29:1,2
Ariel refers to Jerusalem, as the second phrase makes clear, “the city where David settled”. The people were carrying on as if nothing out of the ordinary was going to happen, as if life would just continue as normal, “let your cycle of festivals go on”. We can see this section with the Assyrian attack of 701 BC, along with the miraculous rescue, in view. Jesus said that in the last days people would just be carrying on as normal (Matt 24:38,39). It takes an awful lot to wake people up! The people were wrong! For God would besiege the city. The Hebrew for “altar hearth” is like the word “Ariel”, which might be why that term was used in the introduction.
Note that it is God who besieges the city, and, of course, it was Assyria who besieged it. We like to say something was entirely down to God, or it was entirely down to man. The Bible does not do this, yet we try to impose this clear-cut division upon it, which leads to a lot of misunderstanding. God is behind all things, and we need to be aware of that. At the same time we have responsibility for our actions, and what we do with our lives matters.
29:3,4
This gives a description of the siege, making clear that it was something that was definitely going to happen. While Assyria would be carrying out the siege, it was God who was behind it all. Judah needed to get her relationship with God sorted out! Judah might be proud at the moment and full of bravado, but she would surely be brought low.
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