14 “I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
15 “I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 “I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will not leave them undone.”17 They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame,
Who trust in [f]idols,
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”
18 Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My servant,
Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is [g]at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the law great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and despoiled;
All of them are trapped in [h]caves,
Or are hidden away in prisons;
They have become a prey with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back!”23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and listen hereafter?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,
And whose law they did not obey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he [i]paid no attention.
There are two contrasting pictures here which illustrate two different reactions we can have when God tells us to do something (or not to do it). In v. 16 we see that God “will lead the blind by a way they do not know… in paths they do not know” and He will make darkness into light–presumably so that they can see. After all, when you walk in the darkness, real darkness, it naturally feels like you are blind.
In v. 17, the passage turns once more to those who put their trust in idols and molten images. They are deaf and blind, going their own way. They aren’t really deaf and blind, any more than God’s servant in v. 19. They all see what is going on around them, and hear what God says, but the decision made with that information results in opposite versions of blindness.
The one following God’s way, who listens and obeys, sees what is around them, and says, “I know this might not make sense, given what I see, but I’m going God’s way anyway.” Thus, they choose to be blind to the ways of this world, and the whisperings of their flesh.
On the other hand, we have folks who see and hear the same things, but they say, “I know what you said God, but it doesn’t make sense, and I can’t ignore what I see all around me.” God further reprimands them in v. 20, “You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; your ears are open, but none hears.”
As a result, they are indeed trapped, hidden in prisons and caves of their own making. Not those made with physical hands, but spiritual and mental cages of their own design. And in that place (v. 25), they are like the meme of the dog in a house on fire. He sits calmly, with a smile on his face, and says, “This is fine!”
Which one will we be, what “blindness” will we choose? It isn’t easy to ignore the flesh and choose God’s way instead, but it isn’t much easier to ignore God either–both get easier with time, so we have to “pick our poison”. Except God’s way isn’t really poison, or darkness, or even blindness, it is life eternal and abundant. While the other really and truly is poison for our heart and mind, even if we satisfy our flesh for a little while.
Let God be your guide instead, to lead you in ways you do not know, and to bring light into your darkness. When you trust Him, “These are the things He will do, and He will not leave them undone.” Or as Paul said later, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”