For Jehovah hath poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your chiefs, the seers, hath he covered.
Isaiah 29 shows Jerusalem brought very low, then turns from the city's danger to the worse trouble inside her people. Verse 10 says their sleep came from God Himself. How can the God who sends prophets also be the One who covers them?
One writer marks off this chapter from the one before it.
Jerusalem is brought very low, but Jehovah appears and she is delivered. The spirit of scorn and unbelief was marked in chapter 28; the spirit of blindness in chapter 29.
The word for this sleep is not the word for ordinary tiredness. One writer traces it through Scripture and sets out its two uses.
A deep sleep, tardemah, is a word never used of natural sleep. It is used of sleep that is either supernatural, sent for a special purpose (Gen. 2:21; Gen. 15:12; Job 4:13; Job 33:15), or spiritual, sent when God is dealing with man in government (Prov. 19:15; Isa. 29:10). How easily God can deal with those who set themselves against His will!
The verse names prophets, rulers and seers — the very people meant to see for everyone else. The two verses that follow show the result, and one commentator explains that they are a picture, not a report about two individuals.
Because of the moral state of the nation, the men who should have guided the people had lost all spiritual discernment and knowledge under the judicial hand of Jehovah. The spirit of deep sleep had closed their eyes. The prophets, rulers and seers were all alike blinded. So if they had a vision, no one could interpret it. The vision was like a sealed book. The learned man could not read it because it was sealed, and the unlearned man did not try to open it because he could not read. The learned and the unlearned are not particular people. They stand for the general inability to understand the word of the Lord.
Verse 13 supplies the reason: worship kept up with the mouth while the heart stayed away. And the order of events matters. Something in the people preceded anything from God.
In the time before destruction the people are willingly ignorant. After that God closes their understanding and pours out a deep sleep. This will happen to the Christian world also... They no longer want to hear any vision that warns them of the terrible things coming... It is frightful to see a people so far gone that they can no longer be pulled out. This stubbornness takes on the look of reason, because it is a strong delusion.
The next verse names what was wrong with their worship.
The next verse (verse 13) explains the cause of this judicial blindness. God charges the people with two things. First, their worship consisted of outward rites: they drew near to the Lord with their mouth and honoured Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. Second, their worship followed human rules instead of the word of God.
Romans 11:8 quotes this verse, joined with words from Deuteronomy and the Psalms. One writer explains how the two blindnesses relate, and how long the second one lasts.
The blinding here is plainly judicial — God Himself has given them sightless eyes and unhearing ears. But why? It is no random judgment. Matthew 13:13-15 shows clearly that Israel's willful blindness came before their judicial blindness... Now, in His absolute justice, God has confirmed this blindness for the whole length of the present period of grace to the Gentiles — "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."
Commentators apply this beyond Israel. Darby writes that the same thing "will happen to Christendom also," and another writer turns it directly on anyone reading Romans 11.
If a self-satisfied rejecter of the truth of the election of grace reads this — oh, be careful that He does not give you up too, to blindness and hardness of heart. How long has God held out His hands, ready to receive you? God may, in righteous judgment, give you up to hardness of heart and to the darkness that is fast setting in.
The chapter does not end in darkness. The sealed book of verse 11 reappears later in the same chapter, and this time it is read.
"In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see."
- Chosen — the sleep did not fall on people who wanted to see. A willing ignorance came first, and it hardened into stubbornness.
- Sent — the word for this sleep is never used of natural tiredness. It is God's own act.
- Spread — it reached the prophets, rulers and seers. Learned and unlearned alike stood before a sealed book that no one could open.
- Sealed — in absolute justice God has confirmed that blindness for the whole present period of grace to the Gentiles.
- Lifted — the same chapter promises a day when the deaf hear the words of that book and blind eyes see. So the warning to a rejecter today is urgent, not hopeless.
And the whole vision is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to one that can read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed.
Isaiah pictures God's message as a sealed scroll that nobody in the city can open. The fault is not in the writing but in the readers: God has poured out a spirit of deep sleep.
One writer ties the sealed book to the state of the people it was handed to:
The prophet now turns to describe the moral condition of the Jews themselves, and the blind folly that followed. Any trial God brings on them like this has its ground in their evil state, whatever mercy He shows in the end... Israel were blind in spirit to God's lessons. Judicial sleep weighed on all: learned or simple made no difference.
The two men in verses 11 and 12 are not people Isaiah met. They are a picture, and the picture covers everyone:
It is essential to see that verses 11 and 12 of this scripture are an illustration. Because of the moral condition of the nation, those who should have been the guides of the people had lost all spiritual discernment and knowledge under the judicial hand of the LORD. The spirit of deep sleep had closed their eyes; the prophets, rulers and seers were all blinded alike. The vision was like a sealed book. The learned man could not read it because it was sealed. The unlearned man did not try to open it because he could not read. The learned and the unlearned are not any particular persons. They stand for the general inability to understand the word of the Lord that a prophetic vision might contain.
The next verse gives the reason, and it is not intellectual. It is a religion of the mouth, shaped by human rules:
The city where David lived was once Ariel, meaning "the lion of God," but it was to be brought low... Their eyes were closed to God and to His word. Neither the learned nor the unlearned had any regard for His word. Any fear of God in them was taught "by the precept of men." So their religion was only lip-profession without heart-reality, and it was offensive to God. No wonder that judgment came from the hand of God.
One writer turns this into a warning for every reader:
The next verse explains the cause of this judicial blindness... It is a solemn warning for all. Understanding of the word of God, with spiritual wisdom and knowledge, can only be kept by those whose hearts are kept in the presence of God, and who at the same time walk in subjection to His revealed mind.
The excuse is not Israel's alone. One writer refuses to let Christians borrow the plea of the sealed book:
To the one, the book is sealed. The other pleads that he is not learned. Neither can grasp the revelation God gives by prophecy. Yet He reveals everything for the blessing of His people, not so that anything should be covered. He has not given the Bible so that it should not be understood. If Christians say that they cannot take it in, they say just what the Jews say here, the proof of their state of ruin. They dodge the testimony that would save them from the consequences of the judgment.
Another writer notices that the excuse has simply changed its vocabulary:
The first is an old argument of Isaiah's day (Isa. 29:9-11) against the divine vision... So today, man's argument is, "The language can't be understood: history, type, parable, are strange speech. People everywhere disagree as to the interpretation. How can we succeed where so many have failed? What good is guessing?"
If learning cannot break the seal, something else must. One writer points to Christ and to simple trust instead of scholarship:
I grant you we need a power above our own. We cannot understand the Bible by forcing the lock; what we need is the key. But if you have Christ, you already have the key. In faith apply Christ to the Bible, and you can understand it. It is not a question of a superior mind or of great learning. The most learned have been the most foolish in their mistakes. The simple man who understands only his mother tongue understands the Bible. He needs only to submit himself to the Lord with true simplicity and to trust His love.
The chapter does not end in blindness. A few verses later, the deaf hear the very book they could not read:
God remains God, and man is only clay in the hand of the potter. If this is solemnly true, it is full of blessed comfort. For "Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field?... In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see."
- Cause. The book was not unclear. God poured out a spirit of deep sleep, and prophets, rulers and seers were blinded alike.
- Reach. The scroll goes from the learned man to the unlearned man. The two stand for everyone, so nobody escapes.
- Root. Verse 13 names the reason: lips near God, hearts far away, and a fear of God taught by human rules.
- Echo. Christians who say they cannot take the Bible in are saying just what Israel said. God did not give the Bible so that it should stay closed.
- Cure. The key is Christ, taken by faith, not scholarship. And the promise stands: one day the deaf will hear the words of the book.
And they give the book to him that cannot read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot read.
Isaiah 29 shows a nation that holds God's word and cannot read it. One man blames the seal, the next blames his own lack of learning — so is the fault in the book, or in the people holding it?
The first man had learning. The second had none. Neither one opened the book, and the reason lies behind them both, in the state of the whole nation.
It is essential to observe that verses 11 and 12 of this scripture are an illustration. Because of the nation's moral condition, those who should have guided the people had lost all spiritual discernment and knowledge. This came under the LORD's hand of judgment. The spirit of deep sleep had closed their eyes; the prophets, rulers, and seers were all alike blinded. The effect was that if they had a vision none could interpret it. The vision was like a sealed book. The learned man could not read it because it was sealed. The unlearned man did not even try to open it, because he could not read. The learned and the unlearned are not particular people. They stand for a general inability to understand any word of the Lord that a prophetic vision might hold.
Education did not rescue the first man, and the lack of it did not excuse the second. Both stood under the same sleep described earlier in the chapter.
Israel were spiritually blind to God's lessons. Judicial sleep oppressed all: learned or simple made no difference.
Behind that sleep lies a refusal, and the God who sent it never intended His words to stay shut.
In verses 9-14 God despises the helplessness of His people, whom He has blinded in judgment. Learned or ignorant, they all reject the word of God. To the one the book is sealed. The other pleads that he is not learned. Neither can grasp what God reveals through prophecy. Yet He reveals everything for the blessing of His people. He hides nothing. He did not give the Bible in order to keep it beyond our understanding.
The second man's line has a long afterlife. It sounds humble, and that is exactly what makes it hard to challenge.
The second argument, which also is as old as Isaiah, is the most widespread and the most dangerous. It is the language of the people, not of their leaders. It sounds like humility: "I am not learned, so I can't understand." But it denies that the Holy Spirit is all-sufficient as the Teacher of Christians. Or it denies that He is present with His people. It makes the understanding of God's things depend on a man's education or on his I.Q., instead of on the Holy Spirit. Christ lived among the poor and the needy. This view makes Him reveal Himself now only to the educated, intelligent and wealthy. It makes the Lord's disciples, those unlearned Galileans, an oddity for all future times. … So it puts the many under the few. It proves its own argument true, and leaves Scripture out of reach and out of use for most of mankind.
If learning is not the qualification, something else must be. Commentators point to a key that is given, not earned.
To interpret Scripture we need a power and wisdom above our own. We cannot understand it by forcing the lock. We need the key, and grace gives it in Christ, as the Word and Spirit of God teach us. If you have Christ by faith, you already have the key. In faith apply Him to the Bible, and the Holy Spirit enables you to understand it. … A simple believer who knows neither Greek nor Hebrew may understand the Bible. He only needs to submit himself to the Lord in true simplicity and trust His love.
For anyone who finds Scripture closed today, one writer names the cause.
To most people it is like a sealed book, passed from one person to another, with the admission that no one can understand it. But how could it be otherwise? Men — and Christian men at that — fail to cry to God for light. They are unwilling to turn from their worldly ways or to break with the unholy company they keep. Here lies the real reason why most professing Christians today fail to understand the Scriptures.
The chapter does not leave the book sealed. What was closed in judgment is opened again later in the same prophecy.
Soon all this will be reversed. The proud Assyrian will be brought low, and humbled Israel lifted up. Even the guilty dullness of the people will give way to spiritual understanding and earnestness.
- Picture — The two men are an illustration, not real people. Together they show a whole nation unable to read what God had given.
- Cause — The blindness came as God's judgment. It fell on guides and people alike, and learning made no difference.
- Excuse — "I am not learned" sounds humble. It denies that the Holy Spirit teaches ordinary people.
- Key — The book opens to faith and submission, not to clever minds. Christ Himself is the key, and grace gives Him to you.
- Reversal — The sealing is not the last word. The dullness gives way to understanding, and God opens the book again.
And the Lord saith, Forasmuch as this people draw near with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but their heart is removed far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught of men;
Isaiah speaks to a people whose temple was busy and whose religious calendar was full. God says their nearness goes no deeper than their lips — so what is such worship worth, and how does a heart drift that far?
The verses just before this one describe a blindness that had settled on the whole nation. This verse gives the reason, and the charge has two parts.
The next verse (13) explains the cause of this blindness sent in judgment. There are two charges against the people, and everyone who claims God's name in every age should weigh them. First, their worship was made up of outward ceremonies: they drew near to the Lord with their mouth and honoured Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. Second, human rules governed their worship instead of God's word… Understanding of God's word, with spiritual wisdom and knowledge, stays only with those whose hearts are kept in the presence of God, and who at the same time live in subjection to His revealed mind.
The people described here are not the openly godless. God Himself says they "draw near."
They were not sinners in the common sense of the word — not irreligious people with no profession or thought about God. Quite the opposite. The thing said of them here is, "This people draw near"… All this religion and religiousness is swept aside in a moment… There is a worship that is worshipping God in vain.
The verse ends by tracing their fear of God to human teaching. That clause explains where the rest came from.
Notice what went with this condition, and what was probably its chief cause: the rules of men had taken the place of God's word and His fear. The word had been pushed out of its place of authority. Rules and tradition became the standard of conduct, and they lived in fear of what men thought and taught instead of the fear of God. So the word became a sealed book to them. Seers, prophets and rulers could not understand it, and those without learning could not read it.
Israel had real institutions given by God — temple, altar, sacrifices, feasts. Distance from God does not make people drop them. It makes them hold on tighter.
When a man is far from God, he clings to the old things God set up, and uses them to reject what God may actually be giving. But no one can deceive God about right and wrong… God had established the altar, temple, sacrifices, feasts and priests. Yet when wickedness is there, judgment must begin with His house. That judgment is only more terrible if the effects of the Holy Spirit are absent… The more evil the conscience is, the more it clings to forms.
The same condition returned later, and the Lord met it with a warning. One writer sets the two generations side by side.
So in Isaiah's day the people of Judah had an outward regard for the law of Moses and for the worship of God. But they had no inward reverence for the Lord Himself. In the Lord's day it was the same again with the people. Their house was swept of idols and decorated with "pious" deeds, but it was an empty shrine. Though God was on their tongues, He was not in their thoughts. So the Lord gave a solemn warning to people who were putting on an empty show. How could the lip-service of the Pharisees, or the eye-service of those who set out to please men, be acceptable to Him who does not look on the outward appearance but judges the heart?
Verse 14 answers verse 13. Their religious cleverness does not survive God's verdict.
They kept up the forms and were hypocrites, taught by the rules of men, as certainly as they admitted their ignorance of God's word. So by God's sentence their wisdom would perish… Their efforts to hide from the Lord, or to live independently of Him, were useless. God, after all, remains God, and man is only clay in the hand of the potter.
This warning did not stay in the past.
This kind of religious wickedness always shows up in men whose hearts are far from God while their lips honour Him. They put their own precepts and commandments in the place of His word. All such worship in name only is empty and in vain. Yet a true believer can easily get entangled in such things today.
- Cause — Human rules pushed God's word out of its place of authority. That swap starts the trouble.
- Consequence — God's word then became a sealed book. Prophets, rulers and ordinary people alike could no longer read it.
- Condition — Religion went on, but as lips without heart: a house swept clean of idols, and still an empty shrine.
- Cling — The worse the conscience, the tighter it grips the forms God once gave. Those forms become a way to refuse what He gives now.
- Close — Vain worship ends where verse 14 ends: the wisdom of the wise perishes. Man is only clay in the potter's hand.