Preparing For Deliverance

Into

Isaiah 28-35 marks a shift in theme of the overall book as it speaks of “woes” and “blessings” that will fall upon Jerusalem and Judah. Focusing first on the “woes”, we will learn of the coming evil and painful days that Isaiah foresaw for Israel, yet even amid all these "woes", the message of a hope-filled future is still the most consistent song that Isaiah sings. Don’t miss that!

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Read Isaiah 28:1-4

Although Isaiah's message was primarily to the people of Judah, here we see that he too declared the final warnings to Ephraim before their fall. Ephraim, here is a general title given to all Northern tribes because of that tribe's prominence in Isaiah’s day. Isaiah implies here that all of the leaders of these tribes in the North were overcome with drunkenness. And therefore the LORD empowered Assyria, making them mighty and strong, and sent them to destroy Ephraim like a destroying tempest that would hurl them down to earth (v.2).

Isaiah highlights the current success of the North while also declaring their coming destruction by referring to a fading flower that those bloated with rich food wear on their heads (vv.3-4). Indeed all glory is like grass, it is here today and faded away tomorrow, while God alone is honored forever. Therefore Isaiah declares that the same ornament of pride that adorns their heads now, will be the target that their enemies will search for when they come to attack in the future.

Pride often leads us to boast in possessions and accomplishments, yet we are blinded by the reality of the target we are placing on our backs for those who will steal and destroy what we worked so hard to build.

Has pride ever caused you unnecessary loss? 

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Read Isaiah 28:5-6

The prophet declares that on that day God will be the only one glorified, and in contrast to the fading flower, the LORD’s unending glory will be a diadem of beauty for the remnant who survive His judgement at the coming Assyrian attack.

The diadem of beauty of God’s eternal presence will inspire those who sit in judgement to genuinely pursue justice, and it will also strengthen the warriors who fight in battle to defend Israelite survivors with enhanced protection.

How is God’s eternal presence at work in your life?

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Read Isaiah 28:7-13

Isaiah shifts his attention back to the present reality as he testified that priests and prophets are so overcome with drunkenness that in their confusion they stumble in giving judgement (v.7). This would mean that in the Northern Kingdom, even those tasked with the responsibility of handling some of the most sacred things in society failed to maintain order. And in any society, once those things that are sacred become defiled everything within the culture is devalued as a result. Thus, the prophet says that no place is clean (v.8).

Since those leaders in society are stupefied in drunkenness, the prophet begs, “Whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from milk, those taken from the breast?” (v.9). Here we are given the idea of a wise teacher who is eager to pass on knowledge, but from the young to the old in society he can find no one who understands and applies his lessons. Therefore Isaiah says that God will have to then speak to his people differently; Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. Truly, with stammering lip and with alien tongue he will speak to this people (v.10-11).

Yet even with the LORD’s best attempt to reach his people through stammering prophets who lacked sound judgement, they still would not hear him. And as a result the LORD will provide them with no more clarity in order that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken (v.13). Clouded judgement clouds our relationship with God, and this is probably the reason why God encourages sober-mindedness.

How do you pursue a righteous understanding of life with a sober judgement?

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Read Isaiah 28:14-22

Here we see it is mostly with the leaders in Jerusalem that the LORD has a grievance, for it is because of their falsehoods that the entire nation  becomes unjust. Here reference is made to an alliance that Jerusalem and Judah made with Egypt without the LORD’s agreement. Therefore they made lies their refuge and took shelter in falsehood (v.15).

As a result of Israel’s inability to place their trust in the LORD their God alone and understand his message, the LORD will lay a trusted and precious cornerstone, and he will name it “One who trusts will not panic.” This will be a much needed foundation with God’s judgement on it’s way to them to sweep away the refuge of lies and bring their covenant with death to annulment (v.18). Whether Israel knew that their alliance with Egypt or any of their other choices was truly a covenant with death is not clear, but what is sure is that God promises to bring an end to his people’s agreement with death and hopelessness. But to do this effectively it was the LORD’s will to send the purification of judgement first.

The strange and alien work that Isaiah is referring to is the way in which the LORD empowers foreign nations to attack Israel to punish them so that they repent and turn back to the LORD their God. And Isaiah warns Israel, that even though God’s ways seem strange, “Do not scoff, or your bonds will be made stronger (v.21).” In other words, even when God’s ways seem strange to us, we should not mock God with pride but our response should be humility before Him, for it is only by his grace that he places limits on his punishment.

What helps you remain humble, even when it feels like God is being unfair?

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Read Isaiah 28:23-29

Isaiah concludes this chapter of “woes” yet with a message of a future hope as he asks Jerusalem to pay attention to his speech (v.23). Here he uses the example of a farmer and asks, “Do those who plow for sowing plow continually? Do they continually open and harrow their ground?”(v.24) This questions and the ones like it are rhetorical in nature, for the one asking these questions already knows the answer, and that is “no”, formers do not plow continually. Neither does the thresher thresh grain forever (v.28), but rather while being careful not to pulverize it, he knows he must halt his plowing and threshing at some point, for to over do it would make a waste of time already invested in the crops.

Here then is Isaiah’s encouragement to a people who have judgement in their wake, ‘the judgement will not last long’. God was the one who taught the former when to stop plowing soil and start planting seed, and God told the thresher when to begin threshing wheat and when to place the harvest in storage. And since God taught these humans how to place limitations on their work, we can be sure that he too placed graceful limitations on his judgement.

How does God’s lessons on limitations influence the way that you work? 

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Prayer

Eternal God,

We thank you for your mercy that meets us wherever we are and in whatever condition we are in. Even with so many challenges, LORD, we know that you are still working to provide us with clarity on all things in your time. We trust you with the experiences we have yet to gain understanding on, for we know that you work all things together for our good. Help us not to become embittered when things get hard, but instead help us to grow in wisdom as we seek your voice to teach us how to endure and overcome the test you place before us. Remind us that your eye is always on us, to guide, protect, provide for, and correct us; for it is your nature to love your children, and to lead us toward the sure and everlasting cornerstone that you have already established in Zion, in Jesus Name. Amen!