty people. He does not destroy them; He disciplines them. This humbles, yet it also comforts, for love is there... The nations surround in hatred, and Satan seeks to destroy, but above them all the Lord disciplines, and severely, yet He does not hand His people over to death... All the nations of the earth will surround Jerusalem and stand against her. But they will pass away as a dream before the Lord.
Commentators differ on the timing. One reads verses 7 and 8 as a promise against Sennacherib in Isaiah's own day — and sets beside it what the prophet said about the people:
Isaiah gave this prophecy at a time when religion had become mere outward form in the life of the people. Their land was in danger: Sennacherib, king of Assyria, threatened to destroy Jerusalem. For His name's sake the Lord promised to defeat this plan of the enemy (Isaiah 29:7-8). But the prophet did not hide from the people how terrible their moral condition was in His sight.
The attackers wake to emptiness. The rescued wake to joy — and "dream" is the word for that too:
The heart of the godly now finds its centre in Zion, once deliverance has been learned. And so it will be (compare Isaiah 29:4, 7). How low she was brought, as Psalm 124 says! It was a dream — the joy so full, so unlooked for. Even the nations now acknowledged the Lord's hand.
- Ariel. God names the besieged city "lion of God." He brings her low, yet she stays His lion.
- Low. Her humbling is real and deserved; feasts, sacrifices and a great past could not turn the storm aside.
- Later. On one reading the details rule out Sennacherib and Rome: the siege in view is still future, with Assyria as the picture.
- Dream. The massed nations wake like a hungry man from an imagined meal — all that force, and nothing in their hands.
- Joy. One word turns over. For the attackers the dream is empty; for the rescued it is joy they never expected.
It shall even be as when the hungry dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; and he awaketh, and his soul is empty; or as when the thirsty dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; and he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul craveth so shall the multitude of all the nations be that war against mount Zion.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.