Acknowledge the Holiness of the Holy One (Isaiah 29:15-24)

Three different settings addressed by Isaiah:

1. 1-39 (740-700 B.C.): Isaiah's own times. The Assyrian threat.
2. 40-55 (585-540 B.C.): Judean exiles in Babylon. The Babylonian exile.
3. 56-66 (539 B.C. onwards): Conditions in Judah after the return from exile.

Isaiah 1-39 Outline: Trust God--The Assyrian threat.

• 1-5 The problem: A lack of servanthood.Trust God and do not rebel.
• 6 [740 BC] The solution: A call to servanthood. Trust God and your sins are covered.
• 7-39 Lessons in trust, the basis of servanthood. [Trust God--NOT Assyria (7-12, 36-39), NOT the nations (13-23), NOT the world (24-27), NOT Egypt (28-33).
• 7-12 God or Assyria: No trust. The need to study lessons in trust again.
• 13-23 God's judgment over the nations. Don't trust the nations.
• 24-27 God's triumph over the nations. God is the sovereign actor on the stage of history.
• 28-33 The folly of trusting the nations. Woe to those who will not wait/trust God.
• 34-35 The results of trusting God or the nations: A desert or a garden.
• 36-39 God or Assyria: Trust. [701 BC]

Unacceptable Worship (Isaiah 29:1-14) [Lips Life Disconnect; Hypocrisy and Insincerity.]

The Deaf Hear, the Blind See (Isaiah 29:15-24) [Acknowledge the Holiness of the Holy One]

"Oh, your perversity!" (29:16). In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see" (29:18). "...they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob" (29:23).

1. Contempt for the Creator (15-16).
2. The Great Reversal (17-21).
3. A People for God's Praise (22-23).

Questions:

1. [15-24] What is the rebuke of the third "woe" (Isa 29:15; Gen 3:8)? What are they hiding (Isa 30:1-2; 31:1)? What are the first two woes that brought sorrow (28:1ff [1-13]; 29:1ff [1–14, esp. 9–14])? What brings woe and sorrow here? How does it relate to the first two woes (Isa 2:22; 7:9b)?
2. Isa 29:16 is an exclamation: "Oh, your perversity!" Why is this so perverse and offensive to God (Gen 2:7; Job 10:9; 33:6; Isa 45:9; 64:8; Rom 9:20-21)? How does this show contempt for the Creator (Rom 1:21)? Can you hide things from God (Gen 3:7-8)? Do you attempt to take on the role of God by trying to control your situation/others? Why is this foolish (Isa 14:24-27)? Do you use God to get what you already decided to do? How do we not do this (Prov 3:5)?
3. [Notice the proportion of condemnation (29:15-16) to promise (29:17-24) here as opposed to the proportions in 28:1–22 (28:16-21) and 29:1–14 (29:5-8). Keep this in mind in the next four chapters.] What is promised (29:17-19, 20-21; 32:3; 35:5)? How does it reverse the problems in ch. 28–29 (28:1, 9, 23; 29:1, 9, 13, 15-16)?
4. What is the response to conviction, repentance and redemption (29:22-24)? What will change (17, 19, 20)?