Blinded in Hypocrisy

Isaiah 29:1-24

Introduction

Hypocrisy - powerful word

Perhaps one of the most cutting comments you can make about a person’s character

To be known as a hypocrite means someone doesn’t believe you are truthful, believe you’re empty

If it’s true, then it is devastating & condemning & confronting

Isaiah’s message to Judah here is all of those things

There is warning here for us but if we hear what is being said there can be comfort

Isaiah 28 - likely written before Israel taken captive by Assyria (~725 bc)

Isaiah 29 - after Israel’s fall & just before Assyria’s seige (701 bc) on Jerusalem (~703/2 bc)

Let’s hear God’s warning about hypocrisy and take heed to His cure for hypocrisy

READ Isaiah 29

God’s Loving Judgment

Isaiah 29:1-8

Empty Religion

Isaiah 29:1-4

The Altar Hearth of God

2nd Woe in this series of Woe’s is to Ariel

Context makes it clear Ariel refers to Jerusalem

Isaiah 29:1 - where David dwelt

Isaiah 29:6 - Mount Zion

This is only place that word is used of Jerusalem

There must be a reason

Meaning of Ariel

Based on usage in other places it could mean 2 things

Lion of God or hearth of God

Either could be correct reading

Isaiah may even have both ideas in mind

Immediate context would suggest ‘hearth of God’ is probably intended meaning

More accurately the ‘altar hearth of God’

Jerusalem was centre of worship and at the heart of that worship was the altar

The place where sacrifices were burned to make atonement for sins

Phrases like ‘let feasts come around’ (29:1) & ‘flame of devouring fire’ (29:6) suggest this is what Isaiah had in mind

Problem being dealt with is one of worship

God is going to kindle another fire under Judah, the fire of judgment

Hypocrisy in Worship

Why is this judgment coming upon Judah? Again, this isn’t a new message

God is bringing judgment on them because of their hypocrisy

Isaiah 29:13.

God despises false religion

He despises when we pretend to love & serve Him but are really seeking our own gain

Religious hypocrisy is the worst kind of pride

It runs deep within us all

Jesus dealt with it in the Pharisees

Jesus quotes this verse in Matt 15:8.

It expresses itself in many different ways

Not just found in strict circles like Pharisees where you need to follow the rules

Also found in looking down on people that don’t have particular religious experiences

What is hypocrisy? Isaiah 13:9 - whereever my heart & worship aren’t wholly for God

Judgment for pride

Isaiah 29:16 - Hypocrisy turns things upside down

Denies that God has a right to tell us what to do

Implication of that is a belief that I know better than God, I am wiser than God

Merciful God

Isaiah 29:5-8

Swift Judgment

Remember the poem of Isaiah 28:23-29?

God works with purpose in breaking up the soil

His purpose is to be able to produce fruit

This judgment is part of the plowing & ground clearing

God’s purpose in this is to bring His people to Him

This judgment will be swift & devastating

May have reference to seige of Sennacherib

Likely is intended in a much broader way to teach a principle

Some aspects of this seem relevant to Assyrian siege, others to Babylon & others future like Titus & End times

Let’s note also that effects of this judgment are felt by believing Judah & unbelieving

That is a hard truth for many to accept but in this world believers don’t always escape trouble caused by sin

Righteous & unrighteous die in earthquakes & tsumani’s & war

When God does judge a nation all feel His wrath

Not every calamity you endure is because of your sin - sometimes it’s consequences of others sin

Our reward isn’t a painless life on this earth but eternal deliverance from sin

God delivers His people

Once God’s purpose in judgment is accomplished He judges the enemies of His people

Just like His judgment is swift & complete so is His deliverance

It is like waking up from a dream that seemed vivid & real & then is gone

Notice the contrast between God’s people & their enemies

Enemies are like dust & chaff but God’s people are a mount

Our Blindness in Disobedience

Isaiah 29:9-16

No Understanding

Closed Eyes

Called to stop & look or rather be stopped in stunned amazement

They are spiritually blind because they have chosen not to look to God

They chose to live in disobedience & hypocrisy

Like Judah, our spiritual blindness comes from choice

Those who find themselves under God’s judgment are there because they have chosen to reject God

You choose self over God

You have closed your eyes to truth of God and refuse to see the truth

By nature, this is where everyone of us begin

That’s why the Bible describes the life of the unbeliever as being in darkness

And we need the light of God to break through the darkness

Blinded eyes need to be made to see

Become Blind

Here is the great tragedy of spiritual blindness

If you continue to choose blindness, you will be made blind

John 12:39–40 “39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.””

Hear the horror of Isaiah 29:10-12.

God keeps them from seeing the truth

Those who can read can’t even open the scroll

If it could be opened they wouldn’t be able to understand it

God’s judgment isn’t just pain & suffering

God’s greatest judgment is concealing the truth to us.

Isaiah 29:14 are words usually associated with works only God can do for the good of His people

Here God judges in a way only God can

2 things are true at the same time:

We have a responsibility to choose to follow God

and also, God is sovereign in the hearts of mankind

It is not our responsibility to determine or to know who God has blinded and who He hasn’t

It is our responsibility to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to all

It is your responsibility to believe God and not harden your heart to Him

None of us knows how God works in an individuals heart but we do know this

Do not delay in trusting Christ

As we noted last week the longer you refuse Christ the harder it is to come to Christ

No Wisdom

Judah’s leaders think they are wise, plotting their defense

They think they know better than God

They knew what God had said & willingly chose to ignore His word

God’s works will turn their wisdom to folly

Their scheming for survival will end in their destruction

They won’t understand what happened

No Hiding

They know their defying God which is probably why they try to hide their schemes

You can’t hide from God - He sees you & knows you

God’s Cure for Our Hypocrisy

Isaiah 29:17-24

Let’s try to take some lessons from Judah’s folly

How can we deal with hypocrisy in our life?

Stop Fooloing Yourself

God Sees All

Hypocrisy is all about keeping secrets

Trying to hide the truth from others, from ourselves, from God

Convince ourselves that God can’t see us, that we can outsmart God

That makes hypocrisy exhausting because we have to keep up the appearance

e.g. TV show Keeping Up Appearances

1 thing is certain about secrets - they never stay secret

You may seem to get away with them in this life but God sees them and you won’t get away with it

Hebrews 4:13 “13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

God Knows All

“Who knows us?” - God does

Psalm 147:5 “5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.”

Psalm 44:21 “21 Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.”

That God sees all & knows all can be a truth that brings comfort or fear

Luke 12:6–7 “6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Why comfort? Being accepted by God means no judgment

Romans 8:1 “1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

You don’t have to hide, because the things you would hide have already been paid for by the blood of Jesus. – Paul David Tripp

This means I don’t have to keep pretending

If I’m not accepted by God, His knowledge should bring fear

No matter how I appear before people, God knows the truth of my heart

God Judges All

You don’t need approval from other people

You need approval of God

God doesn’t watch over affairs of this world just for entertainment

God watches because He is the judge

1 Corinthians 4:5 “5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”

Real question you need to answer is not do people accept you?

You really need to know does God accept you?

Step One: Stop fooling yourself

Start Agreeing With God

The last section of this message is the results of repentance

Chastisement works and the people turn to God

Recognise that God is right

Accept the truth of your hypocrisy and rebellion

Confess to God, follow Him

The result of this is a transformed life

One no longer blind, no longer hiding in the darkness

A life that is lived sincerely, openly before God & seeking His ways

This is a life of fruitfulness & satisfaction

Seek Forgiveness

God can forgive you, He will forgive you when you seek Him

This forgiveness comes by accepting Jesus as Saviour from sin

Jesus is the light that chases away the darkness of blindness

Colossians 1:13–14 “13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

“What if I’ve been blinded?”

Blinding, hardening hearts to truth isn’t God’s first course of action

Judah’s blindness comes after centuries of longsuffering, warning

God is longsuffering, patient

Your concern this morning shouldn’t be have I been made blind, it should be am I continuing to choose blindness?

Conclusion

Many people refuse church and won’t hear Christians because they say their all hypocrites

Difference between that person and the Christian is the Christian acknowledge its true

Believer in Jesus knows our hearts are often in pursuit of things other than God & we seek to make that right

Unbeliever denies their hypocrisy and tragically will die under the judgement of the all seeing, all knowing God

Today, that can change

Stop fooling yourself

Start agreeing with God

Seek forgiveness

Believer, remember you are accepted by God, sin has been forgiven, you have no reaon to continue to hide things from God

Continue in your life to pursue holiness and become more like Christ