Did you know that going to church and singing praise and worship songs does not make you a Christian, just like standing in a garage doesn’t make you a car? You can’t tell what a person is like by listening what they say or looking at what they do. Only God can really know what is in someone’s heart. The closest we can come is looking at the whole of a person’s life, not just what they say or do, especially not only how they act at church or among Christians.
Isaiah 29:13 (ESV) ”And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men”
Isaiah 29 deals with the spiritual blindness of Jerusalem at the time, they knew how to sound religious but their hearts were far from God. Spiritual blindness was unfortunately not only a symptom in the days of Isaiah, Jesus quoted from this passage when speaking to the religious leaders of His time, and it certainly is evident in many churches today as well.
Matthew 15:7-9 (NLT) ”You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
The cause of spiritual blindness
What causes people to be spiritually blind? If we read Isaiah 29 in it’s entirety, we see that Jerusalem was considered spiritually blind based on a few all too familiar statements. The first declaration is that they have lost the fear of God (Isaiah 29:13). They had to be commanded to fear the Lord by other people, so their hearts did not respond to God but only to men.
The second declaration is that they have lost their wisdom and discernment (Isaiah 29:14). Jerusalem’s pride has caused them to become spiritually blind, asleep, drunk, illiterate and hypocrites. The leaders has led the people into this state and Isaiah calls It a marvelous work and a wonder. Paul looked at the wisdom of the people of his time and was similarly amazed.
1 Corinthians 1:21-23 (NLT) ”Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.”
Further, in Isaiah 29:15-16, he points out that people questioned God’s presence and His place in their world. In their wisdom, they figured they could hide their thoughts and actions from God. They lifted themselves up by lowering God at the same time, saying the creation is just as worthy, intelligent and powerful as the Creator. God does not move away from His people, they remove their hearts from Him.
When reading these passages, it sounds absurd to think that this is classified as human intelligence, and Isaiah probably thought the same way. And today, the idea of humanity not accountable to anyone because humanity was not created is taught at the highest levels of education. How far has man fallen in their pride?
The solution to spiritual blindness
God told Jerusalem that it will only be a little while, then the situation will be turned around. Lebanon, which was known for it’s forestry will become a fruitful field (Isaiah 29:17). In other words, God would cut one down and raise another in its place. God brings the change and uses circumstances to effect this in people’s hearts. God brings the restoration.
When God restores people, He makes the deaf to hear and the blind to see. This means that pride no longer prevents them from hearing God’s word or seeing God’s work. Just as it is miraculous in the natural realm, it is also miraculous in the spiritual realm. The catalyst is people that humbly look for God to open their ears and eyes.
James 4:7-8 (NIV) ”Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Isaiah also says that the joy of the Lord will return to the people. Humbling ourselves means we have an accurate estimation of ourselves and a proper perspective of ourselves in relation to God and other people. When we let go of pride and embrace an attitude of humbleness our joy is restored in God. Pride is the enemy of joy, real joy. You can be proud and be excited, or happy even, but you cannot be joyful in the Lord if you are proud.
Restoration of God’s people
In conclusion, Isaiah speaks about Jacob not being ashamed. The name Jacob literally means “deceiver” or “trickster”, and was given to the father of the 12 tribes. Anyone who is a “Jacob”, who goes to church just to be seen but whose heart is far from God, has reason to be ashamed. But when God restores people to Him, they no longer have to be ashamed.
When people who made mistakes and stumbled spiritually acknowledge their wrong and cry out to God, God will bring them to a place of understanding and truth sets them free. This chapter has much to say about spiritual blindness and how to be restored to God.
Spiritual blindness is caused by pride and can bring people down and lead them into a state of spiritual sleep and illiteracy. It causes hypocrisy and removes people from God’s presence, even to the point of denying God as Creator. But spiritual blindness can be cured through humility, and healed through God’s restoration.
Let us humble ourselves today and take a sober view of ourselves in front of others and before God. Ask God for ears to hear and eyes to see, and that He will restore His joy in us today so we can appreciate life and live more fully.
