To recap, this is the outline of Isaiah:
THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD - CONFLICT AND VICTORY (Isa 1-39)
- PROPHECIES CONCERNING JUDAH AND JERUSALEM (Isa 1-12)
- PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE NATIONS (Isa 13-27)
- DELIVERANCE FOUND NOT IN EGYPT, BUT IN THE LORD (Isa 28-35)
- HISTORICAL INTERLUDE (Isa 36-39)
- THE ONE TRUE GOD VERSUS IDOLS (Isa 40-48)
- THE LORD'S SERVANT WILL BRING SALVATION THROUGH VICARIOUS SUFFERING (Isa 49-57)
- THE FUTURE GLORY FOR GOD'S PEOPLE, THE NEW ZION (Isa 58-66)
We are now in the section of Chapters 28 to 35. These 8 chapters are a rebuke and warning to Hezekiah for depending on Egypt to protect them against Assyria, and to glorify God for what God will do to preserve Judah despite their unfaithfulness.
If you recall, Ahaz survived the attacks of the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim and Syria by turning to Assyria in 732 BC. Ahaz violated the warnings of Isaiah, and subjected Judah to deeper subjugation to the kingdom of Assyria to buy their protection. Assyria killed King Rezin of Syria and Pekah was murdered by Hoshea who took over the throne.
Around 728 BC, Hezekiah became the co-regent with Ahaz at the age of twenty-five. In contrast to Ahaz, he was considered a good king. He removed the idols and Asherah poles. He even broke the bronze snake the Moses made, because the people were treating it like an idol.
In Hezekiah's sixth year (722 BC), Sargon, king of Assyria who just replaced the late Shalmaneser, succeeded in bringing down Samaria, the capital of Ephraim. All the people were deported to Assyria, and the Northern Kingdom was no more. Due to political instability in other parts of Assyria, Palestine was left alone and opportunity was given for the small nations to form alliances with Egypt.
From 715 BC onwards, Hezekiah took over from Ahaz as the sole ruler of Judah. He was immediately threatened by the Assyrian king Sennacherib because Hezekiah stopped paying tribute to Assyria. Hezekiah was forced to pay 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold. The amount of precious stones were so great that Hezekiah had to strip them off from the temple of Solomon. (See 2 Kings 18)
Hezekiah was generally a "good" king. However, he has one weakness - the inability to trust God and the dependency on human strengths. Isaiah 28-35 was written as a warning to Hezekiah not to rely on Egypt, but to have faith in God's faithfulness and mercy. He needed to know God is still in control and is good towards Judah.
The message of trusting God for the outcome was a very important message because "without faith, it is impossible to please Him." It was such a serious problem that God asked Isaiah to preach naked and barefoot for 3 years as a warning against trusting Egypt. God said He will show that Egypt cannot be relied upon (Isaiah 20:3-6). This was fulfilled in 711 BC when Ashdod, a Philistine city allied with Egypt, was completely run down by Assyria, and Egypt did not even appear.
This is what God wants out of our relationship with Him: to listen, to trust and to obey Him completely.
II. Flood of Judgement Upon the Drunkards of Ephraim (v1 - 13)
The first part of Isaiah's message in this chapter is towards Ephraim. Ephraim was compared to a "drunkard" who had a "proud crown." This speaks of both the inability to listen to reason, and the prideful attitude. They are proud of their beautiful and rich country, and did not realize that it was a fading flower that will be crushed by a foreign enemy that God sends. (v1-4).
God, however, is described as the "crown of glory" and He is not a fragile flower but a "diadem of beauty". To whom is He beautiful to? To the remnants, and He gives the judges a spirit of justice and strength to the defenders. (v5-6)
The priests and the false prophets are as irrational as drunkards, even when giving visions and making judgment. Their advise is like vomit on the tables. They mocked Isaiah, saying that his teachings are too simple, as if it is spoken to an infant. They pride themselves of being more spiritual, more intelligent, and did not need to be lectured by Isaiah. They do not want to be reminded about what is written and what is obvious. (v7-10)
Since they would not listen to God and His prophet, they will be taught by foreigners instead. Every precept and every line of God's word will come to pass as a judgment on Ephraim, so that they will be broken and taken by the enemies. (v11-13)
II. The False Confidence of Sinful Leaders
Isaiah now turns to the leaders in Jerusalem, calling them "scoffers". They said that they have made a covenant with death and Sheol, so that the overwhelming "whip" (Assyrians) will not harm them. (v15)
We are not sure if Isaiah is using death to symbolize their alliance with Egypt and the surrounding small nations. If they did, then that would just make Assyria more angry and determined to destroy them. Some theologians say that "covenant with death" could be referring to the unholy spiritual alliance with pagan gods. The pack supposedly protects them from death itself.
Isaiah further said they have hidden behind lies and falsehoods, thinking that they can escape from the reality of God's words.
In his sermon titled Refuges of Lies and What Will Become of Them, Charles Spurgeon lists six lies that men try to take refuge in: 1. The lie that we are, or can be good enough. 2. The lie that fate or predestination determines all, so there is nothing for us to do. 3. The lie that places confidence in new, false teachings. 4. The lie that religious profession is enough. 5. The lie that one can have a saved soul and an unchanged life. 6. The lie that trusts an old experience instead of an ongoing relationship.
But God is one who has been truthful from the beginning when he laid the foundation on Zion, and His words have been tested like a stone. He is not just any stone, but a precious cornerstone that holds the structure together. Whoever has faith in God will not be in haste to find alternative solutions. (v17)
Whoever they relied on, it will be enough to prevent the disaster to overtake them. The Lord will rise against them like He did on Mount Perazim and Valley of Gibeon. At Perazim, the LORD accomplished a great victory for Israel in the days of David (2 Samuel 5:20). At Gibeon, the LORD accomplished a great victory for Israel in the days of Joshua (Joshua 10:11). In those cases, the LORD fought for Israel, but if her leaders did not repent, they would soon find the LORD fighting against Israel. This use of God’s strength against His people is surely His awesome work, or as the King James Version puts it, His strange work.
III. The timing of the farmer and the timing of God (v23-29)
This is a parable of how the farmer knows when to stop plowing. Plowing symbolizes the punishment or discipline of God. The farmer and knows when to stop plowing and what to plant, and when to plant. He uses different means for different types of plants. In the same way, God knows how best to train us, and we do not have to worry about what He does with our lives and when He does it. He is a wonderful counselor and will guide us. It takes a lot of faith to trust Him especially when things are not going the way we wanted.
IV. Lesson Summary
This chapter highlights three false foundations of the God's people, and reminds them of the three true foundations in God:
a. False Foundation - Ephraim's foundation is built on pleasure and pride. Their pleasure was based on maximizing life pleasures (v1: "drunkards of Ephraim") and their pride was based on their rich and beautiful country (v1,v4). They have a "proud crown" that will be trodden underfoot. What are the foundations we build our lives in? Is it on wealth and statuses? All these are temporary and cannot buy ourselves into heaven.
b. False Faith - Ephraim's have a false faith in two things - false gods ("covenant with death" v15) and false human alliance (Isaiah 20; 30:1-3; 31:1-3). Have we put our faith in the wrong things? Our idols may not be a "god" but we put a lot of trust in the money we have, don't we? They are our idols. We put importance in how people view us, our bosses, and how those with money and power can help us in our careers. We don't have time to serve the less fortunate people who can't give us anything in return. We
c. False Fantasies - they think the know better than God's Word. To them, the Bible is boring. They rather invent their own rules, especially rules of "success". (v9-10) They ignore the warnings in the Bible and live a life as if God doesn't exist. (v15). We may believe in the existence of God, but do we also go about in our own rules and plans without asking God what He wants in our lives?
God responded in the following manner:
a. God is the Crown of Glory (v5). Instead of our own Crown of Pride, we are to bask in God's Crown of Glory that will never pass away. His is the Diadem of Beauty that is more precious than anything on Earth. God will give the spirit of Justice and strength that we need (v6, v18-21). How often have we longed for God's glory to shower upon us?
b. God is the Cornerstone (v16). Our faith can only be put on Christ, the Cornerstone. (Psalms 118:19-24; Eph 2:19-21). He is our sure foundation and those who trust in Him will not be in "haste" (in other versions - ashamed/dissppointed). (Ref: 1 Pet 2:6; 1 Cor 3:10-15). No matter what happens to our world or our life, the Cornerstone is where our faith must anchor down.
c. God is the wise Counselor (v28). Instead of having making decisions based on our own imagination and intellectual capacity, we are to rely on God's counsel. This is even when our lives take a negative turn, for His discipline will not last forever and His purpose is to restore us (v24-25). And God's treatment is specific and tailored to us individual - He knows what He is doing (v27).
These are the basic "foundational" errors in our lives. In the next chapter, God lists the specific areas of sins in the people of Jerusalem.
