The words of the LORD are pure words. —Psalm 12:6a

A Book that is Sealed?

The prophet Isaiah lived during the time when the nation of Israel was divided north and south. The northern kingdom of Israel had remained more-or-less in rebellion against God for hundreds of years. In contrast, the southern kingdom of Judah still followed the kings sitting upon the throne of David, God’s chosen king, and participated in the temple worship that God had ordained through David and Solomon.

Isaiah’s prophecies came over a span of time that included portions of the reigns of 4 different kings of Judah. Of those kings, 3 are commended as having done that which was right in the sight of the LORD. But one, king Ahaz, was wicked, walking in the ways of the kings of Israel.

Thus, although the kingdom of Judah seemed, for the most part, to follow God in practice, they were not altogether pure. And this is reflected in the fact that Isaiah’s words of rebuke are not wholly directed at the apostate northern kingdom. Many of his prophecies were actually directed instead at the people of Judah. One such passage is Isaiah chapter 29.

Woe to Ariel! #

In Isaiah 28, God has just excoriated the northern kingdom, led by the tribe of Ephraim. They have been rebellious, and rejected the political and religious order ordained by God. But lest the people of Judah think that they are fully upright, in this next chapter the LORD directs his rebuke toward them.

Isaiah 29:1 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.

In opening, God acknowledges their continued service to him in the temple, as they offer his sacrifices year after year in accordance with the law. But though they do this, and David’s son sits upon his throne in his city, yet God will distress them, and cries “Woe!” unto them. He calls them “Ariel,” which literally means “lion of God,” but in scripture is used to refer only to two “lionlike men of Moab,” who were slain by David’s mighty warrior Benaiah (1 Chronicles 11:22). Thus, Ariel is a name for one who is as a lion (as the tribe of Judah), but who is overcome by one mightier (in this case, the mighty God of Jacob).

But what is it that has so aroused God’s ire against them? Why will he bring sorrow upon them, despite their continued service to him? They have not rebelled against his will, as the northern kingdom has. What have they done?

He begins to explain in verse 9:

Isaiah 29:9 Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

The vision of the prophets had become hidden to them, and they would not understand God’s word. Here the LORD tells them that although they go through the motions of following him, they do not do it because he has commanded it. They do it only because they are taught to do so by men. They do not trust in God’s word and his wisdom; they do not understand it. Instead they are trusting in the wisdom of men. And it is because of this that God will judge them, that he may expose the folly of men, and the light of his word.

One Learned #

There is much that we can learn from this passage, so let us consider it point by point, beginning with the description of how the people of Judah related to God’s word by his prophets. God explains to Isaiah what the people are doing, by using an example of a book that is shown to two people, one educated, and one not.

First the response of the learned man is described:

11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:

When those that were learned were presented with the word of God, they would not be able to explain it, saying that it was sealed. Certainly they could read Isaiah’s prophecies, and those of the other seers, but they would not expound them. They did not believe that they could be understood, but considered them to be sealed, such that no man could know what God had actually said.

The LORD’s rebuke of them here strikes too close for comfort today. (But let us not seek to be comfortable, but rather to declare all the counsel of God.) We live in a time when learned men in many of our seminaries educate our pastors and teachers with just such a doctrine. Too often they learn that the word of God is not something which they can read and understand. That it does not, in fact, exist on this earth. That it was only in the original autographs, and since the time that those perished, God’s word has been sealed. Too many indeed are taught that we can never know what God had actually said. The Bible is become to them the words of a book that is sealed.

Him that is not Learned #

But let us turn and deliver the book to him that has not been so educated:

12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

When the words of the prophets were presented to the unlearned, they did not suggest that they were sealed. As those that are too ignorant to understand the significance of a seal, they did not doubt that they would read and understand the book, if only they were learned.

The unlearned here certainly would include the illiterate, but is really a broader category. It is not that the people could not hear Isaiah prophesying, or that they all could not read what the prophets had said. Rather, they simply believed themselves too ignorant to be able to understand properly what they had read or heard.

And so it is today, that those who have not been learned to consider God’s word sealed to man, often believe themselves too ignorant to understand it. If only they had a seminary education, surely they would expound God’s words. But without a knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, how can they think to comprehend the word of the LORD?

Precept of Men #

Why then, did the people of the southern kingdom of Judah fear the LORD? If it was not because of the words of his prophets, which they would not attempt to comprehend, then why were they more righteous than their northern neighbors?

13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

God declares that they fear him, not because of the words that he has sent them by his prophets, but rather because of precepts taught them by men. Their fear of God does not come from their heart, for they have not allowed his word to touch it. Rather, it springs from indoctrination. They fear God because men have taught them that they must. In doing so, they do not serve the LORD, but those men who have so directed them.

The kingdom of Judah may have followed the dictates of God in their king and in their worship. But they did so, not because it pleased God, not because it was what he required of them, but because it was what men required of them.

And when we refuse to understand God’s word ourselves, can it be otherwise? If we cannot approach unto God’s commands, we have nothing else to follow but the commands of men. When the learned seal God’s word in the past, they can but turn to church tradition; when the unlearned make themselves blind, they can but follow those deemed wiser.

The Wisdom of their Wise Men #

14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

But the day comes, when all worldly wisdom shall perish. Those whose understanding is not an understanding of God’s word, though they be learned, shall be ashamed of their knowledge.

God would bring just such a time upon the people of Judah, when the “wisdom” of the wise would be cast away for the folly that it was, and the prudent would hide their understanding.

Let us endeavor then, not to be wise in man’s wisdom, lest such a thing come upon us.

Who Seeth Us? #

But how would God bring this upon them? How would man’s wisdom come to be discarded?

15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

The learned had hidden the true nature of their works from the people, thinking also that they hid them from God. What folly! Not only does God see them, but he will expose their counsel, and bring to light their dark works. And then all men would see that the “wisdom” of the wise, when brought to light, was no wisdom; and the prudent would hide their understanding of the matter, not wishing to be found conspirators and fools.

And many indeed there must be, who work in secret to corrupt the word of God, and who have concealed the true nature of their “wisdom” from his people. But may the LORD expose their folly, that we should not follow man’s wisdom, but rather His word.

The Potter’s Clay #

16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

The potter’s clay is malleable in his hands, but once hardened, it cannot be changed, and once broken, cannot be recovered. In putting men’s precepts above God’s words, the people of Judah have despised the work of the Potter that made both it and them. By saying that God’s word is sealed, they cast doubt on his understanding. They imply that he is unable to bring truth to light in a manner which men can comprehend. But cannot the God who made man make men to understand his words? This their wisdom is upside down, and God will break it like a potter’s vessel—it will splinter, and they will not be able to restore it.

But the work that God has made, that he has framed with understanding—now that it is hardened, can it be changed? Is God’s word not finished in his furnace? Is it not as pure silver, tried seven times? Or who is he that hath broken it? (John 10:35) Should we say of him that made us, “he had no understanding to preserve his word,” or, “the vessel he made is fit for no use to me, I cannot discern its purpose”? Or do we turn to the work of potters who are but mere men, whose works are destined to crumble? If God would so expose our wisdom, would it be esteemed as potter’s clay?

Conclusion #

To bring a nation to a fear of the LORD, but only by the precept of men, is not to save it from God’s wrath. What God seeks from his people is that they would fear him through a personal understanding of his word. To doubt the accessibility and comprehensibility of that word displeases him greatly. He did not make his word to be sealed.

Indeed, as we observed in our study of God’s promises regarding preservation, God’s word is always accessible to his people. Contrary to the wisdom of many of our wise men, it is not lost in the past. It does not need rediscovery or reconstruction. It did not perish with the “original autographs.” It is alive, and God has preserved it down to the present day.

Nor may we, who do not doubt the availability of God’s word, excuse ourselves by saying that we are unable to comprehend it. God did not light a candle that is set under a bushel. He did not place a veil over the light of his word. Through Christ our Great High Priest’s sacrifice of himself, he has rent the veil. He has had compassion on the ignorant. His word is not across the sea, in a language we cannot understand. It is in our mouth, and in our heart—where we can speak and understand it. Because his New Testament is a word of faith, which must be understood and believed. And so as we observed in our discussion of translation, a knowledge of dead languages is not needed to read the living word. God has promised to always make his word accessible to his people.

Do we believe this? Or is God’s word become to us a book that is sealed?

And if we will doubt it, what is our fate—the fate of our wise men, and of our nation?

0 Comments

Leave a Reply