Isaiah 29:3-8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 29:7

As a dream - This is the beginning of the comparison, which is pursued and applied in the next verse. Sennacherib and his mighty army are not compared to a dream because of their sudden disappearance; but the disappointment of their eager hopes is compared to what happens to a hungry and thirsty man, when he awakes from a dream in which fancy had presented to him meat and drink in abundance, and finds it nothing but a vain illusion. The comparison is elegant and beautiful in the highest... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:1-8

The city of God. "The city where David dwelt" was undoubtedly Jerusalem, the "city of God." It is here called Ariel ; i.e; according to some, the hearth or altar of God. This fact, taken with the prophecy itself, may remind us— I. THAT THE CITY OF GOD IS THE PLACE WHERE GOD DWELLS . It is where his hearth is —the "place of his abode" where he is at home with his people, where they are "at home" with him. The true Church of Christ, the ideal Christian family or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:1-12

Concerning Ariel. I. VICISSITUDES OF ARIEL . The name is symbolic, perhaps signifying " God ' s lion." It was the city where David dwelt. The prophet bids the city enter upon the new year, and run the round of the feasts. The distress will come, and the city, true to her name, will be mourning like a wounded lioness; and yet her prowess will be seen. She will be beleaguered, the mound for the battering-ram will be set up; she will be abased, and her low voice will be like the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:3

I will camp against thee round about ; i.e. "I will bring armed men against thee who shall encamp around the entire circuit of thy walls." There was small chance of forcing an entrance into Jerusalem on any side except the north; but, order to distress and harass her, an enemy with numerous forces would dispose them all round the walls, thus preventing all ingress or egress (see Luke 19:43 ). And … lay siege against thee with a mount ; or, with a mound . Artificial mounds were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:4

Thy speech shall be low . The feeble cries of a people wasted and worn out by a long siege are intended. These cries would resemble those which seemed to come out of the ground when a necromancer professed to raise a ghost. The Hebrew 'ohv is used both of the necromancers (Le 19:31; Isaiah 20:6 , etc.) and of the ghosts which they professed to raise ( 1 Samuel 28:7 , 1 Samuel 28:8 ; 2 Kings 20:6 , etc.). Here the "ghost" is spoken of. Thy speech shall whisper ; literally, chirp ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:5

Moreover ; rather, but . The relation of Isaiah 29:5-8 to Isaiah 29:1-4 is that of contrast. The multitude of thy strangers; i.e. "of thy enemies" (comp. Isaiah 25:5 ). In primitive societies every stranger is an enemy; and hence language—the formation of primitive men—often has one word for the two ideas. In Latin hostis is said to have originally meant "foreigner" (Cic; 'De Off',' 1.12). Shall be like small dust . Ground down, i.e. to an impalpable powder—rendered utterly... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:5-8

THE WARNING FOLLOWED BY A PROMISE . It is ever God's care to prevent men from being "swallowed up with overmuch sorrow" ( 2 Corinthians 2:7 ). As long as he is not about to "make a full end" ( Jeremiah 4:27 ), he mingles promises with his threats, words of cheer with words of warning. So now the prophet is directed to attach to his four verses of denunciation ( Isaiah 29:1-4 ) four others of encouragement, and to declare the utter discomfiture of the vast host of enemies which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:5-8

The disappointment that awaits God's enemies. All the enemies of God have, some day or other, an awaking. The designs which they cherish, the selfish hopes in which they indulge, are mere dreams. Even when the dreams are realized the result is disappointing. No man ever yet found the pleasure of success equal to his expectation. If there is a little satisfaction at first, fruition soon begets satiety. "Vanity of vanities," says the preacher, "all is vanity." But, for the most part, the... read more

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