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Chapter 28
by Samuel E. Ward
Introduction
We have studied three major sections of Isaiah's book.
I. God's Message to Judah and Jerusalem, Isa 1-12
II. God's Messages to the Foreign Nations, Isa 13-23
III. God's Message to the World, Isa 24-27.
Continuing to the fourth major section of Isaiah we will note in chapter twenty-eight what John Martin describes as "strong pronouncements . . . directed against the Northern Kingdom (Isa 28:1-13) and the Southern Kingdom (Isa 28:14-29). Before long the Northern Kingdom would fall to the Assyrians (722 B.C.). Writing to the people of the South, Isaiah was encouraging them not to be like their Northern brothers and sisters. God's judgment was designed to bring the people to repentance before Him (Isa 28:23-29), not to 'get even' with them."
--John A. Martin, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, "Isaiah"
IV. God's Message for Those Under the Threat of Assyria, Isa 28-39
A. Messages of Warning and Promise, Isa 28-35.
1. Woe to Ephraim (Samaria) Isa 28:1-13
a. Judgment is coming from the Lord, Isa 28:1-4. (28:2)
Isaiah 28:2 (NIV) 2See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
b. God will honored by the remnant, Isa 28:5-6 (28:5)
Isaiah 28:5 (NIV) 5In that day the LORD Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.
c. The priests and prophets have become disgusting in their drunkenness, Isa 28:7-8.
Isaiah 28:7-8 (NIV) 7And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. 8All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth.
d. The priests and prophets bring insult upon Isaiah in the spirit of "They're just words, lectures, and rules," Isa 28:9-10.
Isaiah 28:9-10 (NIV) 9 "Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? 10For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there."
e. The message of God will come through foreigners and the result will be that God's Word will become just "so many words" to Ephraim, causing its fall, Isa 28:11.
Isaiah 28:11 (NIV) 11Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people,
2. Woe to Jerusalem, Isa 28:14-29
a. The satirical evaluation by Isaiah of Judah's attempt to enter into a treaty with a foreign power, Isa 28:14-15. (28:15)
Isaiah 28:15 (NIV) 15You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."
b. The Precious Cornerstone will become their salvation in the future, though presently they stumble over Him, Isa 28:16.
Isaiah 28:16 (NIV) 16So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
c. The scourge of judgment will come first, Isa 28:17-19a. (28:18)
Isaiah 28:18 (NIV) 18Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.
d. The sheer terror of the implications of this message will be felt,
Isa 28:19.
Isaiah 28:19 (NIV) 19As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through."
The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.
1) Jerusalem has "made their bed" and now they must sleep in it, Isa 28:20.
Isaiah 28:20 (NIV) 20The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
2) Jerusalem will experience a "routing" by the Lord like their old enemies the Philistines had in the days of David at Mount Perazim and the Valley Gibeon, Isa 28:21.
(See 1 Chr 14:11, 16)
Isaiah 28:21 (NIV) 21The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.
e. The scoffing of the message should cease or the judgment will be worse, Isa 28:22.
Isaiah 28:22 (NIV) 22Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the LORD Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land.
f. The strategy of God's judgment is a process in stages toward a fruitful end, Isa28:23-29. (28:25, 29)
Isaiah 28:25 ( NIV ) 25When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field?
Isaiah 28:29 (NIV) 29All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
Relevance
1. Chastisement is a sign of the Father's love. Take note of the testimony of Scripture of this fact.
Deuteronomy 8:5 (NIV) 5Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
Psalms 94:12 (NIV) 12Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;
Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV) 11My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, 12because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
1 Corinthians 11:32 (NIV) 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
Revelation 3:19 (NIV) 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
John 15:2 (NIV) 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
2. God wants to be the Cornerstone and Foundation for our lives. Too often we stumble over God's solutions to our needs when we ignore the counsel of His Word, Mat 7:24-25.
Matthew 7:24-25 (NIV) 24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
