The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:1-4
Woe to Ariel! The lesson of this section seems to be that even those nearest and dearest to God, who bear his name, who are in a certain sense his, are not exempt from suffering at his hands. Even Jerusalem, "the city where David dwelt" "God's lion," his champion, his "mighty one"—was shortly to experience all the horrors of a prolonged siege, to be brought down to the dust—to be distressed, weakened, humiliated. The memory of David would not save her; her name of "Ariel" would not exempt... read more
The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:1-4
A WARNING TO JERUSALEM . Expostulation is followed by threats. The prophet is aware that all his preaching to the authorities in Jerusalem ( Isaiah 28:14-22 ) will be of no avail, and that their adoption of measures directly antagonistic to the commands of God will bring on the very evil which they are seeking to avert, and cause Jerusalem to be actually besieged by her enemies. In the present passage he distinctly announces the siege, and declares that it will commence within a... read more