Isaiah 29:17-21

(17) Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be regarded as a forest?  (18) And on that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of gloom [it is a masculine noun in 1QIsa^a, a feminine noun – MT] and darkness.  (19) The meek also will increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.  (20) For the terrible one is brought to naught, and the scoffer ceases, and all who watch for iniquity are cut off, (21) those who make a man an offender in his cause, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just with meaningless arguments.

 Heart Issues

Isn’t this what the righteous long for?  A complete reversal of the spiritual/sociological/psychological/political layout of the land.  Think of when Jesus first entered this world of darkness.  The blind saw for the first time.  The deaf could hear.  Christ worked the miraculous among the destitute.  And then he preached, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. . . . Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”  Jesus Christ preached about the requirements for entrance into the kingdom.  And someday in his kingdom, there will no more be political wickedness on this earth.  Joy will fill hearts because the scoffer who looks happily for evil’s influence will be cut off.  Deceitfully, the scoffer puts a man on trial for upholding Christ in his word and work.  The scoffer disrupts righteous government through his endless twisting and Christ-less speech.

Unfortunately, some Mormon men in the Mormon corridor accuse genuine evangelicals, who are passionate about the nature of Christ and who defend His word against the ideas of higher criticism, profuse redaction, and intentional manipulation of the text, as the scoffers “who make a [LDS] man an offender for a word” (KJV, Isa. 29:21).  This does not make a bit of sense to me.  How can a righteous defender who is sincerely concerned that no “precept of men” (Isa. 29:13) be added to the word—be charged that he is making another an offender for a word?  You cannot label a man a scoffer in the context of Isaiah 29:21 when his main cause is to uphold the Word of God as the final authority over men’s traditions.

Here is the problem, sincere LDS friends believe that human traditions crept into the Isaiah text, justifying Joseph Smith for the slashing and adding that he has done to the Isaiah 29 text.  Not good.

 Isaiah 29:22-24

(22) Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:  Jacob will not now be ashamed, neither will his face now grow pale.  (23) But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they will sanctify my name; yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.  (24) Moreover, those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complain will receive instruction.

 Heart Issues

Concerning efficacious redemption for Israel, God will triumph in the end among the people.  In a chapter filled with intense judgment by God, I thank him for his enduring promises that bring hope.