Isaiah 29:11–19

"All this has become to you like the words of a book..." The Book is God's Word. In Genesis 1, God said, "Let there be light, and there was light." Notice, "God said." He spoke. His Word came forth out from him and created all things. From that time on, the Word of God, the Book, is a theme found all through the Scriptures from the beginning to the end. From the time the angel said, "I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth..." (Dan 10:21), to the Christ, who speaking in the Psalms said, "In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted...Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God..." (Ps 40:6-9). From the time God said to the Israelites, "I will send a famine on the land not of bread...but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea and run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it." (Amos 8:11), on to Daniel who was told to "shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end," (Dan 10:21), right down to the last book of the Bible, Revelation, when St. John "...began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it." (Rev 5:4).

"But, Pastor, I don't come to Bible study because I can't understand the Bible. It's just too confusing." Or, "It seems like everyone has their own interpretation. How do I know which one is correct?" Ever said this? Ever heard anyone say this? Well, it's all too common, but it's entirely true. And Isaiah gets right to the point today when he says, "...all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, 'Read this,' he says, 'I cannot, for it is sealed.' And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, 'Read this,' he says, 'I cannot read.'"

It is indeed a sealed book that we cannot read. Nor can you understand it. [quote from book Rebeca is reading] In fact, the eyes and ears of humans are closed so we cannot understand it. We are by nature blind so we cannot read it. St. Paul tells us in I Corinthians: "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." (I Cor 2:14). And "The Word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing," (1:18) and also, "Christ crucified is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles." (1:23). The simple matter of fact is this, only by faith given to us by the Holy Spirit can the Word of God be understood.

A recent film captures this idea vividly. Entitled The Book of Eli, it's about a book, obviously, which turns out in the end to be the Bible. The evil character in the film is trying to get the book away from Eli because he believes the book will give him power to control people, allowing him to become the ruler of civilization. When he finally succeeds in getting the book from Eli, he opens it reverently, only to discover that it is written entirely in Braille so he cannot read a single word of it. This illustrates clearly how a man without the Spirit of God cannot understand the Book. Only a true believer in Christ led by God's Spirit can understand the Bible. That is why even scholars and so called experts in the Bible so often get it so wrong. That's why some people, even though they have been taught all their lives and brought up in the church, fall away from God and the church. The things of God cannot be understood by the natural man, for they are spiritually discerned.

What is the Word that is written in the Book? It is Jesus Christ, as St. John tells us, "In the beginning was the Word..and the word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1). There is no way to know Jesus apart from faith which only the Holy Spirit gives.

The Lord goes on to say that this people to whom the Book is sealed "...draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me..." Are you who he is talking about? Could it be that we are the Israel Isaiah was talking to? Do you never come to worship and just say the words by rote, speak the liturgy from memory, draw near with your mouth and honor him with your lips while your heart is far away, thinking about what you did yesterday, what you are going to do this afternoon, or how much you dislike the guy sitting in the pew across from you? Do you not feel just a little superior to other churches who don't use the same liturgies which we do in our worship? Do we not get so entrenched in our traditions and rules that we almost consider it a sin to break a tradition? Or not follow a particular rule? Even though they are "commandments taught by men" and not by God? Are you not the one who says, "I cannot understand the Bible? So why bother reading it? It only confuses me"? Do we not thus call him God with the lips and worship with the knees though our heart is far away? Is this not all sin against the First Commandment as Luther explains it like this: "God says, 'Since I am God, thou shalt place all they confidence, trust, and faith in me alone and in no one else.' For you do not have a god if you just call him god outwardly with your lips, or worship him with the knees or bodily gestures." As the Psalmist says; "In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required, but to delight in doing the will of God." (Ps 40).

We are Israel who has, "...turned things upside down." Who have come with our offerings and sacrifices but have not delighted