From: Isaiah 29:17-24
Against Those Who Hide from the Lord (Continuation)
[22] Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham,
concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale.
[23] For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
[24] And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.”
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Commentary:
29:15-24. The third “woe” marks the start of the third lamentation. First, it des-
cribes the ridiculous situation of someone who thinks he can escape divine judg-
ment (vv. 15-16). The simile of the clay and the potter (cf. the note on Jer 18:1-12)
shows how senseless it is to deny that man has a “Maker”, or to try to tell God
that he doesn’t know what he is doing. The prophet denounces the folly shown by
the people of Judah who have wandered away from God. In Romans 9:20-21, St
Paul will use the argument of v. 16 to show that God is free to do as he wishes
with nations and individuals (cf. 45:9).
However, things will change (vv. 17-24). The Lord is going to take action and
when he does, no one will be able to evade him: the deaf will hear, the blind will
see, there will be no more oppression or hardness of heart.
Cure of illnesses, specifically release from deafness and blindness (vv. 18-19; cf.
35:5), is a feature of messianic times; it will be the signal that the kingdom has
been reconstituted. St Matthew says that when Jesus was told about the ques-
tions asked by the disciples of John — was Jesus he who was to come, or should
they wait for another — he replied: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the
blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear,
and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And
blessed is he who takes no offense at me” (Mt 11:4-6; cf. Is 26:19; 35:5-6; 61:1-
3). Thus, by referring to these actions of his, Jesus is showing that he is the Mes-
siah, whose mission is to establish the Kingdom of God, just as Isaiah had pro-
phesied.
The last promise (vv 22-24) is deeply rooted in patriarchal tradition. The vocation of
Abraham (this is the only place in the Bible where he is described as “redeemed”)
and the story of Jacob who managed to survive all kinds of danger, form the foun-
dation for all hope of an enduring deliverance and salvation.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.