This document provides context and analysis of Isaiah 29:9-16. It summarizes that the people of Judah had substituted meaningless rituals for true worship from the heart. God responded by sending a spirit of spiritual apathy. Their leaders, prophets, and wise men could no longer discern or understand God's word, which had become like a sealed document to them. The document warns that empty worship leads to ignorance of God and presumption of equality or superiority over God. True worship requires recognizing God's supremacy and living in light of his grace.

1. Worthless Worship
Isaiah 29: 9-16

2. Isaiah 29:9-16
Call to Worship (Psalm 5)
People of God, raise your voices in praise to God.
God takes delight in our presence here.
Come and enter God’s presence.
We come trusting in the steadfast love of God.
Let us worship the God of love and righteousness.

3. Isaiah 29:9-16
Invocation (1 Kings 21, Galatians 2, Luke 7)
O God, our world seems in such a mess: greed
triumphs over generosity; death appears
stronger than life; people judge one another
harshly; sin abounds and grace recedes far
away.

4. Isaiah 29:9-16
Forgive us, O God, when we succumb to the
forces of sin, greed, judgment, and death; when
we act as if you are not here with us; when we
fail to do the things we should: welcome all
people with love and joy, live in an attitude of
abundance and find ways to support your work
in the world.

5. Isaiah 29:9-16
Like the woman with the alabaster jar, may we
lay all that we are and all that we have at your
feet, trusting in your forgiving, steadfast love.
Amen.

6. Context
In Isaiah 24:1 through Isaiah 27:13, Isaiah deals
with both the tragedies of the coming Day of
the Lord and triumphs of the coming kingdom.
In Isaiah 28-33, the prophet pronounces a series
of "woes" against those who have opposed
God's words.

7. Context
The first "woe" in this section is directed against
"the drunkards of Ephraim" (Isaiah 28:1-6).
"Ephraim" is a reference to Samaria, the capital
city of Ephraim, which was located on a hill that
resembled a "crown."

8. Context
"Ephraim" is described as the "crown of pride"
yet she was ripe for judgment because she had
"...erred through wine, and through strong
drink" (Isaiah 28:7). Her "priest and prophet"
(Isaiah 28:7) were also intoxicated and unable
to minister because of their senseless judgment
and filthiness (Isaiah 28:7-9).

9. Context
The last "woe" of the series (Isaiah 33:1-12) is
directed against Assyria. Isaiah's words are a
reference to the Assyrian invaders under
Sennacherib. As soon as they completed the
task assigned to them by God, of punishing
Judah, God will judge them (Isaiah 10:5-16).

10. Context
In Isaiah 29:1-8, the second "woe" pronounced
by Isaiah is against "Ariel, the city where David
dwelt" (Isaiah 29:1). This "woe" is the setting for
our lesson text in Isaiah 29:9-16.

11. Context
"Ariel" is another name for Jerusalem which
was the center of Israel's worship. "Ariel" in
Hebrew means "an altar hearth" referring to the
place where the burnt offerings were sacrificed
(Ezekiel 43:13-18).

12. Context
Judgment is coming no matter what religious
rituals you do." God promised they would be
"brought down" (Isaiah 29:4) and "visited of the
LORD of host" because of their meaningless
worship (Isaiah 29:6).

13. Context
How had the people of God who were so wise
concerning God's requirements for worship
strayed so far from genuine worship
(Deuteronomy 4:6)?

14. Context
Part of the answer lies in Isaiah 29:9-16 where
Isaiah graphically describes the condition of
God's people and the inevitable judgments to
be brought upon them because of their
hardness of heart and self-indulgence.

15. Isaiah 29:9
Stupefy yourselves and be in a stupor, blind
yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not from
wine; stagger, but not from strong drink!

16. Isaiah 29:9
Question: When do sober believers behave as if
they were drunk and why?

17. Isaiah 29:9
Isaiah is reporting God’s views and his views
about the people in the kingdom of Judah. By
their actions and false thinking they were
blinding themselves to the truth rather than
listen to Isaiah or live according to God’s law.

18. Isaiah 29:9
God sometimes allows people to go ahead and
do wrong things. Perhaps by suffering the
consequences of their wrongdoing they would
turn back to God and turn from their
wrongdoing.

19. Isaiah 29:9
Isaiah mentions that "they stagger." An
intoxicated person has no control of himself and
is a danger to himself and others. But one who
is "drunken" is sometimes bold and stubborn.
Alcohol always leads to bad choices.

20. Isaiah 29:9
God's people were not "drunk" because of "strong
drink." They were "drunk" on spiritual apathy and
hypocrisy.
Their spiritual insensitivity was the result of their
willingness to carry on with life as it was and their
unwillingness to obey God's will concerning
worship.

21. Isaiah 29:10
For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit
of deep sleep; he has closed your eyes, you
prophets, and covered your heads, you seers.

22. Isaiah 29:10
Question: What could cause God to increase a
believer’s spiritual apathy and hypocrisy?

23. Isaiah 29:10
As God’s judgment and punishment upon them
for their stubborn refusal to repent of their sins
and return to faith and obedience to God, God
poured out a punishment of spiritual sleep
upon them, a punishment of reinforcing their
choice to ignore God and His warnings.

24. Isaiah 29:10
God closed the eyes of the false prophets so
they would be unable to see the future; so
they would keep teaching falsehoods that they
and the people wanted to believe and listen to
in their rebellion against God.

25. Isaiah 29:10
The "prophets and seers" are synonymous for
those who should have been hearing from God
and communicating God's message.
The "rulers" are those who lead the people in
daily life.
Isaiah is telling us that both the educated and
uneducated have been affected by the spiritual
climate sent by God.

26. Isaiah 29:10
"Closed" and "covered" are two very important
words in this verse. "Closed" means "shut."
"Covered" means "concealed."
God caused the discerning "prophet and seer"
to be unable to look into the future and He
caused the "rulers" to be unable to see the
immediate.

27. Isaiah 29:10
The Apostle Paul said, "And even as they did not
like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave
them over to a reprobate mind, to do those
things which are not convenient..." (Romans
1:28).

28. Isaiah 29:11-12
The vision of all this has become for you like the
words of a sealed document. If it is given to
those who can read, with the command, “Read
this,” they say, “We cannot, for it is sealed.” And
if it is given to those who cannot
read, saying, “Read this,” they say, “We cannot
read.”

29. Isaiah 29:11-12
Question: Who is guiltier? The lazy teacher or
the lazy disciple?

30. Isaiah 29:11-12
Because the prophets and the people had
closed their eyes to reading, understanding, and
obeying God’s word, their present situation and
the warnings of Isaiah had become has a sealed
document that they could not understand.

31. Isaiah 29:11-12
Sometimes the moral law of God is given to
those who have chosen to live disobedient and
self-centered lives and they try to make the
excuse that they cannot read rather than seek
to learn the law of God in order to obey and
please God.

32. Isaiah 29:11-12
Another evidence of that apathy is the
dependence of believers on others to do their
spiritual study and obedience for them. They
rise or fall with their teachers for their laziness.

33. Isaiah 29:11-12
While God sent the "deep sleep" (v.10) and the
"closed eyes" (v.10), the decisive factor in the
nation's inability to see and discern what God is
saying and doing is their personal lack of desire
to know what God required of them in their
worship and life.

34. Isaiah 29:11-12
The problem is not education, the "learned" or
"not learned." The problem is apathy and
indifference.
Many professing Christians no longer read their
Bible or study God's Word. They have no hunger
to know God or His will.

35. Isaiah 29:11-12
1 Peter 2:2 (NLT)
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual
milk so that you will grow into a full experience of
salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,

36. Isaiah 29:13-14
The Lord said: Because these people draw near with
their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their
hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a
human commandment learned by rote; so I will again
do amazing things with this people, shocking and
amazing.
The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the
discernment of the discerning shall be hidden.

37. Isaiah 29:13-14
What happens when "lips" are more a part of
worship than "heart?"
The result is that "their fear toward me is
taught by the precept of men."
That is legalism!

38. Isaiah 29:13-14
The heart, mind, purpose, and will of those
God spoke to through Isaiah had
substituted the performance of rituals of
worship for true obedience to God from
hearts of love.

39. Isaiah 29:13-14
The heart, mind, purpose, and will of those
God spoke to through Isaiah had substituted
the performance of rituals of worship for true
obedience to God from hearts of love.
They spoke what they had learned or
memorized, but the words meant nothing to
them personally.

40. Isaiah 29:13-14
Mark 7:7-9 (NLT) Jesus said:
7 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-
made ideas as commands from God.’
8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your
own tradition.”
9 Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s
law in order to hold on to your own tradition.

41. Isaiah 29:13-14
When God is finished with His work, the
"wise men" who thought they had it all
figured out will be exposed as fools. When
God is finished with them they "shall
perish." "Perish" means they will
"vanish, go away."

42. Isaiah 29:13-14
Also, the "prudent men" or those who
presented themselves as knowing
everything "shall be hid."
In other words, when God is finished you
won't be able to find a man who knows
God or men who understands God's way.

43. Isaiah 29:13-14
The amazing things that God would do
involved their punishment. They would be
being carried off into exile and King
Solomon’s Temple would be destroyed.

44. Isaiah 29:13-14
The amazing things included the amazing
stupidity of those in places of
leadership, whether political or
religious, and the unwillingness of the
people to seek out and listen to the
discerning (prophets such as Isaiah and
others).

45. Isaiah 29:15
Ha! You who hide a plan too deep for the
LORD, whose deeds are in the dark, and
who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
You turn things upside down! Shall the
potter be regarded as the clay? Shall the
thing made say of its maker, “He did not
make me”; or the thing formed say of the
one who formed it, “He has no
understanding”?

46. Isaiah 29:15
Those who do not believe in God often
make plans and live in total disregard of
God.
They refuse to believe in God or they
refuse to believe that if there were a God
that He would ever hold them accountable
for plans and deeds that harm others and
themselves.

47. Isaiah 29:15
These "wise" and "prudent" men would know
that the prophet Isaiah would not agree with
that course of action so this group sought to
"hide their counsel from the Lord."
They pretend to have inside knowledge on
issues. They shut God out and work behind the
scenes in the "dark."

48. Isaiah 29:15
When the worship of God's people becomes
meaningless it results in an ignorance of the
person of God and in a presumption of being
able to conceal the reality of the heart.

49. Isaiah 29:15
Isaiah used the analogy of the "potter" and his
"clay." It is ridiculous to think the "work" of the
"potter" would say to the potter, "You didn't
make me."
Pressing his point further Isaiah also
says, "Would the thing made by the potter say
that the potter that he didn't understand what
he had made?"

50. Isaiah 29:15
Isaiah's point is that while the people acted as if
they knew everything they actually knew little if
anything about what was going on.
Only God knows everything

51. Conclusion
True worship can never come from a mind-set
of equality or superiority with God. True
worship can never come from a heart that is
hypocritical. True worship can never come from
an individual who thinks his life and deeds are
somehow hidden from God or that he can
outsmart God.

52. Conclusion
The people of Isaiah's day no longer
approached God in worship with a sense of awe
and wonder.
As a result of their dead ritualistic routines, God
sent them spiritual blindness and exposed their
pride and fleshly presumptions of equality with
God and superiority to God.

53. Conclusion
It is at the cross that God "destroys the wisdom
of the wise, and brings to nothing the
understanding of the prudent" (1 Corinthians
1:19). If our worship is honor God we must live
in the shadow of the cross!

54. Blessing
(1 Kings 21, Galatians 2, Luke 7)
Go forth into the world as people reborn.
Live generosity, not greed.
Celebrate life, not death.
Revel in the abundant grace that flows over and
through us, and bring that love and grace to a world
deeply in need.
May we share in His peace. Amen.