Verses 1-8
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Isaiah prophesies that Jerusalem, and the nations that attack it, would both be punished by God.
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God's punishment, which will also happen during the Great Tribulation, will involve thunderous storms and tempests, great earthquakes, and devouring fire (Revelation 11:5, 16:8-9,18, 18:8).
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For those nations that are punished, they will find that themselves utterly unfulfilled with their sinful efforts.
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If you've ever fasted for long periods of time, you know that you dream about food. It feels satisfying in your dream, but when you wake up, you are still hungry.
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It's the same with the sins of the flesh and efforts against God. The pleasures and hopes of the flesh are empty—like a pleasant dream that ends in waking to a grim reality. Know this, and avoid sin!
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Verses 9-16
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The Israelites, including their prophets and seers, had caused their own blindness. And later, God added to their blindness, sealing their fate of destruction.
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When people blind themselves with sin and deceptions, eventually God will blind and harden them (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).
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For the Israelites, this meant they would seek knowledge, as one seeks knowledge in a book, but such knowledge would escape them. They would never find it. Why?
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They sought God insincerely—honoring Him with words, while their hearts weren't in it.
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If you try to follow God, to appear religious, but you do not seek Him with all your heart, you only blind yourself.
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The wisdom you do gain will be for nothing, and your sins will not stay hidden. Hypocrisy will be exposed.
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Those who want to appear religious people, and yet continue in sin, think they know everything there is to know about God. In this pride, they're boasting as though they know better than God!
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Isaiah uses a potter-clay analogy to illustrate the point. Clay is not more wise or more powerful than the potter. Quite the opposite. The potter has full control and power over the clay.
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Therefore, when we ignore the truth of the Word, we're boasting, as clay, that we're we're greater than our Potter—God—as though we know better than Him. But we are all at the mercy of God!
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And when we choose this foolish way, as clay, God can choose to form or prepare us for destruction (Romans 9:20-22).
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Verses 17-24
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Isaiah finishes by saying that God will bring in a restoration of spiritual hearing and sight (verse 18), particularly to the humble (verse 19), so that they will come to understanding (verse 24).
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We who are believers experiences this, and Israel will also at a later date (Romans 11:25-27).
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